There’s every chance of a home winner on this weekend’s RSAC Scottish Rally.
Dumfries driver David Bogie comes into the Lockerbie and Moffat-based event on top form, having won the last three rounds on the KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship to lead the standings.
And he has also won the Scottish a record seven times, making him and Irish co-driver John Rowan the favourites.
But they’ll be out in a new Ford Fiesta Rally2, Bogie’s previous wins this season having come in a WRC-spec Mini.
Competition for the win will include Castle Douglas’ Jock Armstrong. He has struggled in his Subaru Impreza this year and was forced to miss the previous round in Argyll, which regular co-driver Cammy Fair won with Bogie.
But he won the SRC section of the Scottish in 2017 and was second last year.
Other contenders for the overall win include the Mitsubishi Evo 9 of Michael Binnie and Claire Mole and several Fords, particularly those of Freddie Milne and Patrick Walsh, David Henderson and Chris Lees and Bruce McCombie and Michael Coutts
Dumfries Mark McCulloch has an upgraded engine in his Proton Satria, which will be co-driven by Michael Hendry. Their pace on recent rallies has been very encouraging.
The Albyn Garage Challengers class includes the Evo of Angus Lawrie of Castle Douglas and Paul Gribben of Annan, who will be up against ALM team mate Willie Paterson and championship sponsor Kevin Crawford and Andrew Stevenson.
Dumfries pair Peter Stewart and Harry Marchbank top the Autoshop two-wheel drive entries in their Peugot 208 R4, with the historic ford Escorts of Stuart Eggleston and Steve Bannister right behind. There’s also an Escort from Jim Robertson of Penpont and Colin Maxwell of Dumfries and another Peugeot 208, this time from Richard Stewart of Dumfries.
Haugh of Urr brother and sister Keith and Mairi Riddick will line up second in the four-wheel drive ranks, with competition including MG ZR of Scott Peacock of Castle Douglas and the similar car of Auldgirth’s Niall Cowan Jr and Dumfries’ Callum Shanks.
Class C2 sees lots of local interest including the Peugeot 205GTi of Dalbeattie’s Bryan and Scott Gourlay, the similar car of Donald Peacock of Bridge of Dee and Mark Roberts of Torthorwald and the Peugeot 206 Cup of Stranraer’s Martyn Erskine and Kieran Hyslop.
Niall Cowan of Dumfries is competing in C1 in his MG, with Jim McDowall of Creetown and Charlotte McDowall of Stronord in M4 in their Escort Mk2.
The Moates Offshore Juniors sees R2 Fiesta driver Justin Gunning lining up ahead of Dumfries’ Robert Proudlock, the Dumfries driver making his debut in his home event in a Vauxhall Adam.
Ladies championship leader Aileen Forrest will be competing in her Evo with competition from reigning champ Ashleigh Morris in her Fiesta. Meghan O’Kane’s Fiesta will be the first Scottish championship runner, with all the two-wheel drives at the front of the field in reverse seeding order.
Saturday’s rally will take place across six stages covering 42 miles through the region’s forests.
As well as being a round of the Scottish Rally Championship, it’s also part of the HRCR Northern Historic Gravel Championship and Army Land Rover Challenge.
