… Final Class Results …
Class position / Start No. / Dvr / CoDvr / Home Towns / Car / Time
Notes:
Class 1 – 2wd Cars Up To 1450cc
1, 69, Scott Peacock/Robin Neil (MG ZR) 48:45
– Comfortable class win for Scott whose only concern was the heat: “The car became very tail happy when the tyres got hot, so we had to drop the pressures for later stages.”
DNF, 79, Niall Cowan Jnr/Thomas Bruce (MG ZR)
– Winner of this class on the Snowman, Niall was out of luck in Elgin when the engine let go at the end of SS9.
DNF, 83, Steven Crockett/Martin Henderson (Peugeot 205)
– Steven was leading the class at first service by 7 seconds but by second service he was trailing Scott Peacock by 7 secs but the fight was curtailed on the final stage when his engine failed.
Class 2 – 2wd Cars Up To 1650cc With 8 Valves
1, 58, Tom Howie/Charles MacKenzie (Talbot Sunbeam) 48:50
– Tom and Charles were lucky to make the finish never mind win their class. The Talbot was sounding like an out of tune bucket of bolts by the finish: “We broke a rocker in SS8,” said Tom, “and then just had to coax the car through the last two stages.”
2, 77, Jamie Stewart/Kevin Mollison (Peugeot 205) 49:29
– The car running ahead of them rolled in SS9 so they had to stop to check the crew were OK before carrying on. Apart from that, car was running really well.
3, 80 Chris Baillie/Allen Cowe (Peugeot 205) 49:42
– Another lucky crew. The duo finished the rally with no exhaust and no front bumper after a big ‘off’ in SS5: “We were well up in the air,” said Chris, “and just made it back out of the ditch.”
DNF, 52, Robbie Beattie/David Finlay (Peugeot 205 Gti)
– Going into SS5, Robbie and David were leading the class by 12 seconds from Howie, but by the end of the stage they were out. “Going into a Left7 was too much on the brakes,” said Robbie, “the tail came out and over. It wasn’t a big roll but we’ve bent the cage so the Scroots said we couldn’t carry on. The car was still pretty straight and driving, but that’s fair enough. Safety comes first, the cage did its job anyway.”
DNF, 73, Scott MacDonald/Angus MacNeil (Vauxhall Nova)
– “We had a wee slide-off the road and just got stuck in Knock More,” said Scott, “we just slid wide on a Right9 and the car landed in a hole on its side. There wasn’t much damage, but we found the only bog in a dry event – there was a natural spring in the ditch!”
Class 3 – 2wd Cars Up To 1650cc With 16 Valves
1, 50 Ross Hughes/Richard Crozier (Citroen C2 VTS) 46:47
– The Citroen finished the event looking rather different from how it started. At first service Ross said: “We clattered the front o/s corner in that last stage but nothing mechanical is broken,” as the crew spent a lot of time trying to cover the gaps with black tank tape before venturing back out on to the public highway. By the rally finish the steering was a “bit squeaky” but they made it and got the class win.
2, 88 Neil Redford/Duncan Daun (Honda Civic Jordan) 48:33
– “Had a good day, but struggled to get the car to turn into some of the chicanes,” said Neil.
3, 51, Ian Cattanach/Lisa Cattanach (Talbot Sunbeam) 48:59
– Going into the last stage, Ian and Lisa were holding 2nd in class, but: “We got sucked into a ditch. I thought we were stuck, but Lisa pushed us out,” said Ian. Whilst Ian was telling your reporter this tale, Lisa was sitting in the co-driver seat flexed her biceps at me!
4, 86, Russell Kessack/Laura Marshall (Citroen C2) 52:40
– “That was a brilliant day,” said Russell, ” but the car now needs a ‘box and a diff.”
5, 97, Ryan Ingram/Lewis Brown (Honda Civic) 1:08:47
– “I ran out of talent in SS6 and we ended up in a ditch,” said Ryan, “but we got out OK.”
DNF, 36, Neil Coalter/Hannah Cessford (Ford Puma)
– Still trying to get to grips with the Puma, Neil was leading the class at first service, but:”The engine started heating and ‘backing off’ in that last stage,” said Neil, “so we think the head gasket is failing. We also had a power steering pipe work loose, but it’s all work in progress. The car is good, it just needs sorted but that takes time.”
DNF, 39, Keith Riddick/Kirsty Riddick (MG ZR)
– “We lost a fan belt early on,” said Keith, “but that was easily fixed, however, the engine developed a serious oil leak at the end of Gartly, so we called it a day.”
DNF, 55, David Martin/Richard Simmonds (Citroen C2)
– Lying 4th in class at first service, the engine failed just 2 stages later.
DNF, 82, Andy Struthers/Alasdair McIlroy (Citroen C2 VTS)
– Lying 4th in class going into the penultimate stage, the Citroen ended up in a ditch. No cause for this misdemeanour reported – but I blame the double chocolate Magnum ice lollies the crew were scoffing at the previous service halt!
DNF, 94, Drew Barker/Shona Hale (Citroen C2)
– The crew were in trouble from the start. “The starter motor failed before the Rally start,” said Drew, “we got it replaced but ran out of time, so we did the trophy rally just to get some stages in, then in the second Balloch, a fuel pipe came off and it took ages to find what was wrong, but we made it home, although out of time.”
DNF, 95, Nikki Addison/Rachel Matheson (Peugeot 106 Gti)
– After the ‘high’ of finishing the Snowman Rally, the girls suffered the other side of rallying on Speyside when the gearbox failed in SS7. Petted lips all round – but only for a few moments. If you’ve lost your enthusiasm for rallying, just have a word with the girls. It’s a better tonic than 12 yr old Glen Grant.
Class 4 – 2wd Cars Up To 2050cc With 8 Valves
1, 34, Fraser MacNicol/Keith Boa (Ford Escort Mk2) 46:54
– A fairly safe class win, despite: “It was just so loose and marbly out there today,” said Fraser, “I was going more sideways than I would have liked!”
2, 53, Jim Robertson/Mike Curry (Ford Escort Mk2) 48:26
– The fuel pump failed in Cooper Park but they switched to the spare and it was OK and was spotted in first service tightening up the alternator bolts: “I thought experience in FWD would count for something when I switched to RWD,” said Jim, “but NO. I need more seat time. The car has more torque and fewer gears than the Citroen so I don’t need as many gear changes!”
3, 60, John O’Kane/Meghan O’Kane (Ford Escort Mk2) 49:27
– 3rd in class despite a rear puncture in SS9 and the clutch cable came off which meant they were late booking out of service.
DNF, 48, Paddy Munro/Seumas MacLean (Ford Escort Mk2)
– Retired with engine failure in SS7.
DNF, 78, Douglas Watt/Mark Grierson (Ford Escort Mk2)
– The car was towed into Huntly Service with mechanical failure.
Speyside – [Main Report]
Speyside – [Fastest Stage Times]
Speyside Classes – [5 – 8]
Speyside Classes – [9 – 11]