Bogie targets second BRC crownposted in RSCOT17 | 02 | 2016
FIVE YEARS AFTER he was crowned British Rally Champion, Scot David Bogie (pictured) will return to the re-invigorated championship in a four-wheel drive Skoda Fabia R5.
Bogie, the 28-year-old from Dumfries, a five-times Scottish champ, became BRC champion in 2011 at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, beating Welshman Elfyn Evans by 10 points.
This year he will pilot a CA1 Sport-prepared Skoda R5, and the Scot will start joint favourite for the coveted British crown alongside Evans, fresh from his World Rally Championship exploits in a Ford Fiesta WRC.
“I had a very good meeting with Skoda Motorsport at Rally Spain last year, and since then we’ve been working on getting a Fabia R5 for the British Rally Championship,' Bogie, the last Scot to win the BRC, said.
“The year’s BRC is full of very good drivers, but I’m obviously looking forward to competing against Elfyn again.
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"He’s impressed me in the WRC over the last couple of years and I’m sure he’ll be the benchmark in this year’s BRC. But this will be the first time we’ve competed against each other in like-for-like machinery since I beat him to the BRC title in 2011, so we’ll be pushing to win."
But Bogie, who will be partnered in the Carlisle-based CA1 Sport team by Carnoustie's Alex Laffey in a Ford Fiesta R5, admits he has a tight schedule to be ready for the season opener in Wales on March 5-6.
“I haven’t even sat in a Skoda Fabia R5 yet, so getting the car over to the UK and having a good shakedown in the car will be important," Bogie, whoe is scheduled to shakedown the car on the Red Kite Stages in Wales on Sunday (Feb 21), smiled.
"We’re unlikely to have more than a one day test in the car before the opening round of the BRC, but that’s not going to stop us aiming for a very strong start on the Mid Wales Stages.”
This year's seven-round MSA British Rally Championship — which returns to the more powerful four-wheel drive cars, after a break of five years — includes the Dumfries-based RSAC Scottish Rally on June 25.
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Jim McGill