Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally ChampionshipOnce again, the Trackrod Historic Cup (Saturday 25 September) brings the curtain down on the Dunlop/Wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship season as the BHRC crews take the annual chance to tackle the classic Yorkshire forest stages. With a fine entry of 66 historics, it will be a great end to another superb season of historic rallying.

After another challenging season, the overall title race will be decided over four long stages in the famous Dalby and Langdale forest complexes and three crews remain in the running for the title. The strongest hand lies with David Stokes and Guy Weaver in their Escort Mk1 following another maximum score on the penultimate event in Belgium. If they repeat that result with another category two victory in Yorkshire, they will be confirmed as overall champions.However, ready to challenge are category one crews Jonathan Gale and James Whitaker (Sunbeam Tiger) and Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911). Gale/Whitaker start the final round with the upper hand, but need to win to make sure of the category title and have the best chance of the overall crown should Stokes/Weaver falter. Nutt/McBride, meanwhile, can only go all out for category one victory and see where their rivals have finished.Category oneAt the head of category one will be Gale/Whitaker and Nutt/McBride, as one of the strongest category one fields of the season includes contenders in the HRCR Stage Rally Challenge and HRCR Mini Cup.The big rival to the Tiger and the Porsche will be the flying Volvo Amazon of Graham Waite and Gill Cotton. However, the long Yorkshire straights should favour the sports cars despite the spectacular efforts of Waite. Other quick cars in classes B4 and B5 include the Porsche 911s of Phil and Barbara Smith and Edmund Peel/Kevin Devine, while the Lotus Cortina of Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell makes a welcome return to the BHRC after an engine failure earlier in the season.Among the Minis, Clive King and Bob Ward should set the pace, while class B1 will be contested by Nick Pinkett and Richard Simpson (Saab 96) and Mike Barratt and Jody Watson (Sunbeam Stiletto).Category twoDespite starting the season with non-finishes on three of the first four gravel rallies, Stokes and Weaver have since had a fabulous campaign, topped by victories in category two on the Isle of Man, Ulster and Flanders. Now, another victory is the target to clinch the overall title.However, the opposition in category two is strong and includes Steven Smith and John Nichols in the Escort Mk1 that Smith debuted in Flanders. Stokes knows that he must beat Smith in Yorkshire, while other challenges in class C5 come from Chris Browne and Liz Jordan (Escort Mk1) and 2009 Trackrod winners Stefaan Stouf and Joris Erard (Escort Mk1).Another challenger for victory in category two will be class C4 leaders Tim Mason and Graham Wild (Porsche 911). Mason will be hoping for better fortune than a year ago when his run on his home rally ended less than a mile into the opening stage with driveshaft failure.Mason and Wild go up against another Porsche 911 in class C4, the car of fellow Yorkshire crew Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne, while a welcome return to the BHRC is made by the glorious Lancia Stratos of Steve Perez and Paul Spooner. Class C3 promises one of the best battles of the season, headed by Yorkshiremen Andrew Siddall and Captain Thompson in their Escort Mk1, who have already won the class title. However, on their home rally they face a big challenge, headed by Welshmen Tim Jones and Don James (Escort Mk1) and backed up by the similar cars of James Slaughter/Phil Peak, Guy Smith/Patrick Walsh and Robin Shuttleworth/Ronnie Roughead.A fine class C2 field includes several championship newcomers, but it is the Escort Mk1 of Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer that it sure to set the pace as the Sussex crew battle to get up among the more powerful class C3 cars.Category threeA superb entry of category three cars will deliver some spectacular action and with the category title already sewn up by the Vauxhall Chevette of Rob Smith and Shaun O'Gorman, there are no championship issues to be settled.Leading the field away on his first run in the BHRC will be local legend Steve Bannister, partnered by Louise Sutherland in his historic specification Escort Mk2. Going up against Bannister will be Nick Elliott and Dave Price and Ulster Rally winners Connor Corkill and Rob Fagg.Other rapid Escort Mk2s will be in the hands of Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks, Tim Pearcey/John McNichol, Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby, Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and notable dark horse Warren Philliskirk/Emma Slights. From Belgium comes the Escort Mk2 of Christophe Jacob and world-class co-driver Stephane Prevot. Lining up against the Escort pack will be the Opel Ascona 400 of local crew Steve Magson and Geoff Atkinson.In class C3, Richard Lane and Frank Richer head the pack in their Escort Mk2, while class D2 will be a battle of the Sunbeams ass Ian Coulson/Joe Jones go up against Michael Kent/Miles Cartwright.The Trackrod Historic Cup starts at 7.30am on Saturday 25 September from Scarborough. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: rallyyorkshire.co.uk