FORMER British rally champion Jimmy McRae will be reunited with his 1983 Ulster Rally-winning Opel Manta this weekend – thanks to the generosity of one East Lancashire driver.

McRae will drive the famous Rothmans-liveried car on the Lombard Rally, taking part in a demonstration run on the Colin McRae memorial selectif – or special stage – which forms part of the four-day event.

The car is owned by Oswaldtwistle businessman Gary Gee, who met up with McRae at this year’s Chatsworth Rally Show, which celebrated 50 years of the British Championship, and issued the invitation.

Joining Jimmy in the car will be his former co-driver Ian Grindrod, from Blackburn.

The pair enjoyed numerous rally wins during their partnership in the 1980s.

“It will be great to see Jimmy back out in the car. He reckons it’s the fastest Manta he’s ever driven, so I hope it comes back in one piece. I’ve told him if he bends it, he buys it!” said Gary, who will also drive the car this weekend.

Driven by McRae and then by Frenchman Guy Frequelin, Gee bought the car from a Norwegian enthusiast who had used it for ice racing.

Although in good condition, it had lost many of the factory parts and required stripping down to a bare shell and rebuilding by RVL, a rally preparation company run by Tim Foster in Accrington.

Gee then spent the following 12 months sourcing the correct parts, before using the car as part of the Slowly Sideways group.

Founded by well-known motorsport photographer Reinhard Klein, Slowly Sideways are a group of drivers who own restored ex-works cars and are able to demonstrate them on rally stages – usually in conjunction with major European and WRC events.

Two East Lancashire drivers are in the running for class honours in the Lombard Rally, which starts from Harrogate today.

Kelbrook garage owner Ross Butterworth and co-driver Ali Proctor are seeded at H2 in their 1.6-litre Ford Escort, while Ken McEwan, from Slaidburn, and John Ingham are at H8 in their 1970 Alfa Giuila Super.

Aside from the historics, almost 50 'Enduro' specification cars, restricted to 1400cc and two-wheel-drive vehicles such as the Nissan Micra, Peugeot 106 and Vauxhall Corsa, will start the main event.

Spectators can see the cars in action at the Yorkshire Event Centre at Harrogate today and Sunday, and at the ‘Colin McRae’ selectif at the Forrest Estate, Dalry, nr Castle Douglas, Scotland on Saturday morning.

The selectif starts at 9am on Saturday, with the Lombard Rally running from 11am. The demonstration will re-commence once the Lombard Rally has passed through this time running the complete Selectif of 17 miles.

The Yorkshire Event Centre selectif will take place on Sunday with the demonstration starting at noon, with the Lombard Rally following at 1.30pm. For more information visit www.lombardrally.com.