Not only is the Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship incredibly strong at the top end of the field, but it is also very well supported throughout all the classes, with many crews looking to start their season on a high.
Class C1
Taking the C1 win on his 1st taste of gravel rallying it was an excellent day for Alan Scott on his home event. Expertly navigated by Shaina Archibald the MG3 pilot was absolutely loving the loose and his hired car, taking 40th overall and the best improvement in seeding award into the bargain. With the more familiar tarmac of the Jim Clark Reivers up next this combo should continue to be one to watch.
Class C2
Scott Gourlay & Greg Alcorn were sampling their 205 with it’s newly upgraded engine for the 1st time. Very happy with the performance of the new powerplant they took things easy through Cooper Park before stepping the pace up once they were in the woods. 45th overall at the finish was a solid way to start their season, another crew looking forward to the Jim Clark Reivers next time out.
Class C3
Just 8 seconds ahead of Gourlay’s 205 Allan MacDowall was back in his Pinto-powered MK1 Escort, joined in the hotseat this time by Ian MacDougall. Having done a lot of work on the car over the winter Allan was very pleased with how the car was going, finding it quite manageable on the loose despite the slippy conditions. They almost threw it all away with a big moment on the final stage but survived to take 44th overall
Class C4
David Wilson was another to have put in a lot of work on the car over the winter, moving the big BMW back into clubmen spec and was pleased that it was actually a better car to drive. Joined this year by Kyle Gordon they were right on the pace, shadowing the 2wd leaders and lying 14th after 4 stages. Unfortunately a damaged exhaust in stage 5 saw their afternoon attack stymied but they nursed the car home to 24th overall.
Class C5
Taking 1st blood in the Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup and class C5 drivers, reigning Cup champion Jordan Anderson was very happy at the finish. He spent the day actively enjoying the slippy conditions, the red Impreza was seen at some properly sideways angles during the day on the way to 30th overall.
Taking the co-driver’s honours Ewan Lees enjoyed a solid day out navigating Graeme Sherry around in their newly acquired Impreza. Adapting to the new car they took things easy in the slippy conditions, grabbing 43rd overall at the finish.
Class M1
Christopher Smith & Amy McCubbin were making their 1st ever gravel start in their very tidy Vauxhall Corsa. Christopher was enjoying the woods but the morning saw them struggle for pace while dealing with a couple of issues. Those were sorted in service for the afternoon and their times vastly improved. With the tarmac coming up they’ll be a crew to watch in both class and Junior battles going forward.
Class M2
Out for the 1st time in Scott Peacock’s MG ZR Lewis Haining & Eoghan Anderson would take top honours in both the class and the Moates Offshore Juniors. Still learning the gravel game the MG pilot briefly visited the scenery on the middle loop as he tried to get a comfortable setup in the car. Happier with it by the end of the day, they were satisfied with 46th overall at the start of Lewis’s 1st full Scottish season since his days in the Junior 1000s.
Class M3
Michael Philip & Laura Dawson spent the day building their pace in their MK2 Escort, getting quicker with each passing stage. Unfortunately for them a 2 minute time penalty put a dampener on things, dropping them from 50th overall on stage times to 61st in the final standings.
Class M4
3rd 2wd car home Paddy Munro & Andrew Stevenson started steadily in the morning but were quickly on the top 2wd pace. 16th overall and the M4 win was a solid start to the season, the blue Escort sounding amazing out in the woods and definitely in the conversation for most entertaining in the eyes of the spectators.
Class M5
Making a return to the gravel after some time away, Greg McKnight was reunited with Harry Marchbank in the immaculate yellow Escort. Despite a small misfire out of tight corners playing on their mind Greg & Harry were loving life, finding the car really suited the stages. 12th overall at the finish, the 2wd category win by 36 seconds and 1st in class marked an excellent comeback to the SRC for the former 2wd champions.
M6
Challengers sponsor Simon Hay & Calum Jaffray returned to the SRC after some time away in their Evo 6. Taking a little bit of time to get back into the swing of things they enjoyed a day long battle with Brett Mckenzie & Barry Young. 19th overall and the class win was a good return to the championship, Simon saying “the old car did nae bad” and “the old man in the passenger seat did nae bad as well”.
M7
Topping the class and taking an excellent 5th overall the Speyside was a solid start to the year for former champion Jock Armstrong & new navigator Owen Paterson. Mixing it with the R5s and Rally 2s as always the new partnership was immediately on the pace and was never outside the top 10 times all day. Jock very satisfied with his new navigator’s performance and with the prospect of a new car arriving for the next round, 2024 looks like an exciting season for the team.
H1
Keith Robathan & David Law had made good progress over the 2023 season with the development of their historic-spec Firenza and that work had clearly continued over the winter. The car looking and sounding the sharpest it has so far in the SRC on the way to 38th overall and 2nd historic car home, mixing it with the more potent Escorts. Keith is known for his abilities on tarmac so look for the gold car to be just as competitive on the Jim Clark next time out.
H2
Donald Peacock & Mairi Riddick continued from where they left off in 2023, taking the class H2 win along with 1st historic car home. They survived a big moment early on, almost parking the MK2 in the same ditch that claimed Freddie Milne & Max Freeman. Mairi pushing Donald harder than she has before, saying he was even breaking a sweat in the stages which isn’t that regular an occurrence. 34th overall at the finish was a good start to their season.
Pro 2
2nd 2wd car home, Robert Proudlock & Steven Brown made it 2 fantastic weekends in a row after an excellent result at the Severn Valley Stages in Wales. Using the Speyside to continue learning their new Peugeot 208 they made some setup changes to the brake bias in the morning and were very happy with the results. Absolutely flying, they were mixing it with R5s and big Escorts alike on the way to 14th overall, top Challenger and Pro 2 class win.
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