… Brick and Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge …
… It Has Been A Long Winter for Budding Junior Rally Stars …
The countdown to the start of the 2014 Brick & Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge season has started. The first event in this popular car rally Championship for 14 to 17 year olds will take place at Kames Motorsport Complex at Muirkirk in North Ayrshire on Sunday 20th April 2014.
The excitement is mounting for all the Junior crews because it has been a long 5 months since the last competitive event of 2013. Cars have been changing hands over the winter break and several drivers have upgraded their machinery. Several new and ‘old’ drivers have taken advantage of structured ‘learning opportunities’ at Kames and Knockhill over the past couple of months and drivers are now well prepared for the season ahead.
Championship Co-ordinator David Barlow commented: “This will be the third year of the Championship and we are looking forward to another very competitive and safe season of motorsport. There are a few new things this year and we look forward to working with some new Junior rally drivers and those who are back from 2013.” David added: “One of the great joys of the job we do is seeing youngsters grow and develop and move on into the ‘senior’ world of rallying. From our first two years, 9 Junior drivers have ‘graduated’ because they reached 17 years of age and all but one have carried on their career in rallying. This is quite an incredible success rate!”
The 2014 Championship will consist of 8 events and for the first time, there will be events at Knockhill Race Circuit. One of the highlights of the season will be the trip down to Kirkcudbright for the Solway Coast Junior Rally in August. This is an extremely popular event and this year, for the very first time, all three UK Junior 1000 Championships will compete on the same event. So Junior drivers and their support crews from Scotland, England, Wales and N Ireland will descend on Dundrennan Base on 10th August.
Scottish crews will then join English and Welsh crews in Anglesey for the two day final round on 1st / 2nd November. Another very exciting and challenging experience awaits the young drivers to round off what we hope will be a great season of Junior rallying.
Returning 2012 and 2013 Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge Champion and 2012 Kick Energy Junior 1000 Championship Champion, Alex Vassallo, commented: “Coming into this season with three Championships under my belt is obviously good for my confidence. My aim this year is to win the championship again and set a benchmark of four Junior Championships for future Junior 1000 participants to match or beat. The Junior 1000 competition is still developing and I am part of that development so I hope that this year proves to be better than any other. That will really put me in good stead for my first senior year in 2015. ‘Vassallo Motorsport Team’ has really enjoyed its time in the Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge and we have decided it will be the sole Junior 1000 championship I compete in this year. Bring on the stages!”
There will be 16 stages on the day with the first getting underway at 09.00 Hrs. There will also be a few bigger cars and older crews taking part with Nigel Feeney debuting his new Subaru and Jordan Black will debut his new Citroen C2.
Kames April Rally and Junior Rally 2014
Entry List:
1, Nigel Feeney/Paula Swinscoe (Subaru Impreza) 1998cc, Class 4 (GWF Energy/Rallytech Composites)
2, Colin Gemmell/Christopher Hunter (Subaru Impreza) 1998cc, 4 (Wurzel Motorsport)
3, Graham Bruce/Cammy Fair (Mitsubishi Evo) 2000cc, 4 (Wurzel Motorsport)
4, Niall Thomson/Catherine Robertson (Citroen Saxo VTR) 1589cc, 2 (Ecosse Peugeot)
5, Derek Connell/Laura Marshall (Vauxhall Corsa) 1388cc, 1 (Central Garage)
6, Jordan Black/Ewan Leeming (Citroen C2) 1585cc, 2 (Onestop Motor Engineers/Tunnocks)
7, Lindsay Taylor/Lewis McDougall (Peugeot 205Gti) 1580cc, 2 (MFP Technology Services)
8, Alex Adams/Harry Marchbank (Nissan Micra) 998cc, 1 (Angelwax/Chameleon Metal Coatings/RST Heating & Plumbing)
9, Iain Stewart/TBA (Austin Mini) 1380cc, 1
10, Robert Iveson/Les Golding (Peugeot 309) 1580cc, 2
11, Stuart McBride/David Connell (Vauxhall Nova) 1297cc, 1 (Connell Motorsport)
91, Alexander Vassallo/TBC (Citroen C1) 998cc, J
92, Michael Dickie/Martin Forrest (Toyota Aygo) 998cc, J (Landform Ltd)
93, Dylan O’Donnell/Tom Middlemiss (Nissan Micra) 998cc, J, (Heating 4 U/Nexus Signs)
94, Andy Struthers/Andrew Falconer (Nissan Micra) 998cc, J (Curtis Bros Fitness Studio)
95, Michael Robertson/Phil Sandham (Toyota Aygo) 998cc, J (Conservatory Roof Converters/Container Team SCO)
96, Craig MacIvor/Paul Beaton (Nissan Micra) 998cc, J (Culloden Car Sales/Carbuyingmachine.com)
97, Sandy Fairbairn/Colin Reay (Nissan Micra) 998cc, J (JWG Miller/Walker Groundworks/St Boswells Mowers)
98, Brodie Balfour/Ian Nicoll (Toyota Aygo) 998cc, J (Ecosse Tourers/Balbeggie Steel/Bridgeforth Engineers)
99, Brandon Walsh/Ian Shiels (Citroen C1) 998cc, J (Brandon Motors)
910, Dale Kelly/Peter Weall (Nissan Micra) 1000, J (Curtains By Elaine/Alba Power)
911, Harris Wilson/Craig Wallace (Nissan Micra) 998, J
912, Harry George Chalmers/TBC (Nissan Micra) 1000, J
913, Cameron Russell/Martin Murray (Nissan Micra), 1, J