Pirelli British Rally Championship 2002 round 3: Scottish International Rally.
Story by www.brcweb.co.uk, images by Colin Courtney.
England, Wales and now Scotland. Three rounds - three different countries, underlining the 'British' part of the Pirelli British Rally Championship. Based this year in Dumfries, in the beautiful Galloway countryside, the Scottish was celebrating its 70th anniversary. First run in 1932, it was held annually until the outbreak of the Second World War, then revived in 1951 and run every year since with the exception of 1957, 1960 and 1974. This was therefore the 57th event.
Many of the great names of British rallying are past winners - Andrew Cowan, Roger Clark, Tony Fall, Colin Malkin, Brian Culcheth, Chris Sclater, Russell Brooks, Tony Pond, and - more recently - Malcolm Wilson, Dai Llewellin, Jimmy McRae, Mark Lovell, Colin McRae, Richard Burns, and Alister McRae. To this illustrious list has just been added the name of 32-year old Yorkshireman Jonny Milner, taking his second Championship win in a row in the Team Dynamics Toyota Corolla WRC.
Under the experienced control of Jonathan Lord and his team, the Royal Scottish Automobile Club organised 124 stage miles split over the Saturday and Sunday. Leg One started from the ramp in Dumfries's High Street, and a rather depleted field of 29 International starters headed west to tackle six stages at Loch Grannoch, Black Loch, Loch Derry (this has to be Scotland), Glentrool, Shaw Hill and Glengap. Central service was on a closed road to the west of Newton Stewart, and the crews returned to parc fermé back in Dumfries on Saturday evening.
Championship points leader Jonny Milner set the pace on the first stage ahead of an inspired Tatsu Taguchi in the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Group A Lancer. Great excitement had been generated before the start by the re-appearance of Mark Higgins - this time in a DGM-prepared Toyota WRC of similar specification to Milner's example, rather than the Focus that he used to such good effect on the Pirelli. The prospect of a great battle was soon dashed however, as Higgins lost a rear wheel after clouting a bridge parapet just before the finish, sending the car pirouetting down the track. Unluckiest crew of the PBRC so far must be David Henderson and Scott Poxon. This time, the engine of their Ford Racing S1600 Puma lunched itself half way through the stage and Henderson, quite understandably, disappeared into the Loch Grannoch forest to gather his thoughts and ponder life in general, and rallying in particular. David Robinson's Escort WRC never even made the start of this first stage, and was last seen stopped in a lay-by outside Dumfries with a broken cam-belt.
Leg One certainly emphasised the Scottish Rally's long-held reputation for toughness, with technically demanding stages that were extremely rough in places. Punctures were a problem for almost everyone, starting the usual debate about whether they can be avoided by considerate (to car and tyres) driving, or whether they're an inevitable outcome of setting competitive times. Whatever the answer (and the jury still seems to be out on this), they, and thick dust hanging in the still air, were two of the main features that influenced the first day's order. Guy Wilks suffered badly, losing about eight minutes when in fifth place overall and leading the 1600 class, and dropped down to 20th, whilst another driver reported having had his car up on its jack seven times.
The usual suspects were swapping fastest times at the front, with Group N Subaru drivers Tapio Laukkanen and David Higgins again setting out to prove that late-spec, so-called 'production' cars in the right hands are quite capable of upsetting the WRC contingent. Trying to resist this onslaught were Jonny Milner, Marcus Dodd, Austin McHale and Robert Woodside, all out to prove that power really does matter. They, in turn, were ably supported by the flying Taguchi. Unfortunately, 'flying' soon took on a rather too-literal meaning, as the works Mitsubishi driver misjudged a series of bends on the last stage of the day, bending the car too badly to continue. When one considers that this was his first visit to Scotland, his speed certainly underlines his potential, and it will be interesting to see how he goes on tarmac on the Jim Clark.
With Gwyndaf Evans missing this round to concentrate on getting his MG fully prepared for the Acropolis, Justin Dale was expected to set the Super 1600 pace in his Peugeot 206, but Guy Wilks and Kris Meeke were proving much stronger competition in their Fords. Meeke in particular was showing his true potential and endorsing the faith that S-Mac and Colin McRae (who, incidentally, flew his helicopter down from home on Saturday to check up on his protégé's progress) have put in him. Capitalising on Guy Wilks' misfortunes, Kris had worked his way up to fifth overall and clear class leader by the end of the day. Peugeot's honour, however, was upheld by Rory Galligan, second in the 1600 class, after Justin Dale had lost a lot of time with punctures and a broken throttle cable.
A hectic first day finally ended with Tapio Laukkanen holding a 21-second lead over Jonny Milner, with Marcus Dodd, David Higgins, Kris Meeke, Robert Woodside and Jock Armstrong some way behind. Tenth placed Austin McHale was over six minutes adrift, showing that the Scottish stages are like no others in their ability to spread out the field. Martin Sansom (broken engine) and Stuart Darcy (holed sump) unfortunately joined the six crews that failed to make it back to Dumfries.
If punctures and dust (not to mention the voracious Scottish midges) were features of Leg One, overnight rain made standing water and mud significant features of leg two. This time the rally headed east from Dumfries to take in five stages in the forests of Ae, Windy Hill, Castle O'er, and Twiglees. And for those who like plenty of drama in their rallying, Leg Two didn't disappoint.
First casualty was Justin Dale, determined to make up time lost the previous day. Flat out on Sunday's first stage (Ae 1) in fifth gear and about to take sixth, he was setting the car up for a corner when the back suddenly snapped sideways. He lost control, hit a tree (naturally on co-driver Andrew Bargery's side) and barrel-rolled the 206 into a deep and fast-flowing river. When the crew had made their way to the bank, it was found that Justin had a damaged rib, but Andrew was thankfully uninjured. To cap it all, the ambulance that was supposed to ferry them out of the stage itself left the road, albeit in a slightly more sedate fashion. The stage was delayed for a while, but eventually continued with the Peugeot remaining moored to the riverbank. This was Justin's first accident since the Pirelli in 1998, and only the fourth time he has retired from a rally through his own actions, out of about 75 events. Some record!
Back in the thick of the action, Jonny Milner, Tapio Laukkanen, Marcus Dodd, David Higgins, Austin McHale, Robert Woodside, Alistair Ginley and Leon Pesticcio were all going well, with Tapio trailing Jonny by just under 15 seconds at the end of the second stage. Milner was starting to experience hydraulic problems with the front diff, with drive alternating between two wheels and four wheels, but this didn't seem to affect his times significantly as he managed to keep the gap between him and Tapio constant.
If you liked mud, then Sunday's central service area at Park Farm, the show ground on the outskirts of Dumfries, was the place to be. With the rain tipping down, marshals, mechanics, journalists and spectators were looking decidedly dejected, musing over the fact that grass service areas are only really practical in dry weather. The only things in their element were the four-wheel-drive cars.
The dramas continued to the end. The unpredictably of rallying might cause last minute upsets for a few unfortunate competitors, but championships like the PBRC thrive on it. The biggest loser was undoubtedly Tapio Laukkanen (definitely the 'man of the match'). Having put up a tremendous display of skill, commitment (you should have seen him on some of the twisty downhill sections) and tenacity, he retired on the final part of the final stage having put his car off the track. This left Milner over three minutes ahead of Marcus Dodd, with Group N winner David Higgins in third overall. Local man Jock Armstrong took a very creditable fourth overall and second in Group N in his Impreza, with Ford Puma crew Kris Meeke and Glenn Patterson coming in fifth overall and earning 10 Championship points after winning the 1600 category from Peugeot's Rory Galligan.
That's the end of the gravel events for the moment. The action now switches to fast and tricky tarmac on 12-14 July when we move to Edinburgh to appreciate the new Jim Clark Memorial Rally's HQ (and the Queen Mary) at the Ocean Terminal, Leith. Will Milner be as quick on tarmac? Will McHale show us why he's a multiple Irish tarmac champion? Will one of the Irish contingent expected show the PBRC regulars how it's done? Will the 1600s spring a few surprises?
Unfortunately we'll have to wait to find out. See you there!
The full results and Championship positions can be viewed on the official PBRC web site, www.brcweb.co.uk.
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