SSVRC Round Two: Kames – Results and Report
Welcome to this edition of SSVRC news, bringing you all the latest on the Glenrothes MSC supported, Blasting Magic sponsored Scottish Single Venue Rally Championship. With co support from McIntyre Masonry, JW Electrical (Fife), Motorwise rescue & recovery, Mercury Motorsport, Airtec, Y- MAC Engineering, Engine 710, Onestop and MAC Grafix.
Kames Motorsport Complex, on the outskirts of Muirkirk in East Ayrshire played host to round two of the 2025 SSVRC. The Mayfield Garage Services supported Kames Spring Stages.
The event was superbly organised by East Ayrshire Car Club, who own and manage the great facilities at Kames. A comprehensive drivers briefing kicked off the day, followed by a nice touch of competitors photo to mark the occasion. The organisers even managed to order in fantastic weather, always a bonus.
A total of 14 stages were on offer to the crews, with a total stage mileage of approximately 17 miles. The sprint like nature of the event gave little or no opportunity for getting into the groove, little errors or indeed mistakes, crews had to be on it from the beginning to the end or pay the price.
Andrew and Gordon Milne were the only championship entrants in class F, the ex Kilmurray Suzuki Swift GTI was driven effectively and neatly all day. The father and son crew were happy how things were going reporting no problems. They finished 15th overall, 2nd in class F and 9th overall in the SSVRC. Unfortunately the crew were only eligible for restricted class Championship points due to lack of entries in the usually bustling up to 1400 class.
In Class E, Liam Harvey was once again joined by the evergreen Chris Wareham in the Fiesta Mk7. The pair were going well throughout the day. The car has previously suffered some issues with driveshaft breakages, which seem to overcome by the fitting of new suspension, with different settings. Things seemed to be coming together for the pairing. Seeded at 16 they finished a very creditable 7th overall, 2nd in class E and 3rd Overall SSVRC crew.
Paul Murdoch from Stranraer and navigator Nicola Wareham had an enjoyable rally in the 1600 crossflow powered Mk2 escort. It’s sad that we don’t see enough rally escorts nowadays with crossflow engines. The car went extremely well all day putting in some very competitive times. Seeded at 15 the crew finished 10th overall, 3rd class E and 6th SSVRC.
Colin Hay was once again joined by Jess Jamieson in the silly seat of the Corsa B. A rally ending, and disappointing gearbox failure at Kinloss had resulted a a bit of work to get the car ready for Kames. Colin reported that the newly rebuilt “diff felt really tight” early on in the day, costing him a bit of time. As soon as he took it by the scruff of the neck after a few stages he began to see improvements in stage times. The pair were using the rally as a shakedown for Crail in June. Seeded at 11 that’s exactly where the crew finished the day, 4th in class E and 7th SSVRC.
Colin and Pauline Blake were back out together in the Mini, the crew sadly missing round one at Knockhill; after an off at Crail in November resulting in a lot of work to get the car ready for action. Colin reported having a slight issue with the Mini brakes early on in the day, which seemed to improve later. An annoying fluctuating idle became a little problem later on in the rally caused by a suspected vacuum leak, which hampered performance slightly. Seeded 18th the husband and wife crew finished the rally 13th overall, 5th in class E and 8th SSVRC.
In Class D David Telfer, in only his 4th ever rally, was partnered by young navigator Hayden (Broony) Brown in the baby blue Mk2 Escort. The well prepared car with it 2 ltr pinto engine complete with twin 45 sidedrafts, equating to roughly 165 bhp matted to an H pattern gearbox is perhaps the epitome of clubman rallying. The crew used the car to great effect, finishing 3rd overall, 2nd in class D and 2nd in SSVRC. A fantastic result for the boys.
Graeme Rintoul once again with Father Jim on the notes put in yet another solid consistent performance throughout the day. The pair in their home built 2.0 zetec engined mk5 Fiesta ST150 had a trouble free run. Jim had altered the map on their omex ecu since the cars last outing at Knockhill, where they reported it was a bit flat. The result was the car was going better, but using more fuel than the thrifty Fifers were expecting. Seeded 8th that was exactly where the father and son duo ended up, 5th in class D and 4th SSVRC. A result good enough for them to take a lead in the SSVRC to date after two solid results.
Stephen Donnelly and navigator Colin McCall had a pretty good day at the office in the historic spec Escort RS1800. Originally built by preparation experts Historic Rallysport, the Escort boasts a lovely Sherwood 2ltr BDG and ZF box. Stephen used that car to it’s full potential with a dominant drive to take 2nd overall, 1st in class D and 1st in the SSVRC.
Duncan Ferguson and Jamie McQue were out together in the glorious looking Vauxhall Chevette, with its wide arch HSR panel work and Iconic Andrew’s Heat for Hire livery it looked very traditional. On closer inspection the car has a 2.1 KGP prepared XE 16 valve engine mated to a Quaife 60G sequential box, Geartronics paddle shift and proflex suspension. Seeded at 9 in only the pairs 2nd event in the car, they finished 9th overall, 2nd in class C and 5th SSVRC. Unfortunately the crew were only eligible for restricted class Championship points due to lack of entries in the over 2000 cc class.
The next round of the SSVRC is the GMSC Crail Summer Stages on the 7th of June. We look forward to bringing you news of all the action.
2025 GMSC Scottish Single Venue Rally Championship
After Round Two Kames.
