BORDER reivers Michael Binnie and Claire Mole secured a second consecutive Snowman Rally victory last weekend.
The Mitsubishi Evo 9 Cornhill/Duns pairing won the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) by 19 seconds at the finish.
But their successful raid in the north of Scotland came at the end of what was, as predicted, a hotly contested event involving more than 80 crews.
The duo had battled all day with the Ford Fiesta R5 of Freddie Milne and Patrick Walsh and led by just five seconds going into the final stage of the Black Isle-based rally.
But Milne and Walsh were robbed of a podium finish when their engine cut out with just two miles to go, and the time lost on restarting the engine cruelly dropped them to fourth overall.
That allowed Jock Armstrong and Cammy Fair to secure a fine second place in their famous orange Subaru Impreza after overcoming brake problems in the morning.
Salvaging third overall, five-time champions David Bogie and Kevin Rae suffered a puncture and suspension failure in stage one. But a typical charge in the afternoon saw the MINI WRC climb back up on to the podium.
The Mitsubishi Evo 9 crew of Scott Macbeth and Daniel Forsyth rounded out the top five.
Making their 4WD debut, locals Keir Beaton and Iain Thorburn finished ninth, despite a few excursions into ditches, to take top spot in the Challengers category in their hired Impreza.
Claiming the 2WD category victory was the rapid Peugeot 208 R4 crew of Peter Stewart and Harry Marchbank, who finished 15th and challenged the 4WD cars all day.
Also making their 4WD debut were local Impreza pairing Jordan Anderson and Claire Mackenzie, who dominated the Subaru Cup battle by more than two minutes, ending up in 21st place.
In the Junior class, R2 Fiesta pilot Justin Gunning emerged victorious with a fantastic 33rd place and co-driver Stuart McBride said the youngster’s performance was almost perfect.
It was the 1986 Snowman Rally winner Alistair Brearley, in a Ford Escort Mk2 co-driven by Gerry Bryden, who took the honours in the new Super Seniors category – their No 43 machine appropriately finishing 43rd.
In the Ladies battle, Ashleigh Morris, with regular co-pilot Martin Haggett, started her title defence in the best possible way, taking the win and 47th overall in her R200 Fiesta. Round two of the SRC, the Elgin-based Speyside Stages, takes place on April 23.
Meanwhile, experienced Audi R8 racer Finlay Hutchison will compete in both the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup this year for reigning GTWCE champions Team WRT.
The Dundonian will mount a challenge in the Silver Cup class alongside Aberdeen’s Lewis Proctor and Mexican driver Diego Menchaca in the five-round GTWCE Endurance Cup.
His team-mate in the shorter format Sprint Cup, which will also be contested over five events, will be confirmed in due course.
Hutchison said: “I am elated to be joining Team WRT for the new season in GTWCE. I’ve got two quick and competitive team-mates in the Endurance Cup, with Lewis and Diego, and it’s great to be back racing in the Sprint Cup.”
Joining the same challenge in the endurance contest is Midlothian ace Sean Walkinshaw after agreeing a deal with Spanish outfit Madpanda Motorsports. He will pair up with Serbian Dusan Borkovic in a Mercedes-AMG.
Walkinshaw said: “Madpanada Motorsports has had tremendous success in only a few years since it was formed and I am excited to see what this season will bring.”
Closer to home, Lockerbie’s Gordie Mutch and YouTube star Jimmy Broadbent have secured the backing of leading sim racing equipment maker Fanatec for their Praga Cup campaign.
That gets under way this weekend at Silverstone and Gordie said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have the partnership with Fanatec for this season and look forward to working with them on some super-cool projects going forward.
“After two victories with Jimmy last season, our confidence is high but its a very tough, competitive grid we face. Nonetheless, we’ll do the best we can and we’re aiming for podium finishes and wins.”
And as preparations begin for the exciting new GB4 single-seater championship, Knockhill-based Graham Brunton Racing’s all-female line-up has been testing at Silverstone.
East Kilbride’s Logan Hannah said: “It’s gone really well and we were straight on the pace.” Perth teenager Chloe Grant added: “The Tatuus F4-T014 race car suits me and I definitely want to be finishing on the podium this year.”
