… Alarmgard Kingdom Stages Junior Rally, 6th November 2021 …
The penultimate round of the 2021 Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge – the Alarmgard Kingdom Junior Rally took place at a wet and windy Crail Raceway. It was another runaway victory for Archie Swinscoe and Barry Young, setting fastest time on each of the four stages. In doing so, they sealed the championship with one round to go.
Tom Johnstone and Ian McRae had a couple of spins on the slippery surface of stage 1, and drove through the field at one point having been blinded by the low setting sun. Their challenge ended on stage 2, after contact with a tyre barrier caused a repeat of the suspension failure which ended their rally at Kames.
After Johnstone’s demise, Max Speed and Alan Gilbert were second fastest on each stage, although still significantly behind the flying Swinscoe, and survived an impressive two-wheeling drama after hitting a tyre. They finished second.
Letisha Conn and Emma Morrison suffered an intermittent misfire on the first two stages, and had to pull aside to allow Max Speed through, but managed to get it cleared for the final two stages, and were pleasantly surprised to finish 3rd despite their engine problems.
Rian Walker continued his impressive run for a driver in only his first season, taking the Novice award, finished 4th overall and is looking good for a 3rd place finish in the championship.
Our longest serving current competitor Aaron Webster, with Neil Jeffrey calling the corners, had a good run on his home event, and brought the wee Micra home in 5th place.
Evan Findlay’s rally got off to a bad start, when navigator Gordon Finney suffered the navigator’s worst nightmare on Stage 1 and brought them in to the stage finish a lap early.
But the day belonged to Archie Swinscoe, who in winning the event, has also won the 2021 championship. He, and all the other winners, will be presented with their trophies at the championship prizegiving on 29th January 2022.
By Ian McRae
Alarmgard Kingdom Stages Junior Rally
Results
1 Archie Swinscoe/Barry Young (Skoda Citigo) 47m 42s
2 Max Speed/Alan Gilbert (Peugeot 107) +1m 50s
3 Letisha Conn/Emma Morrison (Skoda Citigo) +3m 46
4 Rian Walker/Stuart McBride (Skoda Citigo) +4m 35s
5 Aaron Webster/Neil Jeffrey (Nissan Micra) +5m 30s
6 Evan Findlay/Gordon Finnie (Peugeot 107) +15m 18s