Rally - Champagne anyone?

This Saturday’s RSAC Scottish Rally (22^nd July) will be a fairly simple affair compared to the 1993 Perth Scottish Rally which itself was a mere shadow of last century’s week long endurance events!

This weekend, all competitors will tackle six Special Stages with the one-day event starting and finishing in Dalbeattie whereas 30 years ago, the rally produced 4 different sets of Final Results.

Based in Perth, the main three day Scottish Rally event with 26 stages run over Friday, Saturday and Sunday was won by Richard Burns taking his third British Championship victory on the trot. He finished over 3 minutes clear of a puncture afflicted team-mate, Alister McRae in the second of the two Prodrive Subaru Legacys. Robbie Head was third in a Ford Escort Cosworth and David Llewellin fourth in a Vauxhall Astra.

Malcolm Wilson was in contention until a gearbox mainshaft broke and he finished fifth in his Ford Escort Cosworth but still well clear of the Peugeot 205 of Paul Frankland. Gwyndaf Evans cowped his Escort and Jim McRae retired his Escort with broken front suspension.

Meanwhile in the Perth Scottish National Rally, two-day, Friday/Saturday version there were just 15 Special Stages with two Ford Escort Cosworths in the lead separated by a minute at the Rally Finish. David Gillanders and Doug Redpath scored the victory and maximum points in the Burmah Scottish Rally Championshjp counter from George Gauld and Stella Boyles.

There was another Ford in third place but this one was an Escort Mk2 RS demonically driven by one Sam Mullen Esquire with brave (some might say ‘unwise’) co-pilot Gerry Bryden. Andy Horne and Andrew Jardine were fourth in a Manta 400 from the Mazda 323 of Andy Kelly/Roy Campbell while Dave Elder/John Bennie were sixth in a RWD Toyota Starlet.

As for the top seeds, first on the road Bill Stewart put his Manta off in Gairletter while Raymond Munro burst the differential in his Metro 6R4 and Mike Horne broke his Sierra Cosworth’s diff.

There was also a separate Final Results sheet for the National Rally – Land Rovers, and another one for the Perth Scottish Historic Rally. Good job we had computerised results by that time, eh?

Anyway, with just one competition that means it will be much easier to decide who gets to spray the champagne this weekend.

Oh, and one other thing, be careful who you might share this FB post with – there could be weans of a sensitive nature who might accidentally see the fotie!

David and Doug