… Carlisle Stages Rally, Saturday 22nd October …
Afternoon Fightback gives Cameron Fair the Co-drivers title …
Although Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh won the Carlisle Stages Rally outright in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 with Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson in the runner-up position in their Ford Fiesta Rally2, neither crew was registered in the KNC Groundworks Scottish Championship so Scottish interest centred on the battle behind them.
Jock Armstrong and Cameron Fair took their first SRC win of the season as a team by nine seconds at the end of the Carlisle Stages Rally, final round of the 2022 KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship.
It hadn’t been the best of mornings for the Impreza crew, arriving at service down in fifth place with damaged front suspension. Top work by the mechanics in service to fix the damage and alter the car setup and they would absolutely fly over the three afternoon stages to take maximum points and give Cammy his first Scottish Co-driver’s title by the closest possible margin. Finishing the season on the same number of points as Claire Mole – who finished fifth SRC alongside Michael Binnie – Cammy got the nod on a tie-break by dint of counting one more maximum score in his final total.
Newly crowned Albyn Garage Challengers Champion Angus Lawrie and co-driver Paul Gribben were once again showing they were a force to be reckoned with. Second at first service, they inherited the lead when early pace setters David Henderson and Chris Lees suffered a puncture before rolling out. The Evo crew continued their superb run all the way to the finish, taking second by only nine seconds at the end of the six stages.
Fourth at service John Wink was then the recipient of a Neil Shanks motivation session, which is a powerful thing for a driver. The Hyundai man upping his pace in the afternoon and closing from 21 seconds down on the black Evo to just one by the end of the day. A well-deserved reward for the team after a challenging season in the SRC.
Top Autoshop 2WD and a fantastic fifth it was an excellent day out for John Crawford and Josh Davidson. They had spent the morning battling with fellow Mk2 crew Stuart Egglestone and Brian Hodgson and were just five seconds behind the Pinto powered car when it retired in SS4. After that they kept the pressure on to produce one of their best, if not the best, results in the SRC.
With team-mate Angus Lawrie already wrapping up the Albyn Garage Challengers Drivers’ championship, the pressure was on Willie Paterson to do enough to give Tom Hynd the navigator’s title. Willie did his best to mess it up, putting the Evo in a ditch and almost ruining the clutch getting back out. There were also a couple of spins in the tricky conditions but they made it to the finish and did enough for Tom to take the title
The Haddo energy Super Seniors was a straight shoot-out between the Mk2s of Steve Bannister and Alistair Brearley. Unfortunately for Steve and co-driver Callum Atkinson they were out early with a broken clutch cable. That left Alistair and co-driver Gerry Bryden free to relax and enjoy the rest of the day and give Alistair the distinction of being the first ever Haddo Energy Super Seniors champion.
There was early drama in the Ladies contest when Meghan O’Kane’s Fiesta’s engine blew on the opening loop. That left champion elect Aileen Forrest to cruise to the finish and take her first Ladies title after three years of trying. Aileen guided all the way by her husband John in the hot seat.
There was carnage in the Moates Offshore Juniors contest. Newly crowned champion Robert Proudlock and Fiesta pilot Justin Gunning joining Meghan O’Kane on the retirements list.
However, there was good news for Junior sponsor Mike Moates. Despite ending his event in a ditch after breaking a driveshaft, he had done enough to take his first Five Star Vehicle Deliveries Subaru Cup title after rivals Orrin McDonnell and Eoghan Anderson had slid off the road in SS1. Mike is already planning some upgrades for next season.
( Report by Alasdair Beck )
Results
1, Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2) 42m 41s
2, Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +00m 39s
3, Jock Armstrong/Cameron Fair (Subaru Impreza) +01m 07s
4, Angus Lawrie/Paul Gribben (Mitsubishi Evo9) +01m 16s
5, John Wink/Neil Shanks (Hyundai i20 R5) +01m 17s
6, Michael Binnie/Claire Mole (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) +02m 19s
7, John Crawford/Josh Davison (Ford Escort Mk2) +03m 17s
8, Paul Britton/John McElhinney (Subaru Impreza N16) +03m 51s
9, Robert Adamson/Jamie Edwards (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +04m 11s
10, Mark McCulloch/Michael Hendry (Proton Satria Evo) +04m 18s