FLYING SCOTSMAN RALLY

BELVOIR-GLENEAGLES, 15-17 APRIL

A British team driving a 1931 Talbot has beaten more than 100 teams from across the globe to take victory in this three-day rally for pre-WWII vintage cars.

Gareth Burnett and Martyn Taylor – who also won in 2013 – ended a two-year winning streak for William Medcalf’s Bentley. This was following a 700mile journey from Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire to the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. Two more British teams took the other podium finishes, with John Abel and Leigh Powley taking second place in their 1937 Lagonda LG45, while Stuart Anderson and Andy Pullen finished third in their 1938 Bentley Derby.

Other stand-out cars in this year’s rally included Shane Houlihan’s and Richard Pain’s 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C, which won the rally’s concours competition, while the Spirit of the Event award went to Matthew Abrey and Jasper Hulscher. The plucky pair had to remove the engine in their 1931 Ford Model A, en route, in order to change a failed clutch.

The Endurance Rally Association says this year’s Flying Scotsman was the toughest since its foundation eight years ago. This was in no small part due to the wintry conditions endured along the way.

‘Our competitors faced every type of weather condition imaginable over three days of intense driving in some very exposed terrain and remained in great spirits throughout’, says rally director Fred Gallagher.

‘Our thanks go to every crew and marshal who once again made it a fantastic event for the vintage motorist.’ Photography by Gerard Brown