TWO days left before two hours of pain on the streets of Ringwood.

Three training rides with Cliff Polton and his loyal band of pedal car enthusiasts, and a couple of solo sorties across the Purbeck hills now seem scant preparation for Sunday’s trial of strength.

My brief spin in car number 26 for a Daily Echo video report now seems a very long time ago, and I spend idle moments searching my memory for any face-saving data gained from that brief, first impression.

Sleep is broken by turbulent dreams in which I am unable to evacuate the car in mid-race changeovers, and find myself doomed to another 30 laps or so of the Ringwood town centre circuit.

Some comfort has been gained in two on-air chats with Wave 105’s Andy Jackson, who blithely confessed to having done no training whatsoever.

But his cheery admonition "We’ll have you" may hint at a deeper level of preparation than that to which he will admit on air.

In stark contrast to the physical preparation of its media participants, organisation of the race continues with military precision.

A concourse d’elegance will be held under the jubilee lamp in the town’s Market Place at 10.45am tomorrow (Saturday 12).

This beauty pageant for pedal cars has a serious function. Awards for appearance translate into grid placings, with the best-looking machines lining up ahead of less-attractive designs on race day.

Race director, Cliff Polton, and committee member for press, Paul Allis, have decided upon an F1-style pre-race press conference on Sunday.

The purpose of the media briefing is to free Cliff from the insatiable demands of the press in the last precious hours before he relinquishes the duties of race director and assumes those of four-wheeled gladiator.

Race organiser, Jim Stride, has made a call for volunteers to help prepare the circuit on Sunday morning. Hardy souls should meet in the Market Place at 8am.

New recruits, or those eager to add to their early-morning efforts, will be needed at 5pm to remove barriers and allow Ringwood to resume its function as a bustling market town. A "debrief" in one of Ringwood’s excellent pubs will follow.

Marshals are needed for crowd control and to help extricate the occasional stricken competitor from the wreckage of their pedal-powered contrivance when things go horribly wrong. Volunteers should report to the Furlong Centre at 11.30am for a briefing from race day chief, Steve Fowler.

Anyone enchanted by this year’s event and keen to help out with future races, can contact Cliff Polton on 01425 620062.