STUART Brown and Luke Peters are set to take on the best sidecar racers in the world once more on tracks spanning from Spain to Russia.

The Macc pair are ready for the start of the 2004 World Sidecar-Cross season - which is competed over 14 rounds on some of the most competitive tracks in Europe.

Brown and Peters finished in fifth position overall in 2003, improving their 2002 finish by one place and are confident they can improve once again this year.

"We would like to think we can make the top three in the world and win the British title for the third time but as always, you need a bit of luck," said Peters.

"We are using two VMC Zabel bikes, one new and last year's as a spare. We also try to be professional in our communication towards our sponsors and fans and have opened our own internet website on www.brownandpeters.co.uk ."

The pair warmed up for the season with third place in the Dutch Open - which is used by most teams as a final test for their vehicles ahead of the competition start in Spain.

"It was a good, but unexpected result," said Brown. "I didn't think we would do so well after the morning practices. This is a sand track and we're not accustomed to racing on sand."