NEWLY crowned RAVENOL British Trial and Rally Drivers Association champion Stephen Petch is preparing to test himself against the renowned North York Moors forest stages and his local rival, Charlie Payne, when contesting the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire this week.

Petch, from County Durham, sealed the BTRDA Gold Star title for the first time, driving a Ford Fiesta WRC at Woodpecker Rally in Wales early this month, but says missing the Trackrod was never an option.

North Yorkshire dairy owner Payne, meanwhile, has won the Trackrod Forest Stages Rally for the past two years and is targeting a straight hat-trick – achieved only once previously on the event, by Chris Mellors between 1994 and 1996.

The rally takes place tomorrow and Saturday, and will again feature Malton rallying legend Steve Bannister who, like Payne, is bidding for a consecutive hat-trick of victories in the Historic Cup.

Petch said: “It’s the one I look forward to every year – it’s my local rally, it’s very fast and it’s the one everyone wants to do.”

The Forest Stages event runs parallel to the Trackrod Historic Cup, for the eye-catching cars of yesteryear, which begins on Friday evening and forms the final round of the Mintex MSA British Historic Championship, where another epic battle is expected.

In total, about 150 vehicles will take to the forests near Pickering to tackle five different stages, with the fast and furious Dalby test being run twice, as it kicks off proceedings in spectacular fashion in darkness on Friday night for the Historic competitors.

Petch’s success in the BTRDA Championship comes 25 years after his father Steve – starting 10 cars further back in a slightly lower specification Fiesta S2000 – took the crown in a Subaru Impreza.

Last year, Petch finished just 22.8 seconds behind Payne’s similar Fiesta, while 12 months before that, he was again right up his North Yorkshire rival’s exhaust pipe entering the penultimate stage when he was forced out by mechanical failure.

The 33-year old Durham driver did win the Forest Stages section of the rally in 2013, this time outpacing Payne by 36 seconds, and stresses this latest chapter is likely to be as close.

Petch said: “Charlie’s local too so I suppose it’s always nice to get one over on people you know well.

“I guess there is a bit of rivalry between us.

“Last year I suffered with misfiring problems all day and the year before I think I was guilty of over-exuberance.

“I had a couple of ‘offs’ and finally broke the car!”

“Last year I was in the R5+ whereas this year I’m in a full World Rally Car - the 2016 version but built for the World Championship and so probably made to a higher quality and thus more reliable.”

That reliability has led to Petch clinching the BTRDA Championship with a round to spare (the Trackrod) and also taking the MAXXIS MSA English Rally Championship.

The Historic Cup features cars built before 1986 and is split into categories dependent on age.

Builth Wells-based title holder Jason Pritchard has taken maximum points on the last three rounds of the British Historic Championship in a Ford Escort, to now stand just three points ahead of the similar vehicle driven by Cheltenham’s Nick Elliott, the previous series leader.

Whichever driver finishes ahead will snatch the title, with Pritchard gunning to be the first man to take it three years in succession.

Multiple Scottish champion and Malton hero Bannister is bidding for a straight hat-trick in the Historic Cup.

But he faces a high-class field including, in addition to Pritchard and Elliott, the runner-up from 12 months ago Steve Bennett (Ross-on-Wye), Mark Bentley (Newton) and Adam Milner (Malton) – all but one of last year’s top six finishers – with Ripon’s former BTRDA Silver Star champion Matthew Robinson threatening to upset the Escort brigade in his distinctive Fiat 131.

The oldest driver is likely to be Cleckheaton’s Bob Bean, 77, in a Lotus Cortina similar to the one he first peddled almost half a century ago.

These vehicles from what is often called “rallying’s golden era”, plus a handful of competitive Armed Forces and civilian Land Rovers, set the weekend’s action in motion on Friday.

They will assemble along The Beach, Filey, around 6pm for a spectacular parade, before being flagged off at one-minute intervals, amid a ceremonial start.

Following a leisurely run out to the forests, when statutory speed limits must be observed, the competitive action starts with an 11.58-mile stage in Dalby Forest prior to an overnight halt.

The following morning they join up with the more modern cars contesting the Trackrod Forest Stages for a further five tests in the neighbouring Langdale, Staindale, Gale Rigg and Cropton forests before another potentially decisive run through Dalby Forest – adding another 45 competitive miles.

Spectator areas are provided in Dalby and Cropton with full facilities, while the finish will be along Filey Beach Road from around 3pm on Saturday.

The organisers ask all spectators to remain in designated areas and heed requests made by marshals.

The 40th running of the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire also forms a round of numerous single-make and regional title races, such as the Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship, DMack ST Trophy, The ANCC Chonka Stage Rally Championship, The ANWWC Forest Rally Championship, the ANECCC SG Petch Stage Rally Championship and the MG ZR Rally Challenge.

Further details, including up-to-date entry lists, are available at www.rallyyorkshire.co.uk and www.facebook.com/trackrodrallyyorkshire