… 2015 Brick and Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge Winners …
The 2015 Brick & Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge was brought to a close on 28th November 2015 with the annual presentation of awards at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow. The awards were presented by 2015 ARR Craib Scottish Rally Champion Jock Armstrong.
Peter Bennett
The season started in May with the McRae Rally Challenge at Knockhill and after a further 7 testing rounds, the Champion driver was 15 year old Peter Bennett from Laighgall in Northern Ireland. After a difficult start to the season, he moved into top place after round 6 and ended the season a slim 4 points clear of his nearest rival Finlay Retson (15) from Blairgowrie. Bennett took the coveted Knockhill “Big J” Junior 1000 Trophy home to Northern Ireland with him.
Finlay Retson
Both drivers were in Citroen C1 1000cc rally cars but it was Retson who got the better start when Bennett failed to finish the first event. Retson took top slot on the second round at Crail Raceway in June and held first place in the Championship until the end of round 6. Bennett got his head down after round 2 and scored maximum points on the next 5 rounds which gave him an unassailable lead going into the final round on Anglesey. Bennett opted not to take part in the final round so that made the year’s scores 5 first places and 1 second for Bennett and 3 first places and 3 second places for Retson. But the competition had been so very close all year with both drivers showing great skills and commitment. Definitely stars of the future.
Ewan Tindall
There was another great battle going on right behind for third and fourth between Harry Chalmers (15) from Alford in his Nissan Micra and Ewan Tindall (14) from Ryton, Tyne and Wear in his Citroen C1. This was Chalmer’s second year and he held second place behind Retson until round 6 when he slipped back to third when he crashed and failed to finish. This allowed Tindall to close up to within 5 points of Chalmers going into the final round. Chalmers had another bad day on the final round on Anglesey
Harry Chalmers
finishing eighth to Tindall’s second and losing third place in the championship by 2 points. But he did hold onto first Nissan Micra driver and collected the Pearson of Duns Cup for that. Tindall was delighted to take the third driver place and First Novice award in his first year of Junior rallying. Coming from an active karting background he showed great promise right from the start – albeit an off on the McRae Rally Challenge was not a good first event – and grew in confidence as the year progressed. But Chalmers never gave up – even when the race was over on Anglesey. Two very fine young competitors with great futures ahead of them.
The Spirit of the Championship award was presented to the Kelly family. Young driver Dale (17) and his Mum and Dad have been model examples of what Junior 1000 rallying is all about. After 3 years, Kelly moves on from the Junior 1000 in 2016. It has been a rollercoaster 3 years for the family who entered the championship with no past experience but a belief in the organiser’s vision. Having competed in 21 out of the 24 events in their 3 year spell, and finishing with the same car as they started, their enthusiasm and commitment has been a real credit to the whole family. The car may be bruised and battered but the family ended with big smiles all round.
Leading co-driver for the second year running was Andrew Falconer from Inverness who helped Finlay Retson to his second driver position. Second was Paul Hudson who sat with Ewan Tindall and third was Arthur Kierans who was with Peter Bennett for all but 2 rounds. All are very, very experienced co-drivers who have been able to add real value to the efforts of their young drivers.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
The ‘Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge’ is part of a National initiative to get youngsters in the 14 to 17 age group involved in competitive special stage rallying. The Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge started in 2012 with 10 competitors. Junior 1000 Championships also run in England/Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘Brick & Steel’ is a long established company covering all aspects of the construction industry, from day to day maintenance & refurbishment, through to new build projects. They are members of the Scottish Building Employers Federation, The Construction Industry Training Board and Construction line.
2015 Championship Final Positions
Junior 1000 Drivers
1 Peter Bennett 184
2 Finlay Retson 180
3 Ewan Tindall 163
4 Harry Chalmers 161
5 Lewis Winder 141
6 Dale Kelly 134
7 Brodie Balfour 125
8 Jude MacDonald 121
9 Josh Hislop 116
10 Johnnie Mackay 111
11 Cameron Russell 108
12 Elvin Smith 93
13 Myles Reid 79
14 Craig MacIvor 53
15 Peter Beaton 43
Junior 1000 Co-Drivers
1 Andrew Falconer 180
2 Paul Hudson 165
3 Arthur Kierans 155
4 Lisa Watson 139
5 Ellya Gold 127
6 Ian McRae 125
7 Ian Rae 106
8 Gordon Reid 99
9 Ian Nicol 54
Novice Drivers
1 Ewan Tindall 36
2 Lewis Winder 24
3 Josh Hislop 24
4 Jude MacDonald 20
5 Myles Reid 18
6 Elvin Smith 17
7 Johnnie Mackay 15
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