OVER 40 cars and crews are expected to start this weekend's Garstang and Preston Motor Club Memorial road rally.

The event, which is based at Myerscough College, marks the halfway point in the SD34 championship and attracts the best club drivers in the north-west.

Heading the entry is Steve Retchless and Sam Collis (Ford Escort) with Dan Robinson and Ian Gibbins (Proton Satria) starting at car two.

East Lancashire entries are led by championship front runners Terry Martin, from Blackburn, and navigator Jerry Hettrick in their Peugeot 205GTi and Colne's Peter Jagger and Bill Parkin in another 205.

Others include Paul Blanchard/Derek Lewin and Steve Johnson/Mick Conboy, both in Nissan Micras.

The organisers have laid out a 130-mile route on OS maps 102, 103 and 97 using the classic lanes of Lancashire and Cumbria.