Rally champ elect bound for Perthshire

Sep 9 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE engines may have fallen silent after the penultimate round of the MSA Scottish Rally Championship, but the midnight lamps are now burning in garages across the country as competitors in Scotland’s top motor sporting competition prepare for the final round, the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally around the Aberfeldy area.

Across Scotland rally cars are being tweaked in time for the year-long culmination to the national series on Saturday, October 1.

And that includes the 2011 Scottish Rally champion-elect, David Bogie.

“Now that we’ve got the Scottish title, our efforts are being concentrated on the British Rally Championship title. We currently lead that series,” said Bogie.

The last time a Scot won the British Rally Championship was in 1995 when Alister McRae took the honours following on from his brother Colin’s two wins in 1991 and 1992, although Jim McRae won the British title five times during the 1980s.

On that basis, winning this year’s British Championship title, as well as the Scottish crown, means a great deal to the 24-year-old.

Winner of three rounds this year in the British series, Bogie added: “We scored a third place points finish in Ulster on the recent Todds Leap International, but we damaged the car. It landed badly after a 100 mph+ crest, but we didn’t realise how badly till we got it home. The whole front chassis was bent up more than two inches. So it was sent away to be re-jigged and re-tuned and that meant missing the Merrick.”

When asked about the McRae Rally on October 1, Bogie said: “I’d love to do it. Colin McRae was such a hero and inspiration to many of us, and the rally is pretty special for that reason alone. However, my next event is the penultimate round of the British series, the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire. If we survive that and bring the Mitsubishi Lancer home in one piece, then I’d love to be in Aberfeldy the following weekend.”

Bogie has another problem though: “It’s just such a busy time rally wise. The week after the McRae Rally we’ve got the International Rally of Scotland – and I’m desperate to do that as well. I finished fourth overall last year and first in the Group N category, and I would like to do better this year.”

“One way or another I’ll be at the McRae Rally, even if it’s just as a spectator.” said Bogie. “It’s an event not to be missed. It uses some of the best forest stages in the country and it will also give me a chance to see another boyhood hero, Stig Blomqvist in a Ford Escort MkII. That’ll be magic.”

This year’s Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally will be the final round of the 2011 national Scottish Rally Championship, Scotland’s top motor sporting series and will be based entirely in Aberfeldy and the forests of Perthshire.

Organised by Coltness Car Club, this one day national rally will be supported by Perth and Kinross Council and EventScotland, the national events agency.