ANTICIPATION BUILDS FOR “SNOWMAN”

Reigning Scottish and British champions David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae head an impressive entry of nearly 120 crews for the opening round of the 2012 MSA Scottish Rally Championship in Inverness on Saturday, 18th February.

The three-times Scottish title-holders are seeking a second successive victory on the Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally, but will face fierce competition over the 44-miles of classic forest stages..

They will be followed off the start line by 2011 Snowman and SRC runners-up Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton - one ahead of Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy, who finished third in the championship, and fourth twelve months ago.

Bogie has been weighing up several options on how to advance his rallying career since becoming the first driver to achieve the "double" last season. However, the Dumfries driver is relishing the opportunity to defend his Snowman title:

"The Snowman is a great rally – they’re awesome stages – some of the best in Scotland and the spectator interest is unbelievable", said Bogie: "It gives us an option to continue and go for a crack at a fourth championship and a chance to make history, which would be unbelievable. Our Mitsubishi Evo 9 is beginning to show its age, but I still think we can squeeze one more season out of it yet".

Faulkner is also aiming to push to the limits in his even older Evo 6: “We feel that we have some unfinished business", said the Kirtlebridge-based competitor: "The car will be exactly the same. We just need to find a way to drive it faster if we are going to challenge for the championship. The weather on the Snowman can always be a bit of a lottery, but we're hoping for fast hard tracks for maximum attack".

The "Highland" challenge is led by fourth seeds Donnie Macdonald and Andrew Falconer in a Mitsubishi Evo 9. The Inverness driver had a solid campaign in 2011. He finished fifth in the points, and will be targeting another strong showing on his home event, following a sixth-place last year.

Next up is the Evo 9 of SRC regular Barry Groundwater from Stonehaven, co-driven by Daniel Paterson, while 2009 Snowman winners Reay Mackay and Robert MacDonald from Fort Augustus start sixth in a Subaru Impreza WRC.

Tyne and Wear crew Michael Glendinning and Paul Hughes won last month's Grant Construction Stages Rally at Knockhill in a brand new Subaru Impreza N15 and will be hoping to replicate their good form on gravel.

The Aberdeenshire duo of Chris Collie and Lisa Watson emerged as one of the most improved crews of 2011. They will want to pick up where they left off in the Subaru Impreza in which they secured four successive top-ten placings in the second half of the season.

Inverurie's Calum Mackenzie is back in action in his Mitsubishi Evo 8 alongside navigator Alan Clark: the pair powering to an eighth-place finish in the ice and mud in 2011.

The top ten is rounded off by Conon Bridge driver John Morrison and navigator Peter Carstairs from St Andrews, who have finished twelfth or better on the Snowman on four occasions in the past five years.

There will be a good deal of home support for Inverness crew Dougal Brown and Lewis Rochford in a Mitsubishi Evo 9. They are making a welcome return to competition after a serious accident on the penultimate Merrick round last year which resulted in Lewis being airlifted to hospital.

The 2-wheel drive challenge is headed by David Wilson, co-driven by Dave Robson, in a recently acquired Ford Escort Mk2. The Alness-based driver made the long journey south to Devon to pick up the car last November and a couple of days later was competing on the Kingdom Stages at Crail where he finished second in class and a very creditable 15th overall.

The car - now fitted with a six-speed sequential gearbox - will go head to head for Class 8 honours with the Mk2's of Keith Robathan and co-driver Ian Nicoll; Charlie Jarrett, partnered by Andrew Stevenson; and Alasdair Graham , who will be accompanied by Donnie Macdonald's regular navigator Keir Beaton.

The 1600 category sees battle rejoined between the Honda Civics of Lanarkshire rivals Graeme Schoneville, co-driven by Michael Hendry, and Graeme Smith, who is partnered with 2011 BRC Challenge class winning navigator Laura Marshall.

Also in the mix is Paisley's Alasdair S Graham, who finished as Class 4 runner-up in the SRC last year at the wheel of his Vauxhall Corsa. He will be accompanied by Laura Stuart from Alford. Carl Tuer from Alnwick, co-driven by Inverbervie's Ross Hynd, will be one to watch in his MG ZR S1600, while Dumfriesshire's Jim Robertson, with Helen Brown on the notes, will be looking to repeat his 2011 Snowman class win in his Citreon C2R2.

There is also a strong entry in Class 3, with reigning champions Tom and Sue Hynd (Peugeot 205) again locking horns with runners-up Iain Haining and Mairi Riddick (Vauxhall Nova) who took top honours on the season-opener twelve months ago. Alford's Willie Stuart and Largs navigator Neil Ewing in a Talbot Sunbeam will be pushing for a good finish, as will Ayr's Blair and Alex McCulloch (Vauxhall Nova) who ended last season third in class.

Alex Pirie and David Law (Vauxhall Corsa) will be looking to continue the excellent form which saw them chalk up five wins and two second-place finishes on their way to wrapping up the Class 2 championship in 2011.

SRC Chairman Dave Robson described the bumper entry for the Snowman as a "fantastic start to the season".

"Once again it shows the strength and depth of the series. We continue to have fantastic support from Calum MacLeod's Royal Aero company, who have introduced an entry discount scheme for Juniors this year. We're also delighted that partners DMACK Tyres are investing in young talent with an end of season prize of £3000 as well as competition tyres for the highest placed Junior running their product and a range of other exciting incentives. Added to that is the commitment by BBC Scotland to again broadcast two highlights programmes this year. It all bodes well for the 2012 championship".

Full details on the Snowman Rally can be found at www.snowmanrally.co.uk

For news and updates on all SRC rounds, go to www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk

2012 Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally - Top20 Seeds

1 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Kevin Rae (Hawick) Mitsubishi Evo 9

2 Euan Thorburn (Duns)/Paul Beaton (Inverness) tba

3 Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge)/Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Evo 6

4 Donnie Macdonald (Inverness)/Keir Beaton (Inverness) Mitsubishi Evo 9

5 Barry Groundwater (Stonehaven)/Daniel Paterson (Stonehaven) Mitsubishi Evo 9

6 Reay Mackay (Ford Augustus)/Robert MacDonald (Fort Augustus) Subaru Impreza WRC

7 Michael Glendinning (Ryton)/Paul Hughes (Newcastle) Subaru Impreza N15

8 Chris Collie (Portleithen)/Lisa Watson (Alford) Subaru Impreza

9 Calum Mackenzie (Inverurie)/Alan Clark (Glasgow) Mitsubishi Evo 8