Round 5 of the Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship, the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally proved to be a big weekend in the story of the 2024 SRC season. 2 stages on Friday evening and 7 on Saturday made it a proper test of the crews endurance. With the British Rally Championship also in town, everyone was keen to put on a good performance.
Taking the win and wrapping up a 4th Scottish driver’s title it was a very good weekend for Euan Thorburn. With Keir Beaton alongside once again, the Polo pilot lead overnight despite feeling they had been pretty ragged. Overly cautious by their standards on the Saturday morning, they slipped back to 2nd after the 4th stage. Back on it for the rest of the day they regained the lead after stage 5 and held on for the rest of the day, taking the win by 26 seconds and guaranteeing Euan the Driver’s Championship. The Co-driver’s title is still up for grabs.
2nd overnight, Scott Beattie & Peredur Davies were rekindling their Scottish rally battle with good friends John Wink & Neil Shanks. The Saturday morning was excellent for the Fiesta crew, snatching the lead from Thorburn & Beaton after stage 4. They weren’t quite able to stay in front of the Polo but were firmly in 2nd, and their job was made easier when Wink & Shanks slipped off the road. 2nd for Scott on his home event was an excellent result and they’ve really showcased their pace and ability as a team once again.
After some pre-event testing at his farm, Hugh Brunton had made some setup changes to his Skoda Fabia. With Terry Mallin back in the hotseat, it was immediately clear that the changes had worked. Hugh getting quicker with every stage and recording a 1st loose surface SRC stage win along the way. After a tough start to 2024 Hugh said he was finally back in love with the gravel and full of praise for the great job that Terry had done on the notes.
9th SRC car home, it was a return to the top of the G&M Mechanical Services 2 Wheel Drive division for Greg McKnight & Harry Marchbank. The big Escort absolutely flying, and they were enjoying the chance to battle with the BRC Juniors in their Rally 4 specification cars. Greg & Harry eventually won out, taking top 2wd honours on the whole event, less than a minute up on friends & rivals Robert Proudlock & Steven Brown. The Scottish 208 crew taking the win in the BRC Juniors division.
One of the most delighted crews at the finish, it was a weekend to remember for Rob Cotton & Ethan Kidd. The Impreza crew taking the win in the Albyn Garage Challengers, the Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup and Class M6. They were another crew to make some setup changes before the event and were very happy with the results. The biggest drama was damaging the exhaust manifold towards the end of stage 6, leaving them down on power for part of Saturday. 12th in the SRC at the finish in a Cup-spec Subaru was an excellent result.
Finally making it back to the start of an SRC event a non-finish on the Speyside, it was a great return weekend for Justin Gunning & Michael Moates, the Clio crew taking the honours in the Moates Offshore Juniors. Friday night was good, Justin knocking the rust off fairly quickly and they lead the category overnight in 47th overall. The good run continued on the Saturday despite a big knock to the steering on the 2nd loop. They kept things clean and got quicker as the day went on to take 40th overall and 2nd in class Pro2.
Aileen Forrest had Paul Gribben back in the Evo’s passenger seat for this round. Friday was good, the purple car swapping times with 5 times British Champion Jimmy McRae’s MK1 Escort, Aileen actually heading the rally legend overnight. The 1st loop on Saturday was quite cautious but the 2nd suited Aileen’s driving style quite well. They saved their big drama for the final loop, overshooting a tight a tight right hander and very nearly parking the Evo on its side. Thankfully they got away with only time loss as Aileen battled to find reverse with the sequential gearbox. Aileen taking the Ladies win by just under a minute from her big rival Meghan O’Kane.
The Haddo Energy Super Seniors win eventually went to the creators of the Super Seniors, Ernie & Patricia Lee in their glorious sounding BMW. Points leaders Gordon Murray & Peter Carstairs lead overnight but were forced out early on Saturday with a blown engine. That left the BMW crew in charge, although Ernie seemed more interested in how the harvest was going back at the farm. 49th overall and 4th historic car home was a good result for Ernie & Patricia on their home event.
images courtesy of AF Motorsport Media / Becksport Media
