Ten years after he last sat in a rally car, Ludlow-based Gary Smith has returned to the sport and will contest the Severn Valley Stages (31 May) as his second rally back.Best known for campaigning a Ford Escort Cosworth, Smith was tempted to make a comeback when he had the chance to buy the Ford Escort Mk1 used by Richard Hill to win the 2013 BHRC.Having made his debut in the car on the Somerset Stages, Smith is now looking forward to getting back on more familiar ground for the Severn Valley Stages. “I always enjoyed the Severn Valley in the past and I’ve done it many times,” he said. “The stages are very good quality and are nice flowing stages.”Now 59, Smith says getting back into a rally car was quite a culture shock. “I hadn’t driven a rally car for 10 years and I’d not driven a Mk1 Escort for 35 years! I was very tentative to start with, but the times got better through the day. I was also going back to rear-wheel drive after many years in four-wheel drive.”“I decided to give rallying another go and I had the chance to buy the Escort. It was the right sort of time for me and I knew the car was right,” he said. After the Severn Valley, Smith plans to contest his home event, the Woodpecker Stages, and then take stock before making any further plans.The Severn Valley Stages Rally is a competitor-focused event offering 44 stage miles for £475. The route will take in special stages in Cefn, Crychan and Halfway forests, and both Cefn and Halfway will not have been used for 10 months by the time of the 31 May rally. The rally will once again be based at the Royal Welsh Showground at Builth Wells.The Regulations and Entry Form can be downloaded from www.severnvalleystages.co.uk