Bogie wins RSAC Scottish Rallyposted in BRC20 | 05 | 2017

    SCOT DAVID BOGIE won a thrilling RSAC Scottish Rally, the third round of the British Rally Championship today, but only after a nailbiting battle with his team-mate, and championship leader Fredrik Ahlin.

    The two Skoda R5 drivers had swapped the lead throughout the two-day event as they battled it out through the forests of Dumfries & Galloway.

    After dropping 13-seconds to the Swede on the opening 8.87-miler at Mount Joe on Friday night, five-time Scottish champ, and 2011 British champion Bogie set about reeling in his rival.

    With three stages remaining, Bogie led by 1.0s, only for Ahlin to hit back by clocking the fastest time through stage eight, the 5.79-miler at Castle O’er, and retake the advantage by 1.4s.

    In an enthralling battle, Bogie then went fastest through the penultimate stage, the 5.47 miles of Windy Hill, meaning the Scot entered the final stage with the slimmest of leads, just 0.1s.

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    The scene was set for an epic showdown between the CA1 Sport team-mates. But as Ahlin battled to maintain his record of having won each round of the 2017 championship, he was forced to retire with a burst radiator on his Skoda after he scooped up a “large stone”.

    “That was an unbelievable rally,” a delighted Bogie, co-driven by Hawick’s Kevin Rae, said when he arrived at Moffat for the traditional podium ceremony and Champagne-spraying.

    “Of course it’s fantastic to win for the first time this year in the British Rally Championship, and especially on home soil, but it’s a real pity Fredrik was forced to retire, especially on the final stage.”

    Bogie eventually finished 48.5s ahead of the Ford Fiesta R5 of Welshman Osian Pryce, with the Skoda of Irishman Marty McCormack third, just 13.4s behind Pryce.

    The win moved Bogie up to fourth in the British Rally Championship, and closed the gap to just 30 points behind leader Ahlin with four of the seven rounds remaining.

    Duns-based Euan Thorburn not only finished sixth overall, but the Ford driver won the fourth round of the Scottish Rally Championship, which ran in tandem over the same stages as the RSAC Scottish Rally.

    And there was further success for another Scot when Invernessian Donnie Macdonald, co-driven by Elgin’s Neil Shanks, brought his new Ford Fiesta R5 home in eighth overall to win the BRC National Rally Cup.

    Related: Bogie targets Scottish Rally win

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    Jim McGill

     

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