CAMPBELL’S WIN AT KAMES
Round two of the Scottish single Venue Rally Championship was held at Kames Circuit, Muirfield and taking maximum points was the current SSVRC champion Des Campbell, Des had his lad Dommy along in the passenger seat and the pair cleaned up in their Peugeot 206 once Steve Irwin headbutted some tyres in his Nova. Irwin managed to keep going after some sterling work by his Service Crew but decided to call it a day when he and his daughter Kirsten came in a lap early.
Taking points for second place navigator was Thomas Purvin, he and non-registered Ross Pringle had a fantastic run and were leading the registered competitors until their Corsa approached a tight hairpin right too quickly and slid wide onto the grass, the pair lost a lot of time before getting back onto the black stuff. This was an excellent display by Pringle who was fighting for the overall lead of the event before his misdemeanour. Next up was the Rintoul’s, Graeme and Jim, the pair had nothing to report. Their Fiesta was driven very neatly all day. Cammy Williams on and navigator Roscoe West hauled in a lot of points in the Subaru, despite having a straight on moment into the tyres on a hairpin right.
Colin Blake and wife Pauline had a decent finish in their BMW Mini despite having no handbrake. Mark Runciman had young Kirsty Mochrie alongside in his BMW and was pleased with the car and delighted to be back in the driving seat after a spell navigating in the forests. Martyn Douglas and Mark Thurley would have finished higher had they not overshot the final hairpin, the pair were forced to do an extra lap as reversing would have meant instant exclusion.
Robin Hamilton and Kenny McGuire were out in Robins stunning Mk1 Escort, this was Robins first rally in the car despite owning it for years. It was not a vintage performance, but the pair did enough to win the historic class. Stuart Waite and Lisa Demirkoc could not afford any mistakes as Stuart was due to drive the car home,some 50 miles, thankfully, no mistakes or car failures meant Stuart got home in time to watch the Coronation Street Omnibus.
Shona Hale and Cammy Dunn had a steady day in the standard looking Astra, the pairs only issue during the day was struggling to get around the tight hairpins with a nonperforming handbrake. James Wilson with Ian Wilson alongside was hoping for a good run after a troubled round one at Knockhill. A problem with the throttle at the previous weeks test day at Crail was sorted and the pair were on for a fine sixth overall until we missed a split in the wet and ended up with 5 minutes maximum time causing us to lose our lead in the class ending up 15th overall and 3rd in class at the end. Eamonn Boyle and James Gibson had a day to forget in their 1600 205, the car cut out a couple of times on the stages and maximum times were the result. The pair never gave up and managed to get a finish despite hitting a wall of tyres on a lefthander.
Kenny Blair and Jessica Jamieson had a good day in their very bright Evo and Kenny was chucking the big car around with great aplomb only for a shaft to break on SS9. Liam Harvey and Chris Wareham retired after taking a maximum on SS15 in the Fiesta. Fraser McCurdie and Marc Irvine retired their classic Mini as did Kenny Watt due to engine problems, Kenny and Scorch Cantwell also managed to put the car off on SS5.
The overall and much deserved winner of the event was Graham Bruce in the Mk2 Escort. He and David Aitken never put a wheel wrong all day and took yet another victory at the venueThe event was very well received, and the commentator of some 20 years said he had never seen the paddock and the spectator car park so full.
Points so far: SSVRC 2023 Points
Round three of the SSVRC takes place at Crail on 10th June, entries and regs can be found below.
Bob Irvine.
