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LinksSpeyside Stages - 8 Aug 09
Posted: August 12, 2009 2:50 PM - 6825 Hits
Round 6 - 2009 Scottish Rally Championship
- Video Clips
- Results
- Entry List Available
- Final Countdown to Speyside Stages Rally
- Entries Received to Date:
- Drivers prepare for Speyside test
- Regulations / Entry Form available
- Spectator Stage to open 2009 Rally
- Event Website / Details
Entry List Available
Posted: August 5, 2009 2:20 PM
Entry List available on the Competitors page of:
Final Countdown to Speyside Stages Rally
Posted: July 29, 2009 10:05 PM
The Organising team are busy putting the final touches to what is shaping up to be a vital round in the outcome of this year’s Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship, the Elgin based Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages on Saturday 8th August.
With little more than a week away the organisers of the event – The 63 Car Club – are preparing for a busy week ahead. With six stages in the forests to the east of the events Elgin base to be set up, it take’s a lot of man power to get everything right. With over 2000 stakes to be put into the ground, over 300 direction arrows, approx 1 mile of spectator fencing & 3 miles of barrier tape all to be in place ready for the start of the event there’s plenty to do for the organisers, all of whom give their time voluntarily to ensure the event runs, and runs safely;
“Safety is obviously a big priority for us as organisers” explained Clerk of the Course Neil Shanks. “With thousands of spectators expected to be out watching on the stages we need to ensure everything is in place to allow rally fans from around Scotland to enjoy the event safely, as well as ensuring the competitors all know where to go!”
From a Competitors viewpoint, the final week before the event will be just as busy, with mechanics and drivers making sure the car is ready, and navigators pouring over the event paperwork to make their final preperations. With over one hundred cars set to battle it out on the event local interest comes from a number of crews.
One such crew looking to be at the sharp end of the leaderboard is Invernesses Jimmy Girvan and navigator Mike Ramsay – director of Forres company SEIL. Driving the same Subaru Impreza that carried Girvan to Scottish Championship success last year they will be looking to get their championship back on track, and after failing to finish two rounds already the pressure to get a good result is really on. Another Inverness driver looking for some better luck is Andy Horne. Horne, who was born and breed in Fochabers, considers this to be his home event, and classes his win when the event debuted in the Scottish Championship in 1998 as one of his most special. He will again pilot his ever popular Metro 6R4 though the stages, and amongst the rally fraternity the car, which features a high revving specialist competition engine, has it’s own cult following, much to Engineer Horne’s delight.
The event will also see the rally comeback of Newton’s Craig Whyte and Huntly co-driver David Law. This will be only the second time Craig has contested his home event and will once again be out in his Peugeot 205, hoping the local knowledge will help take the fight to the number of similar cars out on the event. Another Elgin based crew, Mike Grant and Graham Kelman will also take to the stages next weekend. The Elgin mechanic is relishing getting back into the rally swing after having last competed at the Scottish Rally in June. They are joined by Barry Stephen from Lossiemouth who, along with Michael Hendry from Aberlour, will be battling for the accolade of top local crew in his Subaru Impreza.
Programmes for the event can be purchased locally in Elgin from the 4th of August, and the event website will have details of where you can pick one up. The event starts with Safety Scruitneering from 6pm at Macrae and Dick, Elgin on Friday 7th August before the rally blasts into action from 9.30am at the Cooper Park on Saturday morning.
Rally fans can get more information on the event online at
Drivers prepare for Speyside test
Posted: July 17, 2009 3:31 PM
Saturday 8th August sees top class rally action return to Elgin, with the Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages, round 6 of the Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship. The event will be crucial for the title aspirations of the 5 drivers still in contention for the Scottish Championship crown, with only 2 events remaining after the ‘Speyside’, a closely contested battle for event honours is anticipated.
The event, which is based at Elgin Town Hall, starts in the towns Cooper Park with two challenging tarmac spectator stages. These stages are designed to allow families a glimpse of top level motorsport without having to venture into the forests, and always prove popular with the Moray public. After the short sharp opening to the event competitors then face six forestry special stages to the east of the town before returning to finish at the Town Hall around 5pm
2009 marks the 13th running of the event and the 5th year that Elgin based company Gleaner Oil & Gas have been title sponsor. At last year’s event Gleaner also pledged to back the event for a further three years until 2011. A further boost to the organising 63 Car Club came when the 2008 event was awarded the accolade of best event in the Championship for a fourth time in the events short history.
2009 has been a vintage year for Scottish rallying with unprecedented interest in the events seeing average entries of well over 100 cars. Within the expected large entry cars such as the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer are expected to challenge for victory, but that’s only part of the story. Class battles will rage throughout the field, and one of the highlights is expected to be the classic Ford MkI & MkII Escorts, which are always a favourite with the spectators.
At the sharp end of the field, the main contenders for this year’s Scottish Rally Championship honours are David Bogie (Dumfries), Jock Armstrong (Castle Douglas), Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge), Euan Thorburn (Duns) and William Bonniwell (Oban). The championship has also seen keen interest from overseas competitors such as Irelands Frank Kelly and Adrian Hetherington, both highly respected Ford Escort Pilots.
Programmes for the event can be purchased locally in Elgin from the 4th of August, and the event website will have details of where you can pick one up. The event starts with Safety Scruitneering from 6pm at Macrae and Dick, Elgin on Friday the 7th of August before the rally blasts into action from 9.30am at the Cooper Park on August the 8th.
Rally fans can get more information on the event online at
Spectator Stage to open 2009 Rally
Posted: June 3, 2009 1:57 PM
The 2009 Gleaner Oil & Gas Speside Stages takes place on Saturday the 8th of August. The sixth round of the Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship will cover 45 stage miles in the North East of Scotland, based in Elgin. The rally will start with a 0.75 mile tarmac spectator stage in the Cooper Park, right in the centre of Elgin, before heading out to some of the North East of Scotlands best gravel stages.
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