An Oxfordshire rally crew are making final preparations for the first Lombard Revival Rally.

Alastair Barnes, of Harwell, and Simon Ayris, of Witney, who are taking part in a Vauxhall Astra, set themselves a goal from the outset to purchase, build the car, pay for the entry and all other costs within a budget of £2,500.

The car, which started off as a basic Vauxhall Astra is now complete with roll cage, uprated suspension, full harness seat belts, a fire extinguisher and a list of modifications within the rules to help the car survive what lies ahead.

Barnes, drove in the 1993 RAC Rally so the Vauxhall Astra that he and Simon will be competing in will be one of only 28 cars out of the whole entry sporting the red door numbers.

The rally has been organised by Philip Young and his team from The Endurance Rally Association, based at Blewbury. They specialise in running this type of event known as endurance rallying, which has its own specific set of rules.

All the competing cars are restricted to 1400cc petrol engines with modification limited to safety not horsepower. The competitors are not allowed any outside help during the rally and carry any spares and tools they may need in their car. The event is aimed at clubmen and has been put together to emulate the Lombard RAC Rally from the 1970s and 1980s and early 1990s.

The pair have been busy preparing the rally car since February of this year, shortly after they both found out about the event. A decision to take part was made within 24 hours after reading the first information they had seen.

Barnes, franchise manager of Fish Brothers Kia at Swindon who is driving the car, said, "If it wasn't for the extreme effort put in by Philip Young we wouldn't have such a fantastic challenge to look forward to.

"We hope that all of our hard work and late nights building our rally car will help us achieve a good finish. Who knows, if we are really lucky there is absolutely no reason with all of our rallying experience between us why we can't even win!"

Ayris, who works at Kernahan MG Rover of Witney said: "I first went along to watch the Lombard RAC Rally in the 1970s with my father. I can remember wondering how I could one day take part in such an event, well at last here it is!" Both have a wealth of motorsport knowledge having competed at grass roots level and up to international level and see this as an excellent grounding for the challenge which lies ahead.

They both thanked Martin Kernahan, of Kernahan MG Rover of Witney, for the unlimited use of one of his workshops to build the car, Steve Claridge Motor Salvage, Pete Parry Signs and Witney Tyre and Exhaust Specialists for all of their help along the way.

Lombard last sponsored the RAC Rally in 1994 ending a partnership that started in 1960. They have recently offered their support once more to this event, which means all of the competing cars, will again carry the Lombard name on the doors. To identify "past masters" of the RAC Rally the organisers will be supplying red door numbers to any of the competitors who have taken part in the RAC Rally before.

The rally starts on Wednesday, November 24, in York at 7.30 am and takes the 115-strong entry through the Yorkshire forests and then towards Scotland and the infamous Kielder forest, the largest man-made forest in Europe.