Rally - Merrick moos

By goad it’s dreich in Wigtown. It was dry for the rally shakedown this morning but started raining at lunch time and it’s still raining now at tea time. Which is a pity, as the Ian Broll Merrick Rally has taken over the city centre of the county town of Wigtown for the night with two marquees outside the Town Hall where the Scroots are practicing their dark arts of wheel shoogling, turbo sizing, and fire extinguisher pin twiddling, and all the while harrumphing at the competitors.

 Lancaster’s David Wright is here for tomorrow’s rally and asked why, said: “It was either the Woodpecker or here,” he said, “there’s virtually no difference in distance from where I live and I’ve got no chance of doing anything in the BTRDA series, so chose to come up here. I was last here in 2010 but only did one stage – the fuel pump broke!”

Another thing that swung his decision in Merrick’s favour was the inclusion of a 20 mile stage in Glentrool tomorrow. A stage that long is rare in a one day forest National.

Also here is the new British Junior Rally Champion, Garry Pearson. He’s not doing Rally Yorkshire so his season is virtually over but he is looking ahead to his prize drive for winning the Renaultsport Twingo Championship which is the Rallye du Var in France in October. There is however, one wee problem. It will be in a French built car run by an Italian team, so he’ll need to learn three languages – French, Italian and English, for the furriners will never understand his Borders brogue.

Anyway, Garry’s got a job tomorrow, he’s marshalling at a Passage Control. Now I think that’s terrific, he’s just one two major British titles, and here he is at a Scottish Championship event marshalling. 

Craig McMiken has been a busy boy today. He had problems at the shakedown this morning: “It was just a grommet in the fuel pump that needed replacing,” he said, “but then I got called back to the farm. We had a cow in difficulty. She was giving birth, but the calf was coming out backwards, so she needed a hand.”

And the good news is, mother and daughter are doing well!