Muir of Ord rally driver says he has achieved one of the best results of his career at the Speyside Stages in Elgin which is the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship
MUIR of Ord rally driver Scott MacBeth says he has claimed one of the best results of his career at the Speyside Stages in Elgin.
He finished in second place at the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship on Saturday.
David Bogie claimed the Speyside Stages title for the 12th time in his career after taking victory in Elgin on Saturday afternoon.
The Dumfries driver along with co-driver John Rowan, cruised to victory in the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship winning by 47 seconds.
Driving a Skoda Fabia RS, he completed all eight stages of the course across Moray in 37 minutes exactly.
MacBeth along with Elgin co-driver Daniel Forsyth took second place as they also drove a Skoda Fabia R5, completing the course 37:47.
Current Scottish Rally champions Duns driver Euan Thorburn along with Inverness co-driver Paul Beaton, had to settle for third place, completing the course in 37:53 driving a Polo R5.
MacBeth followed on his podium success in Scottish Rally Championship events when he finished in third place at the Snowman Rally in Ross-shire in October.
He said he was pleased to finish in second place and being among the leading drivers in a tough field.
He said: “We came here looking for a podium.
“We knew that both David and Euan were here and they are multiple Scottish champions. So to come away with second place I am delighted.
“We struggled in the morning as it was very loose. But during the middle stages we were very good. We had the joint fastest time with David in one of the stages so we are chuffed.”
MacBeth said he is not competing in the Scottish Championship this season but is looking forward to competing in other rally events later this year.
He said second place at the Speyside Stages is one of the highlights of his racing career so far.
“This has to be one of the best results of my career,” he said.
“I have put in some time and effort into the start of this year in terms of testing the car and I am fitter too.
“It certainly has made a difference.”
Bogie also won the race last year, and has won the title 12 times in 17 attempts.
He said: “It is a rally which has always been kind to me.
“There are some excellent stages and great competition and it is definitely good to come away with a win.
“I wanted to get the 12th win and I will need to come back and try again.
“It was a nice enough margin and we got a good push on the last stage and gained a bit of time. The car has been fantastic, the co-driver has been fantastic and it has been a really good day.
“The stages suit me and I love this area of Scotland as well. It is an event I really enjoy and I will come back next year and try again.”
Bogie says he will compete at the Jim Clark Reivers Rally in the second round of the Scottish Rally Championship in June and see how that sets them up for the rest of the Scottish Championship.
“We will do the first two rounds and see where it takes us from there. We’ll do a few more before the rest of the year and look to have a bit more success.”
