A CLUTCH OF THE leading rally drivers who will tackle next weekend's RACMSA Rally of Scotland, including newly-crowned British champ David Bogie from Dumfries, have thrown down the gauntlet to Scotland's leading motorsport writers.

Led by 24-year-old Bogie, who also won the Scottish Rally Championship for a third time this year, the rally stars will go head-to-head with the media team in a production car Autotest.

The winner-takes-all event, the perfect warm-up for the RACMSA Rally of Scotland, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) takes place at the Forthside Car Park beside VUE Cinema, in Stirling on Tuesday (Oct 4). 

The action starts at 7.30pm and spectators can watch all the thrilling action free-of-charge.

"It's going to be a great, fun-filled evening for all the family," Bogie (pictured on his way to winning the BRC), who will again drive his Mitsubishi Evo IX in the RACMSA Rally of Scotland, said. 

"We're used to working with the media guys, so it will be fun to see just how good they are behind the wheel of a car."

While the members of Bogie's all-action, highly-talented rally team are used to masterfully handling their cars at high speed in the world's most demanding forest stages, the media team have honed their skills on the keyboards of their laptops.

Led by Jim McGill, Scotland's leading motorsport writer and owner of Scotcars.co.uk, and Jon Doran, Scottish Sun Motors Deputy Editor, the media team is hoping the threat of a bad write-up for the rally stars may slow them down just a bit.

"Let's be honest, when it comes to driving talent, I think the rally guys might just have the edge," McGill smiled, "but I think between us the media guys will show we can handle more than just a keyboard.

"Plus we have a secret weapon, in the shape of fellow Scot, IRC Rally Radio presenter Colin Clark. If the rally guys are doing too well, we'll just get Colin to talk them into submission."

Oh, and don't forget you can download your free iRally App for iPhone, iPad and Android, which allows you to listen to Rally Radio wherever you are when you're watching the Rally of Scotland. 

The autotest will see both teams drive standard cars round a series of coned-off obstacles in a series of manoeuvrability tests.  

The professionals will each be teamed up with a member of the media and the total scores will decide the winners at the end of the evening. 

Autotests are probably the cheapest form of motorsport to compete in, and a great entry into the sport.  

Not only do you just need a standard car, but you rarely get above second gear; it is though a real test of driving skill to get a quick time whilst avoiding the cones, ‘parking’ correctly in the garages and reversing through a slalom.  

The really dedicated have specially converted vehicles and incredible control of the handbrake, gearbox and ‘chuckability’ of their cars.

While the rally drivers are all looking forward to the event, the media team is jointly terrified at the prospect of tackling a 'driving test' while sitting next to a professional.

How will the teams fare? Pop along to the Forthside Car Park beside VUE Cinema, Stirling, at 7.30pm on Tuesday night and find out.

Drivers:

P-G Andersson, (Swe) Proton – former Junior World Rally Champion

Toni Gardemeister (Fin) Skoda – works driver for Ford WRC 2005

Harry Hunt (GBR) Citroen – 2010 IRC 2WD Champion

Jonny Greer (Irl) Skoda – 3rd overall 2011 British Rally Champion

David Bogie (Sco) Mitsubishi – 2011 British & Scottish Rally Champion

Media:

Jim McGill – Editor www.scotcars.co.uk

Jon Doran – Scottish Sun Motors Deputy Editor

Colin Clark – Presenter IRC Rally Radio

Julian Porter – WRC TV Presenter

There was a fantastic response to the Scottish Motorsport Festival’s opportunity to introduce karting to local schoolchildren; the event, which sees 80 puplis get their hands on a kart for the first time, takes place at the Cambuslang Karting on Monday, October 3.  

Ten minutes after South Lanarkshire Council had circulated an email to all the schools within its catchment area, organiser Alison Clark was inundated with calls from headteachers.  

Most are using the funded session at Cambuslang Karting as a reward for their pupils’ hard work as the term comes to a close.

Although the track session will not be competitive racing, the fastest driver from each school will receive a free voucher to return to the circuit.  

With two schools from Rutherglen taking part, Burgh Primary and St Anthony’s, the children are not likely to let the opportunity pass to beat their counterparts.   

Similarly, the younger P5 class at James Aiton Primary in Cambuslang will be doing all they can to beat the time of the school’s P6 class, who are on the track beforehand.

In addition to Glasgow's David Wagner coming along for a pep talk, we are delighted that Gregor Ramsay will also be making an appearance.  

Fifteen-year-old Gregor from Clarkston is the UK’s youngest single-seater driver making his car racing debut for the BVM Team at Monza Grand Prix Circuit on October 15/16.

LANARK'S ALISTER McRAE will lead the 'home' challenge in RallyScotland, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Championship, when it roars into action next month.

And the 60-car entry list, confirmed today, includes 39 teams and 18 Super S2000 cars, making it one of the strongest IRC fields of the season. The rally starts at Stirling Castle on Friday, October 7 and finishes in Perth two days later on Sunday.

While Monte Carlo Rally winner, Frenchman Bryan Bouffier, is seeded at number one, his fellow Peugeot factory runners, Belgian Thierry Neuville and Darlington's Guy Wilks are seeded four and seven respectively. The Englishman won the inaugural RallyScotland in 2009.

And while there are also four Skodas in the top 10, for Jan Kopecky, Freddy Loix, last year's RallyScotland winner and IRC champ Juho Hanninen, and Andreas Mikkelsen, most Scots eyes will be on cars No 9 and 11.

Former British champ McRae returns to Scotland behind the wheel of his No9 Satria Neo S2000. The Lanark driver will also be partnered in another Satria by P-G Andersson.

"It's great to see such a strong entry for RallyScotland," McRae, who posted Proton's best ever IRC result when he finished second to Wilks, said today.

"It's definitely going to be one of the most keenly fought rallies of the year. Obviously, I've got good memories of the roads up there — and the fans are pretty good too!

"Obviously winning a rally like this would be a really tough task. The guys we're going to be fighting against have been battling with each other on a regular basis this year, and this will be our first IRC outing of the season.

"It's been fantastic competing in the APRC (Asia-Pacific Rally Championship), but the IRC is definitely a step up. The Proton has been getting stronger and stronger all year, though.

"The team has done a fantastic job with the car, working on the suspension and engine — we're definitely a big step ahead of where we were this time last year."

Meanwhile Dumfries youngster David Bogie, already crowned Scottish champ for the third successive year and poised to clinch the British title this weekend in Yorkshire, starts 11th in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. The 23-year-old finished fourth overall last year, and leading Scot.

RallyScotland top 20 seeds:

1.  Bryan Bouffier/Xavier Pansei —Peugeot 207 S2000;

 2.  Jan Kopecky/Petr Stary — Skoda Fabia S2000;

 3.  Freddy Loix/Frederic Miclote — Skoda Fabia S2000;

 4.  Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gisoul — Peugeot 207 S2000;

 5.  Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkul — Skoda Fabia S2000;

 6.  Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floen — Skoda Fabia S2000;

 7.  Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh — Peugeot 207 S2000;

 8.  P-G Andersson/Emil Axelsson — Proton Satria Neo S2000;

 9.  Alister McRae/Bill Hayes — Proton Satria Neo S2000;

10.  Toshi Arai/Dale Moscatt — Subaru Impreza WRX;

11.  David Bogie/Kevin Rae — Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX;

12.  Tonio Gardemeister/Tapio Suminen — Skoda Fabia S2000;

14.  Karl Kruda/Martin Jarveoja — Skoda Fabia S2000;

15.  Patrmik Sandell/Staffan Parander — Skoda Fabia S2000;

16.  Jarkko Nikara/Petri Nikara — Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX;

17.  Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts — Ford Fiesta S2000;

18.  Robert Barrable/Damien Conolly — Skoda Fabia S2000;

19.  Alastair Fisher/Daniel Baritt — Ford Fiesta S2000;

20.  Jonny Greer/Dai Roberts — Skoda Fabia S2000;

21.  Matthias Kahle/Peter Gobel — Skoda Fabia S2000.

Jim McGill

RALLYSCOTLAND WILL BE powered by Skoda for the third successive year. Skoda will once again be the ‘Official Vehicle Supplier’ to RallyScotland, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Championship which takes place next month.

Skoda UK will supply a fleet of four-wheel drive Yetis, Octavia Scouts and Superbs to transport VIPs and rally officials from stage to stage; the rally starts at Stirling Castle on Friday, October 7, and finishes at Scone Palace on Sunday, October 9.

In addition Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will supply vehicles to carry all the essential rally equipment around the route – such as timing systems and control points.

Skoda also aims to continue its unbroken winning record on the event, having won both the previous two RallyScotland events – with Guy Wilks and Juho Hänninen taking the Fabia S2000 to victory in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

This year, Skoda UK Motorsport is hoping Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene will finish on the top step of the podium, having finished runner-up to Hänninen last year.

“We are delighted to continue our involvement with RallyScotland by supplying vehicles to the rally officials for a third year in a row," Robert Hazelwood, Director of Skoda UK, said.

"We’ve had a very successful association with our home round of the IRC and we’re confident our four-wheel drive road vehicles, as well as our Fabia S2000 rally car, will once again impress fans in the Scottish forests. 

"We’re greatly looking forward to this year’s RallyScotland, where our 110 years of Skoda in motor sport celebrations will continue.”

And RallyScotland Clerk of the Course, Iain Campbell, welcomed the continued involvement and commitment by Skoda.

"Having a company the size and quality of Skoda involved directly with RallyScotland is fantastic," the Inverness-based organiser admitted.

"Skoda's support since 2009 has been terrific and it is the sort of highly enthusiastic and pro-active partner we love to have involved directly with the event."

Jim McGill

RALLYSCOTLAND, WHICH ROARS into action in the forest stages around Perth and Stirling next month, will have its strongest entry in its three-year history.

The penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which starts at Stirling Castle on Friday, October 7, will feature around 20 Super 2000 cars in its field of 60 world class entries.

And Inverness-based Iain Campbell, Clerk of the Course for the hugely successful event, has admitted he is delighted with the response to this year's route which has been slightly altered from 2010.

"The feedback we've received about the changes to the out have been very well received by all the drivers and teams," Campbell said.

"After the huge praise the stages have received in the past two years, it's crucial the changes we've introduced work; and everything is pointing to the fact they will further enhance the three-day event."

After the ceremonial start at Stirling Castle, the cars tackle two runs through the all new Carron Valley stage — in the dark — on Friday evening.

While most Scots eyes will be on Lanark's Alister McRae and Dumfries driver David Bogie — the 23-year-old is poised to clinch the British Rally Championship this weekend in Yorkshire — there is significant international strength throughout the entry list.

Defending champion and last year's RallyScotland winner, Juho Hanninen, will again lead Skoda's challenge in his Fabia S2000. The Finn will be joined by his Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecky, as well as Skoda UK Motorsport ace Andreas Mikkelsen.

Darlington's Guy Wilks, who won the inaugural RallyScotland in 2009, will lead Peugeot's challenge in his 207 S2000. He will be joined by Bryan Bouffier and Thierry Neuville.

"As you would expect, I can't comment on the specifics of the entry list at the moment," Campbell said, "but there's not doubt this is looking like a fabulous entry. 

"The top-seeded competition is going to be superb, and as a spectator I would be over the moon to watch these guys battling it out on some of the best forest stages in the world; which just happen to be in Scotland.

"Rally fans in Scotland are in for a real treat on next month's event. And with the championship still open, it's going to be everything to play for on our roads."

RallyScotland — which finishes with two spectator stages at Scone Palace on Sunday, October 9 — will operate from a central service park in Perth.

The drivers will tackle many of Scotland's most famous stages, including, on Saturday, Craigvinean, Drummond Hill and Errocht, followed by Loch Chon and High Corrie; the latter is essentially a tweaked version of the Loch Ard stage used two years ago.

Jim McGill

THE THIRD RUNNING of Rally of Scotland is just round the corner — it starts in Stirling on Friday, October 7 — and the search is on for the most important people in rallying; marshals.

All the printing deadlines for Road Books, Safety Plans, Rally Guides, Operations manuals etc are fast approaching. 

What the Rally of Scotland team really, really do need though is more of the most important ingredient to any event … marshals. The rallying calendar in Scotland is incredibly busy and everyone’s time is at a premium. However the organisers are short of volunteers for some of the stages and the service regroups. 

This is the prime opportunity to interact with some of the best drivers from around Europe and to get close to the action, not to mention no car parking charges for getting into the stages!

Andy, Colin and Michelle would be delighted if you could visit rallyofscotland.com and download a Marshal Registration Form and send it on to them. Registration forms for marshals and radio operators are now available to download from the marshals’ page of www.rallyofscotland.com.

The final check of the road book was completed just recently and the stages are in fantastic condition. There are areas where the Forestry Commission-Scotland are carrying out harvesting just now to thin out some areas of stages that will raise the speeds. The National event also covers 10 of the 15 Special Stages, increasing the amount of action on offer over the weekend.

Proton, Skoda, Peugeot and Subaru have now all confirmed they will be testing during the week leading up to the rally. The IRC media team have been telling us that they would expect around 10 Skoda Fabia’s to be in Scotland, and when that is added to the other teams expected to compete, organisers are looking at there being 18 S2000 cars on the entry list. Then we have the two Subaru Impreza R4 cars with the Japanese crews, a quality entry list even at this early stage.

To keep the reputation we have established for friendly marshalling and a great Scottish welcome to our competitors, we require marshals for the reconnaissance on Thursday and Friday, the opening stage(s) on Friday night and the full days of competition on Saturday and Sunday.

It goes without saying that your contribution to Rally of Scotland is what makes the event the success it is in the eyes of Eurosport, the competitors and our Partners. Thank you for your help over the last couple of years and, with the most exciting entry yet coming this October, let’s make this one an extra special one.

For marshalling enquiries please contact marshals@rallyofscotland.com

Formula One World Championship titles, Indianapolis 500 victories, Le Mans 24 Hours wins, World Rally Championship crowns… the small nation of Scotland has left an indelible mark on the world of motor sport world over the decades and it continues to do so today. To celebrate this long-running success and to look to the future, the Motor Sports Association, the sport’s UK governing body, has created the ‘Scottish Motorsport Festival’, a week of events (01-09 October 2011) bookended by the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally and the RACMSA Rally of Scotland, two of the country’s premier sporting events.

The newly created Scottish Motorsport Festival will feature lots of highlights and activities. There will be star driver forums; the best of Scottish rally talent competing in the final round of the Scottish Rally Championship on the McRae Stages; an introduction to karting for schools; a special autotest between the media and leading competitors from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge motorsport; Scottish debuts for some of the Colin McRae’s car collection; the excitement and speed of Europe’s best crews tacking the RACMSA Rally of Scotland stages; the launch of a new rally championship for 14-17 year old children at Scone Palace; plus the final round of the Scottish Motor Racing Club’s year taking place at Knockhill. All these experiences give the Festival an exciting and packed programme with something for everyone to enjoy. As well as these sporting events, there will be engineering tours and visits to top racing and rallying teams by university students studying relevant courses.

Backed by EventScotland, the national events agency, this inaugural Scottish Motorsport Festival puts the spotlight on rallying the partners believe that this new initiative has the potential to embrace an even wider spectrum of motor sport disciplines as the Festival evolves and grows in future years.

Five times British Rally Champion, Jim McRae said, “to have a motorsport Festival that is designed to further promote all the opportunities that exist within our sport means that we look to grow on Scotland’s success into the future.  That so many of the activities include kids is one of the reason that the Colin McRae Vision Charity is supporting this initiative as this is the reason for the charity, but it also where the future champions will come from.”

The Festival starts with an all-star Forum run by Colin McRae Vision on the eve of the McRae Stages Rally on 30 September at 20.30. Those attending the forum include 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist (the original ‘Stig’!) and 2004 World Rally Champion co-driver Phil Mills.  The following day Blomqvist will take part in the Historic section of the McRae Stages before the Scottish Rally Championship crews take to the stages for the last round of their eight-rally season.

Forthside Park in Stirling sees the Intercontinental Rally Challenge stars take on a new challenge with an autotest against their media counterparts. Autotesting is one of the cheapest forms of motor sport to enter and the stars from Skoda, Peugeot, PROTON and Citroen will use road cars in these maneuverability tests on the Tuesday evening.

Once back in their rally cars, the IRC crews will leave Stirling Castle on Friday night to tackle two and a half days of flat out motoring over the world famous stages of Perthshire and Stirlingshire to find the winner of Rally of Scotland. The spectacular Stirling Castle start will feature motorbike trials demonstrations as well as an opportunity for fans to see the Colin McRae R4 rally car for the first time in Scotland. There is also an autograph session where fans can meet the very best rally drivers Europe has to offer.

On Sunday 9 October, the Knockhill Race Circuit in Fife hosts the final race weekend of Scottish Motor Racing Club’s busy season. An action-packed afternoon of racing will feature Scottish Formula Ford, Legends, Mini Copper, Sports & Saloon and Classic Sports & Saloon Championships.

With one eye on the future, the Scottish Motorsport Festival will culminate at Scone Palace on Sunday evening with a sneak preview at a new rally championship aimed at finding the next Scottish champion. To be introduced in 2012, the championship is for 1000cc cars driven by children aged from 14-17 years of age. Accompanied by experienced competitors in the co-drivers’ seats, these budding young Colin McRaes can start learn the art of driving over loose surfaces before they are allowed out on the open, public road. To showcase this exciting new series six of the cars will be providing a demonstration around the final two stages of Rally of Scotland at Scone Palace.

The full schedule of events and timings are available from the new Scottish Motorsport Festival website: www.scottishmotorsportfestival.co.uk.