Scotland

The Dunoon Presents… Argyll Rally was a tough test, particularly for the crews in amongst the various classes, most of whom would suffer from the worst of the weather conditions on Friday evening’s long 14.5 mile final stage.
Class C2
Scott Gourlay was making his driving debut in the SRC in his own 205. With Roger Alcorn alongside it wasn’t a drama free event. The rear suspension would break on the Friday night and a rear brake disc shattered and parted company with the rest of the car on the Saturday morning. A temporary fix in service left them with 3 brakes for the final loop and they made it safely to the finish in 72nd overall.
Class C3
After their monumental effort to make the start of the Jim Clark Reivers Graeme Sherry & Ewan Lees had to repeat that feat once again for the Argyll after their argument with a telegraph pole. Graeme’s scouring of Germany for Manta parts proved fruitless but thankfully he found a Cavalier Coupe in Dunfermline of all places. That left a mad dash to get the car ready in time but they made it and were rewarded with the C3 win.
Class C5
After a whole 2 rallies Liam Richardson & Darren Kennedy had made the decision that it was time to upgrade the car, swapping their 306 for a GC8 Impreza. After a last minute dash to get everything ready they spent the whole event battling turbo boost problems. Despite all that they took 86th overall and the class win by less than a minute from the similar car of Mike Moates & Gary McDonald.
Class H1
David Mcleod & Eamonn Boyle would take both the H1 and Scottish historic win. David finding the Sunbeam to be absolutely ideal for these technical stages. The biggest issue was a wrong tyre choice on the Saturday morning but apart from that the car ran faultlessly all event.
Class H2
Steve Bannister & Callum Atkinson endured a difficult Argyll. Unable to make time for a recce they were on the back foot from the start. Then they would puncture a tyre in the dark and rain of SS4, forcing a lengthy change. On Saturday they found the rear suspension to be too stiff, something that’s hard to adjust quickly on a historic Escort. Add in 2 chicane penalties and they finished a frustrated 83rd overall.
Class M2
Keith & Mairi Riddick had started the event with a wrong tyre choice. That was sorted at the Friday night regroup but then the exhaust manifold burst in the long stage 4. The AMD service crew helped them out by welding the manifold back up overnight, keeping the grateful MG crew in the rally. They went on to take 40th overall at the finish.
Class M3
Johnnie Mackay & Michael Cruickshank had started well in the wet conditions of Friday night, ending up 34th overall at the overnight halt. The drier conditions of Saturday exposed a down on power engine that was drinking an excessive amount of oil. Add to that a chicane penalty and the Fiesta ST slipped back to 49th by the end of the event.
Class M4
35th overall, John Crawford & Josh Davidson were unimpressed with their own performance. John claiming he was driving “like a scared wee boy”, particularly in the wet and dark of the Friday night.
Class M5
Gordon Murray & Steven Brown’s Friday night was ruined by a wrong tyre choice. The MK2 spinning the wheels all the way to 5th gear. Saturday was better but they were another crew to suffer a chicane penalty on their way to 47th overall.
Class M6
Taking both the class and the Subaru Cup win Orrin McDonnell & Eoghan Anderson finally had their new engine up and running properly. The main issue for them was the rear left suspension staying up inside the wheel arch after a heavy landing. That was subtly bashed back down at the side of the road and they carried on. The orange Impreza 53rd at the finish.
Class Pro 2
Peter Stewart & Harry Marchbank took another Pro2 win. It was a tricky event for the front wheel drive 208 R4. The car struggling with the gravel being pulled out by the 4wd cars, causing Pete to use lines and cuts he wouldn’t normally take. This resulted in a few wild moments, including a massive tank slapper in a straight line. They ended up 19th overall and 3rd 2 wheel drive car home.
Images courtesy of West Coast Photos, Alan Scott Photography & Ewan Mackenzie Photography
http://www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk/2022/07/04/dunoon-presents-argyll-rally-classes-review/

5 times Scottish champion David Bogie took his 3rd win of the 2022 KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship season, their victory on the Dunoon Presents Argyll Rally being both his and co-driver Cammy Fair’s 1st win on the event.
With Jock Armstrong’s Impreza still in surgery after the Reivers, David had installed Cammy Fair in the hotseat of the MINI WRC. Quickly adapting to how each other work they finished the Friday night leg with a 5 second lead. After an inspired tyre choice on the Saturday morning they leapt out to a 32 second lead by the midday regroup. With the MINI sold they made sure to keep everything safe on the final loop to take the overall & SRC win.
On their 1st event in a Rally 2 Fiesta David Henderson & Chris Lees had both SRC and Protyre Championship points at stake. 3rd in the SRC overnight they stepped the pace up on the Saturday, grabbing 2nd overall in the event, 2nd SRC points and the Protyre win. Definitely a crew to watch as they adapt to their new mount.
Held up briefly by another competitor’s off on their 2nd run through Dunoon town centre, Michael Binnie & Claire Mole had found the Friday night stages to be quite challenging. They spent Saturday morning in a battle for 4th before absolutely charging over the final loop to 3rd SRC and 3rd overall. The Evo crew maintaining their fantastic run of podium finishes in 2022.
Angus Lawrie & Paul Gribben took the Albyn Garage Challengers win after a titanic battle with team-mates Willie Paterson & Tom Hynd. Clipping a kerb in Dunoon, Angus had found the Friday loop to be a baptism of fire while Willie had finished the night with dodgy lights. The battle on the Saturday was an absolute belter, Willie on the fightback was pushing Angus hard but the black Evo would take the win from the red sister car by just 18 seconds at the finish.
3rd 2-wheel drive car on the event but top Autoshop 2wd crew, Peter Stewart & Harry Marchbank had found the stages to be hard work in the 208 R4. The front wheel drive car struggled to deal with the debris the 4 wheel drives were pulling onto the road, resulting in a few big moments even in a straight line.
Gordon Murray & Steven Brown would take the Haddo Energy Super Seniors win. A wrong tyre choice on Friday left the Mk2 with no traction, spinning the wheels all the way up to 5th gear. Saturday was better for tyre choice but they were frustrated by a time penalty for hitting a chicane.
Just 16 seconds behind the Escort, reigning Junior champion Johnnie Mackay would take a 1st Moates Offshore Juniors win of the season. Another to have a chicane penalty, the Fiesta driver was an excellent 34th overnight in the wet conditions. The dry Saturday exposed the Fiesta’s lack of power, and this plus the engine’s appetite for oil meant Johnnie & co-driver Michael Cruickshank slipped back to 49th overall by the finish.
Orrin McDonnell & Eoghan Anderson finally had their new engine firing on all cylinders on their way to a 1st 5 Star Vehicle Deliveries Subaru Cup win of the season. They endured a scary moment when one of the rear shocks collapsed into the wheel arch mid stage but thankfully that was sorted with some gentle persuasion on the road section.
There was carnage in the Ladies contest with both Meghan O’Kane & Nikki Addison failing to see the finish. Championship leader Aileen Forrest’s challenge took a big hit with electrical problems on the Friday night. That left reigning champion Ashleigh Morris to take advantage. Also struggling on the Friday with misting problems in the wet she ran very strongly on the Saturday up to the point where she fell off the road in SS10. Thankfully spectators pushed the Fiesta back on and – despite taking a stage maximum – she would make it to the finish to take her 2nd win of the season.
David Bogie’s victory stretches his lead in the championship standings to 4 points over Michael Binnie, while co-driver Claire Mole sees her lead over Cammy Fair cut to 2 points.
http://www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk/2022/06/27/dunoon-presents-argyll-rally-overall-review/

Ian Maxwell denies Douglas Park request for SFA investigation into Rangers' sponsorship dispute with
https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226152.ian-maxwell-denies-douglas-park-request-sfa-investigation-rangers-sponsorship-dispute-spfl/?ref=rss

Ian Maxwell gives emphatic backing to Steve Clarke as he says there is 'no doubt' he is the right ma
https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226204.ian-maxwell-gives-emphatic-backing-steve-clarke-says-no-doubt-right-man-lead-scotland/?ref=rss

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226232.transgender-policy-under-review-sfa-take-lead-fifa-participation-womens-game/?ref=rss

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226284.celtic-announce-benji-siegrist-four-year-deal-following-dundee-united-departure/?ref=rss

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226257.alexander-bernabei-emotional-lanus-farewell-celtic-transfer-edges-closer/?ref=rss

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226227.league-champions-marr-discover-opponents-start-premiership-title-defence/?ref=rss

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/20226222.midfielder-fabio-vieira-completes-arsenal-switch/?ref=rss
