(Updated with stage bresults) Oban is full of 60 rally cars ready for the inaugural Rally of Argyll 2010. Local rally heroes, Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill of Connel and Kilmore respectively, have the honour of top seed in today’s event (10th July).
The rally is run by the Mull Car Club and centred in Oban with stages through the magnificent and rarely used rally stages of North and mid Argyll.
The event is led off by the Top 6-placed Scottish Rally Championship team of Sinclair and Hamill in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 at 9.00am from the Auction Mart in Oban- where they are pictured above. The best spectator areas are near Lochgilphead just before and just after lunchtime.
Information and stage maps are at the Mull Car Club website page for the rally.
The event will run through the stages along Loch Aweside before reaching the service halt, just north Of Lochgilphead at 1.00pm.
The return loop will see the cars through the Minard stages and back to Oban for the finish and prize giving at Atlantis Leisure just after 4pm.
It is hoped that this challenging event will become a regular part of the Scottish Rally Championship in years to come.
Check later for updates and tonight for the full results.
Campbell Cameron, Mortorsport Editor
Update 12.35 10th July: The fastest and most exciting Rally cars in Scotland are travelling through Argyll today – a great day for Oban and Lochgilphead as the towns host the first TSL sponsored Rally of Argyll.
Explosive speed and great skill have placed local team, the Fusion Marine supported Mitsubishi Evo of Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill in the lead after 3 stages.
The Connel and Kilmore based rally team have taken a 31second lead after stage 3 (Kilmichael) and with 4 stages to go are in good heart.
Another Oban team, the Lockhart brothers Stephen and Kevin, are showing in 5th place – 59 second behind after starting the rally in 16th spot. Results courtesy of Flying Finish.
Campbell Cameron, Mortorsport Editor
Update 2.15pm 10th July: A Lunchtime Run in the forest.
Argyll reaches lunchtime and Shaun Sinclair still leads the TSL Rally of Argyll. Speed and great skill have been replaced by steady-and-sure as the opposition tries to catch the Connel man in his Fusion Marine Evo 9.
Paul Benn from from Cockermouth in the marvellous Ford Focus WRC – a similar car to the one the late Colin MacRae rallied round the world – has clawed back 3 seconds in Kilmichael 2 – obviously keen to get to his sandwiches.
Donnie MacDonald from Inverness, in a similar Evo 9 to Sinclair’s, is also keen to get to the soup as he equalled the Benn time of 5 mins 21secs.
This also helped MacDonald back into 5th place – ahead of the Team Lockhart Evo 7 – by just 1 second! I
In fourth place and on an equal time to MacDonald is Reay MacKay from Fort Augustus in a Subaru Impreza WRC.
Jimmy Allan from Appin has moved his Evo 6 up 20 places to 22nd overall with David Nerwall from Mid Calder moving from a 34th place start to an amazing 9th overall in his Evo 8 version of Mitsubishi’s finest automobile – the Lancer Evo!
It promises to be a Hot Afternoon in Mid Argyll!
Campbell Cameron, Mortorsport Editor
NOTE: Final results are at Argyll driver wins Rally of Argyll: final results
Photographs above are all by copyright holder Campbell Cameron and were taken just before the start today. They show, the Sinclair/Hamill car; the Lockhart brothers just leaving; and Jimmy Allen from Appin.
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