Newly-crowned Intercontinental Rally Challenge champ, Irishman Kris Meeke, is the top seed for next week’s TW Steel-backed RallyScotland. But the Irishman will face stiff competition from three Scots listed in the top 10 drivers confirmed today.
Former British Rally champ Alister McRae has been listed as 10th seed to ensure, with the top 10 starting the opening timed trials in reverse order, a Scot is the first driver to tackle the stages.
The Lanark driver will lead the 70 competitive cars away when he debuts his all-new Proton Satria Neo S2000 in next Thursday’s (Nov 19) opening stage at Scone Palace near Perth. The rally finishes in Stirling on Saturday, November 21.
McRae is joined in the top 10 by this year’s Hankook Scottish Rally champ, 22-year-old David Bogie from Dumfries, and Aberdeen’s Dave Weston jnr. While the 19-year-old will pilot his Subaru Impreza WRX, Bogie will be reunited with his favourite Mitsubishi Evo IX.
Former McRae Forest Stages Rally winner and double British champ, Guy Wilks from Darlington, is seeded two in his Skoda Fabia S2000, while newly-crowned British Rally champ and third seed, Irishman Keith Cronin, will debut his Abarth Grande Punto.
Five-times British champ Jimmy McRae will drive his newly-rebuilt Ford Sierra Cosworth through the stages as a ‘Safety Car’ ahead of the main competitive field. The veteran will be reunited with the Cosworth in which he won the 1988 Scottish Rally.
And M-Sport, the Cumbria-based team which prepared Colin McRae’s Ford Focus World Rally Car, has confirmed it will debut its all-new Fiesta S2000. WRC driver Matthew Wilson will drive the car in Scotland ahead of its competitive debut in Monte Carlo in January.
JM