Entries for October 4’s Chris Kelly Rally are already at capacity, organiser Manx Autosport has confirmed.

The one-day event will offer eight special stages and 54 competitive miles on some classic closed-road stages in the centre of the island, with central service at Jurby airfield.

More than 70 crews have placed entries in short order since they opened at the end of last month.

Around a third are from island-based crews, while other notable entries include the VW Polo GTi R5s of Mark Kelly and John Stone and Aaron McLaughlin and Frank Wray from Ireland.

Other significant contenders include Niall McGonigle from Northern Ireland in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 and Welshman Damian Cole in his Citroen C3 Rally2.

Among the prominent two-wheel drive entries are the rapid Ford Escort MkIIs of Oliver Davies, Darren Atkinson and Bradley Carroll along with the crowd-pleasing three-litre Ford Escort G3 of Lee Edwards.

Local entries include the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IXs of Maxx Bradshaw, Sean Kelly and Steven Colley.

Manx Autosport’s Mark Ellison said: ‘We're delighted that the entry has justified the work going on to bring a second stage rally back to the roads of the Isle of Man.

‘The compact format for the Chris Kelly is proving popular, and we look forward to welcoming both local and travelling crews to this event.

‘If anyone still wishes to enter, it is certainly worth putting an entry in because we may well have a few withdrawals between now and the date of the rally.’

Documentation and scrutineering will take place at the TT Grandstand on Friday, October 3, before the rally base moves to Jurby for Saturday.

The competitive action will start at around 9am, with the first car due back at the finish at around 4.30pm.