A STAR-STUDDED cast will be looking forward to a Cambrian challenge this weekend.

One of the most eagerly anticipated British Rally Championship seasons in recent times gets underway on Saturday in the forests of North Wales as the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally kick-starts an exciting first encounter of the new season.

The popular one-day Llandudno-based event offers up some of the best stages in the world, with classic stages like Elsi, Gwydyr, Penmachno and the Great Orme favourites on Wales Rally GB.

Now the famed forestry tracks and picturesque ribbon of Tarmac will become the gauntlet for the opening round of the BRC, as a stellar cast are set to go head-to-head against the clock over 50 competitive miles.

Getting the event underway and leading the BRC runners will be defending champion Matt Edwards in a brand-new Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2.

The local star won his home rally last year and will have the honour of carrying the number one on the side of the M-Sport-backed machine on the stages just a stone's throw from his Llandudno home.

With 2018 co-driver Darren Garrod back in the co-driver seat, Edwards will be gunning for a hat-trick of BRC titles – a feat achieved by nobody else in the series’ 62-year history.

Whilst Edwards is keen to get off on the right foot, several drivers will be hoping to spoil his homecoming as they prepare to lock horns and do battle on the challenging Welsh gravel.

Tom Cave, who pushed Edwards on every stage on every event last season, will renew his rivalry with his fellow countryman once again in 2020.

The driver from Aberdyfi will pilot a Hyundai i20 R5, but this season will be joined by the vastly experienced Dale Furniss in the navigator's seat. Cave has finished runner-up in in the BRC on a number of occasions and will be seeking his first title come the Galloway Hills at the end of the year.

For details on the Cambrian Rally's stages and route, go to cambrianrally.co.uk