The sound of engines purring and the smell of burning rubber will soon be taking over Carlisle.

This weekend marks the return of the Pirelli Carlisle Rally, one of the most anticipated races on the British Rally Championship (BRC) calendar.

The race is celebrating its 40th anniversary and has been much-loved fixture in the city, providing locals and residents with a unique chance to get up close and personal with professional racing drivers.

The occasion’s pageantry usually takes over the city centre but this year organisers have decided to switch the starting line and team base to Rosehill due to a series of roadworks.

But it doesn’t mean that the starting point of the race will be any less of a spectacle, as Ed Graham, the rally’s media manager explains: “By far the best place for the public to come and see the competitors in Carlisle is the H & H Borderway Auction Mart at Rosehill. That’s where all the activity takes place with the entire 27-acre site transformed into a giant rally service area.

“All the cars will be on display as the mechanics work on them, getting them prepared for the two days of rigorous action up in Kielder Forest and it’s a great opportunity for the public to chat to the drivers, take photographs and collect autographs and souvenirs, they can also obtain a rally programme. There will be activity all day tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.”

The rally does not just bring out local racing enthusiasts. People travel from all over the country to catch a glimpse of the action.

And Mr Graham says that the rally has built up such a loyal following, concerned fans were contacting the organisers in the wake of Storm Desmond to double check the event would still go ahead in Carlisle.

“We had no plans to desert the city and we’ve worked hard with Carlisle City Council and hoteliers to put this on. There’a a tremendous influx of people looking for beds and we think we’ve got them all sorted,” he adds.

Before the rally cars zoom off into the forest stage, the Pirelli factory in Dalston Road, Carlisle, will be hosting the ceremonial start of the event and has invited a number of VIP guests. Those guests will be treated to a tour of the factory, see a stunt driving demonstration and meet the drivers who are about to start the rally.

Once that event has concluded, the racers will make their way back to Rosehill for the official start of the rally.

The first cars away are the historic competitors at 8am on Saturday morning and they will return about 1.30pm. They will then have their presentation in the exhibition hall at Borderway Mart.

The modern cars competing in the BRC leave Carlisle at 12.30pm and will return about 5.30pm, restarting on Sunday morning at 8am with the prize-giving, complete with champagne spraying, taking place around noon.

Colin Glover, the leader of the city council, says the rally brings a host of benefits with it.

“The Pirelli Carlisle rally is an important event for our city and it brings a real focus to Carlisle on a national and international stage,” he says.

“It’s always great to welcome the drivers, teams and their support crews to Carlisle. It helps to profile the city and shows off the things we really do well. The city is noted for doing events well and the Pirelli rally team has worked hard to continue running it and I know that last year they started working the day after the last one finished.

“It also brings a lot of economic benefits because of the participants booking out hotels and restaurants and their families often travel here to visit them and it brings a lot of fans. Many of them stay overnight and everything like that helps the city and the businesses here.”

And Mr Glover believes that the city’s relationship with the rally is here to stay.

“It’s a well-established event and we look forward to working with the teams to make sure it continues as a fixture in the Carlisle calendar,” he adds.

Glenn Patterson, the manager of the Carlisle-based DMACK rally team, says: “As a round of the BRC, the Pirelli Carlisle Rally has a prestigious place on the UK sporting calendar and is well attended by drivers from the UK and Europe. The event is a huge challenge with stages traditionally run across Kielder Forest – it has as a fearsome reputation among rally drivers with fast gravel roads that really punish any mistakes. DMACK driver Elfyn Evans leads the championship so we will be pushing hard again this weekend for another rally victory on our team’s home event.”

Weekend events – see Cumbria Live