WATCH: Hard luck story for one Moray crew and success for another at A.M Phillip Trucktech Snowman Rally
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The A.M Phillip Trucktech Snowman Rally was a success for one 63 Car Club (Elgin) crew and a hard luck story for another.
Elgin navigator Daniel Forsyth teamed up once again with Muir of Ord’s Scott Macbeth, taking out a Fiesta R5 for the first time in the Scottish Rally Championships opener.
The pair were on course for a stunning victory when they headed into stage four with a whopping 16-second lead, before disaster struck when they rolled out of the event.
That allowed Castle Douglas veteran Jock Armstrong to come through in his Subaru Impreza and win the rally, with 63 Car Club duo John Wink (Huntly) and Neil Shanks (Elgin) picking up their best result to date by claiming second spot.
Forsyth said they stormed into the lead in the second stage and increased their advantage after nearest rival Freddie Milne went into a ditch. They could even afford a spin costing around seven seconds on that stage.
However, Macbeth and Forsyth’s rally ended on the Boblainy Forest stage when they ran wide on a bend and rolled out into the woods.
“We didn’t expect to be doing so well for our first time out in the car,” Forsyth said. “We had only done about 15 miles testing on the Friday.
“We thought if we could get in the top five it would be great, but to be leading was a surprise and everything felt really comfortable in the first three stages.
“But it just shows how quickly things can change.”
The pair went to Raigmore hospital hospital as a precaution after the event.
Both Macbeth and Wink were nominated for the John Horton Star Drive Award for their performance in the Highlands.
Wink’s Hyundai i20 R5 had been rebuilt and upgraded over the winter and was now far more competitive with the other top-class cars.
The highlight of their day was the fastest time on stage four which left them only five seconds away from the overall lead. Third fastest over the final stage was enough to keep them in the runner-up spot.
Aberlour’s Mike Hendry was 13th overall with Dumfries driver Mark McCulloch despite getting a puncture in the final stage to lose some time.
Forres driver Dougal Brown was 16th.
Meanwhile, entry opened for the McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages this week with over 70 entries placed within the first 12 hours. The event takes place on April 21/22.
