The roar of rally cars is set to return to the Yorkshire coast this weekend as the prestigious Trackrod Rally Yorkshire gets underway, with around 170 crews gathering in Filey for the major sporting event.
Organisers say the rally brings thousands of visitors to the region, filling hotel beds and showcasing the area's scenery to a vast online audience.
Rally press officer Paul Lawrence says that this year's event features competitors from across Europe.
"We've got a fantastic entry, 170 cars or thereabouts coming from all over the UK, even from Ireland, and even from Belgium.
The big two elements of the event is the historic section, which is the final round of this year's British Historic Rally Championship.
And then we have the event from modern cars, which is round six of this year's B-T-R-D-A rally series.
And we're delighted to say we've got a big Yorkshire involvement in both elements of the rally. "
Paul says the action kicks off on Friday evening in Filey, where the public can see the cars up close.
"Friday evening we have a ceremonial start on the Filey Sea front from seven o'clock onwards when the historic crews and about 80 cars will be lining up and they'll be flagged away on the road to the first special stage, and that's all free and it's on the main sea front drive in Filey.
And then on Saturday afternoon, the winners will be coming back there from around about 4:00 PM for the celebrations and the usual champagne spray as well.
And Filey is all free access, all you've gotta do is find somewhere to park and wander down to the sea front. "
Following the start in Filey on Friday evening, the historic contenders will head into the darkness of Dalby Forest for a challenging 11-mile special stage.
Paul Lawrence says the forest stages are a legendary part of the UK's rally scene.
"
Dalby Forest for anybody with an interest in rallying Dalby is a legendary location for forest rallying and has been for 50 years and more.
And so the cars will be in there on Friday evening from around eight o'clock, and then again from mid-morning on Saturday.
Lots of spectator facilities on the scenic drive that goes up from Thornton-le-Dale, lots of parking, a little walking, what we call the woodyard, lots of safe and good spectating and a great atmosphere. "
Organisers say they have had to make changes to this year's route following the moorland fire at Langdale, Paul LAwrence says they hope to be back there next year.
"We've had to rework the route this year to avoid Langdale forest, obviously due to the ongoing issues with the moorland fires that have been burning and the event has worked hard to fit in with all the requirements of the local authorities and the fire brigade and so on 'cause obviously that's a much more important situation than running the rally.
So we will miss not using the Langdale stage, but hopefully this time next year, that will all be good and we'll be back in there again."
On Saturday, the competition continues with a full day of action in stages including Dalby and Cropton, with the restart located at the NY500 cafe near Pickering.
There is significant local interest across both competitions. The Historic Cup features a head-to-head battle for the Category 3 title between two local drivers, Dan Mennell from Malton and Paul Thompson from Driffield, both in Ford Escort Mk2s. They will be joined by Malton rally legend Steve Bannister, who is celebrating his 50th year of competition.
The event will conclude back in Filey on Saturday afternoon, with the first crews expected to arrive on the seafront for the ceremonial finish from around 4 pm.
The public is welcome to watch the celebrations, which will include the "usual champagne spray," with access to the events in Filey being free of charge.
Spectator details can be found at https://www.rallyyorkshire.co.uk/spectator-information/
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