FST series faces a solemn drive to McRae Stages
With the tragic loss of Colin McRae in the minds of everyone, it will be a solemn drive north for the competitors of the VK-supported Fiesta SportingTrophy UK. Colin, with his grit, determination and natural driving talent, has been the inspiration for many young drivers over the past 15 years and set personal targets that competitors in the FST aspire to emulate.
The penultimate round of the Fiesta SportingTrophy UK will be held over 45 miles of classic gravel stages that make up the Colin McRae Stages. Based around the county town of Perth, stages like Drummond Hill and Craigvinean form the final round of the Scottish Rally Championship and the penultimate round of the FST UK.
As in the championship’s first year, the finish of the series is shaping up to be another classic with three drivers in with a mathematical chance of clinching the title. Jonathan Greer, 18 from Carryduff, Northern Ireland, leads the series and with his co-driver Jonny Hart will lead the drivers away from the rally headquarters at Perth Racecourse, at 09:00 on Saturday 28 September. One feature of the Scottish Rally Championship is that the two wheel drive cars start in front of the four wheel drive cars and therefore will enjoy the best conditions on the gravel roads. Greer won the last gravel round of the series, the Swansea Bay Rally, and was second on the Mewla Rally.
Second in the championship is 18-year-old Alastair Fisher from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
Fisher will again be partnered by the experienced Paul Morris and is the man on form at the moment with victory on the last FST UK round, the tarmac Mewla Rally and victory on the last round of the FST Ireland series, the Lakeland Stages Rally. However, throughout the season, the competition between Fisher and Greer has been exceptional – both drivers swapping seconds.
At the finish of the McRae Stages both drivers will be leaving immediately to make a late night flight to Cork to compete in the last round of the FST Ireland series, the Cork 20 Rally. In the Irish series it is a reversal of championship order with Fisher holding the advantage going into the final round; with Greer also in the battle to win the series.
Third in the UK championship is another series rookie, 18-year-old Elfyn Evans from Mid-Wales with the experienced Richard Edwards, 2006 FST champion co-driver, calling the pacenotes. Evans finished third on the Mewla Rally and fourth on the Swansea Bay and will be hoping for another strong performance this weekend.
Fourth in the series but with a mathematical chance to take victory is Tom Walster, 20 from Nottingham, and his co-driver Tim Sturla. A mechanical problem on the Manx Rally forced Walster to retire whilst in the lead and an accident on the Swansea Bay Rally, after having driven for more than 23 hours in terrible weather conditions to get to the event, means that he has already used his two ‘dropped’ scores. A time-consuming puncture on the Mewla Rally ensures that Walster will have no option but to push for an overall win to remain in contention for the series title. However, with wins on the series-opening Malcolm Wilson Rally and domination of the Severn Valley Stages where he was fastest on every stage, the pace is certainly there to be able to push Greer and Fisher to the wire.
Equal fourth in the series with Walster is Northern Irish driver Liam Regan, 19 from Belfast. Together with his co-driver, the ever popular Mark Ammonds, Regan has improved as the season has progressed, finishing fourth on the two tarmac rounds, the Isle of Man and Mewla. His pace on gravel has improved with every event and he is a good outside bet to be on the podium in Perth.
Other drivers to watch on the event are Adam Gould, Bobby Mitchell and Fraser Jones. Gould, 20 from Bristol, is in a race against time to repair the car he used on the Mewla Rally which suffered engine failure after seven stages. He had been astounding the regular competitors to be 19 seconds ahead after six stages, a considerable margin within the ultra competitive confines of the FST UK. Local driver Bobby Mitchell, 21 from Dunbar, will be another driver out to improve his championship position on one of the only championship rounds that he has competed on before.
The McRae stages will have one new driver enter the series. Lohith Urs, 27 from the city of Mysore in India, is joining the championship on this event to learn more about competing in the UK to assess his options for 2008. Urs will be driving a David Greer Motorsport prepared car and is looking forward to the new challenges that await.
Jonathan Greer, 18 from Carryduff, Northern Ireland said:
"I don't know anything about the event and the fact that we will be using different notes than what we are used to will mean we are at a disadvantage to others who have done the event before. I don't know what to think about it. There is a fine line between pushing for a result and keeping the championship in mind. We'll try and keep our head and see what everyone else does. We'll see how it goes."
1. Jonathan Greer 148pts
2. Alastair Fisher 122pts
3. Elfyn Evans 102pts
4. Tom Walster 97pts
4. Liam Regan 97pts
6. Max Utting 70pts
7. Tom Curtis 67pts
8. James Everard 59pts
9. Fraser Jones 58pts
10. Bobby Mitchell 57pts