It wasn’t all work and no play though when he achieved a desire to go rallying. Twelve years ago in 2014 he teamed up with family friend and rally enthusiast John Forrest and together they contested the McCombie Builders Granite City Rally. They had hired/borrowed a Subaru Impreza through a couple of local worthies named Milne and Watson. In fact John was one of Quintin Milne’s sponsors in the early days of the Vauxhall Nova and Quintin persuaded him to go out for a run with him in a Subaru Impreza as a ‘thank you’ for his support. But it was when Quinton let him get behind the wheel that a fuse was lit with Q encouraging him to experiment with ‘late braking’.
Anyway, the two Johns were seeded at 105 in the 110 car field but they didn’t get very far. At the end of the Swanley second stage in Fetteresso Forest they were forced to retire when the gearbox broke - or blew up depending on who was spoken to! Disappointed? Yes. Discouraged? No.
It was around this time that a certain Ken Wood Esq entered the tale. He needed a new hanger at his Insch ‘international’ Airport and as with all things flight-connected it had to be done properly and legitimately so he needed an architect. He was already aware of ‘young Wink’ who had an interest in karting and drank in the same pub of an evening and asked if he could help. Following a site visit Ken asked how much it would cost to oversee the build to which John replied it would cost nothing if he helped out with his rallying plans!
Far from taking Ken’s advice to start modestly with a Nova or Peugeot that rather quickly resulted in a flight from Aberdeen to Birmingham to look at a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6 where a deal was done and they flew back to Aberdeen before promptly turning around and driving all the way back south with a trailer to pick up the car!
Their next event was the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages. Running at car number 83 Wink and Forrest finished in 53rd place. Job done, route completed, result achieved. Thus encouraged off they went to the Colin McRae Forest Stages.
It was a troubled outing. The car didn’t perform well over the first three stages and at Service they over-ran their time allowance trying to find a fix to get back on the road. Although they contested the final three stages they were OTL by the finish. Disappointed? Yes. Deterred? No. Determined? Most definitely.
John had found something which he could physically manage while challenging his intellect. He also realised he could be competitive, his illness was much less of a disability in motor sport although there were occasions on the longer stages and events where he would struggle, but it never once dimmed his appetite for the sport and the challenge. He maybe couldn’t play, tennis or football, or even golf, but he could drive a rally car, and he could be competitive against rival teams.
At the end of the 2014 season the newcomers were setting top 30 times on the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally till the final sixth stage when the Mitsubishi slid off the road in the final technical and twisty stage at Dalbeattie. A beginner’s season of ups and downs perhaps, but the fire had been lit, there was no turning back.
The 2015 season kicked off with a spirited run and encouraging result on the Arnold Clark Thistle Snowman Rally where the duo finished 16th overall. Two more top twenty finishes followed before an Evo9 was acquired to replace the Evo6 and the improvements continued. At the end of the 2016 season they scored their first top ten result, when they finished 8th on the Grizedale Stages Rally in Cumbria. The 2016 season started well too and included a 10th on the Border Counties and 8th in Argyll but the driving shoes were now getting restless and another plan was being hatched.
The new car’s first outing was the Grampian Forest Rally where it finished 14th overall and rounded off the 2017 season with 5th placed finishes on the McRae Gravel Challenge and Wales Rally GB National. Improvements gained and potential proved.
In 2018, progress was still being made and resulted in 6th on the Snowman, three fourth placed finishes on the RSAC, Argyll and Galloway Hills Rallies and topped that with 3rd on Grizedale and 2nd on Wales Rally GB National. Those results ensured that John Wink finished third overall in the national Scottish Rally Championship that year behind Andrew Gallacher and Donnie MacDonald.
The following season saw a string of top six finishes culminating in John’s first outright victory on the 2019 Wales Rally GB National event – with Neil Shanks in the co-driver’s seat! Neil had in fact replaced John Forrest due to a clash of loyalties. John’s wife Aileen Forrest had taken an interest in rallying which resulted in her acquiring a Mitsubishi and hubby John duly switched co-driver’s seats!
John and Neil were now regarded as top contenders on any event they tackled but that all important inaugural Scottish Championship victory had to wait until the 2024 Snowman Rally where they scored maximum championship points for the first time.
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Throughout his rallying career there were occasional disappearances from the field of play when hospital visits and treatments had to be fitted in, and yet, I never heard any excuses, moans or complaints, he was just there for the competition, the craic and the fun!
And if John was brave, strong and humble, so too was his wife Joanne constantly caring for and providing support for her husband and their two young girls, Darci and Abbie. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, supporters and huge circle of acquaintances. He will be sorely missed by us all, but none more so than Joanne and the girls.
