Border Counties Rally: Full report/resultsposted in SRC21 | 03 | 2011
DUMFRIES RALLY ACE David Bogie heads to the second round of the British Rally Championship, the North Wales-based Bulldog International Rally in less than two weeks full of confidence after clinching his this win of the year in Jedburgh.
The 23-year-old double Scottish champ was again the class act in the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, the second round of this year's Scottish Championship. Bogie, who had won both the opening rounds of the Scottish and British Championships, eased himself to a comfortable win.
Co-driven in his Mitsubishi Evo IX by Hawick's Kevin Rae, Bogie — fastest through all four stages — finished 34secs ahead of Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge) in an Evo VI, with Euan Thorburn from Duns third, a further 34s adrift, in his Evo IX.
"It's nice to finally tick the box of a rally I've never won before", Bogie, whose win in the Border Counties means he has now won all the individual rounds of the SRC, said. "We had a small overshoot on stage two, but other than that it's been a perfect day.
"It's a very difficult rally, with the gravel at the side of the stages punishing the smallest mistake, so we made sure we kept it clean. The new suspension on the car performed really well, and it sets us up nicely for the next round of the British championship."
In perfect weather conditions, the defending double champions were five seconds up on Faulkner and Peter Foy at the end of the opening seven-mile Wauchope stage, with Thorburn and navigator Paul Beaton a further one second behind.
Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick were fourth quickest in their Subaru Impreza, ahead of David Wilson and Dave Robson in a Mitsubishi Evo 9.
Bogie again set the benchmark on the daunting 17-mile Broomylinn test, 11s quicker than Faulkner and Foy, with Armstrong and Riddick third fastest before a broken gearstick forced them to call it a day. It was their second successive retirement on the event, following gearbox failure on the first stage last year.
Faulkner tried to keep Bogie in his sights through the third Redesdale stage, finishing the 13-miler 15s adrift, with Cumbrians Paul Benn and Richard Cooke a further 7s behind in their Ford Focus.
The final six-mile Hyndlee test proved to be the tightest of the day with Bogie pipping Andy Horne and Jim Howie in their DAM 4100GTi by a single second. Faulkner/Foy were 2s behind, while Benn/Cooke and Robbie Head/Claire Mole in an Evo IX tied for fourth fastest time, another 2s back.
Bogie's second successive SRC win puts him five points ahead of Thorburn in the overall Scottish championship drivers' standings, with Faulkner a further point behind in third.
As the champagne was sprayed at the finish in the shadow of Jedburgh Abbey, Faulkner explained how he and co-driver Foy were lucky to be on the podium.
"We were pushing hard and had a really big moment on the final stage which could have ended our challenge, but thankfully we recovered and made it through", the Kirtlebridge-based driver explained. "We just couldn't match David's pace today, but we're still on track, and will give it our all on the Granite City rally next month".
Thorburn was also satisfied with his Border Counties outing — "it's not been a bad day for us at all, but there was no catching David" — and, like Bogie, will now prepare for the BRC second round. Fourth-placed Andy Horne, meanwhile, reckoned the dry weather suited his DAM 4100GTi.
"It's been a very good day for us," the Invernessian said. "The first stage was very slippery for us and we tweaked a few things on the car, but after that we just stayed
consistent and it paid off."
Former Renault BRC works' driver Robbie Head marked his second SRC outing since returning to competition with a fifth-place finish, two places up on his Snowman result.
"We probably didn't have the best tyre choice on stage one, and then we had a bit of a tracking problem on the second stage, which made the car feel strange so I probably wasn't commiting as much as I could", the Lanark-based driver said. "However, after some adjustments, stages three and four went well, so it certainly shows an improvement."
For Paul Benn and Richard Cooke — who finished sixth — the Border Counties was their first SRC outing of the year, as it was for Evo IX pilot Barry Groundwater — "it's been a good day, and not bad after a long winter lay-off" — who was co-driven on the day by Neil Shanks.
Donnie Macdonald from Inverness was another driver who survived a major scare before bringing his Evo IX home in eighth overall, to add to his sixth on the Snowman. While negotiating a corner on the final stage, the car climbed a banking before coming back down and righting itself. However, the incident knocked the wind out of co-driver Keir Beaton and he was briefly unable to call the notes.
The Oban duo of Stephen and Kevin Lockhart — seeded 36th in their Mitsubishi Evo VII — turned in an impressive performance to finish ninth overall on their first competitive outing in six months.
The top 10 was rounded off by Stephen Petch and John Richardson in an Evo IX. Although not eligible for SRC points, the result made up for anon-finish in 2010.
In the 2-wheel drive category, Kielder specialist Steve Bannister was first on the road in his MkII Escort, and by the end of SS3 was well on the way to comfortable 2WD victory. However, the Yorkshireman made a rare error while negotiating a corner on the final stage. The Escort flipped on to its roof before spectators managed to right the battered car and send it on its way — minus the windscreen — to complete the course.
"We both knew it was a bad corner – we'd spoken about it before we went in — but we were just carrying too much speed," Sutherland explained afterwards. "I think my side took the worst of it, but we're both OK, that's the main thing."
It meant the pair had to settle for second in the "historic" class behind the Mk1 of Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne.
After a long-lay off, top Northern Ireland competitor Phillip Morrow was forced to make a last minute switch from his more familiar Evo to a hired Escort, and was rewarded with a class win alongside brother Simon.
One of the most notable results of the day was a Class 2 win for 17-year-old Greg McKnight from Dumfries, who was competing on only his second rally at the wheel of his Vauxhall Nova. With dad Chris on the notes, the youngster finished 35th overall.
There were 66 finishers, from a start list of 107 crews.
The third round of the SRC is the Granite City Rally in Aberdeen on April 16.
CLICK HERE, HERE and HERE to see some of the best video action clips from the Border Counties Rally.
Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally — Top 10 Results:
1. David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Evo IX 43 mins 33 secs;
2. Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge)/Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Evo VI 44.07;
3. Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo IX 44.41;
4. Andy Horne (Inverness)/Jim Howie (Kilmarnock) DAM 4100GTi 45.01;
5. Robbie Head (Lanark)/Claire Mole (Paxton) Mitsubishi Evo IX 45.08;
6. Paul Benn (Cockermouth)/Richard Cooke (Keswick) Ford Focus 45.24;
7. Barry Groundwater (Stonehaven)/Neil Shanks (Elgin) Mitsubishi Evo IX 46.07;
8. Donnie Macdonald (Inverness)/Keir Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo IX 46.07;
9. Stephen Lockhart (Oban)/Kevin Lockhart (Oban) Mitsubishi Evo VII 46.22;
10. Stephen Petch (Hamsterley)/John Richardson (Northallerton) Mitsubishi
Evo 9 46.43.
CLASS WINNERS
Class 2 - Greg McKnight/Chris McKnight (Vauxhall Nova)
Class 3 - Iain Haining/Mairi Riddick (Vauxhall Nova)
Class 4 - Peter Taylor/Andrew Roughead (Ford Fiesta R2
Class 5 - David Cameron/Douglas Cameron (Ford Escort Mk2)
Class 6 - Peter Smith/Russ Langthorne (Ford Escort Mk1)
Class 7 - Peter Stewart/Phil Shortt (Ford Fiesta ST)
Class 8 - Phillip Morrow/Simon Morrow (Ford Escort)
Class 9 - Ken Wood/Gordon Wood (Triumph Dolomite Sprint)
Class 10 - Donnie Macdonald/Keir Beaton (Mitsubishi Evo 9)
Class 11 - Jim Carty/Ian Fraser (Subaru Impreza WRC)
Class 12 - Paul Benn/Richard Cooke (Ford Focus)
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Jim McGill
Photo: LindsayPhotoSport