THREE of East Lancashire's leading rally teams set out on the long road to Mintex National Championship glory this weekend.

And first stop on the trail for Daniel Harper, David Bateson and Ian Grindrod is the Bournemouth-based Rallye Sunseeker - with all three tipped for a share of the silverware.

Harper, from Barley, near Nelson and his Burnley-based co-driver Les Reger made a promising debut on last year's Tour of Mull with their new Vauxhall Astra GSi.

The ex-Stuart Egglestone machine finished seventh overall and won its class on arguably the toughest club event on the rally calendar.

And the Powerzone of Padiham-backed pair are in confident mood for this weekend's curtainraiser.

"We don't know just how strong the competition is going to be, but we'll be happy with a Top 20 finish and a decent result in our class," said Daniel.

Additional sponsorship for this season's campaign has come from Bridgehouse Car and Van Hire, Laneshawbridge; Maxim Group and Macbrides of Burnley. With a combined age of just 38, David Bateson and Daniel Barritt are among the contenders for the Junior Cup category in their Warburtons Bakery-backed Astra GSi.

David, 20, from Barrowford, and Daniel, 18, from Hapton are late entrants in the Mintex series, after making the decision to switch from the British Rally Championship just ten days ago.

Explained David: "We originally wanted to do the BRC, but without substantial sponsorship, it was too expensive.

"Each Mintex round costs around £500 to enter, which is half the price of a British event, and the cost of accommodation is substantially reduced as the events are one day only. This will be the biggest event we've ever done, so we'll be glad just to reach the finish in one piece." Ian Grindrod and Richie Holfeld make their Mintex debut with the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5, and nothing less than victory in group N will do for the Ralliart Germany team.

"We are looking to win the class this season. Richie really got to grips with the car during the Wyedean, so we feel confident," said Ian, who lives in Copster Green.

"The asphalt and smooth gravel stages should suit us, and we've always gone well in Bournemouth."

Reigning British champion Martin Rowe (Renault Megane) heads a star-studded line-up for the Sunseeker. Others in the Top 10 include Silva Stages winner Marcus Dodd (Escort WRC), Tapio Laukkanen (Megane), Brian Lyall (Subaru Impreza) and Andy Burton (Peugeot Cosworth).

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