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Scottish Rally - Wins for Hunter/Hall and Smith/Fair
Written by Leslie Mabon
Sunday, 27 June 2010
New winners in both Civic and 205 categories!
The RSAC Scottish Rally threw up a couple of surprises for the Brick and Steel Ecosse Challenge as two first-time winners emerged from the dusty forests at the end of a hard day’s rallying. Ross Hunter and Eildon Hall took first place in the Civic Ecosse Challenge on Saturday’s Dumfries-based rally, whereas Steven Smith and Russell Fair clinched top spot in the 205 Ecosse Challenge.
St Boswells driver Hunter was rewarded for a steady yet speedy drive with his first win since returning to the forests at the start of 2010. Having spent the past two seasons chasing glory on tarmac in a Mitsubishi, Ross made the decision to return to gravel – and two-wheel drive – by signing up for the Honda Civic series at the start of the year. His decision paid dividends as he and Jedburgh navigator Hall wrapped up a win in very challenging circumstances.
Early Honda pacesetters Graeme Schoneville and Phil Coulby fell by the wayside on the second Heathhall test, ripping a wheel off after clipping a rock. Euan Duncan and Peter MacInnes – winners of the opening two rounds – rolled their car into retirement on the final Ae East stage. The Glasgow crew of Grant Inglis and Robert Gray finished not far behind Hunter and Hall, the second place moving them into the Civic Challenge lead after three rounds.
Steven Smith and Russell Fair won the Peugeot 205 class with a similarly trouble-free run, keeping their cool in the hot conditions and reaping the rewards of minor alterations made to the car setup. Mark McCulloch and Craig Wallace – returning to the 205 Challenge after running a Subaru – finished second after spending much of the final thirteen-mile stage stuck behind a slower car, and St Boswells’ Sean Robson ended the rally third with hugely experienced co-driver Dave Robson.
The win moves Smith and Fair into the 205 category lead as fellow frontrunners Garry Pearson and Tom Hynd retired only a matter of miles into the first stage with fuel pump failure. Jamie Watson and Stephen Williamson finished well down the order after a heavy roll, but Cumbrians Dave and Alison Crozier showed their potential by leading the 205 Challenge section for much of the rally until steering issues halted their charge.
“We just kept out of trouble all day – after retiring on the last two rounds our main aim was just to get a finish, and we did more than that!” admits Ross Hunter (22). “I struggled a bit with the Honda to start with, but now that I’ve had some time in the car and have scored a win I’m feeling a lot more confident about it.”
“The car went well all day – we tried setting up some aspects of the handling differently and it made all the difference,” believes mechanical engineering student Steven Smith (22). “It was a very tough rally as it was hot, dry and dusty, but the car was brilliant and gave us the ability to push as hard as we could.”
The next Challenge round will be the Rally of Argyll, based on Oban on Saturday 10 July.
