Stuart sets sights on co-driver’s seat Loudon aims to stake claim for World role
Stuart will start on the Isle of Mull today (Thursday) with a set of notes supplied by John, who will already have been racing before him.
Loudon, the grand-son of Tunnock’s magnate Boyd Tunnock, hopes for better fortune than when engine failure forced him to bow out of the Rally legend event in San Marino where he joined Lanark’s Alister Mcrae aboard an ex-colin Mcrae Subaru Legacy RS, shortly after suffering a similar retirement when competing with the Abu Dhabi Racing team for the first time ever at the Tour de Corse.
Looking ahead to this week’s racing, Stuart said: “It’s autumn, so it must be Mull time. John’s already doing the recce right now and will have a set of notes ready for me when I get there on Thursday. He and I will then spend the next day going through them and getting everything absolutely perfect.
“Mull has always been close to my heart and it’s a rally and a place that I absolutely adore – it was one of the highlights of my career to take the win with John three years ago – but it’s the same weekend as the Rally of Spain and the World Rally Championship is so much where I want to be.
“Events like Rallylegend and Mull are fantastic, but working with Abu Dhabi Racing in Corsica has really served to strengthen my desire to realise my dream of a fulltime job co-driving in the World Championship.
“That’s not to say I won’t enjoy every second of Mull! The rivalries will be as tough as ever, but come the early hours of Sunday morning we will be able to relax and reflect on a weekend of great competition on stunning roads. Here’s to the rain holding off!”
Despite bowing out of Rallylegend in the fifth-smallest country in the world, Loudon had nothing but praise for the organisers.
“Rallylegend with Alister was the perfect way to get over the disappointment of not finishing Corsica with Mohamed Almutawaa. That might sound a little strange when you understand that Alister and I actually retired on the second stage, but what an event! I have never seen anything like it in the world, it was absolutely fantastic.”