Jock Armstrong celebrated a dramatic victory on Saturday's RSAC Scottish Rally, after David Bogie was hit by a puncture just a few miles from the finish.

It was the Castle Douglas driver's first win on the "Scottish" – and his first victory in the MSA Scottish Rally Championship since the Snowman in 2010.

Bogie had looked on course to take top honours on his home event for the second successive year in his Mitsubishi Evo 9 after he had built up a seventeen second lead over Armstrong going into the final stage.

However, the front puncture knocked the Dumfries driver back to third, with Mike Faulkner securing the runners-up spot.

Armstrong, co-driven by Kirsty Rid****, completed the six stages in a total time of 43 minutes 16.1 seconds in his Subaru Impreza to finish 12.8 seconds ahead of Faulkner and Peter Foy in a Mitsubishi Evo 6. Bogie, with Kevin Rae on the notes, was a further 11.6 seconds adrift.

The result has not affected Bogie's lead in the MSA Scottish Championship. He has an eleven point advantage over Faulkner after five rounds, with Euan Thorburn, who finished fourth in Dumfries in his Mitsubishi Evo 9, a further point behind.

At the finish, a delighted Armstrong said he had long dreamed of a "Scottish" win: "I remember doing it years and years ago and I came away fourteenth overall, and then I was thirteenth overall and I thought if I do this for the next fifteen years I might win it one day!"



He went on: "We've always been there or thereabouts but it's been a perfect result for us today. It's been a good battle with three local drivers making it onto the podium and for once I've made it to the top step. We've had mixed results this season, but hopefully this will be the start of a rolling streak and we'll persevere and see what happens".

Co-driver Rid****, meanwhile, became the first female competitor to win the event since 1961 when John and* Anne Melvin triumphed in a Sunbeam Alpine.

From the outset, Armstrong and Bogie set the tone for a hard-fought tussle on the unusually slippery Dumfriesshire stages with both drivers beating the bogey time on the opening 14-miles of Ae East.

Bogie was clearly frustrated at the outcome as he came into first service, declaring that he hoped it wasn't going to be "the story of the day", while Armstrong put his team to work repairing a broken exhaust.

Faulkner was 2.8 seconds further back, ahead of Wayne Sisson (Mitsubishi Evo 9, Thorburn, and Andy Horne (DAM 4100Gti) .

Bogie pipped Horne by a second on the first of two runs through the special spectator stage at Heathhall, and was fastest again – five seconds up on Armstrong - on the third test, Twiglees.

After taking another quickest time on SS4 Castle O'er, Bogie's lead over Armstrong had extended to 15.1 seconds, while Faulkner was snapping at their heals a further 4.5 seconds back. Horne, co-driven by Jim Howie,* was clearly enjoying his day and sitting fourth as the crews came into second service.

There was a bit of drama when the starter-motor of Bogie's Evo jammed and his crew had to push the car the length of the service area to his bay. Once fixed, the double champion was on his way with a second straight "Scottish" victory in his sights.

Horne just got the better of Thorburn and Bogie by half a second through the second Heathhall run ("if all stages were a mile long I might win a few rallies", quipped the Highlander) while Armstrong was thirteenth quickest, 2.8 seconds back.

All was set then for a final push through the fourteen miles of Ae West. Bogie ("I'm just keeping a nice consistent steady pace") was on course to pick up his fourth win of the 2011 SRC. Armstrong was sitting 17.4 seconds further back, with a hard-charging Faulkner just 2.5 seconds behind.

However, as the crowds and officials gathered at the finish to welcome the 4-wheel-drive competitors, word filtered back that the top three positions had changed in dramatic fashion.

A rueful Bogie explained: "We went into the last stage with a comfortable lead and then five miles from the end there was a left hand corner that tightened slightly over a bump. The bump was bigger than we thought it would be and it just pushed the car slightly off line and we went through a kind of shale ditch and that was just enough to cut the tyre. We drove the last five miles with a front puncture so we lost far more time than we would have liked. It's just one of those things, but to get third overall is a good result for us – and we still stay ahead in the championship".

For his part, Faulkner was happy with a second place which keeps him in the hunt in the championship, with three rounds remaining.

"We pushed really hard, we couldn't have given anything more to be honest. We were a little disappointed not to beat Jock on the last stage but we certainly had a go. Two or three miles from the end we thought we had a rear puncture, we were struggling for traction and it was loose at the back, but it looks as though it's been a suspension problem. We're certainly happy with second. It's good for the championship and set's us up well for the Speyside in August".

Thorburn, co-driven by Keir Beaton, was relieved to have secured fourth overall and first in class after a difficult day on the Dumfriesshire stages: "We went off about two-thirds into the first stage and got stuck in a ditch – wrong tyre choice I'm afraid – and* also had two over-shoots at junctions and had to reverse. We were getting too much understeer followed by masses of oversteer. The last stage was better but it was not a great day for us, I'm afraid", said the Duns' driver.

In contrast, Horne was well satisfied with his fifth overall, 27.8 seconds behind Thorburn:

"It's been a really good day with no real dramas to speak of. A good steady run.* We went off the road briefly on the last stage – it was very slippery – as it was on the first run through Ae. The two stages to the east, Twiglees and Castle O'er, were far better for us – there was more grip there and it showed in our times".

Wayne Sisson secured sixth place alongside navigator Andy Bull to better his ninth overall in 2010: "I think we've come away pretty lucky to be honest. We had a puncture on Twiglees and dropped 25 seconds and then on the last stage we went off and down into a ditch for about fifty yards and stalled it at a hairpin and dropped a bit of time. So, I think we're lucky to end up where we are".

Seventh overall and Class 10 honours went to John McLory and David Hood – the Brick & Steel construction boss clearly delighted with his best ever result in the SRC at the wheel of his Subaru Impreza: "I'm really happy, it's an excellent result. On the first stage we caught the car in front half-way through but other than that it's been a fairly quiet event for us with no "moments" to speak of. It was universally slippy but then it was the same for everyone so I've no complaints".

Local farmer Rory Young, with Dougie Redpath sitting in for regular co-driver Allan Cathers, maintained his solid record on his home event in his Mitsubishi Evo 5 with an eighth place finish, just 1.1 seconds behind McLory.

"We didn't have an intercom on the first stage so there were some interesting hand signals between navigator and driver", said Young: "We also had a wee misfire on the third stage but other than that it's been great fun".

Donnie Macdonald and Keir Beaton from Inverness were a further 5.9 seconds back in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 to take ninth overall: "I came down here for dry, hot conditions as with previous years on the "Scottish" but it turned out to be wet and cloggy and I just couldn't get going. But we picked up the pace throughout the day and I'm happy enough to have finished in the top ten".

The Aberdeenshire crew of Chris Collie and Lisa Watson brought their Subaru Impreza home in tenth overall to make up for crashing out and over on the previous gravel round, the Granite City, in April: "I managed to keep the rubber side down this time, so it's been a much better run for us. We've both had a really good day – an excellent event", said Collie.

Bruce McCombie from Banchory finished 13th overall in his Subaru Impreza alongside co-driver Michael Coutts.

"It's been a kind of up and down day. The car is going alright but it's not a good gear-box and when it gets heats up going through the stage it gets very stiff. So that's been a bit of an issue today, and the water spray wasn't working properly so one of the stages the temperature guage was well up. We had a couple of ditches and stalls, but we got to the finish, and we're looking forward to the Speyside".

The leading 2-wheel drive competitor was 2008 Scottish Junior champion Mark McCulloch in the Ford Fiesta ST in which he's contesting this year's BRC Challenge alongside navigator Craig Wallace. McCulloch had been seeded one ahead of 2010 Junior champion Peter Stewart in his Fiesta. However,* the much anticipated battle for bragging rights between the two ended when Stewart suffered engine failure on the fourth stage.

The local Thornhill crew of Liam Harkness and Kenneth Marchbank were the clear winners of Class 8 in their Ford Escort Mk2, ending the day 26th overall.

Alasdair S Graham from Paisley, co-driven by Kenny McGuire,* picked up his third Class 4 win of the season in his Vauxhall Corsa but could not quite believe it at the finish after struggling with gearbox problems for most of the day.

"I think it's been the hardest rally we've ever done", said Graham: "I had to hold the car in gear and drive it one handed for four stages. We also hit a really bad bump on the first stage and knocked the tracking out so it was driving kind of sideways for the rest of the stage. It's a great result, but I'm shattered".

Alex Pirie from Keith, with David Law of Huntly co-driving, again dominated Class 2 in his Vauxhall Corsa, finishing 26 seconds ahead of second-placed Castle Douglas crew Callum Bendall and James Aldridge in a Ford Ka.

For the second consecutive event, Class 3 honours went to husband and wife team Tom and Sue Hynd who had flown back from holiday in France the previous day to compete on Dumfries event in their Peugeot 205 Gti. The couple finished more than a minute and a half ahead of Borderers Sean and Iain Robson, also in a 205.

Ken and Gordon Wood secured maximum SRC points in Class 9 in their Triumph Dolomite Sprint, finishing 35th overall.

Of the 95 starters, there were 71 classified finishers with a number of notable retirements, including Evo 9 pilots Sean Sinclair, who shredded a tyre of his Evo 9 and went over the time limit; David Wilson, who ran into a boggy ditch on the first stage; and Barry Groundwater, who experienced transmission problems.

Former SRC front-runner Steven Clark had embarked on a three-day journey back from an oil-rig off China to be back in time to compete in his Mitsubishi Evo 4, alongside Steve Bannister's regular navigator Louise Sutherland.* The pair had a strong run through the opening Ae East stage – recording an eighth quickest time - but gearbox problems forced them to call it a day at first service.

Crews now have a break of 6 weeks before the sixth round of the Scottish Championship – the Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages in Elgin on 6th August.

For news of all SRC rounds, go to www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk



RSAC Scottish Rally – Top Ten finishers with total times:

1* Jock Armstrong(Castle Douglas)/Kirsty Rid****(Haugh of Urr) Subaru Impreza 43 mins 16.1 secs

2* Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge)/Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Evo 9** 43.28.9

3* David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Evo 9* 43.40.5

4* Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo 9* 44.03.2

5* Andy Horne (Inverness)/Jim Howie (Kilmarnock) DAM 4100GTi** 44.31.0

6* Wayne Sisson (Carnforth)/Andy Bull (Birmingham) Mitsubishi Evo 9* 45.13.5

7* John McLory (Glasgow)/David Hood (Paisley) Subaru Impreza N15* 45.44.5

8* Rory Young (Kirkgunzeon)/Doug Redpath (Duns) Mitsubishi Evo 5* 45.45.6

9* Donnie Macdonald (Inverness)/Keir Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo 9* 45.51.5

10* Chris Collie (Aberdeen)/Lisa Watson (Alford) Subaru Impreza* 45.53.0

SRC Top Three Drivers (Provisional) after 5 rounds



David Bogie*********** 145 points

Mike Faulkner******** 134

Euan Thorburn******* 133

Photo courtesy of* RALLY-PHOTO.COM








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