"Important win" for champ Bogieposted in RSCOT23 | 03 | 2014
FIVE-TIMES SCOTTISH rally champ David Bogie (pictured) led from start to finish in his Ford Focus WRC to win the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally for a third time, and chalk up his first victory in the 2014 ARR Craib Scottish Rally Championship.
The26-year-old from Dumfries, co-driven by Hawick's Kevin Rae, was fastest through four of the five forest stages to finish with a total time of 43 minutes 23 seconds, 47-seconds ahead of the Focus of Stephen Petch from Bishop Auckland. Bogie's main championship rival, Euan Thorburn from Duns, also in a Focus, finished third overall, a further four seconds back.
Because Petch, who had finished third on the event in 2013, is not registered for the SRC, the result means Thorburn — winner of last month's season-opener in Inverness — now has a two-point lead over Bogie with six rounds remaining.
While the conditions in Kielder Forest were nowhere near as treacherous as those of 12 months ago, they were still extremely tricky, with snow lying on the two opening stages. It made tyre choice difficult, and required a high degree of confidence and commitment behind the wheel.
"With the 2WD competitors running ahead of us, there were tramlines in the snow on the opening stage, but getting the braking points right wasn't easy", Bogie explained at the finish in Jedburgh.
"As the day wore on, conditions improved. We had a bit of a misfire at one stage, but it was nothing serious. Overall, our pace was pretty good, and I felt comfortable in the car. It was important we got the win".
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Thorburn, co-driven by Paul Beaton from Inverness, was second-fastest through SS2 Bewshaugh, and third quickest through the third and final stages. The Borderer admitted they hadn't had their troubles to seek:
"Stage one, puncture; the second stage was alright, but on stage three, the windscreen steamed up so we lost a bit of time right at the end because we couldn't see – it was like crawling along in first gear," Thorburn explained.
"On the fourth stage we stalled at a hairpin; and on five, which was very rough, we just drove through to get to the finish".
Jock Armstrong, who was competing for only the second time with navigator Paula Swinscoe, achieved his first finish on the Border Counties in the last four attempts. The Castle Douglas driver ended the day fourth overall, third in the points, in his Subaru Impreza.
"We had a little bit of luck today," Armstrong smiled. "There were several 'moments' which could have gone either way. The first stage wasn't easy, particularly with dislodged snow, but we were second quickest behind David.
"Once I'd got my head round the conditions, it was a case of keeping the car on the road and going for the finish. And Paula and I were really getting into the groove."
Aberdeen's Quintin Milne, runner-up on the Snowman, and winner of the Border Counties in 2013 alongside co-driver Martin Forrest, also from Aberdeen, struggled with suspension settings on his Evo IX.
"They're actually the same as those used by Barry (Groundwater) but they don't suit me," he admitted. "It makes the car too tail happy. We were first of the 4WD's into the stages, and although there was a tramline in the snow from the earlier 2WD cars, those conditions don't suit my exuberant driving style, when you need to drive a neat tarmac line with snow lying either side. We hit a chicane at one point and bashed in a rear door."
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Leading Group N competitor Andrew Gallacher, with Phil Sandham on the notes, finished a fine sixth overall in his new-for-2014 Evo IX, and was more than satisfied with the result, given the conditions.
"The stages were far from easy," Gallacher explained, "but it was the same for everyone. We didn't have any major issues. The car was down on power on the Snowman, but we got that sorted, and I think it's now running as well as it ever will."
Last year's runner-up, Stonehaven's Barry Groundwater, ended the day 18secs back in seventh overall, in his Evo, and admitted to being 'over cautious'.
"It was an OK sort of day, but I think I was affected by memories of all the ice and snow on last year's event," said Groundwater, co-driven by Neil Shanks from Elgin.
Two crews not registered for the championship – Northern Ireland's Brenden Cumiskey and Ronan O'Kane in an Evo, and Peter Taylor and Paul Hughes in a Ford Fiesta D2000 – finished eighth and ninth respectively.
The overall top 10 was rounded off by Banchory's Bruce McCombie in his 'new' Evo IX, the result adding to his impressive seventh-place on the Snowman.
"The clutch pedal went to the floor on the last stage and we had a wee problem with the turbo manifold — it went into safe mode — about four miles from the end, so we're quite lucky to be here", McCombie, who had Michael Coutts on the notes, explained. "The conditions were pretty slippy, so it's a relief to get a finish. It was a good "learning day" event".
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Newton Stewart's Mark McCulloch and navigator James Haugh were a further eight seconds adrift, eighth in the SRC points in their Subaru Impreza, after surviving an early scare which, at first service, looked as though it could end their challenge:
"It felt as though we had no boost on the first two stages — it was just going off the power the whole time — and we were all for calling it a day," McCulloch said.
"It turned out it was actually a coil lead going into the engine, and it was dropping us to three cylinders. Once that was sorted, stage three felt like a first stage for us so it took as a while to get going. The main thing is we got to the end, which we didn't think was going to happen earlier in the day."
McCulloch finished just three seconds ahead of Inverness duo Dougal Brown and Lewis Rochford in an Evo IX.
"We had a bit of a moment in the snow on the second stage and got pulled into a ditch," Brown explained. "We also picked up a slow puncture on the back right, and put on an old spare. As a result,we struggled with grip for the next two stages."
Fraser Wilson and new co-driver Jane Nicol were 16sec back in his Evo IX, to follow up on their promising start together on the Snowman. The Wigtownshire driver finished the day second in GpN in his Mitsubishi Evo IX.
Arguably the "drive of the day" went to Steve Bannister in his Ford Escort MkII. For the fourth time in recent years, the Yorkshireman, with Louise Sutherland navigating, finished as the event's leading 2WD competitor, ending the day 19th overall. The pair were the first into the stages, and, as such, had fresh snow to contend with. After a tentative start, Bannister steadily picked up the pace and subsequently came out top in the tussle with fellow historic-class Escort stalwarts Matthew Robinson and Andy Kelly.
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Lauder's Callum Atkinson, with Keith Riddick navigating, won Class 7 in a Ford Fiesta ST, while John MacCrone and Stuart Loudon in a Ford Fiesta R200 took the overall win in the 1600cc category. However, maximum championship points went to the Dalbeattie-based Vauxhall Nova crew of Iain Wilson and Keith Fremantle, who made amends after crashing out on the Snowman.
Iain Haining, with Mairi Riddick co-driving, also bounced back from a non-finish on the season-opener, with a dominant display in Class 3 in his Vauxhall Nova:
"We had a couple of minor niggles," Haining said. "The heater motor packed up and it steamed up a wee bit, and one of the bolts fell out of the rear wheel-hub on the passenger side. We heard it rattling going into the fourth stage, so we borrowed a spanner at the start and tightened them up."
Haining ended the day two-and-a-half minutes in front of nearest rivals Charles Blair and Mark Roberts, who were the top-placed Peugeot 205 crew.
"We were leading the class after the first stage, but Iain took a good chunk out of us on stage two and we decided just to take it steady and make sure we stayed in front amongst the 205's. So a really good day for us," Blair said.
Scott Macbeth from Rosemarkie, and Kintore co-driver Ashleigh Will took the victory in Class 2 in their Vauxhall Nova.
"It was my first time driving in snow, so it was a bit of a learning curve," Macbeth admitted. "The car was mis-firing a bit as well, so we'll need to get that sorted."
There were 27 retirements, among them Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy — third on the previous round — who crashed out in their Evo IX on the final stage. There were also DNF's for Portlethen's Chris Collie, who went off on the opening test in his Evo VI, and Inverness crew Donnie Macdonald and Andrew Falconer, who went out on the fourth stage in their Evo.
ARR Craib Scottish Rally Championship (Rnd 2 of 8)
Border Counties Rally – Result (Top 10 with total time):
1. David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Ford Focus WRC 43 min 23 sec
2. Stephen Petch (Bishop Auckland)/Michael Wilkinson (Tow Law) Ford Focus WRC 08 44.10
3. Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) Ford Focus WRC 01 44.14
4. Jock Armstrong (Castle Douglas)/Paula Swinscoe (Chorley) Subaru Impreza 44.43
5. Quintin Milne (Banchory)/Martin Forrest (Aberdeen) Mitsubishi EVO 9 44.52
6. Andrew Gallacher (Hurlford)/Phil Sandham (Carnforth) Mitsubishi EVO 9 46.08
7. Barry Groundwater (Stonehaven)/Neil Shanks (Elgin) Mitsubishi EVO 9 46.26
8. Brenden Cumiskey (Dundalk)/Ronan O'Kane (Dungannon) Mitsubishi EVO
9. Peter Taylor (Carlisle)/Paul Hughes (Newcastle) Ford Fiesta D2000 46.50
10. Bruce McCombie (Banchory)/Michael Coutts (Torphins) Mitsubishi EVO 46.52
The next round, the third of the ARR Craib Scottish Rally Championship, is the Aberdeen-based Coltel Granite City Rally on Saturday, April 26.
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Jim McGill
Photo: Copyright of LindsayPhotoSport