100 crews set to start Snowmanposted in SRC17 | 02 | 2017
THE 2017 ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship kicks off with its traditional season opener, the Inverness-based Snowman Rally tomorrow.
More than 100 crews will tackle the gruelling 43-miles through the demanding forest stages close to the Cairngorm National Park.
Castle Douglas ace Jock Armstrong (pictured below) starts the season bidding to win the championship for a third successive year in his Subaru Impreza, but again he faces stiff competition from a talented field.
Invernessian Donnie MacDonald is aiming for a repeat of his Snowman success 12 months after powering his Mitsubishi Evo IX to victory in 2016. This year, again co-driven by Andrew Falconer, the duo will share a state-of-the-art Ford Fiesta R5.
Mike Faulkner (pictured below) and Peter Foy are once again back in the championship with their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. However, Faulkner's Mitsubishi has been upgraded over the winter with the pair hoping to take their first SRC win since 2015.
Two other former Scottish champs, David Bogie and Euan Thorburn, will also tackle the Snowman Rally before switching their attention to the British Rally Championship.
Bogie, the five-time Scottish champ from Dumfries, will again partner Jedburgh co-driver Kevin Rae in their Skoda Fabia R5, while Duns-based Thorburn has switched from a Peugeot 208 T16 to a Fiesta R5 for 2017.
“The Snowman is always a terrific event to get the season underway,” former British champ Bogie said today, “and it’s a great way to blow away the winter cobwebs.
“The Scottish Rally Championship is acknowledged as being the toughest national championship in the UK, and we know we’re going to face a lot of stiff competition this weekend.”
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Jim McGill