In conditions more akin to the Safari Rally, Scotland’s most talented young rally ace, 22-year-old David Bogie, took a significant step towards retaining his Hankook Scottish Championship when he dominated the latest round, the RSAC Scottish Rally in Dumfries.
Under cloudless blue skies Bogie, the youngster from Dumfries, powered his Mitsubishi Evo IX to fastest times through four of the event’s six dry and dusty stages to win by 19.2secs ahead of the Mitsubishi of Kirtlebridge’s Mike Faulkner.
“It’s fantastic to win my home event in front of my family and so many friends,” Bogie, who now leads the championship by five points from Invernessian Andy Horne after five of the eight rounds, admitted.
“It was important to go out and establish myself right from the first stage, and thankfully that’s what we did. After that it was a case of controlling our pace, keeping the car on the road and making sure we didn’t drop any time.
“It’s still far too early to think about retaining the championship, but there’s no denying winning today — our third maximum points haul in five events — is a major boost to my title aspirations.”
Alness driver David Wilson recorded the best finish of his SRC career by grabbing third place in his Mitsubishi — 56.6s behind Faulkner — edging the Subaru of Bothwell’s Alick Kerr back to fourth by just 1.8s. Kerr is currently third in the title race, just three points adrift of former champ Horne.
While last year’s Scottish Rally winner Faulkner did everything he could to maintain pressure on Bogie, the youngster’s cause was aided by the early retirement of another title rival, Jock Armstrong.
The Castle Douglas driver, who started the 45-mile event third in the championship and just two points adrift of Bogie, retired early in stage one, the 7.9-miler at Ae South, when a puncture pitched his Subaru Impreza into a ditch.
JM