Argyll rally teams compete at Knockhill
THE NEW rally season got underway at a very seasonal Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife on Sunday January 10 with the opening round of the 2016 Scottish Tarmac Rally Championship, The Grant Construction Stages hosted by Borders Ecosse Car Club.
The weather at Knockhill is unpredictable at the best of times and it didn’t disappoint with heavy snow and dense fog welcoming the crews out on to the stages. Knockhill provides a stern early test of machinery (especially windscreen wipers and heaters) with various layouts using the perimeter roads on the hill and the famous circuit itself, more used to the attention of Touring Cars and Superbikes.
There were two all-Argyll crews in attendance with Donald Bowness and Ian Parker bringing the newly upgraded TDC Autocare Nova and Steven and Scott Paterson heading off Mull for the weekend in their Corsa Kit Car.
Both crews had a day to forget with Donald and Ian having a fairly hefty bump in the Nova on Stage 2 and, in the process, trying out their HANS devices and proving they are worth their weight in gold. Fifty mph to a standstill in barely more than the thickness of a gatepost. Both were a bit sore but otherwise unscathed and are looking forward to the next round already.
Steven and Scott made it a couple of stages further into the event but unfortunately also recorded a DNF on stage 4.
Mull’s Amanda Morrison, partnered by Erle Strachan in his Mitsubishi Evo 6 managed to bring the car home in a creditable 24th overall and 10th in Class 5.
The early lead in the STRC Championship has been taken by Gary and Gordon Adam in their Ford Escort MkII with Alan Kirkaldy and Garry Muir putting in a magnificent performance to grab second place, also in a 2WD Escort, with the ever- entertaining Stuart Walker finishing off the podium in his Skoda Fabia S2000 guided around the stages by Julie McGuire.
The next round of the championship is at Ingleston with the DCC Stages taking place on April 2 with a full entry almost guaranteed. The Scottish Rally Championship kicks off in the forests surrounding Inverness in February with the Arnold Clark Jury’s Inn Snowman Rally”