Next month’s RACMSA Rally of Scotland (7-9 October) has attracted one of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge’s most exciting entry lists of 2011 with the top eight drivers in the current championship standings plus home heroes Alister McRae and David Bogie all set for a high-speed battle on the star-studded event.
A record 38 international entries – 26 of those in the IRC’s top car class – from 17 different countries have registered so far for the event. Among them are the top eight drivers in the current IRC standings.
This year’s Rally of Scotland is the penultimate round of the high-profile IRC that this weekend is in action in Sanremo, Italy. Two weeks later the globetrotting series will arrive in Scotland for its only UK round of 2011 with spectacular high-speed action on daunting gravel surface stages through the forests of Perthshire and Stirlingshire. The event is recognised as one of Scotland’s top international sporting weekends of the year and, with one and a half times normal championship points on offer, it could prove pivotal in the IRC title battle.
Starting from Stirling Castle on the Friday (7 Oct) and finishing at Scone Palace on the Sunday (9 Oct), the event’s route will total more than 1000 kilometres – 800 of those will be on main public highways through surrounding towns and villages as some of the world’s top rally drivers and cars share the roads with everyday motorists and their vehicles while en route to timed competitive stages in nearby forests. Throughout both Friday and Saturday and overnight into Sunday, all cars will be held and worked on by the teams at the event’s Central Service Park at Perth Airport.
Reigning champion Škoda will have a major presence with 11 of its mighty Fabia S2000s entered – among them are those being driven by the Czech Republic’s Jan Kopecký, Belgium’s Freddy Loix and Finland’s Juho Hanninen, the current top three in the IRC standings. Hanninen won last year’s Rally of Scotland and is the defending IRC Champion. Furthermore, Norwegian ace Andreas Mikkelsen, runner-up in Scotland 12 months ago, is also in his regular Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000 (Škoda UK has just confirmed it will be the event’s Official Vehicle Supplier for a third consecutive year).
Rival Peugeot’s hopes lay with Britain’s top IRC driver Guy Wilks from Darlington – currently seventh in the IRC standings and who won 2009’s event in Scotland – as well as France’s Bryan Bouffier and Belgium’s Thierry Neuville, winners earlier this year in Monte Carlo and Corsica respectively.
Lanark’s McRae (pictured on 2010’s event) will handle the Proton which he has driven to huge success on the Asia-Pacific rallying scene. Dumfries-based Bogie, recently crowned the 2011 Scottish Rally Champion and also currently leading the MSA British Championship, will be in his faithful Mitsubishi. Both can expect huge support from the partisan Scottish crowds out on the stages.
In addition, highly professional crews representing Ford, Subaru, Citroen, Renault and Honda are also on the entry list.
Andrew Coe, Chief Executive of International Motor Sports which organises the Rally of Scotland, commented: “We are delighted to have attracted such a phenomenal line-up of teams, drivers and cars. This is fantastic news for all of our partners, the many local motor clubs and volunteer marshals and officials who play such a vital role in the smooth running of the event. And of course for the thousands of public – be they die-hard fans of the sport or casual observers – who will be attending the weekend.”
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland, added: “This year’s impressive line-up of drivers clearly shows how highly regarded the Rally of Scotland is by the professionals. It’s an endorsement of Scotland’s credentials as the perfect stage for international rallying for drivers, spectators and also the many thousands of people who will watch this impressive competition on TV around the world.”
Adding to the action on Rally of Scotland, 25 entries have been received for the supporting National event that will follow hot on the heels of the IRC’s stars on Saturday’s and Sunday’s stages and which represents an opportunity for many club-level crews from across the UK to shine on an international stage.
After its Ceremonial Start from Stirling Castle on the Friday (7 Oct), this year’s Rally of Scotland heads straight into its first two competitive timed stages in the dark of Carron Valley on the Stirlingshire-North Lanarkshire border. The Saturday (8 Oct) sees classic stages in Perthshire such as Craigvinean, Drummond Hill and Errochty all run twice. The Sunday (9 Oct) sees the drivers return to Carron Valley before two more new tests in Stirlingshire, Loch Chon and the hugely challenging 26km High Corrie – each will be run twice. They will then head back into Perthshire for the event’s final two stages and Ceremonial Finish in the majestic grounds of Scone Palace.
Admission is £20 per public vehicle per stage with the exception of Sunday morning’s Carron Valley stage which is £10 per vehicle.
For Rally of Scotland stage locations and start times during its three days (7-9 Oct) see the Spectator section on the official www.rallyofscotland.com website. The site’s homepage also provides a taste of what is in store in just over two weeks’ time with a short, dramatic video – compiled by IRC broadcaster and promoter Eurosport – of 2010’s Rally of Scotland.
Official Entry List: 2011 RACMSA Rally of Scotland
No., Driver (NAT), Car (Category)
1. Bryan Bouffier (FRA), Peugeot 207 2000 (IRC)
2. Jan Kopecký (CZE), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
3. Freddy Loix (BEL), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
4. Thierry Neuville (BEL), Peugeot 207 S2000 (IRC)
5. Juho Hanninen (FIN), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
6. Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
7. Guy Wilks (GBR), Peugeot 207 S2000 (IRC)
8. Per-Gunnar Andersson (SWE), Proton Satria Neo S2000 (IRC)
9. Alister McRae (GBR), Proton Satria Neo S2000 (IRC)
10. Toshihiro Arai (JPN), Subaru Impreza (IRC)
11. David Bogie (GBR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (IRC)
12. Toni Gardemeister (FIN), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
14. Karl Kruuda (EST), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
15. Patrick Sandell (SWE), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
16. Jarkko Nikara (FIN), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (IRC)
17. Craig Breen (IRL), Ford Fiesta S2000 (IRC)
18. Robert Barrable (IRL), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
19. Alastair Fisher (GBR), Ford Fiesta S2000 (IRC)
20. Jonny Greer (GBR), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
21. Matthias Kahle (DEU), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
22. Marco Cavigioli (ITA), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (IRC)
23. Fumio Nutahara (JPN), Subaru Impreza (IRC)
24. Jason Pritchard (GBR), Subaru Impreza (IRC)
25. Burcu Çetinkaya (TUR), Škoda Fabia S2000 (IRC)
26. Arman Smailov (KAZ), Subaru Impreza (IRC)
27. Euan Thorburn (GBR), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (IRC)
28. Jean-Michael Raoux (FRA), Renault Clio (IRC 2WD)
29. János Puskádi (HUN), Honda Civic Type R (IRC 2WD)
30. Martin Kangur (EST), Honda Civic Type R (IRC 2WD)
31. Harry Hunt (GBR), Citroen DS3 (IRC 2WD)
32. Mark Donnelly (GBR), Renault Clio (IRC 2WD)
33. Peter Taylor (GBR), Renault Clio (IRC 2WD)
34. John MacCrone (GBR), Ford Fiesta (IRC 2WD)
35. Molly Taylor (AUS), Ford Fiesta R2 (IRC 2WD)
36. Alex Laffey (GBR), Ford Fiesta R2 (IRC 2WD)
37. Tony Jardine (GBR), Ford Fiesta R2 (IRC 2WD)
38. Ruary Mcleod (GBR), Ford Fiesta R2 (IRC 2WD)
39. Graeme Schoneville (GBR), Honda Civic Type R (IRC 2WD)