Peter and his yellow Celica ready to rally again

The experienced rally driver and his co-driver Ken Hind will get back behind the wheel of the yellow Toyota Celica in the 2022 Lazer Rally of the Bay this weekend after the cancellation of the 2021 event.

Mr Thompson has been driving rally cars for more than 30 years, and this will be his fifth time in the Batemans Bay event.

"I enjoy the competition and the fun of getting out there and giving your car a run," he said.

"I've always rallied in a Toyota Celica, a classic car. It's pretty standard, so unfortunately we're not very competitive, but it's fun to get out there.

"To finish the rally and not have any incidents will be reward enough for us."

The Rally of the Bay is traditionally competitive race, and that's expected to be no different this year as it is part of the State Rally Championship.

Mr Thompson said he couldn't speak to the experience of the drivers in the top cars, but said he found driving rallies "exhilarating".

"I'm sure for the guys up the front it's 120 per cent concentration because they're doing 200 plus down some of those roads," he said.

"My little Celica will be lucky to do more than 130, but that's plenty fast enough.

"It's exhilarating because you're driving as fast as you can, and the only limitation is your own ability. When things go right you feel like you're in a rhythm, and it's quite satisfying."

COVID-19 has played havoc with rally calendars across the country. Prior to the pandemic, Mr Thompson and Mr Hind competed in at least three races each year.

"We do a rally up in Orange each year, and there's a rally coming up in Narooma in September," he said.

"We may end up doing another one before the end of the year, but we haven't worked out our schedule. We try to do three or four rallies each year, and there's always quite a few on offer."