RALLYMAN Alister McRae is hoping he can resurrect his World Championship career - with help from a Ribble Valley company.

McRae, whose brother Colin is one of the best-known names in the sport, will contest this weekend's Swedish Rally with sponsorship from Proflex UK Ltd, based in Clitheroe.

Proflex, formerly known as GDB Motorsport, is one of the very few companies in the world dedicated to motorsport suspension and design.

Run by highly-respected engineer Gordon Birtwistle, the firm works exclusively with Dutch manufacturer Proflex, and has scored outright success in rally championships worldwide, touring cars and sports car racing.

And the decision to sponsor McRae, who will drive a Subaru Impreza in the championship's Production Car category, is a new venture for the Thorn Street-based firm.

"We are not in the business of sponsorship because we deal entirely in motorsport," explained Gordon.

"But Alister is a brilliant driver and the car is very, very good. It was an opportunity not to be missed and represents a winning combination. For both parties, it is the best shot at an outright victory."

The car has been built and prepared by preparation specialists R-E-D , based in Widnes, with additional sponsorship from insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson.

Birtwistle's relationship with McRae goes back a decade, when the talented Scot contested the British series in a Volkswagen Golf GTi.

He became British champion in 1995, and the pair have worked closely together ever since, culminating in Alister's works drives for Hyundai and Mitsubishi.

He has been out of a regular WRC seat since being dropped by Mitsubishi at the end of 2002.

Now 33, McRae is hoping that this weekend's event, the opening round of the Production World Rally Championship, will bring him to the attention of the factory team bosses.

"The idea on contesting the PWRC this season was to get my name back in front of the team managers -- and get back out competing," he said.

"I have been out of the sport for 18 months, and that's a long time. It's very easy to be forgotten. I needed to out there and this is the most feasible option."

However, McRae admitted the lay-off may affect is initial pace on the snow rally.

He said: "You can't expect to be fastest from the first stage. I'd love to be going to Sweden saying I'm going to win, but for me it's about getting back into the car and back into the swing of world-class competition."

His rivals include highly-rated Irishmen Kris Meeke and Niall McShea, former British champion Mark Higgins, Middle East champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, and former works Subaru pilot Toshi Arai.

But a test session, in Wales last week, spent selecting the optimum suspension setting for the arctic conditions, left Birtwistle confident of the right result.

He said: "There's no-one in the world championship physically and mentally fitter than Alister and the car is good. Assuming everyone finishes, he should finish first."