For a championship that was supposed to be on its knees, this weekend's Pirelli British Rally Championship opening round was a remarkably swift and spectacular resuscitation.

Some 43 competitive crews lined up for the start of the 2003 Pirelli International Rally, and amongst them were as many world-class British drivers as one would expect to see in any WRC event - including Rally GB - plus some exciting foreign drivers. At what other British-based rallies could you expect to see the likes of Mark Higgins, Gwyndaf Evans, Garry Jennings, Jonny Milner, Jari-Matti Latvala, Austin McHale, Tapio Laukkanen, Martin Stenshorne, Mats Anderson, Kris Meeke, Guy Wilks, Mirco Baldacci, Leon Pesticcio, Nik Elsmore and James Thompson battle through classic British forest stages, in dreadful weather, and in the best cars available?

It was a pity that there could only be one winner, such was the determination, skill and commitment of the every single crew, but – fast-forwarding to the end – Tapio Laukkanen showed why he's regarded as one of the best drivers around today by claiming the stop step of the podium from current British Rally champion Jonny Milner.

Mark Higgins, who completed a fantastic drive to bring his Super 1600 Clio to the finish only a minute behind Tapio's WRC car, after over 100 stage miles in the so-called 'Killer' Kielder forest complex, claimed third. At this point, a special mention must be made on behalf of the unfortunate Guy Wilks, who rolled his Ford Racing S1600 Puma just one kilometre from the end of the final stage whilst lying third. It was a cruel end to one of the best drives of his career.

But, back to the beginning. It's been a long wait. True, PBRC Live was a welcome relief, and a very successful one at that, but 27 October 2002 to 25 April 2003 is a long, long time to go without any real PBRC action. I don't know if rallying is any different from other sports, but it's obvious that idle minds with no competition to stimulate them tend to find other outlets – usually involving a certain amount of criticism. It's certainly been true this year, particularly whilst the new PBRC management committee found its feet before regaining the momentum that had been started last year. The continuing economic gloom hasn't helped matters either, reducing the number of sponsors prepared to invest in rallying - world-wide, not just in the UK - thus limiting the number of teams who can afford to compete in the sport at the highest level.

The cancellation of the Rally of Wales was disappointing but, with fate having played its hand, it was somehow fitting that Gateshead should once again host the PBRC's opening round. The organisers of the Pirelli-sponsored International Rally – Brian Kinghorn and his colleagues, ably supported by the Cumberland Sporting Car Club, Gateshead Council, and the Pirelli team – always do a superb job with this event (first run in 1975 as the Tour of Cumbria), and this year they brought in several new promotable features and a more compact, competitor-friendly format. City centre starts have their share of critics but, in terms of promotional opportunities and public support, a start close by the famous Millennium Bridge in Gateshead's impressive Baltic Square is about as good as it gets – and the entry list certainly bore this out.

The doom-mongers had predicted terminally small numbers and lack of excitement for the PBRC this year, but the International starting line-up - which was up on last year - conclusively proved them wrong. A very impressive 13 competitive and diverse Super 1600s were entered - without manufacturer support, apart from the ever-reliable Peugeot - consisting of the French marque's Garry Jennings at the wheel of the sole VLR-prepared works 206; last year's winner Mark Higgins making an exciting return to front-wheel drive in a new RED-prepared Renault Clio; Gwyndaf Evans in the MG ZR - an unofficial MG Sport & Racing entry, courtesy of Peter Young's Creative Media Communications company – Simon Hughes in his familiar but as yet unsponsored Clio; S-Mac's Kris Meeke in his Team Palmer Opel Corsa; Steve Hill in the very exciting Alfa 147; two Hi-Tec Fiat Puntos making their PBRC debut in the hands of Italian gravel champion Mirco Baldacci and ex-PBRC N4 driver Leon Pesticcio; four Ford Pumas – the Ford Racing entry for Guy Wilks, plus Barry Clark, Norway's Martin Stenshorne, and the Rallysport Ireland entry for Ryan Champion - and, last but not least, Mats Andersson making a welcome return to the PBRC in his Proton Satria.

Next up were the WRC/Group A cars, with the main attention being on current British Rally Champion Jonny Milner, defending his title in the familiar Team Dynamics Toyota Corolla. As always, Milner was upbeat about his chances, but well aware of the threats posed by Jari-Matti Latvala in his M-Sport Ford Focus WRC, the 18-year old Finn currently enjoying a huge reputation, but no doubt anxious to support this with some huge results. There was a late entry for Tapio Laukkanen, stepping up from Group N in which he ran last year to a Phil Morgan WRC version, as well as Julian Reynolds, Barry Johnson and Austin McHale – all in Imprezas; James Thompson, fresh from his Mondello Park BTCC wins, in his Ralliart-supported Lancer E6.5; plus local man Steve Petch in his usual Hyundai Accent WRC, John Lloyd (Impreza), ex-biker Paul Bird (Accent WRC), the promising Gareth Jones (Impreza), Dougi Hall (Lancer E6), and Richard Hopkins (Impreza). One unfortunate non-starter was Charlie Jukes, whose deal to drive a WRC Impreza fell through at the last minute.

The Production Cup runners were Neil Buckley in his Lancer E5; Nik Elsmore (Impreza); Mark l'Anson (Lancer E6); Jeremy Nolan (Lancer E5); Mike Russell (Impreza) and Tim Mason (Escort Cosworth), followed by the familiar face of Tony Jardine, co-driven by The Times F1 pundit Kevin Easson in Tony's familiar Group N MG ZR; Rob Gill and Steve Loveridge (MG ZRs); PBRC stalwart Ellya Gold (206 GT); British Ladies Rally Champion Kate Heath going for another title in her Seat Ibiza; Markus Foss (Nissan Almera),James Gloster (106 GTi); Shelly Taunt (Micra); and again, last but not least, the irrepressible Neil Burgess in his Mini-Cooper, complete with newfangled 'advertising by lights' on his wheels.