The Battle of Britain intensified in RallyScotland when the top three, Kris Meeke, Guy Wilks and Alister McRae swapped fastest times through the opening two stages, the 11-miler at Craigvinean and the seven-miles at Blackcraig.
Meeke continued his domination from last night’s opening two superspecial stages at Scone Palace when he romped through Craigvinean 2.0secs quicker than the Skoda of Darlington’s Wilks. McRae was a further second behind.
At the top of the leaderboard, Meeke increased his advantage to 7s over Wilks with home favourite McRae a further 7.4s further adrift. Aberdeen’s Dave Weston jnr, in his GpN Subaru, was an impressive fourth.
Wilks though hit back in the next stage, when he bagged his first stage win when he was 4.1s faster than Meeke through Blackcraig. McRae meanwhile dropped 21s when, by his own admission, he backed off too much.
Weston continued his impressive run with the fourth-fastest time followed immediately by the Mitsubishi of 2009 Scottish Rally Champion David Bogie in fifth.
There was a major disappointment though for Bristolian Adam Gould. The English youngster, controversially awarded the drive in the Kronos guest Peugeot S2000, retired before starting stage five.
“We were running ninth after spinning on stage four, but when we got to the refuelling point after service at Blair Atholl a warning light came on indicating we had a problem with the water pump which proved to be terminal,” Gould explained.
“I can’t believe it. To have gone from the highest of highs to this is just unbelievable. We’ve had a terrible morning with a stupid spin on the second stage [of the day]. That cost us loads of time.
“I felt we were just getting used to the car, but now all that counts for nothing. These cars are so different from driving the GpN cars I’m used to. I was learning fast, but now it’s all over. I just hope we can get the budget together to drive an S2000 in either the IRC or British Championship next year.”
JM
NOTES FROM BLAIR ATHOLL SERVICE:
Kris Meeke (Peugeot S2000), leading Wilks by 4.1s after Stage 4 at Blackcraig:
We had a niggly wee problem through this morning’s two stages. basically it was a tyre issue, I think we cut the grooves too much and basically they were overheating. I struggled with right-hand corners; just had no grip. I’m not concerned though, they’re just niggly issues and we’ve got the car back to service so the guys will have a look and we’ll get everything ship-shape for this afternoon. We’ve got Drummond Hill this afternoon and that caught me out last year in the McRae stages, so at least i know where the difficult bit is and where I need to take it easy. The car though, apart from the tyre issue, is working perfectly but that car’s a so fine-tuned it only takes the slightest little problem to cause you to lose a bit of confidence in the car.
Guy Wilks (Skoda S2000), lying second overall after Stage 4 at Blackcraig:
I love the car and though we’re still learning about it, it’s bloody quick. I’m happy with where we are, pushing Kris after two stages, but there’s a long way to go so we’re not getting carried away. I think we’ve paced ourselves through the opening couple of stages, which have been muddy beyond belief. Some of the guys running ahead of us, the way they’ve been cutting the corners they’ve been kicking rocks the size of houses into the stage. There’s definitely been an advantage being first on the road.
Alister McRae (Proton S2000), lying third overall after Stage 4 at Blackcraig:
Running first on the stages this morning has been very difficult. Just haven’t had a clue how much grip there was; a journey of discovery basically. There’s a long way to go, but we’re relatively happy with where we are. To be honest, I’ve probably been a bit too conservative and with hindsight I could have pushed a bit harder. I was pretty committed through today’s opening stage at Craigvinean, but I backed off too much through Blackcraig.
This afternoon we’ll pick the pace up and push as hard as we can, but it’s still very, very easy to make a mistake. It’s difficult to read the roads because it’s so wet. Suddenly you’ll find the car has been pitched sideways and you’re grabbing a handful of opposite lock. Great fun though, and I can’t wait for Drummond Hill this afternoon.
Keith Cronin (Abarth Punto S2000), 32nd overall after Stage 4 at Blackcraig:
We got a puncture early in the first stage this morning and it spun us into a ditch. It took us ages to get out and we dropped 44 minutes, so essentially our rally challenge is finished, which is a pity. But we’ve got the car sorted and working again and we were 11th-quickest through today’s second stage. I’m still learning about the car, but we’ll take full advantage of it over the next 24 hours and fight our way back up the leaderboard.
JM