Entries for the 72nd running of the RSAC Scottish Rally have now opened and with it, organisers of the 19th/20th May event have announced more details surrounding the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) and ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) qualifier.
The Dumfries and Galloway Council supported event will run earlier than usual in 2017 will also move to a new home at Lockerbie Truck Stop. The new venue will play host to Rally HQ, service, documentation and Parc Ferme for the event.Despite the event’s shift to Lockerbie, the now traditional ceremonial start in Dumfries town centre remains and crews from the British Rally Championship and National A events will be flagged away from White Sands at 7pm on Friday 19th. Lying in wait, will be a double run through the 8.8 mile Mount Joe stage in the Greskine Forest complex and will undoubtedly be an even greater challenge in the fading daylight.
Competitors from the Scottish Rally Championship join the event on Saturday 20th to contest 43 stage miles of classic Scottish Rally tests such as Twiglees, Castle Oe’r and Ae before returning to Lockerbie for the finish celebrations at around 2pm.
There is no rest for the BRC crews however as they will head back out to the forests to tackle three more stages in Castle Oe’r, Windyhill and Ae to bring their total up to around 75 competitive miles. In another new venue for this year’s event, the survivors of the BRC event will then spray the champagne at the ceremonial finish in the town of Moffat to the North East of Beatock at around 5pm.
The event is anticipating a bumper entry and with crews expected from around the world lining up to contest the British and Scottish Championships, spectators will also be in for a treat during the event. Fans will have the opportunity to catch the action at both runs of the Mount Joe stage on Friday evening which will provide a great atmosphere as darkness descends on the forest.
On Saturday, Castle Oe’r and Ae form the spectator stages and with both stages running twice, offer the perfect way to watch some of the best in the business contest classic forest stages.
Deputy Clerk of the Course Dave Weston is confident competitors from all spectrum’s will enjoy the event and organisers have responded to feedback received in 2016.
“Whilst we are revisiting stages from last year, we have listened to feedback from competitors and have amended stages to remove the parts that were cutting up badly last year” he says.
“The stages are in very good condition and we belive we have a great format for all competitors including British and Scottish championship contenders as well as local hopefuls. We have ensured the National B event gets it’s very own start and finish venue too, ensuring a really compact and cost effective event. The team look forward to welcoming regulars and first-timers to Dumfries and Galloway.”
The RSAC Scottish Rally is also a round of the C2RallyParts.co.uk Ecosse Challenge, the Border Challenge and Five of Clubs Rally Championship. Event regulations and online entry system is now available to download at www.scottishrally.co.uk
Full spectator information will be available closer to the rally.
As with any event of this size, organisers are seeking marshals and volunteers to assist in running a safe and successful event. If you would like to get close to the action whilst contributing to the event, please contact the event staffing officer
Dean Pugh
Email: [email protected]You can find more information on the RSAC Scottish Rally at www.scottishrally.co.uk or keep up to date with event information via social media:
www.facebook.com/scottishrally
www.twitter.com/scottishrally
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