Julian Burch will debut a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus on the opening round of the HRCR Classic Stage Rally Challenge during this weekend's Robin Hood Historic Forest Stages Rally.

"The car is more of an actual antique rather than a classic replica," says the Oxfordshire-based newcomer. "It was built in 1982 and bought by my father and me as an effective 'barn find' from Munich a couple of years ago." His family business, Charter's of Aldershot, is the main sponsor of the project and has a long heritage in rallying.

Apart from a near full re-wire by works Hillman Imp restorer Clark Dawson, and an engine service by Phil Davidson, the car remains largely as found.

"I've never driven on the loose before, so that will no doubt be a very steep learning curve! Getting the basic handling right is proving quite a challenge at the moment, especially as we've no budget to speak of and only a collection of aged looking original parts," admits Burch. "Neil Brogden is doing a fantastic job to sort this out and has fabricated some suspension components as per the original homologation papers."

Steven Stringer, who already competes in the Classic Challenge in a Sunbeam Lotus, has given some valuable advice about tyres and set up.