Jim Clark Rally

It was a windy affair up in the Scottish Borders this year, where David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Evo IX) took win no.3 of the season in the BRC. Overnight Adam Gould & Seb Marshall (Impreza) had kept Bogie honest, only 0.6s back, but through the first loop of stages on Saturday they haemorrhaged time due to various maladies and in the end were third over a minute back. The challenge then came from Jonny Greer & Dai Roberts (Fabia S2000) as they got to grips with their car on tarmac. Bogie’s differentials were starting to play up through the final few stages but he held on to win by 17.6s.

Pirelli Rally

After missing out 2010 we were back up in Kielder for the 2011 Pirelli Rally where David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Evo IX) made it 2 wins out of 3 in the BRC. Bulldog winners Elfyn Evans & Andrew Edwards were in close attendance until the end of stage 5 but then they had a character building drive to get to the finish. In the end it was the Fabia S2000’s which completed the podium with Robert Barrable & Damien Connolly a fine second, just over a minute back, with Jonny Greer & Dai Roberts a minute and a half further back in 3rd. In the 2WD section a late check in cost the Clio R3 pairing of Mark Donnelly & Barry McNulty dear. They would have won the category comfortably but instead were fourth. Martin McCormack & David Moynihan (DS3 R3) took the win by almost 20 seconds from the Finnish pairing of Jukka Korhonen & Marko Salminen (Fiesta R2). Craig Breen & Gareth Roberts (Fiesta R2) completed the podium a further 10 seconds back.

Bulldog Rally

Another year and another Bulldog rally and this time we did get to see the BRC crews but not until we had caught the BHRC crews twice. In the headline event Elfyn Evans took his first major victory, co-driven by Andrew Edwards in his Impreza N15. In the Historic’s Nick Elliott & Chris Brooks (Escort MkII) built up a comfortable lead and kept Julian Reynolds in check through the last few stages. Matt Edwards & Sam Collis (MG ZR) were easy winners in the BRC Challenge with last but by no means least Shaun Gardener & Ben Innes (Evo 5.9) won the National rally by just 2.6 seconds.

Rallye Sunseeker

Down to Bournemouth for the opening round of the British Rally Championship and all change as 2011 is set to be the year of the young guns, with the old guard not present. From the start it was a two horse race between David Bogie & Kevin Rae (Evo IX) and Tom Cave & Craig Parry (Evo X). Bogie struck first but Cave then went fastest on stage 2 to take the lead. Bogie went fastest on stage 3 to snatch the lead back but Cave then cut the lead over the next two stages before Bogie set fastest times on stages 6 and 7. Cave closed in once more but with the gap at ten seconds going into the final stage Bogie went fastest to win whilst Cave lost over ten seconds. An excellent battle throughout with Bogie taking his first BRC win from Cave who just kept ahead of Elfyn Evans & Andrew Edwards (Impreza N15) who improved as the day passed.

Trackrod Rally

Once again our main focus on this trip was the BHRC runners and the conclusion of Dunlop/wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship. With the title going down to a three way battle between David Stokes, Dessie Nutt and  Jonathan Gale there was plenty to play for. After the first stage it was already down to a battle between two as Dessie Nutt & Geraldine McBride retired their Porsche 911. Gale, co-driven by James Whitaker, now had to hold his nerve and concentrate on finishing and hoping someone could beat Stokes in category 2. Gale took the Historic section of the rally but only just by 1.8s from Graham Waite & Gill Cotton (Amazon). In the post Historics Stefaan Stouf & Joris Erard (Escort MkI) returned to the British forests to follow up their 2009 win on the Trackrod, also taking a fine 3rd overall behind the leading two Escort MkII’s.

Jim Clark Rally

Another varied weekend up in the Scottish Borders. With no Irish crews this year the International rally was all about the BRC. Craig Breen & Gareth Roberts (Fiesta S2000) took the lead after stage 1 before Keith Cronin & Barry McNulty (Impreza N15) took the lead until an excursion into a wall on the final stage of the day which saw Breen take over at the top overnight. Breen then extended his lead over the first loop of Saturday before increasing his advantage further on stage 9 when Cronin punctured and dropped to 4th overall. Disaster then struck as Breen retired on stage 10 with major engine damage after a mechanical failure. Alastair Fisher & Rory Kennedy (Evo IX) now led Gwyndaf Evans & Chris Patterson (Evo X) by just over 11 seconds. On stage Evans took the lead and extended it out to half a minute to take victory for the 2nd BRC round in a row. Fisher was a fine 2nd with Cronin have a trying event but happy to finish in the final podium place.