Speyside Stages - 19 Aug 06

Posted: August 18, 2006 3:14 PM

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18/08/06
JOHNSON AIMS FOR HAT-TRICK AS BATTLE MOVES NORTH
Last year’s Scottish Rally champion, Barry Johnson, is hoping the next event of the season in the north of Scotland (Saturday August 19) will bring him a change of luck.  

Johnson hasn’t had much luck this year and is currently lying in fourth place in the standings. Johnson will be out again in his ex-Petter Solberg Subaru Impreza World Rally Car and hoping to hold off the challenge from his Scottish rivals.

  After making history on last year’s Gleaner Oil and Gas Speyside Stages by being the first driver to win the event twice, surely he will be hoping to make 2006 the treble on the event.

  At this stage last year Johnson was wiping the boards with the other crews. He sailed into an early lead from round one, with many of the other crews struggling to match his pace. At the Speyside last year he even clinched the championship title – with three rounds still to go.

He has been quoted on many occasions as saying the Speyside is one of his favourite events – and he is looking forward to making 2006 another year to remember.  

He said this week: “I will be heading up to the event this weekend, but for me I think this will be the last event of the season. Hopefully the car will be running okay this weekend, despite a lot of recent problems.”

  Also heading to the forests around the rally base in Elgin will be Aberdeen’s Dave Weston in his Ford Focus WRC. Weston has won the last three rounds, putting him at the top of the County Saab Scottish Rally Championship board.

  Partnered by Borders’ navigator Dave Robson, Weston is delighted to be topping the tables as the series moves into the second half of the season.

  “I have never found myself in such a strong position at this stage of the season. It has taken me a long time to get this far and I am determined to just concentrate on my own event without worrying too much about what everyone else is doing.”

  However, a last minute test on Saturday could have put an end to Westons’ event. While testing at Loch Ard he crashed the Focus WRC into a tree in 6th gear – an impact which could have had a devastating result but fortunately there was no real damage.  

“We missed a tree by about an inch and the car just disappeared into the undergrowth, but we got away with it. It was only really the front spoiler that was damaged.”  

Despite both Johnson and Weston battling it out this year for the top spot, with one thing or another they have never managed to have a fair and square head to head.  

Weston added: “For one reason or another with mechanical problems on the past few events myself and Barry have never had a fair run against each other and I hope that happens this weekend. The last time was probably the Speyside last year, so I hope we both get a good clean run this time round.”  

There will also be a local “celebrity” out on the event, tackling her first ever rally.  

Aberdeenshire’s Nicola Jolly, who was Miss UK in 2004 and Miss Scotland 2003, is taking a break from her day job as a presenter to sit alongside Sandy Dalgarno in the event opening car. Sandy was the first ever winner of the Speyside rally and the pair are looking forward to their rally in his ex-works MkII Escort.  

Dumfries’ David Hughes, currently lying in second in the placings, is hoping for a good result in Elgin. Hughes, in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8.5 with

Louise Sutherland of Invergarry, has been achieving consistent results this year and is pleased to be lying in second.  

Hughes, whose increase in pace this year has surprised many out on the stages also feels he has a secret weapon in the car. He said: “Louise has been a big part of my success this year, she is always egging me on and pushing me to go quicker.”  

Just holding on to the third spot is previous leader, Alan Dickson of Glasgow. Dickson, partnered by Aberdeen’s Martin Forrest, went to the last round hopeful of keeping his top spot but he failed to even start the event. When the team started the car for scrutineering they found there were major problems – and although they may of got a few stages out of the car they faced the risk of blowing the engine completely.

  There was nothing for a distraught Dickson to do but about turn from the town of Kelso and head home – well back to Arran where he had left his family on their summer holiday. “It wasn’t all bad, at least I got to go and enjoy the rest of the break with the family,” said Dickson.

  “I was gutted though. We went to the event lying in first place and now we are in third. We really need to step up the pace on this round and from here on in,” said Dickson.

  The engine on Dickson’s car has been completely rebuilt and the crew will be hoping it will be in tip-top condition for the trip north this weekend.

  Dickson continued: “The engine was stripped and we discovered it was a broken piston ring which caused the problems. The part was sent to Japan for further tests before it was rebuilt completely.

  "At the very least it justified our decision to pull out of the event. We were minutes away from destroying a relatively new engine.”

  Turning to this weekend’s event Dickson is hoping he can turn his luck on this event around.

  “We have not had a good result on this event in the last three years – but we don’t intend going home early this year. We are lying in third place at the moment and we need a good result here to cement that. So the whole team will be keeping their fingers crossed we make it to the finish line on Saturday afternoon.”

  While the tables look fairly clear cut at the moment, it is only points from six of the eight rounds which count towards their final score – with everyone still to drop two scores.  

One familiar face returning to the scene this weekend for a one-off is Gary Adam, in his Subaru Impreza. Gary, partnered by Dad Gordon, will also be one to watch for the top three slots.  

Both Weston and Dickson have said he will be one to watch, despite not being out for a while.

  “He will maybe struggle a bit to start with,” said Weston, “but by the end of the day he will be right on the pace.”

  Inverness driver, Jimmy Girvan, returns again in an Impreza, with Forres businessman Mike Ramsay beside him. Alistair Tough of nearby Inverness has also put an entry in for this event, despite sitting out many of the SRC rounds this season.  

Also on the entry list is previous winners Jim Carty, in his Subaru Impreza and local favourite Andy Horne in the DAM 4100 Metro - all still likely contenders for the podium.

Speyside Stages

• 2006 Scottish Rally Championship

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15/08/06
The 63 Car Club (Elgin) is running the Speyside Stages Rally on Saturday 19th starting at the TA complex on Edgar Road Elgin at 9.30am. Again the first competitive stage of the event will be the Cooper Park Stage with opening car due off at 9.35am. This popular stage is open to the public to see the cars and spectators are advised to get there early to get good vantage point for seeing the action. Popular areas like the Grant Lodge hairpin and River Lossie bank at the Bishopmill side of the park fill up quickly so please come early.

            Heading the 87 strong entries is the Barry Johnson, winner of the event the last two years. Following him is Aberdeen’s Dave Weston, current leader in the 2006 Scottish Rally Championship in his Ford Focus WRC.  Running at car 5 is Jimmy Girvan from Inverness with Forres businessman Mike Ramsey sitting alongside him reading the route notes. Going further through the field we have previous winners Jim Carty in a Subaru and local favourite Andy Horne in the Metro 6R4 who are still likely contenders for podium top spot. The first of the two wheel drive cars come in at position with Alford’s Willie Stuart in a mark2 Escort with Banchory’s Bruce McCombie in his front wheel drive Micra.

            Elgin brothers Sandy and Ian Arbuthnott in another mark 2 Escort, running at car 37 are hoping to continue making progress up the finishing order following recent engine improvements. 63 Car Club members the pair have steadily improved throughout the season including top twenty and top ten placings. Another 63 Car Club crew are Mosstodloch couple Russell Kessack and Hayley Farquhar in their Vauxhall Nova. This pairing have made great headway this year and include class wins and are currently in 2nd place in Class 3 of the Scottish Rally Championship behind Kintore’s Fraser Louden in a Ford Puma.

            The Speyside Stages has always had competitors who are along for the fun of the event and this year is no different; former Scottish rally Champions from the eighties Ken Wood and Peter Brown have decided to re-unite for old times sake in a Triumph Dolomite Sprint which Ken has recently restored. The car of 1973 vintage will bring back memories to older spectators. For the younger spectators, the crew were famed for driving the Golden Wonder Crisp backed Rover SD1 and latterly the Metro 6R4. Indeed it was this pairing which gave the 6R4 its first win in clubman form. With Golden Wonder Crisps making a return to the shops maybe a good performance on the Speyside Rally by Ken and Peter, they might also decide to make a comeback.

            Other cars of yesteryear making appearances are: Opel Kadette Coupe of David Killan, a Sunbeam Rapier of David Stevenson and Duncan MacGregor’s Ford Capri. These cars might seem unusual to the youth of today but the Clio of County Durham’s Alistair Hutchison is unusual in that LPG powers its 2litre engine. Gleaner Oil and Gas who sponsor the Speyside Stages are delighted to see this alternative fuelled vehicle competing in the event.

            The organisers 63 Car Club are delighted by quality and variety of competitors for the event with crew members travelling from all around the UK and we even have a co-driver from Norway. The event starting in Elgin will be travelling along a route, which will take them through the forests of Moray and Aberdeenshire before returning to Elgin’s TA centre for the prize giving. Most of the forest stages have spectator access in designated car parks off the public road. Members of the local community will man these car parks and there will be a charge for entry, which will be used for their local groups.  The organisers would appreciate if spectators used these car parks, Rally programs will be available at outlets in Elgin, Keith and Huntly.  

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09/08/06
August and the Heat is on
Now that August is upon us the weeks to the Gleaner Speyside rally has now became days, July’s heat-wave having dried and firmed up the forest roads, and this weeks rain was a welcome sight to dampen the dust. With the rally using the forest roads in Moray and Aberdeenshire as well as the now customary Cooper Park Stage, competitors will be battling to become the 10th winner of the Speyside Stages Rally.

This years Scottish Rally Championship is being hotly contested and after round five the Jim Clark Riever’s Rally in July we see Aberdeen’s Dave Weston edge into a lead from the chasing pack. Weston in a Ford Focus WRC has shown at steady pace with victories in the last three rounds, he now has a nine-point lead from Dumfries’s David Hughes. Hughes co-driven by Invergarry’s Louise Sutherland in a Lancer Evo 8.5. Alan Dickson and last year’s winner Barry Johnson following in forth place. These three have a mere six points separating them. Although these four are the main contenders for the overall championship at present, the following group of drivers will need to be carefully watched as they have the ability and the machinery to win the Elgin based event. The crews include former Speyside winner Jim Carty in a Subaru Impreza, Greenock’s Andy Kelly in a Lancer Evo 8 and Alistair Thorburn from Duns in another Impreza.

Amongst the two-wheel drive competitors are local brothers Sandy and Ian Arbuthnott in the Vauxhall powered Mark 2 Escort, hoping for a good placing after the disappointment of the Jim Clark Riever’s Rally where a heavy landing after a “yump” saw their rear differential destroyed.

The Speyside Rally is always well contested, but because of the friendliness of the event and the quality of the stages there are always the competitors who come for the “craic”. The 2006 Gleaner Speyside Stages Rally again proves this with a surprise entry from a former Scottish Championship crew. Aberdeen’s Ken Wood and co-driver Peter Brown from Galashiels decided that the event would be a suitable one-off for a “twa auld guys”. Ken has spent months/years restoring a Triumph Dolomite Sprint and the pair thought that it deserved an outing now that it was finished, so off in the post went an entry with a covering note that the combined age of the trio was 147. With the car being of 1973 vintage that meant that the crew have a share of 114 years and no one admitting to being the senior member. They pair completely regularly between 1972 and 1990 starting most of the Scottish events in that time. They will be mostly remembered for some awesome performances in a Rover SD1 3.5 and latterly in the Metro 6R4 both cars liveried in the colours of Golden Wonder Crisps. Indeed it was this crew who gave the Clubman Specification 6R4 its maiden win in competition in 1986 on the Valentine stages Rally.

The Gleaner Speyside Stages Rally takes place on Saturday the 19th August with the start being from the TA Centre, Edgar Road, Elgin at 9.30am and the first competitive stage in the Cooper Park at 9.35 am. Scrutineering for the event takes place on the evening of Friday the 18th and is open to the public to come along and see the cars.

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05/07/06
Speyside Organiser say TA for new headquarters
Saturday 19th August sees the 10th running of the Speyside Stages organised by the 63 Car Club (Elgin) and sponsored by Elgin based Gleaner Oil and Gas. The organisers are delighted by Gleaner Oil and Gas decision following last year’s successful event to continue as our title sponsor.

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05/07/06
Speyside Organiser say TA for new headquarters
Saturday 19th August sees the 10th running of the Speyside Stages organised by the 63 Car Club (Elgin) and sponsored by Elgin based Gleaner Oil and Gas. The organisers are delighted by Gleaner Oil and Gas decision following last year’s successful event to continue as our title sponsor.

Speyside Stages

• 2006 Scottish Rally Championship