NORTH Yorkshire rally fans are in for more thrills weekend as the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally begins in the county’s forests.

The three-day event features more stage miles on Friday evening than in the 2012 race, more miles in Kielder Forest in Northumberland on Saturday, and a sting in the tail over the Scottish border on Sunday.

The RAC Rally, like the recent Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, starts at the Pickering Showground on Friday with 35 miles of stages in Dalby Forest on the first night.

Saturday’s leg takes in double runs at spectator stages in North Yorkshire – at Duncombe Park and at Croft, near Darlington – before a stage in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, and 25 stage miles in the main block of Kielder on the way to an overnight halt in Carlisle.

Sunday’s leg of more than 80 stage miles will be similar to the 2012 route, which drew widespread acclaim as a tough day in the Scottish borders before the ceremonial finish at Brampton near Carlisle.

Seeded at number 12 in a Ford Escort are Paul Griffiths with Richard Wardle reading the maps. Wardle, from Pickering, has recently returned from the Isle of Mull Rally where he finished sixth overall.

Navigating for Charlie Taylor is Pickering’s Steve Bielby, in a Ford Escort Mk 2. Over the years this pairing have had good top 10 results on the RAC Rally.

Martyn Hawkswell, from Barton Hill, with co-driver Nick Welch will be going flat out for a class win in their Red Mk 2 Escort. Hawkswell has won the very competitive G4 class for the last two years.

Alongside the main event is the Peregrine Print Night Rally and seeded number one is Steve Magson and new co-driver Richard Boyes, again in their new Ford Mk 1 RS2000 Escort which debuted in the Malton Forest Rally.

Other Malton Motor Club entries for the Peregrine include Mat Smith and Giles Dykes in their Ford Ka, Darren Smith, who will be navigating for Marcus Tomlinson in a Ford Escort, Mike Kent and Miles Cartwright in a Sunbeam 1.6 Ti, and Amanda and Derek Cornforth, in their quick Ford Ka.

Full spectator information can be found at the www.racrally.org website.