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There is less than one week until the Dumfries-based RSAC Scottish Rally gets underway, and with the seeded entry list just published it looks like an excellent field of cars that will be heading into the forests of Dumfries and Galloway. Over one hundred vehicles are ready to line up for the start in Dumfries town centre on the morning of Saturday, 28 June before heading out into the trees for forty-five miles of flat-out action.
Leading the main field away will be two-time RSAC Scottish winner and former Scottish champion Dave Weston. The operations manager from Aberdeen has the chance to join an exclusive club of only four drivers – including rally greats Roger Clark and Hannu Mikkola - to have won three times or more on Scotland’s oldest stage rally. Weston is pulling out all the stops to try and secure the win, with regular co-driver Dave Robson joining him in a top-spec Ford Focus World Rally Car.
Breathing right down Dave Weston’s neck is local hotshot David Bogie. The young Dumfries driver hasn’t had the best of luck on Scottish events this year, and is aiming for better fortune on his home event. “I'm really hoping my luck will change during the second half of the year,” admits Bogie, who will be partnered by Kevin Rae in the Toyota Corolla WRC. “It needs to start on the Scottish – I've got to go for the win and get maximum points – I just need a bit of luck on my side and hopefully it can still be done.”
Current County Saab Scottish Rally Championship leader Jimmy Girvan will also be right in the thick of the action with Castle Douglas navigator Kirsty Riddick in the Subaru Impreza, and Elgin’s Steven Clark looks to keep up his impressive start to the season in the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4. With Gretna’s Mike Faulkner going well in the newer Lancer Evo 6 and Oban ace Willie Bonniwell aiming to bounce back from a non-finish last time out, things are going to be hectic for the Scottish Rally’s results team back at rally HQ!
The RSAC Scottish is also the fourth event in the 2008 Brick and Steel 205 Ecosse Challenge series. The one-make championship, which sees drivers and co-drivers take to the stages in identical Peugeot 205 rally cars, has attracted a bumper entry this year. In fact, fourteen of the little French cars are preparing to take to the forests of Ae and Heathhall, and Newton Stewart graphic designer Mark McCulloch finds himself in pole position in the 1600cc Challenge. “Every round so far this year I’ve said a top six finish is what I want and that’s done me fine so far,” admits Mark, who won the series’ opening two rounds. “With this being my home event I want to do well and push a bit harder to give something back to the sponsors.”
The rally itself bursts into life on Friday evening, with pre-event scrutineering in Dumfries Ice Bowl. Rally merchandise and event programmes with information on all the stages will be available from headquarters right the way through the weekend, and with the Heathhall spectator stage running twice this year the rally is coming closer than ever to the people of Dumfries.
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