Clive Wheeler has set his sights on making a successful defence of Volkswagen's Castrol Polo Challenge.

The championship gets under way next weekend with the Gateshead-based Pirelli Northumbria Rally, part of the British Rally Championship's Pirelli International weekend, with a host of drivers from Britain and Scandinavia going head to head in identical 1.4-litre Group N Polos.

The competition is regarded as Britain's best breeding ground for new driving talent and at stake are some major prizes. In addition to cash awards for strong finishes in each of the seven rounds, the overall champion will drive away in a new Polo road car.

The man hoping to be at the wheel of that prize Polo for the second year in succession is Albourne-based Wheeler, the reigning champion and former sparring partner of England's only world rally champion, Richard Burns.

Wheeler, 46, won the Polo Challenge in 2002 with his Rycliff-backed car after being pipped at the post the year before. He and his Hurstpierpoint-based co-driver Ken Bartram won three rounds of the championship outright and must start this season as favourites.

He said: "It's going to be as competitive as ever this year and that's why I enjoy the Polo Challenge so much.

"There are a lot of good drivers in the championship and it's certainly not going to be an easy job to win it again. We'll be giving it our best shot though."

One of Wheeler's toughest challengers is Sophie Robinson, the Listers-backed driver who is also returning for her third shot at the championship.

The 28-year-old from Warwickshire was fourth in 2001 and third overall last season. Two other drivers return from last year's Polo top ten - Paul Green, from Essex, who is joined in the cockpit by experienced co-driver Martin Kernick, and Liverpool's Tony Simpson, who has been taking instruction from RAC Rally winner Pentti Airikkala.

Matt Hartfield is hoping to follow in his father's footsteps.

Hartfield, from Laughton near Lewes, has just qualified for the second round of the ProSpeed Motorsport Rally Scholarship.

The competition offers the prize of driving a fully prepared Group A 206 rally car for ProSpeed Motorsport in the Peugeot 206 Winter Cup. The team provides everything from car hire, co-driver hire and service crew, petrol, tyres, entry fee and insurance - worth £20,000.

Hartfield, 25, has qualified for the second round on June 24 and from there six drivers will be invited back for the final round when a winner will be chosen based not only on driving ability but attitude, interview skills and potential.

Paul Hartfield, Matt's father, has been rally driving for a number of years and Matt said: "I used to co-drive for him and did that for several years.

"I thought I wanted to get involved with the sport for myself but cost and time was something I could not spend.

"The opportunity to get involved with the ProSpeed Scholarship was great and I thought I would give it a go. It would be great to win it."

Meanwhile, Sam Corke impressed spectators on his maiden outing in the British Superbike Series at Snetterton.

The Uckfield rider had entered as a wild card but he proved himself to be more than just there to make up the numbers by qualifying as the leading privateer on the grid and in doing so he also qualified ahead of factory-backed rider Nick Medd of Renegade Ducati.

Corke did not finish the race and, with a damaged bike, was unable to compete in the second race of the day but he gave a good account of himself after making a good start.

He said: "I was following Hawk Kawasaki riders Lee Jackson and Scott Smart when I noticed that they were braking too early for the corners.

"As I had to brake harder, the rear wheel was leaving the ground, which isn't a problem, but I then lost control on some debris that was on the track and that was that."

Corke was competing on a four-year-old Yamaha R1, which he is mainly funded out of his own pocket, so to get the bike on the grid in the position he did was a feat in itself.

This weekend he is competing in the MRO Championship at Oulton Park, which he will use as practice for the forthcoming British Superbike Privateer Championship that begins at Oulton on May 5.

Anyone who can help him with sponsorship should call Corke on 07779 634791.

Also at Snetterton last weekend, Lingfield's Tommy Hill secured his second podium place in as many rides this season when competing in the Yamaha R6 Cup.

Hill, who had finished second at Silverstone in the first round of the series, qualified a disappointing 14th but rode really well to finish third.

With a full factory ride with the Virgin Mobile Yamaha team up for grabs for the winner of this championship, Hill is joint leader going into tomorrow's race at Thruxton.