The Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship is pleased to reveal its 2025 calendar of events, as it remains the only mixed-surface clubman championship in the UK.

Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship Calendar:
Mar 1 – Snowman Rally (Inverness)
Apr 26 – Speyside Stages (Elgin)
May 25 – Jim Clark Reivers Rally (Duns)
Jun 20 / 21 – Argyll Rally (Dunoon)
Jul 19 – Scottish Rally (Dalbeattie)
Aug 8 / 9 – Grampian Forest Rally (Banchory)
Sep 13 – Galloway Hills Rally (Castle Douglas)

The A.M Phillip Trucktech Snowman Rally was strongly supported throughout the various classes within the Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship.

Class C3

After taking the class win at the Grampian, Robert Tonge was keen for a repeat performance on the Snowman, an event he’s never finished. With Graeme Harris back in the hotseat, the MG man was right in the mix at the top of the class all day, eventually grabbing 42^nd overall and top C3 driver’s points.

Tying on time with the MG on stage 1, Alistair Brearley & Richard Wardle shadowed their class rivals for the rest of the day. Enjoying the twisty stages more than the flat out Millbuie, they grabbed 46^th overall and maximum class points for Richard. That was enough to give Alistair & Richard the Class C3 title.

Class C5

Delighted to be back after his massive Argyll accident, Jordan Anderson was joined by the experienced Chris Wareham for this round. They started steadily, not helped by Chris feeling carsick on the 1^st loop. They built the pace all afternoon and eventually grabbed an excellent 18^th overall and maximum driver’s points for Jordan.

Taking maximum co-driver’s points, Graham Kelman was once again guiding Mike Grant around in their Impreza. SS2 was the scene of their biggest moment, parking the car in a big ditch and dropping around 20 seconds to the class leaders. Despite the delay they were happy with another good finish, backing up their Grampian result with 32^nd overall on the Snowman.

Class M1

M1 featured one of the closest battles of the day between two MG ZRs. Niall Cowan Jnr & Charley Sayer-Payne were finding their car to be better on the twisty stages while Alan Scott & Shaina Archibald had the advantage on the fast stuff. After 5 stages both crews had 2 fastest stage times each, with Cowan Jnr & Sayer-Payne just 21 seconds up going into the last test.

Unfortunately, Alan & Shaina lost 3 minutes on the last stage with overheating issues leaving Cowan Jnr to take maximum driver’s points and Shaina the maximum in the co-driver’s.

Class M2

Fresh from an excellent run at Mull, Owen Macleod & Ryan Urquhart were keen for another solid result in their glorious sounding 205. Despite having to nurse the car on some of the looser sections they were able to push hard on the cleaner stages to grab the M2 win, 34^th overall and maximum junior co-driver’s points for Ryan.
Meanwhile, 2^nd in class was enough for Meghan & John O’Kane to add the M2 title to Meghan’s Junior Championship.

Class M3

Out for just the 2^nd time this year, Thomas Bell was continuing to learn his ex-Meghan O’Kane Ford Fiesta, aided on this occasion by Liam Richardson in the hotseat. Getting quicker and quicker as the day wore on, Thomas was visibly growing in confidence with his new car, taking maximum driver’s points along with 43^rd overall.

Taking the top co-driver’s points, Nikki Addison had jumped into the hotseat of Callum Atkinson’s Fiesta. Having taken a break from driving in recent years, Callum had lost none of his speed, Nikki expertly guiding her pilot to an excellent 28^th despite flirting with the ditches on occasion. They were also 1^st on the scene of Duncan Campbell & Michael Cruickshank’s mid stage fire, Callum & Nikki’s help proving vital in helping to save the car.

Class M4

After Charlotte McDowall took unwell, Fraser Smith had installed a more than adequate substitute in Josh Davison in the hotseat of his Escort. After various teething troubles all year, Fraser was delighted that the car was running well and was left wide eyed after holding it on the rev limiter in 6^th gear for several seconds. 22^nd overall and the class win by just 5 seconds was a good comeback after retiring on Mull. Fraser still has a chance of the class title, squaring up against fellow MK2 man Paddy Munro. Paddy’s regular navigator Andrew Stevenson has already taken the co-driver’s title.

Class M5

Taking the win in both the Challengers and 2 Wheel Drives along with 10^th SRC crew, David Wilson & Kyle Gordon were sampling their BMW M3 on the gravel for the 1^st time. David very happy with how good the car is on the loose and they were fastest 2wd on the 1^st stage. They spent the day keeping Greg McKnight & Harry Marchbank honest until the Escort retired with clutch failure.  David & Kyle too suffered a late drama with their gearbox but were able to nurse the car home to 12^th overall. Class M5 is still up for grabs, with at least 3 crews capable of taking the title.

Class M6

Rob Cotton & Ethan Kidd needed a good finish to wrap up the Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup and were still in with a shout of the Challengers title. It was an excellent day, regularly setting top 20 times and enjoying a fantastic 7 way battle for the Class M6 win. Rob saying it was the 1^st time he’s had the Impreza in 6^th gear in the woods. 13^th overall and 11^th SRC crew home was enough for them to wrap up both the Subaru Cup and M6 titles with a round to spare after a great 1^st season in the SRC.

Class H1

After their disappointing retirement on the Grampian, David McLeod & Eamonn Boyle had burned the midnight oil to rebuild the Avenger’s rear suspension assembly. The car was running well although the combination of a 1600 historic engine and a 4-speed gearbox meant the car was running out of puff on the big hills and the fast sections of Millbuie. 38^th overall was a good return to form after the Grampian.

Class H2

Donald Peacock & Mairi Riddick needed a good run to continue their bid for the H2 title and keep Mairi’s hopes of the Ladies navigator’s championship alive. There was a big overshoot and a cut tyre in the morning, but the biggest issue was a brief off on the 2^nd run of Ardendrain. They managed to scramble back on the road, taking the class win, 23^rd overall and a top score in the Ladies for Mairi. Both the H2 and Ladies navigator’s titles will be decided on the final round.

Class Pro2

Pro2 looked like going to Robert Proudlock & Steven Brown, right up to the point that the 208 crew rolled out of the event on the final stage. That opened the door for Justin Gunning & Michael Moates. The Clio crew had spent the morning shadowing the Peugeot before a puncture in the afternoon dropped them almost 2 minutes. Staying on the road they grabbed the class win and 35^th overall along with a junior category win for Justin. The Pro 2 title is still up for grabs on the final round.

images from AFMotorsport Media

74 crews lined up to contest the A.M. Phillip Trucktech Snowman Rally, the penultimate round of the Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship. The Driver’s Championship may already have been decided but there were still plenty of other titles up for grabs.

Taking their 1st SRC win as a team, John Wink & Neil Shanks bounced back in the best possible way after a late retirement on the Grampian last time out. 2nd after 2 stages, they made their move in stage 3, equal fastest and jumping into a 4 second lead. They extended that to 9 after stage 5 and held that lead all the way to the finish. A very popular win around the entire service park.

Fresh from a podium on his home event, Scott Beattie arrived in Inverness full of confidence. With Emily Easton-Page in the navigator seat this time they started steadily, 5th after 2 stages. Then the charge began, climbing the ranks with every stage and grabbing 2nd by just 2 seconds with 1 stage to go. A clean run over the final test was enough to take a second consecutive 2nd place for the white Fiesta.

Jock Armstrong & Owen Paterson topped the standings after 2 stages in their Subaru powered Skoda. Running 1st on the road they slipped back to 2nd after only recording 8th fastest time in stage 3. Lying 3rd going into final test, just 2 seconds off 2nd place, they threw caution to the wind and would spin and stall early on in the stage. They had to settle for 3rd at the finish but were happy with another good day of learning the new car.

One of the big titles still up for grabs was the overall Navigator’s championship. Keir Beaton topped the standings heading into the event, stepping into the hotseat of Freddie Milne’s Fiesta for this round. Both his brother Paul, alongside Bruce McCombie, and Mark McCulloch’s regular navigator Michael Hendry could still take the title.

It was McCulloch & Hendry who would have the best day, grabbing an excellent 4th at the finish, not enough to keep Michael’s title hopes alive but still another excellent result. Bruce & Paul took an excellent 6th, crucially 1 position ahead of Freddie & Keir. It had been a tough day at the office for Freddie & Keir, battling back from an early 14th after issues with the 4wd system to eventually take 7th.

It was a tense wait for Keir to see if they’d done enough to take the title but, unbeknown to him, Paul had contacted the SRC and elected to not claim points. That meant his younger Brother had done enough to take his 1st Scottish title, made even sweeter by clinching it on his home event.

The G&M Mechanical Services 2wd and Albyn Garage Challengers titles were also yet to be decided.

Greg McKnight & Harry Marchbank were in the driver’s seat of the 2wds, although if they slipped up 8 other drivers and 5 other co-drivers could still grab the championship win.

One of their closest 2wd rival crews Paddy Munro & Andrew Stevenson topped the Challengers points standings, 2 other crews could still take that title, Johnnie Mackay & Rachel Matheson and Rob Cotton & Ethan Kidd.

What followed was a difficult event for 3 of those main contenders. McKnight & Marchbank were doing exactly what they needed to do, leading the 2wds with 1 stage remaining before being sadly forced out with clutch failure on the final test.

Also retiring, Mackay & Matheson would clout a big rock in stage 2, removing several important suspension components in the process.

Munro & Stevenson couldn’t take advantage of the dramas that befell their 2 big rivals, after spending 3 minutes in an SS1 ditch. 71st after stage 1 they battled back to 24th overall by the finish.

Taking the win in both categories along with 10th SRC crew home, David Wilson & Kyle Gordon were sampling their BMW M3 on the gravel for the 1st time. David very happy with how good the car is on the loose and they were fastest 2wd on the 1st stage. Keeping McKnight & Marchbank honest all day they too suffered a late drama with their gearbox but were able to nurse the car home to 12th overall.

Both the 2 Wheel Drive and Challengers championships will now be decided on the final round.

Rob Cotton & Ethan Kidd needed a good finish to wrap up the Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup and were still in with a shout of the Challengers title. It was an excellent day, regularly setting top 20 times and enjoying a fantastic 7 way battle for the Class M6 win. 13th overall and 11th SRC crew home was enough for them to wrap up both the Subaru Cup and M6 titles with a round to spare after a great 1st season in the SRC.

Both the driver’s and co-driver’s titles were still to be decided in the Moates Offshore Juniors.

The navigator’s title has developed into a 2-way battle between Ryan Urquhart, alongside Owen Macleod and Michael Moates, sitting with Justin Gunning. The 2 crews spent the day swapping times with Gunning & Moates just ahead of Macleod & Urquhart after 4 stages. Justin & Michael then suffered a puncture in 5, dropping behind Owen & Ryan. Both crews went for it on the final stage and ended the day 1 second apart with Owen & Ryan just coming out on top. That gave Ryan the co-driver’s win but Justin the driver’s win on the event. The navigator’s title is still to be decided on the final round.

Meghan O’Kane just needed a finish to wrap up the Junior driver’s title in her R2 Fiesta. Meghan and Dad John endured another tough day at the office, continuing their season long battle with the Fiesta’s handling, the car getting especially wayward on the fast sections. Despite the issues, 2nd Junior driver home was enough for Meghan to take the title.

Gordon Murray & Peter Carstairs were looking to bounce back after their Grampian retirement and wrap up the Haddo Energy Super Seniors title. It was another good run for the big Escort, grabbing 27th overall and maximum seniors points. Gordon’s biggest concern at the finish seemed to be deciding where they were going to go on holiday as part of their prize.

Both Lady Driver & Co-driver titles were also yet to be decided.

The Lady Drivers Championship was a straight shootout between Aileen Forrest & Meghan O’Kane. While Meghan battled her handling issues, Aileen was battling stages she doesn’t particularly enjoy. With Paul Gribben back in the hotseat, Aileen was feeling she had finally clicked with her Evo and was pleasantly surprised at how much she enjoyed the stages, especially the flat-out sections of Millbuie. It was back and forth, but Aileen did just enough, pipping Meghan by only 3 seconds to take another Ladies driver title.

The Lady co-drivers has come down to a battle between Rachel Matheson & Mairi Riddick. Rachel retired early alongside Johnnie Mackay after their argument with a rock. That gave Mairi the advantage, expertly guiding Donald Peacock around to 23rd overall despite Donald’s best attempts to throw them off the road. The co-driver’s title another to be decided on the final round.

images courtesy of AFMotorsport Media / Becksport Media