Rally Scotland was a forest
rally held in central
Scotland as a round of the
Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The first event was held in
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and included stages that were last used over 20 years ago on the
RAC Rally.
History
At a press conference in
Glasgow on 15 October 2008 it was announced that Scotland would host the final round of the
2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge
The 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the fourth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consists of twelve rounds and began on January 21, with the 77° Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. The season ended on November 21, a ...
and that Rally Scotland had secured a three-year contract with the IRC to host the event. Among those present at the launch was the
First Minister of Scotland
The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...
Alex Salmond, the ex-world champion
Robert Reid and
Andrew Cowan founder of
Mitsubishi Ralliart.
The inaugural event was held between 19 and 21 November 2009 during some of the wettest weather seen in the UK. The event was won by
Guy Wilks in a
Å koda Fabia S2000
The Å koda Fabia S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car built by Å koda Motorsport. It is based upon the Å koda Fabia road car.
History
It made its début at Rallye Monte Carlo 2009, with factory team Škoda Motorsport and drivers Jan Kopecký and ...
.
For
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, the rally took place at the earlier dates of 15–17 October with the main service area being moved from
Blair Atholl Castle to
Perth Airport.
Juho Hänninen won the event and also sealed victory in the IRC championship.
Eurosport again covered the event live.
In 2011 the rally will again have a new date after the initial slot of 14–16 October was moved a week earlier to 7–9 October. The change is due to a request to ensure that sufficient numbers of volunteers are available to running of the event.
Route and stages
The two-day event used rally stages in
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
(day one) and the
Trossachs (day two) including some of the most famous stages used in the
Scottish Rally Championship and the RAC Rally. They include three of
Colin McRae's all time favourites; Craigvinean, Drummond Hill and Errochty and also Loch Ard which was described by
Kris Meeke as the best stage in the world. Drummond Hill is also the all-time favourite of ex-rally star and
M-Sport owner
Malcolm Wilson.
Stars flock to pay tribute to Colin McRae
Crash.net Website 26 September 2008 Retrieved 30 March 2010
Results
References
{{reflist
Scotland