Aberdeenshire driver Quintin Milne will have home support as he targets a third consecutive victory in the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Championship on Saturday April 20th.
Milne won impressively in treacherous conditions on last month's Border Counties, and will be looking to take maximum points on the Coltel Granite City Rally, which has attracted a strong field of 113 entries.
The Banchory competitor, who celebrated his debut SRC win on the final Colin McRae Stages round last year, will line up his Mitsubishi EVO 9 as third seed, alongside co-driver Martin Forrest from Aberdeen.
First away from the start- ramp at Duthie Park in Aberdeen will be defending Scottish champion David Bogie - winner of the Granite last year and in 2010, and runner-up by just one second to Dave Weston in 2011.
The Dumfries driver - who is still adapting to his left-hand drive Ford Focus WRC - was, on his own admission, frustrated by poor tyre choice in the ice and snow of Kielder Forest. Nevertheless, he still managed to salvage third place in the SRC points, alongside navigator and fellow four-times champion Kevin Rae from Hawick.
Meanwhile, his Borders' rival Euan Thorburn - second on the Granite in 2012 - endured a difficult day in his Focus WRC, finishing tenth in the points. The Duns' man – winner of the Malcolm Wilson Rally in March - will again have Paul Beaton of Inverness on the notes.
Dumfries and Galloway crew Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick will be looking to kick-start their championship campaign after a non-finish in the Borders: their Subaru Impreza sliding off and becoming stuck on an embankment on the first stage.
2009 Granite winner Mike Faulkner, co-driven by Peter Foy, finished a hard-earned fifth in the points on the Border Counties in his ex-David Wilson Mitsubishi EVO 9, but says the Aberdeen event should offer the first opportunity to find out the real potential of the car:
“We don’t really feel as though we’ve got this season going yet”, said Faulkner: “The Border Counties was a lottery, and while we were pleased to get through safely, it wasn’t really an event you could attack and know where the pace is for the rest of the year”
He went on: “We enjoy the Granite, but since our win in 2009 it hasn’t been a great event for us but hopefully we can put that right. The stages are fast and tricky with some very loose bits, which should suit us, so hopefully we can give the new car a proper test. With the weather throwing up different results for a lot of the championship front runners on the Borders, the Granite is already a critical event for the SRC, with a top quality entry”.
A threat to the SRC regulars could come from Aberdeen’s Dave Weston Jnr, who has teamed up with international co-driver Claire Mole, in an EVO 9 for his local event, while Barry Groundwater, runner-up on the Border Counties, starts one place further back in his EVO. The Stonehaven driver will have Neil Shanks from Elgin on the notes.
The Highland contingent will be led by Inverness crew Donnie MacDonald and Andrew Falconer who got their season off to a strong start, ending the day fifth overall, fourth in the points in Jedburgh in their EVO 9.
Also looking for a strong finish will be 2007 Granite winner Andy Horne, co-driven by Kilmarnock’s Jim Howie, at the wheel of his ever-popular DAM 4100gti
The leading Group N car is the Subaru Impreza N15 of John McClory and David Hood. They won the category on the Border Counties with a seventh place finish, sixth among the registered championship competitors.
On last year's Granite, Bruce McCombie produced one of the drives of the day in his Subaru Impreza to finish fourth overall behind Bogie, Thorburn and Paul Benn. The Banchory driver, who is seeded eleventh, will team-up with leading co-driver Dave Robson for his local event.
Fellow Aberdeenshire competitor Calum Mackenzie, paired with navigator Neil Ewing from Largs, makes a welcome return to competition in his Ford Escort Mk2, while a number of class winners on the Border Counties will be back in action among the smaller-engined 2WD entries.
In Class 2, Highland duo Ross Macdonald and Matthew Johnstone will aim for a second successive maximum points haul in their Vauxhall Corsa, while Dumfries and Galloway's Iain Haining and Mairi Riddick - in a Vauxhall Corsa - will be the crew to beat in Class 3.In Class 7, Ian and Kathryn Forgan from Lundin Links will look to carry over their good form from the Border Counties in a Ford Ka.
Seeded Entry List
Posted: April 11, 2013 2:12 PM
No Driver/Co-Driver (Make Model) [Class]
1 David Bogie/Kevin Rae (Ford Focus WRC) [12]
2 Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton (Ford Focus WRC) [12]
3 Quintin Milne/Martin Forrest (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [12]
4 Jock Armstrong/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza WRX) [12]
5 Mike Faulkner /Peter Foy (Mitsibushi Lancer Evo 9 ) [12]
6 David Weston Jnr /Claire Mole (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 ) [12]
7 Barry Groundwater/Neil Shanks (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [12]
8 Donnie MacDonald/Andrew Falconer (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 ) [12]
9 Andy Horne/Jim Howie (Dam 4100gti) [12]
10 John McClory/David Hood (Subaru Impreza N15) [10]
11 Bruce McCombie/Dave Robson (Subaru Impreza) [12]
12 Stephen Lockhart/TBA (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) [10]
14 Reay Mackay/Stuart Loudan (Subaru Impreza WRC) [12]
15 Chris Collie/Lisa Watson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [12]
16 Oliver Mellors/Sam Collis (Proton Satria Neo S2000) [10]
17 Osian Pryce/Dale Furniss (Citroen DS3 R3T) [9]
18 Alistair Inglis/Colin Inglis (Mitsubshi Lancer Evo 5) [12]
19 Calum Mackenzie/Neil Ewing (Ford Escort Mark 2) [8]
20 Dougal Brown/Lewis Rochford (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [12]
21 John Morrison/Peter Carstairs (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) [10]
22 Mark McCulloch/Elliott Edmondson (Subaru Impreza) [12]
23 Malloch Nicoll/Ian Nicoll (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9) [10]
24 Craig McMiken/Craig Wallace (Mitsibishi Lancer Evo 9) [12]
25 Stephen Baillie/Susan Shanks (Subaru Impreza) [12]
26 Fraser Wilson/Steven Broll (Mitsubishi EVO 8 ) [10]
27 John Rintoul/Jim Rintoul (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [12]
28 Martin Craik/Steven Brown (Subaru Impreza) [12]
29 Brian Ross/Sean Donnelly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [12]
30 Brian Watson/Jane Nicol (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [12]
31 Fraser Louden/Abi Louden (Mitsubishi Evo IX) [12]
32 Ian Paterson/James Haugh (Subaru Impreza) [12]
33 Fraser MacNicol/Keith Boa (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo) [12]
34 Richard Stewart/Walter McDonald (Subaru Impreza) [12]
35 Ian Watson/Mike Dickson (Subaru Impreza N11) [12]
36 Ken Wood/Mike Cruickshank (Triumph Dolomite Sprint) [9]
37 Charlie Jarrett/Andrew Stevenson (Ford Mk 2 Escort) [9]
38 Robert Harkness/Mike Curry (BMW 316I) [9]
39 Alasdair Reid/Donald Urquhart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [12]
40 Graeme Schoneville/Michael Hendry (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
41 Alasdair S Graham/Laura Stuart (Vauxhall Corsa) [4]
42 Graeme Smith/Laura Marshall (Honda Civic) [4]
43 Iain Haining/Mairi Riddick (Vauxhall Nova) [3]
44 Billy Miller/Ian Imlach (Mitsubishi Lancer) [12]
45 Brian James Stephen/TBA (Ford Cosworth) [12]
46 Sandy Arbuthnott/Ian Arbuthnott (MG Metro 6r4) [12]
47 Grant Inglis/Robert Gray (Honda Civic) [4]
48 Gordon Murray/Danny Small (Ford Escort Mk2) [9]
49 Stewart Davidson/Breagha Dobney (Ford Escort) [5]
50 Iain Wilson/Keith Fremantle (Vauxhall Nova) [4]
51 Ian Forgan/Kathryn Forgan (Ford Ka) [7]
52 Mike Grant/Graham Kelman (Subaru Impreza) [12]
53 Sean Will/Tom Hynd (Mitsubushi Evo 5) [12]
54 Andrew Morrison/Nicola Morrison (Ford Escort) [9]
55 James Robertson/Colin Maxwell (Citroen C2R2) [4]
56 Steven Smith/Daniel Johnstone (Peugeot 206 RC) [7]
57 Kieran Renton/Carin Logan (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
58 Donald Brooker/Rachel Brooker (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus) [6]
59 Ian Petrie/Alan Falconer (Mitsiishi Evo 4) [4]
60 Russell Mann/Dan Forsyth (Subaru Impreza) [12]
61 Jordan Black/Alan todd (Peugeot 205gti) [3]
62 Callum Atkinson /Craig Forsyth (Peugeot 205) [3]
63 Scott Peacock/Keith Riddick (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
64 Geoff Goudie/Calum Jaffray (Subaru Impreza) [12]
65 Charles Blair /Mark Roberts (Peugeot 205 GTI ) [3]
66 Duncan Campbell/Gavin Chilsholm (Honda Civic) [4]
67 Matthew Kesson /Ronnie Roughead (Ford Fiesta R 2) [4]
68 Graeme Sherry/Peter Weall (Peugeot 205 Gti) [3]
69 Ross Macdonald/Matthew Johnstone (Vauxhall Corsa) [2]
70 Bill Davidson/Ashleigh Will (Subaru GC8 Impreza) [12]
71 Michael Rae/Mark Runciman (Subaru Impreza) [12]
72 Stuart Glendinning/Craig Robb (Ford Puma R2000) [8]
73 Adrian Stewart/Richard Simmonds (Peugeot 205 GTI) [3]
74 James Aitken/Sam Body (MG ZR) [2]
75 Ian Cattanach/Calum Donald William Macleod (Talbot Sunbeam) [4]
76 Scott Kerr/Steve Clark (Mitsubishi Evo 8) [12]
77 Scott Walker/David Murray (Mazda 323) [8]
78 James Brims/Iain Macdonald (Subaru Impreza) [12]
79 Derek Duncan/Adrian Bruce (Subaru Impreza) [12]
80 Alasdair Anderson/Richard Sutherland (Subaru Impreza WRX) [12]
81 Stuart Morrison/James Ralph (Talbot Sunbeam) [3]
82 Donald MacNeill/Cara MacNeill (Talbot Sunbeam) [3]
83 Rory James Fraser/Ewen Jappy (Peugeot 205 Gti) [3]
84 David Cameron/James Cameron (Ford Escort Mk2) [5]
85 Duncan MacDonald/Neil Ross (Ford Escort MK2) [5]
86 Steve McGregor/Gordon Reid (Mitsubishi EVO 3) [12]
87 Craig Whyte/Darren Graham Mcdonald (Peugeot 205) [3]
88 Colin Baxter/John Campbell (Peugeot 205) [3]
89 Alister MacArthur/Chris Robertson (Talbot Sunbeam) [3]
90 Simon Hay/Colin Harkness (Peugeot 205GTI) [3]
91 Sandy Morrison/Jenna Beaton (Ford Sierra) [12]
92 Jim Forman/Steven Ogston (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [12]
93 Neil Philip/Ian Philip (Subaru Impreza) [12]
94 James Macqueen/Susan Macrae (Subaru Impreza) [12]
95 Michael Robertson/Gary Mcdonald (Subaru Impreza) [12]
96 Iain Mutch/Matthew Simons (Vauxhall Astra Mark 2 ) [7]
97 John Macleod/John Macleod (Ford Focus) [7]
98 Darren Christie/Daniel Christie (Peugeot 306 S16) [7]
99 Scott Sloan/David Sloan (Vauxhaul Corsa) [2]
100 Blair Brown/Richard Crozier (Peugeot 205 GTI ) [3]
101 Caroline Carslaw/John Duke (Ford Fiesta) [7]
102 Rod Manson/Ewan Manson (Hillman Imp) [1]
103 Craig Martin/John Martin (Skoda Favorit) [2]
104 Steven Wood/Mary Wood (Ford Fiesta RWD) [5]
105 Keir Beaton/Chris Hamill (Honda Civic) [4]
106 Duncan Niall Munro/Chris Munro (Ford Escort Mark 2) [5]
107 John O'kane/George Finlayson (Ford Fiesta XR2i) [7]
108 M. Thaarique Fazal/To be determined (Peugeot 205 GTi) [3]
109 Philip Hillard/Stephen Anderson (Mazda 323 Turbo 4x4) [12]
110 Colin Patterson/Gary Clark (Peugeot 106) [4]
111 Rachel Clark/Katherine Begg (Nissan Micra) [2]
112 David James McLoughlin/Michael Brain McLoughlin (Peugeot 205) [3]
113 Ryan Dunbar/Billy Falconer (Vauxhall Corsa) [2]
114 Graeme Foubister/Bill Florence (Peugeot 205 GTI) [5]
115 Timothy Cathcart/Barry McNulty (Ford Fiesta R2) [4]
116 Mark Donnelly/Dai Roberts (Citroen DS3 R3) [4]
News Stories
Classifieds
Shop
TV Guide
Links
Upcoming 
Most