Scots Sec to fight for RallyScotlandposted in RSCOT07 | 09 | 2011
"THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION by motorsport to the Scottish economy is huge, and it is something perhaps we should pay more attention to." These are not the words of a diehard Scotish motorsport fanatic who spends his weekends fluctuating between Knockhill and the forest rally stages, but Michael Moore, the Secretary of State for Scotland.
At a time when Scottish motorsport again looks like entering another purple phase, Mr Moore, though based deep in the political bowels of Westminster, is keen to proudly fly the Saltire when it comes to success on four wheels.
"We have Bathgate's Paul di Resta in Formula One, Dumfries rally driver David Bogie on the verge of winning the British Championship, Dario Franchitti edging closer to another IndyCar title, and a clutch of new, younger drivers coming up through the ranks," he said.
"Scotland has long had a reputation for outperforming itself on the world motorsport stage, certainly when it comes to its size and population, and it's something I'm keen to ensure continues."
At a time when Scotland's young drivers are struggling to gather sponsorship to fuel their progress, Mr Moore acknowledged their difficulties and admitted Scotland should be doing more to support them.
Colin McRae Vision joins RallyScotland
"Countries such as Ireland, France and Finland, to name a few, all invest in sporting assistance to produce their future motorsport stars," he continued.
"These are matters which my colleagues in the Scottish Government have to wrestle with; they're juggling with all sorts of priorities, and I respect that fact.
"But I certainly intend to take it up with colleagues in the two different governments to say 'are we doing everything we can to support these guys in the appropriate way?'"
Mr Moore, it should be stressed, is no stranger to motorsport in Scotland.
While his direct involvement behind the wheel of a vehicle has so far been restricted to an outing in karts at Knockhill where, according to the Scottish Secretary, he "didn't bother the scorers," his constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk does host the UK's biggest single rally, the Jim Clark Rally.
And the Scottish chartered accountant is only too aware of the benefits the June event has brought to his electorate.
"When the plans for the Jim Clark were first mooted, there was a fair bit of negativity," he explained. "But when people in the Borders suddenly realised the millions of pounds it was bringing to the area, it made a lot of people sit up and take notice."
Of course, as soon as money is mentioned in any walk of life, people tend to stand up and take notice.
Next month sees the third and final year of the current deal which sees RallyScotland, the UK's only round of the Intercontinental Rally Championship, go ahead in forest stages around Perth and Stirling.
The three-day event — which has annually generated £1.2 million of economic impact and more than £2m in media coverage for Scotland — is backed by both VisitScotland and EventScotland.
Organisers are currently locked in talks aimed at extending the contract through to 2015 when, despite what might be said in Wales, the current round of the World Rally Championship could be switched to Scotland.
Paul di Resta gears up for second 'home' race
In a frank exchange, the Scottish Secretary made it clear he's more than willing to fight the corner on behalf of RallyScotland.
"One of my little mantras is that the Scottish Government and the UK Government have to work closely with each other to ensure we're delivering the best for Scotland," Mr Moore, who attended the latest rounds of the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill at the weekend, stated.
"Although I can't obviously get involved in the actual decision-making regarding the future of RallyScotland — that's a devolved responsibility — I'm certainly happy to have the conversation with colleagues in Holyrood.
"In terms of helping to explore issues and making the case to extend RallyScotland's future, I'm signed up to that.
"As for the World Rally Championship; again that's a commercial decision which has a number of different aspects to it, but there's no lack of ambition in Scotland.
"We know the Welsh Government has put a lot of money into this in recent years. We have to get all the conditions right for it to happen in Scotland, but let's make the case."
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Jim McGill
CAPTION: Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, with Dalgety Bay's Gordon Shedden at the British Touring Car Championship triple-header at Knockhill.