On "a perfect day when everything just clicked into place" reigning Scottish and British champions David Bogie and Kevin Rae were in imperious form to take back to back victories on Saturday's Brick & Steel Border Counties rally, and their second win of the 2012 Scottish Rally Championship.
With the Jedburgh-based event celebrating its 40th anniversary, Bogie and Rae blasted through the five forest stages in their Mitsubishi EVO 9 to finish with a total time of 42 minutes 17 seconds : a full one minute and fifty seconds ahead of runners-up Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy - their EVO6 completely re-shelled after crashing out on the Malcolm Wilson Rally two weeks previously.
Northern Ireland's Jonny Greer, with Dai Roberts on the notes, secured third overall in his EVO 9, a futher nine seconds back, but since the pair were not eligible for championship points, it was Barry Groundwater, co-driven by Neil Shanks, who secured the final SRC podium spot, also in an EVO 9.
So, with two of the eight rounds completed, the championship already has a familiar feel to it – the triple Scottish title-holders in a league of their own out front, and a determined pack trying their hardest to stay in touch.
Bogie laid down the gauntlet from the off ("we put in a real charge, to be honest"), powering through the opening Craik Forest stage west of Hawick - which had not been used in competition since the 1980's – to finish twenty-three seconds ahead of Duns' Euan Thorburn in his Ford Focus WRC. Greer was third fastest a further five seconds back, with Faulkner and Stephen Petch in a Hyundai Accent WRC tying for fourth just two seconds behind.
SS2 Wauchope went even better for the champions: they were fifty seconds quicker than Faulkner and Foy, with Thorburn and Groundwater sharing third fastest, just ahead of Greer and 4-wheel-drive convert Quintin Milne in an EVO 9.
Fifty-seven seconds was the difference between Bogie and the rest on the third Hyndlee test; Thorburn second fastest, and Greer and Jon Burn in a Subaru Impreza WRC a further seven seconds adrift.
At second service, and with two stages remaining, Bogie led Thorburn by fifty-seven seconds. Greer and Faulkner were tied in third, fifteen seconds further back, and Dumfries farmer Rory Young had quietly edged his way up the leader board to fourth overall in his EVO 5.
Bogie and Rae further tightened their grip on the event immediately after the break: recording the fastest time through SS4 Redesdale, twenty-five seconds ahead of Faulkner and Foy.
It was all going on behind them though: Greer and Roberts just one second behind in third, and Groundwater and Shanks a further second adrift in fourth. Young and Milne were tied for fifth another two seconds back, and leading 2WD contender, and Kielder "master" Steve Bannister powered his Mk2 Escort through the 9-miler with a seventh quickest time.
The champions again set the pace on the final Wyndburgh Hill test, followed by Faulkner, Thorburn, Groundwater, Greer, Young and rally sponsor John McLory who, with David Hood on the notes, who had been targeting another top ten result in his Subaru Impreza N10 to add to that of the season-opening Snowman.
"I couldn't have asked for a better result – it all went so smoothly", said Bogie, at the finish in the shadow of Jedburgh Abbey: "It's been great weather, the crowds have been out in force on the stages, which were excellent – so all in all, a fantastic day".
Given all the hard work to get the car rebuilt in time for the event, Faulkner and Foy were more than happy with their second runners-up spot of the 2012 campaign.
"If there was ever a team result, then that was it", said a relieved Faulkner: "It's been a huge effort by everyone involved. Absolutely fantastic".
Greer enjoyed his "day in the Scottish forests" – his first since the Rally of Scotland last October, while Groundwater admitted co-driver Shanks had been "winding him up" to spur him on to a fine fourth overall and third in the points.
Young felt he had rather "over-psyched" himself going into the final stage – losing a place to Groundwater to finish fifth overall, following his fourth place in Inverness.
Having been second quickest on SS1 and SS3, and third fastest on the third stage, Thorburn and co-driver Paul Beaton's challenge was thwarted by a puncture on the penultimate test.
Quintin Milne, meanwhile, overcame manifold problems to record a fine seventh overall alongside navigator Martin Forrest: although the Banchory driver said he would have to "stop driving the EVO as if it was a Mk2!"
Brick & Steel Construction boss McClory was clearly delighted with his second-successive strong finish of the new season, while ninth-placed Bannister and Sutherland fought hard to keep ahead of a strong Mk2 Escort contingent.
It included a fine drive from Michael Horne and Robbie Mitchell in eleventh overall, while Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson; Keith Robathan/Phil Clarke and Malcolm Buchanan/Ian Nicoll finished line-astern in 15th, 16th and 17th places respectively.
The top-ten overall results were rounded off by the EVO 9 of Conon Bridge-based SRC veteran John Morrison, and St Andrew's co-driver Peter Carstairs: the duo repeating their Border Counties result of 2010.
In the 2-wheel drive classes, which ran ahead of the main field, John Boyd and Chris Williamson made sure of the Class 4 (1600) category in their Ford Fiesta, finishing one minute and thirty-seven seconds ahead of Malcolm Robertson and Katie Stimpson in a Talbot Sunbeam. The Honda Civic of Graeme Smith and Laura Marshall was third, a further fourteen seconds back.
Class 3 honours went to Blair and Alex McCulloch in their Vauxhall Nova; husband and wife Tom and Sue Hynd taking the runners-up spot in their Peugeot 205Gti, ahead of the Talbot Sunbeam of Snowman class winners Willie Stuart and David Finlay who were third.
One of the biggest smiles at the finish was that of young Greg McKnight, who with dad Chris on the notes, repeated his Class 2 victory of twelve months ago in his Vauxhall Nova: the Dumfriesshire-based competitor picking up the award as the leading Under-21 driver to complete the event.
There were 57 classified finishers, and 26 retirements.
Among them were Carlisle ace Peter Taylor, whose Ford Focus WRC suffered prop-shaft failure early on; and Stephen Petch, who had to retire his Hyundai Accent WRC with electrical failure after the second stage.
Results
Posted: March 18, 2012 6:36 PM
1 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 42 mins 17 secs
2 Mike Faulkner (Aspatria)/Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 44.07
3 Jonny Greer (Carryduff)/Dai Roberts (Carmarthen) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 44.16
4 Barry Groundwater (Stonehaven)/Neil Shanks (Elgin) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 44.36
5 Rory Young (Kirkgunzeon)/Allan Cathers (Carlisle) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5 44.38
6 Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) Ford Focus WRC 44.52
7 Quintin Milne (Banchory)/Martin Forrest (Aberdeen) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 44.55
8 John McClory (Strathblane)/David Hood (Elderslie) Subaru Impreza N10 45.00
9 Steve Bannister (Malton)/Louise Sutherland (Hawick) Ford Escort Mk2 45.46
10 John Morrison (Conon Bridge)/Peter Carstairs (St Andrews) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9 46.07
CLASS WINNERS:
Class 2 – Greg McKnight (Penpont)/Chris McKnight (Penpont) Vauxhall Nova
Class 3 – Blair McCulloch (Ayr)/Alex McCulloch (Ayr) Vauxhall Nova
Class 4 – John Boyd (West Linton)/Chris Williamson (Glenrothes) Ford Fiesta
Class 6 – Steve Bannister (Malton)/Louise Sutherland (Hawick) Ford Escort Mk2
Class 7 – Craig Rutherford (Fionphort)/Martin Maccabe (Glasgow) Honda Civic Type-R
Class 8 – Keith Robathan (Alford)/Phil Clarke (Felhampton) Ford Escort Mk2
Class 9 – Michael Horne (Duns)/Robbie Mitchell (Duns) Ford Escort Mk2
Class 10 – Rory Young (Kirkgunzeon)/Allan Cathers (Carlisle) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5
Class 12 – David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9
Organisers of next weekend's Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally reckon the opening forest stage ' last used in the 1980's - will act as a "great leveller" for the eighty-plus crews entered for the event, the second round of the 2012 MSA Scottish Rally Championship.
The 9-mile stage at Craik Forest, west of Hawick, has been brought into play to mark the 40th anniversary of the first running of the Border Counties in 1972.
"It's so long since it was last used that none of the crews will have any knowledge of it. It's virtually a brand new stage", said Clerk of the Course Paul Hughes: "It's in fantastic condition, and I'm confident the drivers will absolutely love it".
Crews will then head to a service area located at a town centre car park in Hawick, another throwback to Border Counties of the past.
The remaining four stages will take competitors to the more familiar - but no less challenging - Wauchope and Kielder Forests.
Current Scottish and British champions David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae will again be the crew to beat on Saturday as they target a second successive victory on the Jedburgh-based event.
They dominated last month's season-opener in the forests around Inverness, despite several "big moments" in the treacherous blizzard conditions.
Bogie's Mitsubishi EVO 9 will be followed off the start-line by Snowman runner-up Mike Faulkner ' provided he can repair his EVO 6 in time after crashing out on last weekend's Malcolm Wilson Rally. The car rolled, causing extensive damage to the bodywork.
"We've had a lot of help and advice for which we're extremely grateful. We've since sourced an EVO 6 shell, so we'll be burning a lot of midnight oil to get the car ready in time. Hopefully we'll make it", said Faulkner, who with navigator Peter Foy, finished second on the Border Counties twelve months ago.
Euan Thorburn from Duns had a frustrating start to his championship campaign in a newly-acquired Ford Focus WRC '01, gearbox and clutch problems spoiling his Highland outing. However, a strong third-place finish on the Malcolm Wilson alongside Paul Beaton should have boosted his confidence for this coming weekend.
Although not eligible for championship points, former BRC front-runner Jonny Greer from Northern Ireland will be eyeing overall honours as he returns to the Scottish forests at the wheel of a Mitsubishi EVO 9. He will be co-driven by Dai Roberts.
Fifth seed Barry Groundwater ' who has had four top ten finishes on the Border Counties since 2008 - got his SRC season off to a positive start with a sixth place on the Snowman in his EVO 9. He will be partnered this time out by Neil Shanks from Elgin.
Rising star and BRC challenger Peter Taylor, with Andrew Roughead on the notes,will also be one to watch after securing an exceptional third-place finish in Inverness in a Ford Focus WRC '02 ' his first time out in the car.
Dumfries farmer Rory Young will be hopeful of another top five spot after steering his Group N EVO 4 to a fine fourth overall in Inverness, alongside Carlisle navigator Allan Cathers, and County Durham's Stephen Petch will be back in action, with navigator Michael Wilkinson, in his distinctive Hyundai Accent WRC.
Border Counties sponsor John McClory, co-driven by David Hood, starts ninth in his Subaru Impreza N10. The pair were on the pace on the Snowman ' finishing fifth overall - their best ever result in the Scottish championship.
Stephen and Kevin Lockhart, in an EVO 7, will be looking for a repeat of their top ten finish of twelve months ago: the Oban crew starting one ahead of Banchory's Quintin Milne who marked his 4WD debut with an impressive performance on the Snowman.
The former Escort Mk2 competitor, co-driven by Martin Forrest from Aberdeen, was running second overall after four stages in his EVO 9, before a succession of mechanical problems knocked him back to ninth overall.
The top twelve is rounded off by Chris Collie and Lisa Watson who return to the fray in a Mitsubishi EVO 6. The Aberdeenshire crew's Snowman challenge ended when their Subaru Impreza sustained heavy damage after rolling twice on stage four.
Top seed in the 2WD classes, which will run at the front of the field, is Steve Bannister, co-driven by Louise Sutherland, in his historic-spec Ford Escort Mk2. Seventh overall on the Border Counties two years ago, the duo come fresh from a class-winning drive on the Malcolm Wilson last weekend.
They will be followed off the line by Willie Stuart and David Findlay in a Talbot Sunbeam: the Alford-based driver picking up a hard-earned Class 3 victory on the season-opener in Inverness.
The 1600 challenge is headed by John Boyd and Chris Williamson in a Ford Fiesta, hotly pursued by the Honda Civic of Graeme Schoneville and Michael Hendry. The Carluke driver got his 2012 campaign off to a flying start with a class win and nineteenth overall - his best ever result on the Snowman.
Alasdair S Graham, co-driven by Laura Stuart, will be targeting a good points haul in his Vauxhall Corsa, and Carl Tuer, co-driven by Ross Hynd, will want to make amends for a DNF on the opening round in his MG ZR S1600.
Tom and Sue Hynd (Peugeot 205 Gti), meanwhile, will be battling for Class 3 honours with the aforementioned Messrs Stuart and Findlay , along with Dumfries and Galloway crew Iain Haining and Mairi Riddick, who were second in Inverness in their Vauxhall Nova.
The first 2WD car will leave Abbey Place in Jedburgh at 0831 on Saturday, with the first 4WD car following at 0936. The leading cars are due to return at approximately 1445 and 1550 respectively.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: March 12, 2012 11:43 AM
No Driver/Co-Driver (Make Model) [Class]
1 David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9) [12]
2 Mike Faulkner /Peter Foy (Mitsibushi TBA) [12]
3 Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton (Ford Focus WRC) [12]
4 Jonathan Greer /Dai Roberts (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 ) [12]
5 Barry Groundwater/Neil Shanks (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 ) [12]
6 Peter Taylor/Andrew Roughead (Ford Focus WRC) [12]
7 Rory Young/Allan Cathers (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [10]
8 Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson (Hyundai Accent WRC) [12]
9 John McClory/David Hood (Subaru Impreza N15) [10]
10 Stephen Lockhart/Kevin Lockhart (Mitsibushi Lancer Evo 7) [10]
11 Quintin Milne/Martin Forrest (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) [12]
12 Chris Collie/Lisa Watson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [12]
14 Dougal Brown/Lewis Rochford (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [10]
15 Alistair Inglis/Colin Inglis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 5) [12]
16 Michael Glendinning/TBA (Subaru Impreza) [10]
17 John Morrison/Peter Carstairs (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [10]
18 Matthew Calderwood/Stan Quirk (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [12]
19 Jon Burn/Alan Stark (Subaru Impreza WRC) [12]
20 Malcolm Buchanan/Ian Nicoll (Ford Escort MK11) [8]
21 Calum MacLeod/Claudia MacLeod (MG S2000) [11]
22 Keith Robathan/Phil Clarke (Ford Escort MK 2) [8]
23 Bruce McCombie/Michael Coutts (Subaru Impreza) [12]
24 Craig McMiken/Susan Shanks (Mitsubishi Evo9) [12]
25 Stevie Brown/Jack Morton (Subaru Impreza) [12]
26 John Rintoul/Jim Rintoul (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [12]
27 Michael Horne/Robbie Mitchell (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
28 Matthew Robinson/Nigel Hutchinson (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
29 Fraser Wilson/Steven Broll (Mitsibushi Evo 6) [10]
30 Eddie O'Donnell jnr/Eddie O'Donnell snr (Ford Escort RS) [9]
31 Stephen Baillie/Darren Mcdonald (Subaru Impreza) [12]
32 Peter Stewart/Phil Shortt (Subaru Impreza) [12]
33 Gordon Murray/Danny Small (Subaru Impreza) [12]
34 Richard Stewart/Carin Logan (Subaru Impreza) [12]
35 Ross Mcfadzean/Jane Nicol (Subaru Impreza) [10]
36 Alasdair Reid/TBA (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [12]
37 Brian Watson /Caroline Will (Mitsubishi Evo 5 ) [12]
38 Billy Miller/Ian Imlach (Mitsubushi Evo 3) [12]
39 Roland Wessel/Malcolm Vie (Lancia Delta Integrale) [12]
40 Duncan Ferguson/Janice Ferguson (Ford Escort ) [8]
41 Ian Petrie/Stewart Hurst (Mitsubishi Evo 4) [12]
42 Greg Pollock/Michael Cruickshank (Subaru Impreza) [12]
43 David Wallbank/Mike Scrimgour (Ford Escort Mk 2) [8]
44 Joanna Wickham/Josh Davison (Subaru Impreza) [12]
45 Roy Eide-Johansen/Mark Scott Simpson (Ford Escort Mk1) [8]
46 Geoff Goudie/Calum Jaffray (Subaru Impreza) [12]
47 Darren Martin/Martin Steele (Subaru Impreza) [12]
101 Steve Bannister/Louise Sutherland (Ford Escort MK11) [6]
102 Willie Stuart/David Finlay (TALBOT SUNBEAM) [3]
103 John Boyd/Chris Williamson (Ford Fiesta) [4]
104 Graeme Schoneville/Michael Hendry (Honda Civic) [4]
105 Alasdair S Graham/Laura Stuart (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
106 Carl Tuer/Ross Hynd (MG ZR S1600) [4]
107 Malcolm Robertson/Katie Stimpson (Talbot Sunbeam) [4]
108 Iain Haining/Mairi Riddick (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
109 Sean Robson/Iain Robson (Ford Fiesta ST) [7]
110 Graeme Smith/Laura Marshall (Honda Civic) [4]
111 Grant Inglis/Robert Gray (Honda Civic) [4]
112 Tom Hynd/Sue Hynd (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
114 Greg McKnight/Chris McKnight (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
115 Craig Rutherford/Martin Maccabe (Honda Civic Type R) [7]
116 Phil Jobson/Jerry Hettrick (Ford Escort Mark 2) [4]
117 David Taylor/Lynsey Brench (Ford Escort MkII) [4]
118 Jim Robertson/Colin Maxwell (Citroen c2r2) [4]
119 Jonathan Smith/Fraser Smith (Honda Civic) [4]
120 Blair McCulloch/Alex McCulloch (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
121 David Gordon Killin/Clive A Black (Opel Kadette Coupe) [6]
122 Des Campbell/Alex Orr (Peugeot 206 Cup Car) [4]
123 Jordan Black/Ewan Leeming (Peugeot 205 Gti) [3]
124 Roy Maclennan/Robin Nicolson (Peugeot 205 Gti) [3]
125 Duncan Campbell/Gavin Chisholm (Honda Civic) [4]
126 Gavin Chalmers/Allan Smith (Ford Focus) [1]
127 Alan Hughes/Richard Wardle (Ford Escort Mk11) [6]
128 Rob Ashwell/Stephen Marshall (Citroen C2 GT) [4]
129 David Cameron/Douglas Cameron (Ford Escort) [5]
130 Tony Thompson/Paul Hudson (Vauxhall Chevette HSR) [6]
131 James Johns/Paul Watkins (Skoda Felicia) [2]
132 David Coleman/Kyle Gass (Skoda Felicia) [2]
133 Kieran Renton/Paul McGuire (Ford Fiesta) [7]
134 James Thomson/Alison Woodcock (Peugeot 206) [4]
135 Adrian Stewart/Richard Simmonds (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
136 Callum Atkinson/Kevin Mathers (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
137 Scott Peacock/Mark McCulloch (Peugeot 205) [3]
138 Douglas Watt/Donald Munro (Ford Esccort MK2) [3]
139 Iain Rettie/Ian McCutcheon (Peugeot 205 GTi) [3]
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