Rally - Adventure time

How about a rallying adventure to kick off the New Year? On the 24th/25th January 2025 to be precise, Highland Car Club will be running their ‘Far North Winter Classic’ Targa Rally. Starting from Tain, a mere 35 miles north of Inverness, the 165 mile route will take competitors through the magnificent terrain of Easter Ross and Sutherland. The organisers are aiming for 4 Regularities and up to 16 Timed Tests and will provide all classes of competitor with a Route Card and Final Instructions to permit competitors to mark the route on their own maps before the rally start.

Full details are on the Highland Car Club website, address below, and Entry Forms are accessible from there. The £185 Entry Fee includes two snack lunches and two meals at the finish. Rally Plates will be provided with numbers

But here’s the thing. Looking at the list of organisers, the name of Fraser Hughes is listed as Deputy Clerk of the Course. In fact Fraser has featured in these posts before. This was after the 2018 ‘Spirit of ’88 Mull Targa Rally’ on which he and Peter McInnes competed in their Mazda MX5 some six years ago now. Anyway, the extract from that rally report is printed below:

“ There were some other sterling performances from the ‘nutters brigade’ led by Fraser Hughes and Peter McInnes who left Tain at 3am in the morning in their Mazda MX5, did the rally and then headed back immediately to the Ferry Terminal for the last boat to get back home – and had no hood on the Mazda. Wet doesn’t cut it, neither does drookit, but one wonders just how Peter managed with his paperwork in the pouring rain! ”

Seriously, this particular Mazda had no roof on it all, and the daring (daft?) duo drove the thing all the way across the northern tip of Scotland from Tain to Mull, did the rally, and drove back again to Tain, first ferry to last ferry – all in one day, and in the pouring rain! And they even had time to wave to the massed ranks of spectators. Well, they made one wee boy’s day! With that in mind, prospective rally doers can expect a fun and testing time in the Far North.

In fact why not make a weekend of it. Tain is also home to one of the most evocative (and most often mis-pronounced) names in the Scotch Whisky industry, Glenmorangie, where a visit to the distillery might do wonders for the spirit – the human spirit that is. In fact the Still House has the tallest stills in Scotland and is quietly referred to by the staff as the ‘Highland Cathedral’, and that’s well worth a gasp or two. It’s closed at weekends so why not make the trip up on Thursday? Just a thought.

https://www.highlandcarclub.co.uk/