… Final Class Results …
Class position / Start No. / Dvr / CoDvr / Home Towns / Car / Time
Notes:
Class 9 – Group N 4wd Cars
1, 26, Martin Scott/Daniel Forsyth (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 42:30
– “It’s almost 2 years since I was last out,” said Scott, “we spun on SS3 but we finished 10th. I should retire now, things can’t get any better. Perfect day, happy with that.”
2, 14, Michael Binnie/Claire Mole (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 43:19
– At first service were fixing the damage caused by a tyre blow out which ripped off a wheel sensor, but it could have been worse, it could have taken out a brake line, so were quite relieved at that.
3, 23, Ian Baumgart/Dave Robson (Subaru Impreza) 43:30
– Good run for Ian and Dave with nothing to report.
4, 29, John McClory/David Hood (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 43:50
– Good run for John and David with nothing to report
5, 18, Simon Hay/Calum Jaffray (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6) 44:01
– Things started with a bang at Cooper Park when they spun backwards over the Finish line: “That’s a first,” said Simon, but events took on a more dramatic turn at the scene of Garry Pearson’s accident where Simon and Calum were amongst the first on the scene. “That kind of knocked any enjoyment and fun out of the event for me,” said Simon.
6, 37, John McIlwraith/Calum MacDonald (Subaru Impreza) 44:35
– “We found a wet hole in Balloch,” said John, “but we didn’t lose much time. Four wheel drive just powered us out!”
7, 32, Martin Craik/Steven Brown (Subaru Impreza) 45:34
– No real problems apart from ‘glazed’ brakes.
8, 38, Matthew Thomson/Ian Graham (Subaru Impreza GC8) 45:40
– N/S rear puncture in SS9 but drove on – and the flailing tyre tore off the bumper and wiring!
9, 71, Harry Chalmers/Andrew Logan (Subaru Impreza GC8) 45:52
– First time on Speyside for young Harry and his grin was as bright as the sunshine: “Good day, spot on,” he said.
10, 64, Steven Fraser/Sewart Hurst (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 45:56
– Drama free day apart from a spin in Tauchers Wood.
11, 43, Ally Reid/Donald Urquhart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo8) 46:12
– “I was just starting to get into it when the rally stopped,” said Ally.
12, 57, Mark Shaw/William Munro (Subaru Impreza WRX) 46:26
– Had no boost during the morning when turbo pipe came off but fixed for the afternoon run.
13, 65, Andy Chalmers/Martin MacCabe (Subaru Impreza) 46:55
– “Never cowped it, so well happy,” said Andy, “but the gearbox is knackered. It was getting worse all day.”
14, 45, Geoff Goudie/Murray Strachan (Subaru Impreza) 47:33
– Slow morning run due to lack of boost. At service found that a split pin the waste gate had broken and the flap was just ‘flapping’ about. Much better after that.
15, 62, Donald Brooker/Rachel Booth (Subaru Impreza) 48:01
– Got one wee fright in Gartly when a water bottle got stuck in the driver’s footwell.
16, 46 Ian Petrie/Alan Falconer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo4) 48:17
– At the finish, Ian said: “We were down on power for the last two stages but we don’t know why.”
17, 91, Graham Morrison/Steven Edward (Subaru Impreza WRX) 49:33
– “Just one ditch and a few wee moments” laughed Graham.
18, 87, Mike Moates/Kenny Foggo (Subaru Impreza) 49:34
– Good fortune favours the dedicated: “We didn’t get the car finished till the early hours of this morning,” said Mike, “we’ve had a great day.”
19, 67, Neil Philip/John MacKenzie (Subaru Impreza) 49:38
– “We had a slight off in Rosarie,” said Neil, “the tail was in the ditch and the nose was in the air, but we got out.”
20, 90, Derek Duncan/Adrian Bruce (Subaru Impreza) 51:16
– “We didn’t finish any event last year,” said Derek, “so we’re pleased to be here. It was close though – we were in one ditch.”
21, 99, Graham Kelman/Mike Grant (Subaru Impreza) 55:00
– I almost feel sorry for Mike Grant. Normally a stranger to rally finishes he had swapped seats and loaned the car to long suffering Graham who had a great day and finished. Now he has a 100% finishing record – and Mike doesn’t.
22, 98, Aileen Forrest/Pauline Patterson (Mitsubishi Evo5) 59:08
– First time driver and co-driver on their first event. Pauline was beaming at the finish and all Aileen could muster was: “I’m shattered.” Gaun yersels girls.
DNF, 22, Fraser Wilson/Craig Wallace (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9)
– An uncharacteristic ‘off’ (these days that is) for Fraser and Craig, the car sliding off the road in Teindland on that fiendish marbly surface.
DNF, 35, Ellya Gold/Jean Hay (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6)
– Slid off the road in Gartly Moor 1 but no damage, just stuck.
DNF, 61, Kevin Crawford/Claire Martin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5)
– Retired at second Service with an engine misfire.
DNF, 68, Brett McKenzie/James Ralph (Subaru Impreza)
– Retired at first service: “The gearbox is bust,” said Brett, “I can’t get half the gears.”
Class 10 – Group A 4wd Cars
1, 2, Jock Armstrong/Cameron Fair (Subaru Impreza) 39:50
– Proving that a natural force is difficult to contain, Jock bounced back from his ‘enforced leave’ and put his 2018 title hopes back on track.
2, 6, Bruce McCombie/Michael Coutts (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 41:17
– Bruce was happy enough, but a wee bit disappointed with 8th o/a: “I felt good in some stages, but the times just weren’t there,” he said.
3, 16 Scott McCombie/Mark Fisher (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 42:32
– Finishing just outside the top ten, Scott said: “I had a few wee spins and I caught Michael Binnie with his puncture in SS7, but otherwise OK.”
4, 12, Barry Groundwater/Ashleigh Will (Mitsubishi Evo10) 42:49
– No problems during the day but had a wee fright in Cooper Park: “I set it up for the final right hander, then the tail came out, and as I slid round the corner I met Bruce (McCombie) facing me, but going backwards.”
5, 21, Alan Dickson/Martin Forrest (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) 44:13
– Delighted with a finish and out of rallying for 11 years, Alan was muttering: “I wonder if I’m just not brave enough.”
6, 44, Robert Adamson/Richard Wardle (Skoda Fabia S2000) 46:32
– Risk free run and happy finish in one piece.
DNF, 10, Steven Clark/Paul Gribben (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo5)
-Called it a day at second service: “The engine went sick,” said Steven, “so we pulled out before we did any real damage. We think it might just be a cam sensor, it seems to be running too rich.”
DNF, 24, John Rintoul/Ross Hynd (Skoda Fabia S2500)
– Retired at service with what they thought was an overfuelling problem.
DNF, 28, David Ross/Kyle Mackintosh (Dam Metro 4100)
– With electrical gremlins now cured, this time it was the clutch that let them down.
DNF, 31, Keith Morris/Terry Mallin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6)
– Mechanical failure forced retirement at Cooper Park.
Class 11 – WRC And R5 Cars
1, 1, David Bogie/John Rowan (Skoda Fabia R5) 38:34
– What can you say? He came, he saw, he drove, he conquered. Sublime.
2, 5, Rhys Yates/Alex Lee (Skoda Fabia R5) 39:53
– Had never been further north than Dumfries (RSAC Scottish) before. Loved the stages and drove well once he acclimatised.
3, 9, Freddie Milne/Patrick Walsh (Subaru Impreza WRC) 40:34
– Good run for Freddie. Took a wee while to get used to the smooth brutality of the Subaru. More seat-time, and who knows, eh?
4, 7, Mark McCulloch/Michael Hendry (Ford Fiesta R5) 40:35
– Crikey, poor Mark. Had it not been for the steering problems early on, who knows what might have been?
5, 17, Lawrence Whyte/Stuart Loudon (Ford Fiesta R5) 40:52
– Got a stone through the radiator on the second last stage, topped up the water and went for a cautious run through the final test with one eye on the road and the other on the temperature gauge.
6, 8, Donnie MacDonald/Andrew Falconer (Ford Fiesta R5) 40:56
– Quiet day by MacDonald standards, no opinions and no reports!
7, 4, Andrew Gallacher/Jane Nicol (Ford Focus WRC) 41:33
– A bit off sorts after stalling 3 times at Cooper Park in the morning, but got quicker as the day went on.
8, 25, Brian Watson/Caroline Will (Subaru Impreza S11) 43:25
– We should be worried. Very worried. The Sheriff was in quiet and almost pensive mood at Speyside and pretty much well behaved: “One spin and one ditch – different incidents.”
9, 20, Jon Burn/Alan Stark (Subaru Impreza WRC) 44:34
– “It’s 5 years since I was last out,” said Jon, “and I’ve learned something. I’ll need to find something else to do – I’m no good at this!”
10, 15, John Wink/John Forrest (Hyundai I20 R5) 46:56
– Punctured a tyre and rolled in SS5 losing over 5 minutes.
DNF, 3, Garry Pearson/Paula Swinscoe (Ford Fiesta R5)
– Big accident in SS4, the car coming to rest some distance from the road. Rescue crews and Doctors on the scene impressively quickly and Paula was hospitalised and thankfully is on the mend.
DNF, 11, Reay MacKay/Keir Beaton (Subaru Impreza WRC S14)
– Wanted to try something different from his Metro and Focus, so hired a Subaru Impreza WRC. Was mighty impressed but centre diff failure curtailed progress.
Speyside – [Main Report]
Speyside – [Fastest Stage Times]
Speyside Classes – [1 – 4]
Speyside Classes – [5 – 8]