HA R DIE WINS AS TROUBLE STYMIES MCCULLOCH
Organiser: Solway Car Club When: August 4 Where: Dundrennan Ranges, Dumfries and Galloway Championships: Scottish Tarmack Rally Championship, Border Challenge; F1000 Senior Championship Starters: 72 Stages: 8
David Hardie and John Mcculloch were the winners of an action-packed Solway Coast Rally in their Subaru Impreza, after drama for the crew that have won the last six Solway events.
Winners of this event twice before, Hardie and Mcculloch were up against hot favourite and five-time winners Mark Mcculloch and co-driver Michael Hendry. But when the latter’s Subaru whacked a tree at the end of the first stage, their hopes for a sixth victory in a row on this event were shattered. The same tree on the outside of a moss-covered bend also accounted for the Ford Fiesta R5 of Stephen Thompson, who finished second here last year, and the Subaru of Scottish Tarmack Championship frontrunner Ian Paterson.
“When the car initially understeered and then gripped, I thought I had caught it,” said Thompson. “But then the back end just broke away.”
That left Lee Hastings and Alistair Wylie to take up the chase. Ensuring that Hardie was never able to relax they finished just 21 seconds adrift in their Impreza. Rounding off the top three were Gordon Morrison and Calum Macpherson who just managed to hold off Ian Forgan on the final stage.
Forgan had been driving all day without the anti-lag on his Subaru: “It’s too fierce at the wrong times,” he said. “It’s extremely slippery on the mossy surfaces under the trees.”
Robert Adamson scored the best result of his career with fifth in his Skoda Fabia S2000 while John Marshall finished sixth in a rally which he was wishing afterwards he hadn’t started. He was still recuperating from three broken ribs incurred in a water skiing accident.
First time out this year, Richard Dickson was seventh in his Subaru ahead of the first of the two-wheel-drive runners – Colin Gemmell his Ford Escort Mk2.
Once again, the 1600s were mixing it with the bigger machinery. Stewart Dodds scored a hugely impressive ninth place in his Nova while Michael Harbour was 10th in his Citroen C2, although George Ross Auld lost out when his Ford Escort broke a halfshaft.
The fierce but friendly rivalry experienced by Hardie and Mcculloch is easily explained: Hardie’s co-driver is Mark Mcculloch’s dad.
Minis claimed the top two spots on the historic rally as Ray Cunningham took a two-minute win from Clive King.