IT is confirmed that New Brighton will once again feature as a Special Spectator Stage on the opening round of the Mobil 1 Top Gear British Rally Championship, in association with the Motoring News, The Vauxhall Rally of Wales.

Following on from the success of last year's spectator stages on Kings Parade, Wallasey Motor Club and Wirral Leisure Services & Tourism have been approached by rally organisers C&A Motor Club and event sponsors Vauxhall Motors to host the rally's opening day spectator stages.

Rally HQ will be at The Village Hotel, Bromborough, and rally starts from Bromborough's Croft Industrial Estate.

Wallasey MC and Wirral Leisure Services will be acting organisers for the stages.

The Rally will start on early Friday morning, March 14, taking in its normal route through the North Wales Forests during the day.

Competitors will eventually wind their way back to the Wirral for a brief service & change onto tarmac tyres and then on to the two Special floodlit Spectator Stages at New Brighton that evening.

The Stages are specifically slotted into the rally timetable to start at around 8pm on the Friday so as to allow rally fans enough time to make it to the Wirral after work.

Further details will be published in the Globe nearer the time.

In the meantime, if you have any previous experience of marshalling, contact Wallasey MC's Chief Marshall Ian Roberts on 327-7039.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.