LADIES and gentlemen start your engines will be the cry in Paisley when the Monte Carlo rally returns next year.

The Renfrewshire town has once again been confirmed as the sole UK start point for the 2017 historic rally run to the glamorous principality.

It’ll be the fourth time the town – which is bidding to be the 2021 UK City of Culture – will be the only British start point out of seven European cities for a range of historic cars to make the 1300 mile trip to the South of France.

Close to a hundred cars are expected to leave the start ramp outside Paisley Abbey at 6pm on Wednesday January 25 in three separate categories.

The Historique class is being run for the 20th year and is restricted to car models which competed in the Monte Carlo Rallies between 1955 and 1980. It will run over eight days on open public roads with the cars and crews having undertaken a series of fourteen demanding test stages in the mountains of southern France.

The Classique event is for older cars from as early as 1911 to 1980 and follows the same route to Monte Carlo but does not include any test stages, the goal simply being to finish in Monte Carlo after checking in at a series of control points on the way.

Once again the event will feature the popular Monte Heritage Runs which will follow on from the full-scale events and will take in a series of short classic routes in Scotland.

The event was officially launched this morning by Douglas Anderson, the UK co-ordinator and the man responsible for bringing the Monte back to Scotland in 2011.

He believes the 2017 start will be the best yet.

He said: “The Paisley Abbey Start will flash round the world. It is universally acknowledged as the best start in Europe and with the help of the good folk of Paisley who come out in their thousands to cheer the competitors on their way, we will keep it that way.”

Also there was one of the entrants in the 2017 event, Andrew Goodfellow from Dundee and co-driver, his brother-in-law Derek Coghill and their 1930 Austin 7 Ulster 2-seater sports which will – hopefully – complete the drive to Monte Carlo.

Andrew said: “What a fantastic opportunity this is to take part in this historic event and were both totally confident that we and the car will make the 1300 miles”