Reigning Scottish Rally Champions David Bogie and Kevin Rae took their first ever victory in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship as they won Rallye Sunseeker International, the new opening round of the British Isles premier rally series. The win is extra special for the pair, as it is the first for a Scot in the British Rally Championship since Alister McRae took a win on the Scottish Rally in June 1997.
As points follow places on the first round, their lead in the championship puts them in the enviable position of leading both British and Scottish series, having won the first round north of the border last weekend.
“It’s been a dream of mine to win a round of the BRC for ages,” he said at the finish on Bournemouth promenade; it means a huge amount to me. We had a great day but had a big scare three stages from home when we got mud on the screen. By the time it cleared we were flat out in fifth half way across a field!”
They ended the eleven-stage rally, based in Hampshire and Dorset, twenty two seconds clear of nearest rivals Tom Cave and Craig Parry, having been less than three seconds ahead early in the day.
Despite the ding-dong battle at the front going Bogie’s way, Cave was pleased with his debut in the British Rally Championship. The Welsh youngster took three fastest stages times in his Mitsubishi and led the event after the second stage. But with just one event in the car before tackling the tricky south of England stages, he reckoned there was much more to come.
“The rhythm was good but in the end David (Bogie) was just too quick. We enjoyed the rally and I think we’ll have a good result if we take the same approach in Wales.”
It was the Welsh who took the final podium step; Pirelli Star Driver winners Elfyn Evans and Adndrew Edwards making their competitive debut in their prize drive Subaru. The pair set some excellent stages times throughout the day, stopping the clocks ahead of everybody on stage ten, but his sensible approach to this fantastic prize opportunity meant a finish was his priority – job done.
Overall Classification:
01) David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX R4) – 1:00:44.4
02) Tom Cave/Craig Parry (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X R4) – 1:01:06.2
03) Elfyn Evans/Andrew Edwards (Subaru Impreza R4) – 1:01:11.8
04) Adam William Gould/Seb Marshall (Subaru Impreza R4) – 1:01:18.7
05) Daniel Barry/Rory Kennedy (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X R4) – 1:01:49.8
06) Jonathan Greer/Dai Roberts (Skoda Fabia S2000 R4) – 1:02:12.7
07) Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly (Skoda Fabia S2000 R4) – 1:02:30.7
08) Tom Clark/Alistair Wyllie (Subaru Impreza N15 R4) – 1:04:25.1
09) Alan Carmichael/Phil Clarke (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4) – 1:05:16.3
10) Siim Plangi/Marek Sarapuu (Renault Twingo R2) – 1:06:31.0
– Credit: www.rallybrc.co.uk