Rally - Belated Crail

Crail - in the sunshine?

A belated rundown of what happened yesterday at Crail, but that was down to the fact that little in the way of phone signals reach this godforsaken outpost of civilisation.

Whilst Crail village itself is as pretty as a horticultural calendar, the eastern most point of the hinterland is anything but. The wee white caravans dotted about the landscape look like plooks on a pig's erse, and yet it has to be said, that the owners of the Crail motor sports facility have done wonders these past months. Many of the decrepit old buildings have been removed, the verges tirmmed and edged, the weeds destroyed and the grass has been cut. In fact, it looked positively inviting in the Summer sunshine. Well, nearly.

As things turned out, Bruce Edwards took the win in his Darrian, but left it late. After a few wee niggles with tyres and brakes over the first four tests, cooler afternoon temperatures allowed the tyres to work better and he put in two storming runs over the final two tests to snatch the victory. He converted Stuart Baillie's 2 second lead in the Subaru to a 39 second deficit, the only driver under 10 minutes for the final two tests.

It was dry all day and although last year's winner Alistair Inglis romped into an early lead, the Lancer headbutted an earth banking which dislodged the sumpguard. Rather than having the thing trailing underneath the car and causing other damage, Inglis wisely pulled out.

That left Baillie in the lead, but the prayed-for rain didn't appear, despite a few drops falling just before the final run. Baillie was prepared for the inevitable as Captain Plastic sped round the airfield to snatch victory. Alan Gardiner was the the first of the Escorts, his MkI taking control when Gary Adam's MkII suffered alternator failure.

Colin Gemmell claimed fourth in the Subaru just ahead of Billy Cowe's Impreza sporting a few black tape bandages around its bumper and headlamp unit! Rounding off the top six was Tom Morris in the flying banana, his gloriously yellow MkII.

Brian Fraser's Avenger

Leaderboard after 6 Special Stages:
1, Bruce Edwards, 55m 43s
2, Stuart Baillie, 56m 22s
3, Alan Gardiner, 57m 37s
4, Colin Gemmell, 58m 04s
5, Billy Cowe, 58m 46s
6, Tom Morris, 59m 00s
7, Jimmy Christie, 59m 08s
8, Edward Todd, 59m 46s
9, Bill Hamilton, 59m 59s
10, Graham Bruce, 60m 13s

( Note: There will be a full report up on the website later in the week )