Official: Higgins gets WRC car for Rally GB.

Three times British Rally champion Mark Higgins will drive a VK Vodka Kick-backed Ford Focus WRC car on Britain's round of the FIA World Rally Championship when Wales Rally GB takes place in early December.

Driving the Ford Focus WRC 05 normally driven by former National champion Steve Perez, the Wales based Manxman will be in with a shout of major honours on the three-day event which gets underway at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on December 1.

The 35 year old wrapped up the 2006 British Championship on the previous round meaning he was free to contest Britain's biggest motorsport event in a state-of-the-art world championship car and Perez duly obliged, much to Higgins' delight.

"I'm absolutely delighted that Steve has offered me his car and I'm not planning on wasting the opportunity, that is for sure," said Higgins prior to jetting out to Australia. "It will be great for the fans to have a couple of us Brits in with a shout of doing well and it could well be a throwback to the good old days when Colin McRae and the late Richard Burns were up at the front. I see no reason why we can't be challenging but as anyone knows, you need an awful lot of luck as much as anything on Rally GB but at least I have the tools to do a good job. It's down to me now and I'm relishing the chance."

For Perez, the chance to see his car up at the front was too much to resist: "Mark needed a competitive car and he's helped me so much in my own career that I didn't think twice about offering him the use of mine. In my opinion, he's the most talented driver we have in the UK and it's a crying shame he's not in the World Championship. Maybe a good showing on Wales Rally GB will open a few doors for him and he has an opportunity to remind the factory teams that he's in the shop window," said Perez, whose company has also backs the VK Stobart Ford Focus WRC of youngster Matthew Wilson in this year's World Rally Championship.

Higgins will be co-driven by Irishman Rory Kennedy over the 17 special stages which includes the ceremonial start and finish at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as well as the classic forest venues including Resolfen, Brechfa and Crychan in South Wales.