A high quality field headed by last year’s winner Jock Armstrong and reigning champion Davie Bogie will line up in Inverness for the opening round of the MSA Scottish Rally Championship on Saturday February 19th. Some 100 crews have entered for the ever-popular Arnold Clark/Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally, which will be played out over 44 miles of forest stages north of the Highland capital.
As well as a roll-call of SRC regulars, the event sees the return to competition of former BRC front-runner/turned TV rally pundit Robbie Head.
As always, conditions will be key to the outcome of the opening round. Twelve months ago Armstrong and co-driver Kirsty Riddick mastered the ice and snow to post an emphatic victory in their Subaru Impreza.
This season, reigning Group N champion Armstrong will compete in the “open” class as he challenges for the Scottish title, after losing out to Bogie in 2010.
For his part, the Dumfries-based champion will use the “Snowman” as a “shake-down” for the following weekend’s Rallye Sunseeker, the opening round of the British championship.
The 23-year-old, who will again be partnered by Hawick co-driver Kevin Rae, sat out last year’s SRC opener but is targetting a strong finish this time around in his Evo 9.
“I’d like a clean run on the Snowman, and get some points in the bag. I’ve done it twice before, and it’s a fantastic event. However, we missed it last year, and that rather put us on the back foot”.
Fellow south-west of Scotland driver and third-seed Mike Faulkner is also on a mission to push for top honours this season in his Evo 6, alongside long-time navigator Peter Foy.
Their 2010 season was dogged by mechanical woes, with Faulkner finishing fourth in the drivers’ points.
“As ever you start the season with only one aim and certainly everything we’ve done over the winter has been about how we can win the championship. We’ve stripped the car right back and rebuilt it, gone through everything with a fine toothcomb, hopefully to get the reliability as well as the speed”, said Faulkner.
The Cumbrian crew of Paul Benn and Richard Cooke return to action in their Ford Focus WRC 01 as fourth seeds, ahead of the Evo 9 of leading Borders driver Euan Thorburn, who will be paired with Paul Beaton from Inverness.
In 2009, Reay Mackay notched up a famous “Snowman” victory in an MG Metro 6R4, alongside fellow Fort Augustus competitor Robert MacDonald. This time out the pair will contest their home event in a Subaru Impreza WRC – the car in which Mackay won the final round of last year’s Scottish Tarmack Championship.
Hotly tipped young driver David Wilson from Alness was pushing for podium places throughout last season – taking a well-deserved third place on the RSAC Scottish. He resumes his SRC challenge with top navigator Dave Robson from Jedburgh.
The stages around Tain and Lairg will again resound to the bark of local favourite Andy Horne’s Metro-based DAM 4100 Gti, as he and co-driver Jim Howie look to build on successes achieved last year, following a dismal season in 2009.
They are followed off the start line by the respective Evo 9’s of SRC regulars Donnie Macdonald/Keir Beaton and Malloch Nichol/Robert Lumgair, who round off the top ten seedings.
There is much anticipation about the return of Robbie Head at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo 9, partnered by experienced Borders-based navigator Claire Mole. The Lanark driver last competed in Scotland on the Speyside stages in 2005, finishing fourth.
In the words of Mike Faulkner: “Robbie will bring a new dimension to the championship which can only add to the quality of the series. It’s really good to have him in the mix”.
Escort Mk2 maestro Calum Mackenzie has made the switch to an Evo 8 for the “Snowman”, co-driven by Alan Clark, and the Inverurie-based competitor reckons it will take time to get used to the new car.
“I think it’s going to be a case of going backwards in the results initially, and that will hurt, but hopefully with experience we can set some decent times later in the year”.
The move means that the only 2-wheel drive competitor seeded in the top 20 is Malcolm Buchanan from Lewis in his Escort Mk2, with Ian Nicoll on the notes.
For several talented young drivers, the “Snowman” will be something of a steep learning curve – among them Aberdeenshire’s Stevie Brown, who will make his 4-wheel drive debut in a Subaru Impreza, co-driven by Andrew Roughead.
“I’ve only ever done the Snowman once in 2007 – my first year of rallying – in a wee Vauxhall Nova”, said Brown: “But that was the year we went on to win the 1600 Championship and the Colin McRae ‘If In Doubt…Flat Out’ award so hopefully it’s a good omen!”
Wigtownshire duo Fraser Wilson and Steven Broll are also making the move to 4WD – switching from the Vauxhall Nova in which they won Class 2 in 2010, to a newly acquired Mitsubishi Evo 6.
Graeme Schoneville heads the 1600 contingent in his Honda Civic, while reigning Scottish Junior Champion Peter Stewart from Dumfries will be back out in his Ford Fiesta ST.
There will be plenty to whet the appetite as crews are flagged off from rally HQ at the Thistle Hotel in Inverness.
However, it will also be a time for reflection, as competitors, officials and spectators remember Jimmy Girvan, who lost his life on the McRae Stages last September.
The “course car” will be the distinctive Subaru Impreza in which the popular Invernessian and Highland Car Club stalwart won the second of his two Scottish crowns in 2008. Details can be found at the event website www.highlandcarclub.co.uk.
ARNOLD CLARK/THISTLE SNOWMAN RALLY – TOP 20 SEEDS
1 Jock Armstrong (Castle Douglas)/ Kirsty Riddick (Haugh of Urr) Subaru Impreza
2 David Bogie (Dumfries) Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
3 Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge)/ Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6
4 Paul Benn (Cockermouth)/ Richard Cooke (Keswick) Ford Focus WRC 01
5 Euan Thorburn (Duns)/ Paul Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
6 Reay MacKay(Fort Augustus)/Robert MacDonald(Fort Augustus)Subaru Impreza WRC
7 David Wilson (Alness)/ Dave Robson (Jedburgh) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
8 Andy Horne (Inverness)/ Jim Howie (Kilmarnock) DAM 4100GTi
9 Donnie MacDonald (Inverness)/ Keir Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
10 Malloch Nicoll (Dundee)/ Robert Lumgair (Letham) Mitsubishi EVO 9
11 Robbie Head (Lanark)/Claire Mole (Paxton) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
12 John Morrison (Conon Bridge)/ Peter Carstairs (St Andrews) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
14 Calum MacKenzie (Inverurie)/ Alan Clark (Glasgow) Mitsubishi Evo 8 MR
15 Bruce McCombie (Banchory)/ Michael Coutts (Torphins) Subaru Impreza
16 Dougal Brown (Inverness)/ Lewis Rochford (Inverness) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 4
17 Malcolm Buchanan (Uig)/ Ian Nicoll (Forfar) Ford Escort Mk2
18 John Rintoul (Leven)/ Jim Rintoul (Ceres) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8
19 Steven Campbell (Inverness)/ Ian Arbuthnott (Forres) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5
20 David Newall (Mid Calder)/ Peter McLean (Edinburgh) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8
– Credit: Robin Wyllie SRC Press Officer/www.scottishrallychampionship.com