Paul Alexander (Kings Langley) travels to Bournemouth next weekend (25th/26th February), where his assault on the 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship begins on Southern Car Club's Rallye Sunseeker.  Partnered once again by Mike Panes (Cardiff), Paul will be at the wheel of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII in which he led rallies on his final two appearances in the 2004 rally season.

  Prepared by Nottingham's SRM-Racing, Paul's Mitsubishi will be resplendent in striking blue colours in deference to new title-sponsor, PURE Digital - the UK consumer electronics company that started the DAB digital radio revolution, and has more recently dominated the worldwide DAB market.

  Paul Alexander said, "Welcoming any new partner is obviously great news for an amateur team such as ours, but to have a world leading company such as PURE Digital as title-sponsor is a massive boost. We've also attracted a number of new technical partners to the team, so we've got the best support possible for the season ahead”.

  Held on private estates and forest tracks around Ringwood and Wareham, Rallye Sunseeker will be contested by perhaps the best field ever assembled on a UK National rally, including 23 World Rally Cars, an array of Group-A machinery, and around 30 Mitsubishis.  The rally begins with two spectator-friendly tests through the famous Winter Gardens and Promenade.  Introduced last year, these Friday evening tests are expected to attract around ten thousand fans and, along with the rest of the rally, can be followed on GlobeCast Radio via Sky digital channel 907 or at www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk.

  Mike Panes added, "We have fairly modest expectations for the first few events of the season, as we are still testing the winter modifications made to the car and still have a number of changes we plan to introduce during the season.  However, we think we may surprise a few people as the year progresses, and are confident we can secure a strong position in the Championship standings”.