Rally driver’s title ambitions dashed after transmission fail

Perthshire rally driver Finlay Retson saw his chances of taking the coveted Junior British Rally Championship title slip away last weekend.

That was after the 21-yearold was forced to retire from the penultimate round of the 2021 season - the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally.

Just three weeks after taking an impressive second place at the gruelling Mull Rally, Retson and co-driver Rhys Stoneman were aiming to repeat their success in the north Wales forests to maintain their chances of fighting for top honours.

But after storming to the fastest time on the opening stage of the event, Retson’s title aspirations were dashed as the transmission in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally4 failed on the road section to the second test, forcing him out of the rally on the spot.

“If we didn’t have bad luck, I don’t think we would have any luck at all,”said Retson.

“I don’t think there is anything more frustrating than retiring from the lead of a rally, especially the fact we had felt really confident coming into this weekend.

“We knew it would be a tough rally and that was confirmed with the fact there were only three Juniors making it to the end, but we knew we could make the most of the conditions.

“Sadly, it just wasn’t to be and I’m devastated to end our championship campaign at the side of the road with something out of our control.”

Retson was eager to take the positives away from his campaign and look towards the future.

He said:“It’s hard to do right now but I’m really focused on the future and, on reflection, we have to be really happy with the performances we returned this season. The pace has been there on all surfaces and there has been some tough Junior competition too, so the signs are encouraging. We have a few weeks to analyse our options for 2022 before preparing for the final round of the season in

Northern Ireland.”

The Modern Tyres Ulster Rally takes crews to Newry for round seven of the Junior BRC in just three weeks’time.