This year's National Rally, jointly organised by the BMF and the ACU, has been extensively revamped to cater for any bike, any rider and any one of a number of routes.

This unique road event, attracting over 1,300 competitors last year, is to be held over the weekend of 5th/6th of July and is open to all riders with a full motorcycle licence and costs just £20 to enter.

Riders can choose routes of 200 to 540 miles to complete in 20 hours, but to combat rider fatigue and keep the event fresh, a number of new elements have been introduced.

Spread widely throughout England, the one hundred plus controls have now been split into four zones, with the three outer zones (North, South and East) open from 14.00hrs to 24.00hrs on Saturday 5th and the inner zone open from 22.00hrs Saturday to 10.00hrs Sunday 6th. Riders competing for trophies must ride in one of the outer zones, plus the inner zone.

To encourage Classic riders and smaller machines, a new class to be called 'The National Medal' requires riders to only complete in one zone covering 200 official miles. Competitors can therefore start and finish closer to home if they wish as they do not need to visit the final control at the famous Uttoxeter Race Course, Staffordshire.

As well as being invited to support the Mencap charity through personal sponsorship, clubs are also being encouraged to take part with a new trophy to be awarded by Carole Nash Insurance to the club whose members amass the most points and Castrol, who are sponsoring Mencap's involvement, will also award a trophy to the rider who raises the most money for Mencap.

These new awards join the existing ones for: Overall champion; Best 125cc; Best Scooter; Best Sidecar outfit; Spirit of the Event and Oldest Rider & Machine.

Regulations and Entry Forms are now available from the ACU on 01788 566409 or you can download them from the official web site www.national-rally.co.uk. Around three weeks before the event, a route/control matrix map will be sent to all the entrants and it's then down to you to work out your route and the award that you're going for.

The MotorBikesToday.Com editorial team will be taking part in this year's event, and the plan is that we're "Going for Gold". We'll be starting from a control somewhere in the south of England, and we hope to see you all at the final control at Uttoxeter Racecourse.