home : : news : : partners : : services : : events : : contact : : facebook : : instagram
 
2015 News Articles
     

Kingdom Stages, Crail
14th November
David McLoughlin & Graham Robertson, Peugeot 205 GTi 1600

Gravel regular David McLoughlin made his debut on tarmac and it was to be a steep learning curve for him during the early stages as he felt the effort needed to control the car! With the car being built to 205 Challenge specification, no power steering is fitted and his usual loose surface gives lighter steering than wide slick tyres do on tarmac. Despite the hard work out, the crew battled on to finish a credible 66th overall.

Kingdom Stages, Crail
14th November
Colin Paterson & Gary Clark, Toyota Celica GTFour

The rally was short lived for Colin and Gary; a few stages in and getting into their stride, they came round a blind corner and into an immediate chicane, where a previous car on the stage had hit and moved a haybale into the middle of the stage. Colin pitched the car to the left but with nowhere to go, they hit the bale, with it forcing the wing mirror into the car and hitting Colin hard on the elbow. The crew drove out the stage, but Colin was badly hurt and on climbing out the car, was taken to hospital for x-ray, forcing their retirement.

Scottish Rally Time Trial Championship
19th September

The championship showdown was left until the last event in Skye and by only having to get a time on the board and therefore finish, Roy Kemp was in prime position to take the title. He took his first run through the stage steady and collected his time...although on the second run through he had a big crash which resulted in a fractured vertebrae! Having left the hospital after a few hours, there was little going to stop Roy from attending the prize giving ceremony that evening and he made it along to collect his award. It has been an eventful championship for both Roy and the Stark Motorsport team, but taking the first ever Scottish Rally Time Trial Championship title is a fantastic reward for everyone's efforts.

Skye Rally Time Trial, Skeabost Forest, Portree
19th September

The SACC's Rally Time Trial championship arrived in the Isle of Skye for the final round of 2015. Stark Motorsport were there running Roy Kemp in his Peugeot 205 GTi 1600...and so was BBC Alba following the team for their Air An Rathad programme. It was arranged for one of their presenters to drive the car in competition, however Roy was to go first and get a time on the board to count towards his championship title bid. Mairi Ross then drove the car through the stage for the cameras before Roy then resumed his competitive driving. Unfortunately a fast left caught him out and the car ran wide, off the stage and up a steep bank before coming down hard on the front of the car. Roy was extracted from the car by the rally medics and taken to hospital with back injuries.
McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages
1st August
David McLoughlin & Graham Robertson, Peugeot 205 GTi 1600

David's first rally in over a year included a lot of firsts; including the first rally for co-driver Graham and the first outing of F331AUA as it rolled out Stark Motorsport's workshops for its first competitive outing. The event was used as a shakedown of the car, so a few minor issues were solved, but a faulty brake master cylinder created braking issues throughout the day. Despite this the pair had a fantastic event together and finished a credible 54th overall and 4th in Class 3.
McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages
1st August
Shaun Sinclair & Stephen O'Hanlon, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC04

The eye catching Evo WRC04 body attracts a lot of attention; but thankfully not many issues as the car ran faultlessly all day, allowing Shaun and Stephen to push hard, finishing 7th overall and 4th in Class 12.
McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages
1st August
Adrian Stewart & Rod Manson, Peugeot 205 GTi 1600

After months of development of his Peugeot and with new co-driver Rod, Adrian's first event out was a stressful affair! As he drove the car off its trailer on Friday for scrutineering the distributer seized, however a replacement was fitted and he managed to clock in minutes before it closed! Out on the stages on Saturday, the engine was losing oil and despite efforts in first service, the issue was still creating problems and he was forced to retire to save the engine from further damage.

McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages
1st August
Sue Hynd & Tom Hynd, Peugeot 106 Rallye
Colin Paterson & Gary Clark, Toyota Celica GT4

It was to be a short and frustrating event for husband and wife team of Sue & Tom as they slid off the road and into a ditch on Stage Four - Malsach Burn and were unable to pull their car out to continue.

Colin and Gary had a steady rally despite electrical issues in their Celica, finishing 51st overall and 20th in Class 11.

Black & Lizars Media Film Day
24th July
Peter Stark, Tonykart Racer 2005 Rotax Max 125

The team rolled 10025 out of the workshop and fired it up for a media film day at Boyndie Kart Track for sponsor Black & Lizars. The sun beat down on the track, creating fantastic conditions for filming and both the team and the film crew had a great time filming footage for Black & Lizars marketing team.

Look out for behind the scenes clips on our Facebook and Instagram pages!
Mach 1 Stages, Machrihanish Airbase, Campbeltown
13th July
Fred MacLean & Stuart MacLean, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6

The father and son team from Mull suffered fuel starvation problems during most of Saturday, despite fuel pumps being swapped out at service and a mixture of tyre issues. With the issues partially solved for Sunday, the pair showed no signs of backing off on the final stages of the rally; Stuart pushing him on...perhaps a little too much!
Mach 1 Stages, Machrihanish Airbase, Campbeltown
13th July
Fred Milne & Martin Forrest, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8

After his big crash on the Scottish Rally which destroyed his own car, Fred had hired a car for the event; a higher specification Lancer Evo than his usual ride and Fred was making good use of the Drenth sequential box - his smile said it all! A few issues with tyres as the rain started held them back, but with full cut slicks on they were flying!
Mach 1 Stages, Machrihanish Airbase, Campbeltown
13th July
Brian Watson & Alan Todd, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC04

Brian was enjoying his WRC04 too much; hitting two haybales on Stages Three and Four – luckily the damage was minor cosmetics and the front of the car held up surprisingly well! With the rain coming down hard, they went out over the later stages of Saturday and the mixed levels of grip remaining on Sunday saw them slide off into the scenery and a lack of grip on the greenery or spectators to help them to get back onto the stage also forced them into retirement!
Mach 1 Stages, Machrihanish Airbase, Campbeltown
13th July
Shaun Sinclair & Sarah Sinclair, Ford Escort Mk2

The husband and wife team had persistent brake issues through the first four stages, but a full bleed of the brakes in service sorted the issue until a gearbox reverse selection created a lot of work in service over night to remedy in time for Sunday's stages. Unfortunately half way through the morning stages the gearbox finally cried enough just as Shaun was leaving service and blew the seal to the prop shaft. With no time left for repairs, he was forced to retire.
Mach 1 Stages, Machrihanish Airbase, Campbeltown
13th July
Joe McQuillan & Sean Donnelly, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9

It was to be an eventful rally from the very beginning! The pair's Evo9 wouldn't start on the Saturday morning, so the starter motor was replaced before Stage One, then they lost their brakes on Stage Two! Bleeding them at service gave them a good pedal and they were back on the pace and up to fifth overall before the rain came. Slick tyres were cut, but despite these, they left the road on Stage Five, taking six fence posts with them! The car was deemed to be in too poor a state to continue, so repairs were made to get them back out for the Sunday, however a missed gear blew their gearbox and they were forced into retirement.
Crail Summer Stages
13th June
Kevin Stout & Paul Cummins, Subaru Impreza WRC

The Crail Summer Stages was an interesting shake down event for Kevin and Paul; first event in the Impreza P2000 World Rally Car so finding the boundaries of the car and getting settled working together inside the cockpit was the aim of the day. Unfortunately the engine wouldn't fire up after a spin on the last stage causing their retirement, but it was a very productive event in terms of understanding the car better and learning how to drive the car as it was designed to be driven.
Crail Summer Stages
13th June
Lynn Stout & Adrian Stewart, Subaru Impreza Group N

Lynn's first rally for several years saw her team up with regular driver Adrian Stewart and she had a lot to take in as it was only the second time she'd sat in the car, but she quickly got the feel for things and progressed throughout the day. Despite losing a lot of time by out braking herself into a chicane and mounting a tractor tyre and a spin on the last stage, the pair finished a credible 71st overall and 21st in Class Five.
Stravaigers Lodge, Fort Augustus Rally Time Trial
9th May
Roy Kemp, Peugeot 205 GTi 1600

The sun was beating down on Fort Augustus for round two, which was a good thing as the stage was very open and fast! Back on the pace quickly, after stage three Roy was two tenths of a second in the lead of Class Two despite a damaged front right suspension arm. The damage was fixed in service, however due to family reasons, Roy had to retire from the event, ultimately finishing third in Class Two.
Glengorm Castle, Mull Rally Time Trial
28th March
Roy Kemp, Peugeot 205 GTi 1600

Round One of the 2015 Scottish Rally Time Trial Championship brought us to the isle of Mull and Roy's first event without a Co-driver reading him the road! A rear brake problem lost time on the first stage, but Roy quickly got on the pace setting competitive times before going off the road on stage four. Despite the off, he went on to finish first in Class Two and fourth overall!
Arnold Clark Thistle Snowman Rally
21st February
Fred Milne / Martin Forrest, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII RS

Round One of the 2015 Scottish Rally Championship threatened snow, but with only a light dusting and random patches of ice, it quickly turned to mud making Stage One very tricky for the crews. On their first event together (and Fred's sixth ever rally) they set tenth fastest time through Stage Two: Millbuie and were in high spirits at the first service in Dingwall. However their transfer box blew on the start line of Stage Four: Scotsburn, ending their event.
North West Stages, Blackpool
6th & 7th February
Tom Hynd / Adrian Stewart, Renault Clio Cup 172


The event was to be a disappointing start to the year, as firstly Co-driver Sue Hynd had to withdraw the morning before the event due to illness, resulting in regular driver Adrian Stewart stepping in to guide Tom Hynd. The Blackpool based event spans across Friday night and Saturday morning, however the pair weren't to see Saturday as their gearbox broke as they completed Stage Two: Weeton Camp.