The best condition ever for the special stages is how Colin Heppenstall, rally manager for the Roger Albert Clark Rally, has described the stages for the 2009 event following a major route survey at the end of September.Heppenstall drove the entire stage route and believes that competitors are in for a real treat as the gravel stages will be in prime condition for the 13-16 November event.
"The stages in Kielder and Scotland have all been re-graded since the last rally," said Heppenstall. "It is the best I've ever seen these stages and the Scottish stages have had four months to settle since they were re-graded."
Heppenstall was also able to report superb conditions in Greystoke Forest, which is used twice on the afternoon of the second day. Heppenstall confirmed that the stage has just been completely re-graded to a very high standard, ahead of the 13-16 November event.
Meanwhile, with exactly a month to go before the rally starts in Pickering, entries for the main event and the five support rallies continue to build. With a surge of entries expected in the final countdown towards the rally, the main event already has a 45-car field with at least another 10 entries expected. Entries are also coming in for the support events:
The Kall Kwik Rally, which runs in Yorkshire on Saturday;
The De Lacy Night Rally, which runs in Kielder on Saturday night;
The Clubman's Rally, which runs on Sunday in the Ae complex;
The Greystoke Challenge on Sunday afternoon;
The Kielder Challenge on Monday.
For more details about the Roger Albert Clark Rally, and the five support rallies, please visit www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org
