SSVRC Round 6 Kames
The penultimate round of this year’s Scottish Single Venue Rally Championship was held at Kames Circuit in Ayrshire where Steve Irwin, with his daughter Kirsten alongside, took maximum points in his Nova. Irwin arrived at the venue desperate not to put a mark on the car after his last visit when he headbutted the tyres. Irwin is a crowd favourite and rings every little horsey out of his 1600 engine.
The result could have been so different as Irwin’s friend and rival Des Campbell was leading the event but suffered clutch cable problems. This did not stop the popular Borderer setting fast stage times, but it did mean a push to the stage start was required. A protest was lodged, and Campbell and navigator Cammy Dunn incurred a ten-minute penalty. The possible Championship win will now have to wait until the last round at Crail in November.
Second in the points was Ross Pringle and Thomas Purvin in the gorgeous Corsa followed by the ever-consistent Rintoul’s, Graeme and Jim, in the ultra-reliable Fiesta. Mark Runciman did not have the best of days as he overshot a hairpin right and became stuck in the grass, resulting in two maximums. Bobby MacDonald and Martin McCabe were out testing the Impreza’s refurbished gearbox before heading to Ireland to compete on the upcoming Wexford Rally, and a steady run ensured a finish for the pair.
Fraser McCurdoch’s Mini was going well until it shed a fan belt, and sadly retirement ensued. Drew Barker with Shona Hale alongside had a good day in the Corsa, which was well suited to the narrow circuit, however Drew did struggle to get around the tight bends due to an underperforming handbrake. Martin Douglas and Mark Thurley won their class in the VW Polo, despite the pair having a “straight on” on SS1.
After a season filled with gearbox problems it was great to see young James Wilson get a finish in the MG ZR. Kenny Blair turned up in his newly acquired Skoda S2000, this was his first event in the car after a small test. Sadly, Kenny retired the stunning machine reporting “the car had no turn in and just felt dangerous, so I decided to put it in the trailer before there was an accident.”
Cammy Williamson came out on top in the Subaru battle with Bobby MacDonald. Cammy had his sister navigating and the pair managed a top ten finish. Colin Blake described his day as a nightmare but still achieved a finish in the Mini.
EACC had to apply to the council to have an extra hour added on to their time limit, which thankfully was granted and allowed the club to run another ten cars. The event proved a total success, so much so, spectators were being turned away as the venue was full.
