Lydden Hill will host its last World Rallycross Championship event this weekend before the meeting moves to Silverstone.

Twenty-four 600bhp Supercars have entered round five of the championship, which will celebrate 50 years of the sport.

Series promoters IMG announced in January that the annual British round will switch to the Northamptonshire Formula 1 circuit from 2018.

Reigning champion Mattias Ekstrom - who leads the standings by three points from round four victor Johan Kristoffersson - heads the Supercar entry in his factory-backed Audi S1.

“I look forward to this year, it will be the last time at Lydden for a while so I will enjoy it as much as I can and try and have a good race,” Ekstrom said.

“I always love that place for many reasons – the layout of the track and respect for the British fans.

“I have always had a lot of good experiences going there so for me it’s a combination that makes me love it.”

"I think there will be new track records there this year if it’s dry..." - Petter Solberg

Ekstrom beat double champion Petter Solberg to the Lydden victory last year, which was attended by an estimated 20,000 people.

Solberg, who won at Lydden in 2015, is third in the standings aboard his factory Volkswagen Polo GTI.

“The circuit at Lydden is very good, I have always liked it and I’ve always been fast there,” Solberg said.

“I think there will be new track records there this year if it’s dry.

“I’m looking forward to driving there, it’s a fantastic, attacking track and the car we have now is better than ever.”

Former British Touring Car champion Andrew Jordan will drive a Ford Fiesta, joining a number of wildcard entries alongside the 18 permanent drivers.

Nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb competed at Lydden for the first time last season and is currently fifth in the standings.

He said: “Lydden is a nice track, it’s not maybe the best track for our car at the moment, as we struggle a bit in the fast sections with the engine.

"But the track itself I find really nice and our car is much easier to drive than last year - we are able to be more consistent in our lap times.

"Lydden is fun to drive with fast, long corners and very interesting. It’s not an easy track but I had a good feeling when we tested before the season and so hopefully we can do good things."

"I would love to win – or at least finish on the podium..." - Dan Rooke

In the supporting classes, 13 rear-wheel-drive TouringCars will share the paddock with 16 RX2 machines.

Devon’s Dan Rooke, who holds the RX2 championship lead with Frenchman Cyril Raymond, will be gunning for his first international victory.

"It will obviously be a special weekend, but in truth, I’ve just got to tackle it like I would any other race meeting," Rooke, 19, said.

"If I start thinking too much about it being the last event at Lydden and the home crowd, I will only put more pressure on myself.

"I need to push all that to the back of my mind and simply focus on the job in hand, and of course I would love to win – or at least finish on the podium."

Circuit bosses have also arranged a number of demonstrations featuring rallycross machines from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s - including Blean-based Will Gollop’s European title winning MG Metro 6R4 - to mark the sport’s 50th anniversary.

Action starts at 9.40am on Saturday and 10.30am on Sunday. Tickets cost £35 on Saturday or £40 on Sunday on the gate. Children 12 and under go free. Visit www.lyddenhill.co.uk for details.