Championships still to be settled in cross Border battle on the Final Round. – Motorsport UK Scottish Rally Championship

18th October 2023

Championships still to be settled in cross Border battle on the Final Round.

The KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship has reached crunch time. 1 round remains and the destiny of several titles still hang in the balance as the circus descends on Carlisle for the Carlisle Stages Rally.

The destination of the Overall titles comes down to a 2-team shootout. Jock Armstrong & Hannah McKillop have been at the top of the standings all year in their Subaru Impreza, but victories on the previous 2 rounds have dragged the Rally2 Fiesta of David Henderson & Chris Lees back into contention.

If Armstrong & McKillop finish ahead of Henderson & Lees they will be crowned Champions.  Only a maximum points score will guarantee Henderson & Lees the Championship as a team, however David could still win the Drivers title if he finishes as low as 3rd in the SRC but ahead of Jock.


There’s an equally big battle for 3rd, good mates and big rivals John Wink & Michael Binnie head into the final round tied for 3rd. If both slip up Mark McCulloch is waiting in the wings and could still snatch the final podium position with a maximum points score.


In the Autoshop 2-wheel drives, Driver’s championship leader Peter Stewart isn’t on the entry list in his Peugeot 208. That means MK2 pilot John Crawford can snatch the title with a win in these forests. Harry Marchbank is already guaranteed the navigator’s title and will be stepping into Greg McKnight’s 2.5 litre Escort for this weekend.


The Moates Offshore Junior navigator’s title is yet to be decided. Greg Alcorn is in the box seat alongside Scott Gourlay in their Peugeot 205. Kerrie MacGillivray is still in with an outside chance if the 205 strikes problems, Kerrie alongside David Wilson in the BMW Compact as usual.


Jordan Anderson just needs a finish in his Impreza to wrap up the Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup driver’s title. If he makes a mistake Mike Moates can join his navigator Gary McDonald as champion for the 2nd year in a row.


Last but certainly not least, the Ladies driver’s title comes down to a 1v1 between Aileen Forrest & Meghan O’Kane. Tied on points coming into this round, things are slightly in favour of the purple Evo when dropped scores are considered. Meghan needs a win to take the title in her Fiesta, so she will definitely be pushing the car as hard as she can; while Aileen will be looking to bounce back after retirement on the Galloway Hills.


With the Albyn Garage Challengers title already decided, new champions Scott Peacock & Craig Wallace are out for a lap of honour in their Evo 8 and with Richard Stewart not entered Jim Robertson is guaranteed the Haddo Energy Super Seniors title in his Escort. Jim will be getting some last-minute testing in for the Roger Albert Clark Rally in November.


In addition to the categories several of the classes are still up for grabs.

All the action takes place on Saturday the 21st of October over 6 stages in the Kielder Forest complex with stages on either side and even straddling the Scotland-England border. Keep an eye on the KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship Facebook page for updates and live coverage throughout the day.

Current Championship points tables can be viewed on the website here

The full entry for the Carlisle Stages Rally – which is also the final round in the British Historic Rally Championship – can be viewed/downloaded here with live results available on the day from here.

Spectator information is available from the event website here.

Live coverage from the event is scheduled to be shown on the SRC Facebook page from stage 4 (10:46) and stage 7 (14:37).

images courtesy of AF Motorsport Media