Champ Finlay rallies to challenge
He’s always had a passion for rally driving – and now Blairgowrie’s Finlay Retson is on track for further success.
The Blairgowrie High School pupil was crowned Brick and Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge champion recently, a title which adds to an ever growing CV.
Anglesey was the venue for the season-ending Glyn Memorial Junior Rally with Finlay neck-and-neck with rival Ewan Tindall, from Tyne and Wear, heading into the event.
But the 16-year-old held his nerve to take the overall championship win and said:“It feels great to be crowned champion.
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work this year and after just missing out on the championship last year I was hungry for the win. We did a lot of testing to set the suspension on the car so that it would be great on the event.
“It was very tight going into the last round, I only had to finish second or first in Scotland to win the championship but I didn’t really have nerves before the event.
“I had a different co-driver for this rally so I only met him that morning. However, I felt confident on the start line. After the first two stages we were leading the junior event.”
Finlay was introduced to rallying at a young age and now, after plying his trade in junior rally for the past three years, he is ready to explore other options.
“Next year I could do the Junior Rally Championship again but after doing three years already I feel like I’ve got the maximum out my Citroen C1 and I’m ready to move on to bigger things,” Finlay said.
“So I’m looking into a few deals at the moment. Over the Christmas period I will be focusing on my fitness training to make sure I’m fit and ready for the new season.
“I’ve always been into rallying because my dad used to compete in the Scottish Rally Championship.
“But I first was introduced to the junior championships when David Barlow, the championship organiser, was advertising the Junior championship at IRC Rally of Scotland.
“My dad took photos of the junior car – I was 10 at the time and then was hooked on rallying. It would be a dream come true if I could make this a career.
“I get huge support from sponsors, family and friends. I can’t thank everyone who helped me over the three years enough. It’s been a huge team effort and I’m glad we’ve got the result we did this year.”