Pearson aims to “keep the pressure on” at the Speyside Stages

KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship front-runner Garry Pearson will be aiming to start this weekends Speyside Stages where he left off at the Border Counties Rally last month, keeping his title hopes firmly alive in Elgin (20th April).

Pearson, 27 from Duns enjoyed an almost picture postcard return to the championship on the opening round of the season in Jedburgh, leading the rally on the opening two stages of the event before a time zapping spin saw him eventually cross the finish ramp in second overall.

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Yates stuns in Scotland ahead of BRC campaign

Rhys Yates made the best possible start to his Prestone MSA British Rally Championship preparations last weekend, taking third overall at the Speyside Stages (21st April) in Elgin, Scotland round two of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship.

Yates heads to Elgin for British Championship test

Chesterfield rally driver Rhys Yates will make the long trip to Elgin in Scotland this weekend to tackle the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages (21st April), round two of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship.

Fresh from a stunning debut in the FIA European Rally Championship in Azores, taking third ERC Junior Under 28 in March, Yates will contest the one-day gravel event to gain valuable seat time in his Skoda Fabia R5 ahead of the opening round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship next week in Carlisle. Yates will be co-driven by the returning Alex Lee on the event.

SRC calendar revealed for 2018

Organisers of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) are delighted to announce the official calendar for the 2018 season, the 50th season in the championship’s illustrious history.

The SRC comprises seven exhilarating events across Scotland. Around 100 drivers, navigators and their support crews – watched by thousands of spectators – will tackle gravel forestry tracks during the course of the season in a bid to take the overall championship crown or one of the many other awards on offer at the end of the season.

Speyside Stages Classes Review

The McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages hosted round three of the 2017 ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship, with Dumfries ace David Bogie taking the outright win at the wheel of his Skoda Fabia R5.

But the five-time Scottish Champion wasn’t the only victor in the Moray and Aberdeenshire forests outside the host town of Elgin, with action up and down the classes in the series.

Bogie takes record-breaking Speyside victory

Five-time Scottish rally champion David Bogie took a dramatic victory at the third round of the 2017 ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship (SRC), winning the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages by over 40 seconds in his Skoda Fabia R5.

The Dumfries driver claimed a record-breaking eighth win in the Moray and Aberdeenshire forests but was challenged early on by reigning SRC champion Jock Armstrong.

Exciting entry for Speyside Stages

The 2017 ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) resumes after a five week break in Elgin for round three of the series, the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages.

Contested in the Moray and Aberdeenshire forests on Saturday 22nd April, the rally is the only to feature tarmac in the entire SRC season with a spectator stage in Elgin, but the event is characterised by its clean, flowing forest stages.

Brown back on form at Speyside stages

The 2014 McDonald and Munro Speyside stages rally saw QTS Group backed Blair Brown and team finish on the podium, in a respectable third place. Blair the 2014 RSAC New Talent Scholar battled through the Granton on Spey and Aberdeenshire forests alongside co-driver Richard Simmonds from Duns in their team built Peugeot 205 Challenge Rally car.

Bogie wins Speyside duel

Defending Scottish champion David Bogie “gave it everything” to clinch his sixth McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages Rally on Saturday.

Just as  it had been on the previous round of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship, it was a close fought contest between the Dumfries driver and series leader Euan Thorburn from Duns.

However, when the Borderer picked up a puncture on the penultimate stage, the win was there for the taking.

Plenty at stake on Speyside Stages

With just 3.5 seconds separating David Bogie and Euan Thorburn at the conclusion of the previous round, there is an intriguing tussle in prospect as they prepare to lock horns on the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages next Saturday (August 2nd).

The pair have two wins apiece in the 2014 ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship after four events. Thorburn currently leads the series by nineteen points from Barry Groundwater, with Bogie now up to third – a further eleven points adrift.

The Dumfries driver, with Kevin Rae navigating, kept his nose in front on the RSAC Scottish Rally to clinch a debut win in his new Ford Fiesta R5+ – a replacement for the Ford Focus WRC in which he won his fifth Scottish championship, and his fifth Speyside Stages title, in 2013.