Merrick Forest Stages - 5 Sep 09

ARMSTRONG AND RIDDICK POWER TO MERRICK WIN
Jonny Greer and Brian Crawford finish 2nd

Posted: September 6, 2009 10:16 PM

Jock Armstrong bounced back from the disappointment of exclusion on the previous round to take his first ever Scottish Championship win on Saturday's Merrick Forest Stages Rally, the penultimate event in the 2009 Hankook MSA series.

The Castle Douglas driver won four stages out of five in his Subaru Impreza N11 to finish 40 seconds ahead of Belfast's Jonathan Greer in a Mitsubishi Evo 9.

David Bogie took the final overall podium spot and second in the SRC points in his Derek McGeehan-prepared Toyota Corolla WRC, having seen Mike Faulkner, his main rival for the Scottish crown, go off on the first stage with a broken driveshaft.

Borderer Euan Thorburn was fourth overall and third in the points in his Subaru Impreza – a result which keeps him well in touch in the overall standings with one round remaining.

However, the day belonged to Armstrong and co-driver Kirsty Riddick, the victory all the sweeter following exclusion from the Speyside stages for a Group N technical infringement, for which their zero score must be included in the end of season tally of six rounds out of eight.

For the "Merrick", Armstrong had taken his car out of GpN by fitting a 34 mm restrictor, giving him an extra 25 bhp.

The change of specification paid handsome dividends from the start: on SS1 Arroch Hill, Armstrong and co-driver Kirsty Riddick were second only to 2008 BTRDA champions Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank, who were making their first foray north of the border in their ex-Colin McRae Ford Focus WRC 01.

Over the 3 miles of SS2 Palgowan, Armstrong and Riddick took 10 seconds out of Hunter to win the stage and reduce the overall deficit to 3 seconds.

Another fastest stage on SS3 Jenny's Hill, and it was down to 2 seconds, and after Hunter suffered two punctures on the daunting 15.62 mile Poultrybuiehill test, the Castle Douglas pair were firmly in control with Greer the closest challenger.
They nailed the final 13.58 mile Glentrool test to secure a famous victory. After the trials and tribulations of recent weeks, Armstrong was delighted with his first SRC win, and with the way the car had coped with the difficult conditions.

"The stages were very tricky, very slippery after all the rain, but it seems to play into your hands with a more powerful car. It doesn't get away from you so easily and it does have more punch down the straights. I had one massive moment on the second stage when Kirsty called a corner, and for some reason I was two gears up and we went wide into the trees and I thought our day was over, but we had luck on our side today I reckon. All in all it's been fantastic for Kirsty and I to win our home event, and we'll see what we can do on the final round, the McRae Stages”.

Although not eligible for SRC points, Jonny Greer and Brian Crawford were well pleased with their day's work – Greer using it as useful gravel preparation for the next British Championship round, the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire later this month.

Said Greer: "It was a very enjoyable day - it was a bit slippy at the start of the day but it dried up and the stages were in good condition. It was also a very well run event, so hats off to the organisers. I hope to be back".

After seeing Mike Faulkner's misfortune - the broken driveshaft causing his car to go straight on at a "left 7" - David Bogie and navigator Kevin Rae decided to err on the side of caution and proceed wearing what Bogie described as their "sensible championship heads".

"It was a good end result for us in terms of the championship", said Bogie, adding: "Obviously when Mike went off on the first stage, it made it very difficult for us to maintain a pace where we weren't catching anybody and we weren't losing time - not easy to do. But we're more than happy to be second in the championship points today".

Euan Thorburn of Duns, with Campbell Roy on the notes, took top honours in Hankook GpN, and achieved his pre-Merrick aim of securing a strong finish to keep himself in the title hunt.

"The stages were very fast, and you had to be 100 percent committed if you wanted to push on. But all in all we're pretty pleased with the result, which gives us a fighting chance of the overall championship, as well as making sure of GpN which is all but sown up", said Thorburn.

Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill from Oban were Thorburn's nearest challengers in GpN in their Mitsubishi Evo 9, the pair coping well with the slippery conditions to finish a further 14 seconds adrift, fifth overall and fourth in the points.

Said Sinclair: "We had no worries at all - there was a problem with the clutch on the last stage, but it didn't hold us up in any way, and apart from that the day went very well. The stages got better and better as the day went on, so it's been quite a successful day for us, and we're still pushing second place in Group N".

Alick Kerr and Drew Sturrock produced another fine performance to end the day sixth overall in their Subaru Impreza, following a week of frantic repairs leading up to the rally after the gearbox input shaft on the car snapped during a test run.

However, the event itself was not without its dramas, as the Bothwell driver explained:
"It's been a day of real highs and lows. We've had three punctures - on the first stage it was a front puncture which put us down the leaderboard , then we had a soft tyre on the second stage, then things started to improve and we were fourth quickest on SS4, but unfortunately we got another puncture on the final stage. If it hadn't been for that we reckon we'd have been fourth overall and third in the SRC points".

Ballyronan's Seamus Donnelly and Damien Duffin from Rasharkin secured seventh place in their Mitsubishi Evo, ahead of that of Stonehaven's Barry Groundwater and Jude Wylie from Jedburgh.

"We were sleeping a bit in the morning on the first two stages and I really didn't get into it at all”, said Groundwater: But then after first service we got a good bit of speed and hauled ourselves up a good few places. So everything has been OK, considering the conditions".

David Hughes and Bruce Harper from Dumfries turned in their best result of the season - ninth overall, in their Mitsubishi Evo 9, with Donnie Macdonald and Paul Beaton of Inverness rounding off the top ten in their repaired and repainted Evo 9 following a big off on the Speyside.

Moy man Frank Kelly and Jason Harron from Kesh were first home of the 2-wheel drive competitors, bringing their Escort Mk2 home in 13th overall, eight seconds ahead of Elderslie's Jim Carty and Ian Fraser from Mull who took first in class in their Group A Subaru Impreza.

Among the other class winners, the Mull crew of John and Peter Maccrone put in another storming drive to take top honours in Class 3 in their Peugeot 205GTi while Newton Stewart's Mark McCulloch and Craig Wallace of Kirriemuir endured the fumes from a blown exhaust on their Vauxhall Corsa 1600 to put themselves back on top in Class 4.

Among the notable retirements were Andy Horne and Jim Howie, the pair still without a finish this season after rolling their DAM 4100GTi on the penultimate stage.

Of the 91 starters, there were 63 classified finishers.

The final round of the 2009 Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship is the Colin McRae Stages, based in Perth, on October 3rd.

Results

Posted: September 6, 2009 10:13 PM

1 Jock Armstrong (Castle Douglas)/Kirsty Riddick (Castle Douglas) Subaru Impreza 45min 18 sec
2 Jonathan Greer (Belfast)/Brian Crawford (Belfast) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 45.58
3 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Toyota Corolla WRC 46.22
4 Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Campbell Roy (Howwood) Subaru Impreza 46.36
5 Shaun Sinclair (Oban)/Chris Hamill (Oban) Mitsubishi Evo 9 46.50
6 Alick Kerr (Bothwell)/Drew Sturrock (By Laurencekirk) Subaru Impreza 47.21
7 Seamus Donnelly (Ballyronan)/Damien Duffin (Rasharkin) Mitsubishi Evo 47.26
8 Barry Groundwater (Stonehaven)/Jude Wylie (Jedburgh) Mitsubishi Evo 9 47.40
9 David Hughes (Dumfries)/Bruce Harper (Dumfries) Mitsubishi Evo 9 47.52
10 Donnie Macdonald (Inverness)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo 9 48.06

Results: flyingfinish.co.uk

MERRICK

Posted: September 1, 2009 7:19 PM

The two main title contenders for the Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship are each out to beat the other on next Saturday's (Sept 5th) penultimate round, the Merrick Forest Stages.

Mike Faulkner and David Bogie are tied at the top of the drivers' standings - and both regard the Newton Stewart-based rally as a "make or break" event.

The "Merrick" has attracted another top-quality field, the provisional seeded entry list headed by reigning champion Jimmy Girvan, the only driver to have won the event in its current form, with victories in 2007 and 2008.

Among those targetting victory is Jock Armstrong, whose championship hopes were dashed following exclusion from the results of last month's Speyside Stages for a technical infringement; while Borderer Euan Thorburn is aiming for a top three finish to keep himself in touch in the title race and at the top of the Group N standings.

The entry list has been enhanced by the inclusion of 2008 BTRDA Gold Star Champions Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank, the pair making their first competitive foray north of the border in their ex-Colin McRae Ford Focus WRC '01, while British championship contender and ex-Ford Fiesta ST title holder Jonathan Greer will make the trip across from Belfast to compete in his Mitsubishi Evo 9.

SRC regulars Andy Horne, John Morrison and Donnie MacDonald are among the "Highland" contingent making the trip south to the Galloway forests: Horne out to break his duck having failed to finish a single round so far this season, while MacDonald will field his repaired and repainted Mitsubishi Evo 9, following his big „off‰ on the Speyside.

David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae head to Newton Stewart on the back of an outright victory on the Speyside in their Derek McGeehan-prepared Toyota Corolla WRC.

It was their second SRC win of the season ˆ a statistic they share with Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy.

On last year's "Merrick", Bogie was duelling for title honours with Jimmy Girvan when he crashed heavily in the Corolla ˆ resulting in the car being completely rebuilt.

The 22-year-old Dumfries driver knows there is no room for error this time out:
"We have to go out there and beat Mike Faulkner ˆit's as simple as that. It'll certainly be an interesting fight, I think when it gets to this stage, with us being tied this late in the championship, it could still be a make or break round. If someone slips up, and makes a small mistake, then that's their championship hopes more or less over".

For his part, Faulkner, who was runner-up on the Speyside and starts second on Saturday, believes the classic Merrick stages give him the best chance of keeping his title challenge on track in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.

"The competition is that close, there's no room for taking it easy to see what happens, because you'll just get left behind. David and I are tied and if we're to finish first and second then I have to beat him once in the final two rallies ˆ and if I'm going to do that then I think it will be on my favourite Merrick stages, rather than on the McRae in Perth ˆ so Saturday is the day we have to get it done".

Fourth seed Jock Armstrong will have more horsepower at his disposal after "upgrading" his Subaru Impreza N11, following the exclusion on the last round for a technical breach of Group N regulations.

Having built up a healthy championship lead, the ruling has ultimately put paid to his title hopes, along with those of co-driver Kirsty Riddick.

However, they are determined to put that disappointment behind them with a strong showing on what for both is a home event.

"I've now come out of Group N by adding a 34mm restrictor to the car, which adds an extra 25 horsepower ˆ so we'll definitely be going for a win on the "Merrick", said Armstrong: "And I'll be doing the pre-event "shakedown" to get some "match practice"!".

Euan Thorburn will be back in action in the Subaru Impreza in which he and co-driver Campbell Roy went off the road on the Ulster International Rally last weekend.

Fortunately damage to the car was not too extensive thanks to a „soft landing‰.

"We were very lucky it went into a bog and didn't hit anything hard, or roll over, "said Thorburn, adding: "We really just need to concentrate on Group N on the Merrick. Our car is not quick enough to keep up with either David or Mike so we won't be pushing ourselves over the limit to try and beat them. If we can win GpN and hopefully finish in the top three overall that would be ideal. That still leaves us with a chance of winning the overall championship going into the last round and then you never know what could happen".

Alick Kerr has been one to watch since switching to 4-wheel drive earlier in the season, most recently on the Speyside where, with navigator Drew Sturrock, he finished fifth overall and third in class in his Subaru Impreza.

However, the young Lanarkshire driver has a race on his hands to get his car prepared in time for next Saturday, after snapping a gearbox input shaft during a test-run.

If Kerr makes it to Newton Stewart, he will start one behind the Mitsubishi Evo 9 of Stonehaven's Barry Groundwater and Jedburgh navigator Jude Wylie ˆ the pair aiming to get their championship campaign back on track after gearbox problems cut short their Speyside outing.

Meanwhile, after taking sixth overall and second in class on the Speyside, Oban's Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill are keen to keep the momentum going in their ex-Jimmy Christie Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Said Hamill: "We'd certainly like to be challenging the top end of the GpN cars to add to our Speyside run. We have a very busy programme in September and October ˆ with the Merrick, Lindisfarne, McRae Stages and Mull, and are confident that with more time in the car we can be on the pace."

The class act at the top of the 2-wheel drive category all season has undoubtedly been that of Steve Bannister and co-driver Louise Sutherland in their Escort Mk2 ˆ the pair notching up their fifth top ten finish of the season on the Speyside.

They will likely face another strong challenge for Mk2 honours from, among others, Moy competitor Frank Kelly, Ballygawley's Viv Hamill and Malcolm Buchanan from the Isle of Skye, but Bannister feels the pressure is off:

"We've already won the 2wd's and our class, so we can hopefully go and have a play on the Merrick! I'm aiming for a steady run, nothing exciting, and hopefully a top ten finish to improve our poor score on the Snowman, and to keep in the top ten overall standings".

The battle for honours continues throughout the championship classes as the season nears its end.

No less so than in Class 4, where nine points separate Alasdair Graham of Paisley in his Vauxhall Corsa from 2009 John Easson Award winner and Newton Stewart resident Mark McCulloch, who is aiming for a strong performance on his home event at the wheel of his Corsa.

In Class 3, Mull's John MacCrone holds an 18-point lead in his Peugeot 205, but second-placed Colin Smith of Inverurie, also in a Peugeot, will be looking to close the gap having taken top honours on the Speyside, while Ayr's Blair McCulloch lies just four points further back in his Vauxhall Nova.

From the start ramp at the Riverside car park in Newton Stewart, competitors will head out to the first of five stages totalling 45 miles , including two in the famed Glentrool complex.

Three of the tests have not been previously used on the event in its current format, and one of those, Palgowan, at just over 3 miles in length, has not been used for almost a decade.

With 78 road miles, and a purpose built central service area at Glencaird, the event is noted for being one of the most compact on the Hankook SRC calendar.

The "Merrick" will also count as a rounds of the Brick & Steel 205 Ecosse Challenge, and the Borders Rally and Five of Clubs championships.

Provisional Seeded Entry List

Posted: September 1, 2009 7:15 PM

Merrick Forest Stages.

Entries received to date

Posted: August 19, 2009 10:08 AM

Merrick Forest Stages.

Regulations and Entry Forms / Details

Posted: January 1, 2009 12:01 AM

Merrick Forest Stages.