Speyside Stages - 11 Aug 07

Posted: August 8, 2007 2:46 PM

From left to right Billy Laing (Managing Director, Gleaner Oils),
Neil Shanks (Clerk of Course Speyside stages),
David Todd (General Manager Gleaner Oils)
and Shona Morrison entries secretary Speyside Stages)
Photo: Colin Little (press officer)

---

08/08/07
Entry list on Rally website:

Speyside Stages

• 2007 Scottish Rally Championship

---

31/07/07
August and the heat is on.
With Saturday 11th August looming up fast, this years Gleaner Speyside Stages has gained momentum with the efforts of the organisers coming together to create what will be the 11th running of the event. Being round six of the Scottish Rally Championship, the results on the event will start to create a better overall view of where the crews are placed.

With best scores counting from six of the eight rounds, competitors can see a clearer picture what they need to do in the final rounds. Championship leader Dollar’s Gary Adam co-driven by father Gordon could actually tie up overall victory at the Speyside event. Sitting at the top of the table just now with victories on 3 of the 5 rounds so far this year, other results going in his favour, victory on the rally will see the family create a double 1st for both driver and co-driver in the championship. The family crew will not be expecting it easy as with Gretna driver Mike Faulkner, Inverness restaurateur Jimmy Girvan and the exciting Dumfries youngster David Bogie still in the hunt.

Mike Faulkner having previously competed in lower powered single make classes has taken to the wheel of a Mitsubishi Evo 6, and adapted well to the power and grip of the four wheel drive machine and consistently finished amongst the front runners. Inverness’ Girvan, a former Scottish Champion seems to have regained the prowess of his former years and along with Forres company director Mike Ramsay they have delighted spectators with their spectacular driving in the stages. Again the pair have been podium finishers this season (apart from the Jim Clark Reivers event where wrong tyres saw the collide with a wall and resulting damage meant a non score). David Bogie, who this year has seen him move up into a Mitsubishi Evo 9 after starting off last year in the 2 wheel drive Nova and Corsa where he quickly proved his ability. Following a brief time with his fathers Metro 6R4 he has now acquired the Evo. Having not competed in the 1st round of the championship, the teenager come from behind and with his points coming from only 4 of the 5 previous rounds he is still in with a shout at being the overall champion.

Adding to the mix is Aberdeen operations director Dave Weston, who has contested only selected round of this year’s championship, but with his Gleaner Speyside title to defend Dave, will be at the fore. In defending his title Dave will also be using the event as part of his build up to this year’s World Rally round, the Wales Rally GB. Having considered competing on a WRC round in the last few years, he has managed to commit to doing this years World event. Fochabers Andy Horne, who now resides in Inverness where he runs a engineering business will also be looking to be at the sharp end of the event, piloting his Dam4100 (Metro 6R4) with its exciting Hayabusa engine coupled to it 4wheel drive system. After experiencing some early running problems at the season start Andy and long time co-driver Jim Howie brought the car home in a magnificent 1st place in this years Granite City Rally. Having started his rallying with the 63 Car Club and also being a previous winner of the Speyside he is hoping to claim the top podium spot again and put a smile on the local fans who have supported him throughout the years. Also driving a 6R4 is local builder brothers Sandy and Ian Arbuthnott. Driving a clubman version of the former group B car, the pair having recently acquired the car are still getting to grips of the power coupled with the traction so unlike the MK2 escort which the had ran at the start of the season. Another 63 Car club member is Peter Garrow in his recently built escort Mk2. Starting with a shell Peter has spent the best part of a year fabricating and building this rally car and with only a short test event will hope that any gremlins have been shaken off before he enters the woods of Moray and Aberdeenshire. Another car in the process of being readied for the Gleaner Speyside event is Elgin garage proprietor Mike Grant. Having totally destroyed his Fiesta on the Scottish Rally he is busy putting together a replacement for the event.

With this year’s Scottish Championship boasting 89 driver competitors, the rally looks forward to its usual high-class entry. With entries coming from around the UK and a number of non-championship runners the event hopes to again provide an exciting event to be enjoyed by both competitors and spectators. While the organisers cannot guarantee the weather, they hope that the day remains dry (unlike last years monsoon). Entries arriving include local radio favourite Tich McCooey at the wheel of a Nova hoping to finish a Speyside event as previous years have not been kind to him in that regard. Nairn’s Annabelle Tennant, co-driven by Gail Hislop are also competing in this year’s event showing rallying is for all ages and sex. “The rallying grannies” as called Gail’s husband hope to show up the youngsters as the power through the stages in their Subaru Impreza.

As entries build up leading to the event, a considerable number of Peugeot 205 competitors are to be seen. The Gleaner Speyside event being the 6th round in their 205 Ecosse Challenge and also round 1 of their 4 event Autumn Cup (created specifically for latecomers to their championship to compete for) The Ecosse 205 Challenge was created as an low-cost entry level for rallying, where cars could be prepared to an equal standard and rallied without breaking the bank; ideal for beginners and enthusiasts with limited budgets. Running since 2003 the format has help develop you drivers and provide fun for some of the not so young. The format now has 3 classes of competition, with a 1.9-litre and 1.6-litre engine size class and a class for junior drivers so participants can match themselves against their peers. In the 1.9 class Bothwell teenager Alick Kerr has dominated the season and unless Dores property developer Ian Munro can stage a charge it looks like he and Inverbervie co-driver Tom Hynd will secure the championship. Meanwhile things are much closer in the 1.6 with Inverness crew of Dave Retson and Michelle Falconer have a slender advantage over the Borders pairing of Ryan Hedley and Eildon Hall. With 6 out of the 9 rounds counting for the Challenge it is still all to play for and with former Ford Rallye Academy pupil Ross Chambers making a charge after finding his feet in his first year in rallying. So look out for these runners as they make progress through the stages.

This year’s event has a new start, with Rally HQ at Elgin Town Hall where the event starts and finishes. Again the first 2 stages will be in Elgin’s Cooper Park with first car departing at 9.40am. Entry to the park is free where spectator areas are marked off to provide good viewing. Following the Cooper Park cars will progress to the forests starting east of Fochabers and moving on to the forests of Aberdeenshire. Although there is a service area in Huntly due to traffic constraints we are unable to give access to parking for non-competitors. The police will be on hand and there can be no parking on the verges on the A96 beside the service area. Following from the stages in the Aberdeenshire forests the rally returns for a short 2.8-mile stage in Moray before returning to finish at the Town Hall. A program listing stages, times and competitors will be available on the days leading up to the event from local outlets in and around the rally route and will also be available from the event web site

Speyside Stages

• 2007 Scottish Rally Championship

---

Dream day for Moray car fanatic at Speyside Rally
A dream is set to come true for Moray man and car fanatic Liam Oliphant who has been invited to the Speyside Rally as a special guest of main sponsor Gleaner Oil and Gas

Liam, who is supported by leading learning disabilities charity Cornerstone Community Care has a huge interest in cars. Liam’s Support worker Sean Barr said “Liam loves cars, he is able to recognise all different makes and models and loves to watch the rallying. This invitation to the Gleaner Speyside Rally is a fantastic opportunity for him to really indulge in his passion.”

Sean continued “As a special guest of Gleaner Oil and Gas Liam will be treated like a celebrity on the day of the race. He will also be presented with a framed photograph of last year’s winner which I am sure will take pride of place on his bedroom wall!”

Colin Little is a member of the 63 Car Club who are responsible for organising the Speyside Rally. Colin said “As organisers of the event we like to involve every one in the locality in rally. We get a lot of support from everyone our area and feel that we can help pay back that support by helping folk enjoy the event. Gleaner Oil and Gas had arranged raffle prizes of run in a car for other local charities, but when told of Liam’s enthusiasm for motorsport felt that it would be great for him to see the rally close up. The rally last year had a Dutch Motorsport photographer Walter Geuzebroek come along to cover the event and he kindly allowed us to use some of his pictures for publicity for the event. With the help of MMS Almac who printed us a copy of last years winner and Decora Frames who arranged for mounting and framing we had a memento for Liam to keep him in memory of the day. We are looking forward to the event and having Liam along side and hope to give him lasting memories.”

---

05/07/07
Event Details
Saturday 11th August sees the running of the Gleaner oil and gas Speyside Stages.
Organisers the 63 Car Club (Elgin) are looking forward to this year’s event, the eleventh year of the Speyside Stages. Since the first time of competition in the event back in 1997 the event has grown in stature, with last years event proving the metal of the organisers with a deluge of water more akin to the monsoons of India rather than the summer showers of Moray.
The set up crews had to pull out all the stops as they got the Cooper Park stage in condition so the 90plus starters could proceed onward to the forests of Moray and Aberdeen shire. Local businesses were at had and pumps were strategically position to clear the 0.7-mile stage of standing water. The forests were little better as the rain did its best to dampen the enthusiasm of marshals and hundred of spectators who braved the weather to cheer on the crews as they battled the 44 miles of forest roads to come back to the finish in Elgin.

Leading the crews at the end were the Aberdeen crew of Dave Weston and Dave Robson who steered themselves to a 1 minute lead over 2005 winner Barry Johnson, with the father and son pair Gary and Gordon Adam taking the 3rd podium place. Despite the conditions the event proved a success with the competitors and once the Scottish Championship season was completed the Gleaner Speyside Stages was awarded the Chairman’s Cup for the best rally of the year for 2007. This was the 3rd time the event has collected the award and the club organisers welcome the accolade as a mark of acknowledgement for the hard work of the numerous volunteers put in to create the event.

We are delighted to welcome back Gleaner Oil & Gas as our title sponsor for a third year, their support & contagious enthusiasm helps us to continue to push forward with the event and make it the best it can be. Along with distributing fuel, gas and oils from its numerous depots, Gleaner also operates a network of rural filling stations supporting the needs of a vast area throughout Scotland and the Islands.

63 Car Club bring the event to the County Saab Scottish Championship, being round six of the 8 round championship. Alongside the Scottish Championship the event is also a round of the Brick & Steel Construction Ecosse 205 Challenge and the Scottish Borders Rally Championship as well as a round of the 63 Car Club Championship. The support given by Gleaner oil and gas and the other sponsors proves invaluable in the club being able to hold the entry fee for the event to under STG 400.
The event regulations have been published and are available to download from the event website www.speyside-stages.co.uk.

Cleark of the Course is Neil Shanks, (regular co-driver for Darren Gass), and this year’s rally will have its headquarters at Elgin Town hall where documentation and briefings for the 45-mile event will take place.

Again the opening stages will be the now customary Cooper Park Stage, sadly with the planned flood relief plan for Elgin this might mean the last year for this city centre location. The organisers have enjoyed the support of Moray District for the use of the park and hope that spectators take this opportunity to come along and see the cars.
From the Cooper Park the cars travel east to the forests around Keith and Huntly.
With a service area based at Huntly Mart, cars will be able to re-fuel and carry out any repairs allowing them to complete the event.
The finish will be at Elgin Town Hall.
Entry to the stages for spectators is free although a fee will be charged for dedicated spectator car parks in the forests.
The nominal fees for these are for the benefit of the local community groups who man these areas, so please use them.
There will be a rally program available nearer the event detailing the stages and car parks as well as the list of competitors.

With this years County Saab Scottish Championship being closely contested we look forward to seeing Dave Weston defending last years Speyside win while championship leader Gary Adam with co-driver and father Gordon looking to extend there lead.
Also in the mix should be local favourite Andy Horne in his impressive DAM 4100 Gti (Metro 6R4 to the rest of us). After an impressive win on the Granite City Rally in April he will hope to add to that on his local event.
Another local we look forward to seeing is Forres businessman Mike Ramsay co-driving for Jimmy Girvan.
This pair have been setting some impressive times on events this year and are on the verge of clinching a victory, maybe the Speyside will be it.
Other locals in the event will be the Arbuthnott brothers Sandy and Ian. The pair having moved up from the Mark 2 Escort which they had class wins this season to an ex- Andy Horne 6R4. Sandy has only recently purchased this car and after a mixed day at last weekends Scottish Rally is looking forward to getting into the local woods where he hopes to maximise the performance of the car and get amongst the top times. Another hopeful entry is Peter Garrow who has been building a Mark 2 Escort and if all goes well he hopes for a forest debut on the Speyside.

The rally running depends on many people on the days leading up to the event as well as on the day itself, medical staff, recovery crews and marshals come from all areas of the UK and there help is much appreciated. Organisers look forward to seeing all on the event.

---

Regulations and Entry Form are available on the event website:

Speyside Stages

• 2007 Scottish Rally Championship