This Sunday (17th), the Kames motorsport facility at Muirkirk will host the annual Albar Kames Trophy Rally. This will be a rather more ‘low key’ event than last weekend’s Mull thrash but it represents the next stage of the sport for anyone contemplating the progression from Targa rallies to special stage events.
It also provides an ideal event for those more experienced crews who want, or need (!), to undertake a bit of testing ahead of their next main event. For instance the top seed Chris McCallum will be testing his new flat-shift gear change which proved problematic first time out at Arbroath a few weeks back and Stuart Irvine will be able to give his ‘new’ Hyundai Accent WRC an airing.
However, for some others, this event will be a pretty big affair. It will be the third round (of 5) of the Ecosse Junior 1000 Championship, the introductory rally series for 14-17 year olds in 1 litre cars. Archie Swinscoe currently leads the series by 4 points from Tom Johnstone with Letisha Conn in 3rd place a further 5 points behind.
With drivers counting their best 4 scores from the 5 round series, the Albar Kames Trophy Rally marks the halfway point in the series. It’s been a difficult year for the championship as it has been for rallying in general and only six drivers have entered this round, but Kames represents the ideal opportunity to see the youngsters in action and who knows, in years to come, spectators might be able to claim they saw a National (World?) Champion in the making.
Nine crews have entered the senior event, with all fifteen cars and crews contesting the same 16 Special Stages format.
There is one other attraction, but you have to be registered in the Ecosse Junior Championship to benefit – Rhona’s tablet!! Never has a sugar infusion tasted better.
Entry List:
1, Chris McCallum/Stephen Clark (Ford Escort Mk2) 2500cc, Class 4
2, George Ross Auld/Amy McCubbin (Ford Escort) 2400, Class 4
3, James Gibb/Andrew Blackwood (BMW E30) 2993, Class 4
4, Graham Bruce/David Aitken (Ford Escort Mk2) 2000 , Class 3
5, Stuart Irvine/Marc Irvine (Hyundai Accent WRC) 1998, Class 4
6, William Pollock/John Marshall (Ford Escort Mk2) 2300 , Class 4
7, Mark McMinn/Connor Gardiner (Ford Escort) 0, Class 3
8, Kenneth Blair/Jim White (Talbot Sunbeam) 1998, Class 3
9, Stephen Conn/Robin Nicolson (Ford Focus) 1999, Class 3
91, Archie Swinscoe/Barry Young (Skoda Citigo) 999, Class J1K
92, Tom Johnstone/Ian McRae (Skoda Citigo) 999, Class J1K
93, Letisha Conn/Emma Morrison (Skoda Citigo) 1000, Class J1K
94, Aaron Webster/Neil S Jeffrey (Nissan Micra) 998, Class J1K
95, Rian Walker/Richard Stewart (Skoda Citigo) 999, Class J1K
96, Evan Findlay/Gordon Finnie (Peugeot 107) 998, Class J1K