The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises seven gravel surface events. [1] [2]
The 2016 season begins in the snow-covered forest tracks around Inverness on 20 February, with the season finale taking place around Castle Douglas on 10 September. Driver Jock Armstrong and regular co-driver Paula Swinscoe will start the season as defending champions having won the 2015 Championship. [3]
Aberdeen based haulage company ARR Craib will sponsor the series for the fourth year in a row. [4]
Alongside the main championship, 2016 will see a number of initiatives run over the course of the year including the following:
For season 2016 there is to be seven events held predominantly on gravel surfaces. [5]
| Round | Dates | Event | Rally HQ | Surface | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 Feb | The Snowman Rally | Inverness | Gravel / Snow | (website) |
| 2 | 19 Mar | Border Counties Rally | Jedburgh | Gravel | (website) |
| 3 | 23 Apr | Speyside Stages Rally | Elgin | Gravel | (website) |
| - | 5 Jun | Jim Clark Reivers Rally | Kelso | Gravel | (website) |
| 4 | 25 Jun | RSAC Scottish Rally | Dumfries | Gravel | (website) |
| 5 | 13 Aug | Grampian Stages Rally | Aberdeen | Gravel | (website) |
| 6 | 10 Sep | Galloway Hills Rally | Castle Douglas | Gravel | (website) |
On 24 May, the Jim Clark Reivers Forest Rally Rally management team announced via a press release that the 2016 event – usually round 4 of the championship and held in June, would not take place. Insufficient entries was cited as the reason. [6]
| Round | Rally name | Podium finishers [7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placing | Driver / Co-Driver | Car | Time / Diff leader | ||
| 1 | Snowman Rally (20 February) | 1 | Donnie Macdonald / Andrew Falconer | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 | 50:15 |
| 2 | Dale Robertson / Stuart Louden | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 | +0:07 | ||
| 3 | Quintin Milne / Sean Donnelly [N 1] | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 | +0:30 | ||
| 2 | Border Counties Rally (19 March) | 1 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | 41:17 |
| 2 | Garry Pearson / Robbie Mitchell | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:00 [N 2] | ||
| 3 | Shaun Sinclair / Kirsty Riddick | Ford Focus WRC | +0:07 | ||
| 3 | Speyside Stages (23 April) | 1 | Garry Pearson / Robbie Mitchell | Ford Fiesta R5 | 42:32 |
| 2 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | +0:08 | ||
| 3 | Mike Faulkner / Peter Foy | Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX | +0:41 | ||
| – | Jim Clark Reivers Rally (5 June) | 1 | Rally cancelled [8] | ||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | RSAC Scottish Rally (25 June) | 1 | Garry Pearson / Robbie Mitchell | Ford Fiesta R5 | 54:07.4 |
| 2 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | +0:12.9 | ||
| 3 | Mike Faulkner / Peter Foy | Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX | +0:13.8 | ||
| 5 | Grampian Stages Rally (13 August) | 1 | Dave Weston Jnr / Aled Davies [N 1] | Subaru Impreza WRC | 42:47 |
| 2 | John MacCrone / Rhianon Gelsomino | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:06 | ||
| 3 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton [N 1] | Peugeot 208 R5 | +0:21 | ||
| 6 | Galloway Hills Rally (10 September) | 1 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | 38:39 |
| 2 | Mike Faulkner / Peter Foy | Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX | +0:57 | ||
| 3 | Mark McCulloch / Michael Hendry | Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX | +1:28 | ||
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Points are awarded to the highest placed registered drivers on each event as follows: 30, 28, 27, 26, and so on down to 1 point. At the end of the season, competitors nominate their best 5 scores out of the 6 events as their final overall Championship score.