Rally round-up …. This weekend, Saturday 13th September, the annual Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally will have a new look and format. Organised by Solway, Machars and East Ayrshire Car Clubs this year’s penultimate round of the Asset Alliance Scottish Rally Championship will feature six stages in familiar terrain, but will start and finish in Dalmellington.
The rally will in fact use just two forests with the roads being used three times each during the day while Dalmellington will host the rally Start and Finish. Dalmellington may seem an unusual choice but had the organisers been able to use their originally intended route it would have made more sense. However, rally organisers up and down the country are entirely dependent on the goodwill of Forestry & Land Scotland for the choice and availability of forests.
This post is of course no place for politics (!) but it may well be a subject which will be taken up over the quieter winter months ahead of next season’s activities in the woods. Rallying needs to be treated at least on equal footing with any other sport/activity which wants to use the publicly owned forests, or even better considering the sums of money involved in ‘hiring’ the roads. Anyway, another topic for another day.
However, the organisers have come up with an attractive compact route using forest roads which will appeal to competitors and spectators alike. Heading the entry list is the ‘internationally’ (throughout Dumfries & Galloway) renowned Alan McMorran with Helen Hall on the Notes although Helen will ned to sit on Alan’s wallet to see over the dash! On second thoughts she might need to sit on someone else’s wallet for extra height! Alan in fact competed on the very first Galloway Hills way back in Black & White days in 1974, the very same year in which Jim McRae made his rallying debut in a four door Cortina.
He'll have his work cut out to stave off the horde behind him though. David Bogie, Jock Armstrong and Mark McCulloch lead the throng with the Christmas Tree ‘farmer’ Rory Young running at number 5 ahead of a visitor from the deep south (Northumbria) Stephen Petch. In fact there will be nine current generation 4WD cars running behind McMorran in his borrowed MG3. However two tins of Popeye’s spinach and a can of full strength Irn Bru should ensure that the pack never catch a whiff of the MG’s exhaust.
Behind the top ten there is more fun in store with Paddy Munro having to fend off the Mk2 Escorts of Marty McCormack, Damien Tourish and the visiting Irish American Barry McKenna plus a full supporting cast of the fast and furious.
Full details are in the programme complete with maps showing where the main spectator points will be. The programme also lists no less than 15 different outlets (with a map) in Dalmellington where spectators and rally followers can obtain sustenance and fortification for a day in the woods including the ‘Sweet Treats Picnic Popup’ run by Angus Lawrie’s Mum. Mind you she’ll need to go some to beat Mrs McCombie’s tarts, Shona’s tray brakes, Louise’ jam sponge and Rhona’s tablet. That sounds like a job for my big pal Jaggy.
It's also worth noting that Saturday marks the running of the 50th Galloway Hills Rally which has been sponsored for the past 25 years by the Armstrong Group which itself will be celebrating 60 years in business! All these celebrations? Sounds like there needs to be a cake
Anyway, the on-line programme contains all you will need, and some stuff you won’t, but will find interesting when waiting between cars
http://gallowayhillsrally.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-GHR-Spectator-Info.pdf
Needless to say, a certain pop-up book-tique will also be in attendance at the Service Area, just look for the red Transit!
https://fife-motor-sports-agency.square.site/
