Manx Auto Sport, organisers of next months Pokerstars Rally have announced their intention to run midnight stages as an exciting headline feature of the event. The closed roads rally takes place on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd July, and the proposed test includes classics Tholt-e-Will, Brandywell and Druidale, linked by a section of the famous TT course across its mountain section. It will be called ‘The Mountain Stage’. The 12.6 mile test will be run twice subject to final confirmation from local authorities, back to back, as a middle section to the event, shouldered by four stages earlier on Friday night and a further six from mid-morning on Saturday. In total the event offers a superb 110 stage miles for an entry fee of just ?320! Other stages in the fabulous route include Marine Drive/Old Castletown Road and St Marks/Back of the Moon twice each on Friday night. Saturday’s takes in three runs each of the Crosby backroad/West Baldwin/ Injerbreck/Brandywell Cottage/Sartfield and Little London roads and a return to Druidale/Brandywell in the opposite direction from the previous evening. It’s a real taste of the very best of rallying on the Isle of Man! The rally forms a qualifying round of three championships: Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship Fuchs Titan Race ANCC Stage Rally Championship SD34 Stage Rally Championship In addition however it provides an ideal, and crucially affordable, opportunity for competitors from Britain’s leading championships seeking to familiarise themselves with the islands roads before October’s Rally Isle of Man. All stages are used more than once, which the organisers hope will make it an ideal testing opportunity, and there are several other factors to help visiting crews: The club have arranged ferry and hotel packages for the event, with details available from the club’s website, www.manxautosport.org, along with entry forms and regulations. There are also ferries available from Ireland covering the event, travelling from Dublin on Tuesday 19th and Belfast on Wednesday 20th, returning to Dublin on the Sunday, 24th. There are two recce options available to crews, either the weekend before, 16th & 17th July, or the Thursday/Friday 21st and 22nd July. Scrutineering and documentation takes place on Thursday evening (21st), and there is centralised servicing at the TT Grandstand throughout. The event will be completed by a lively presentation get-together on Saturday night. All in all it’s a timetable that has all the ingredients for a great weekends rallying on some of the most famous roads in the sport! MC-Video will be filming the event to feature in the Motors TV ‘Special Stage’ programme. Entries close at the standard rate this Friday, 8th of July, so act now and join us! UK crews seeking further information can also contact Overseas Liaison Officer Rob Fagg on +44 7624 480101 or via e-mail on robert@robertfagg.com ENDS