12 March / By DAVID FERGUSON
THE BORDER Counties Rally will have a Scandinavian flavour when it returns to the Scottish Rally Championship this weekend but a major Scotland-England battle is brewing.
Englishman Elliot Payne is top seed for Saturday’s seven stages over 48 miles through the popular Craik Forest west of Hawick and then up for two loops of three Tweed Valley stages – Cardrona, Elibank and Yair. But he will face tough competition as the top crews from last month’s Snowman Rally and Riponian in England meet up in the Scottish Borders.
The 23-year-old from Harrogate is one of the quickest young drivers in the UK. He won the Riponian Rally last month for the fourth time in a row, and will be unmistakeable when he arrives at Newtown St Boswells on Friday in the bright yellow spotted ‘Hooch’ Fiesta Rally2.
Following him north are five of the top seven from the Riponian – Liam Clark and Jack Morton, and Alexander Vassallo and Chris Lees, both in a Fiesta Rally2, Icelander Daníel Sigurðarson – with Martin Brady on the notes in the Skoda Fabia RS this weekend instead of his sister Ásta – and Durham duo Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson, also in a Fiesta Rally2.
Fylkir Jónsson and Anton Ingvason add to the Icelandic flavour, but there is a large Borders and Scottish contingent led by Garry Pearson and Hannah McKillop. The 2021 Scottish Rally Champion did not compete in the Snowman Rally last month but has now entered the Motorsport UK Scottish Rally Championship, and may again compete for British titles.
He won the only Scottish event he entered last season, the Scottish Rally, and he and Hannah will add spice to Saturday’s battle in what will be the second round of the 2026 SRC – and try to go one better than Garry’s runner-up spots in the 2016 and 2019 Border Counties.
‘This is about blowing off cobwebs – but we’d like to go one better’
“It is really exciting to see the Border Counties back in the old Tweed Valley stages, and while I’ve not decided yet on the full plan for 2026 I couldn’t miss this event just 20 to 30 minutes from my home,” he said.
“Having two big Scottish Championship events in the Borders [the Jim Clark is next in May] is brilliant for Borders rallying, our region’s sport and tourism, and, yes, while this is primarily about getting a run-out and blowing off the cobwebs – we haven’t competed since October – of course I’d love to go none better than I did in 2016 and 2019.
“But we’ll just see how we get the feeling back over the first few stages and take it from there. But Hannah and I are definitely looking forward to some very competitive rallying on great stages this Saturday.”
The Scottish Championship is led by Scott Macbeth and navigator Andrew Falconer from the Highlands after they claimed their first SRC success in the Snowman. They will start in the no3 car, behind Pearson and McKillop, in their Volkswagen Polo GTi R5, with Sigurðarson on his tail, followed by former Scottish champion Jock Armstrong and Craig Nelson, with 2024 Scottish runners-up Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry in car seven.
Past and present Borders stars out in force
Inevitably, current and past Border Counties winners and favourites are coming out in force. Co-driver Claire Mole from Duns is out with Ross Jarrett (car 22), while 21-year-old Melrose driver Robbie Wood continues his debut season in the SRC with experienced navigator Steven Brown. Des Campbell from Coldstream, Gala’s veteran Alistair Brearley, Alistair Crawford from Hawick, Kelso’s Ian Watson with Keith Atkinson from Jedburgh, and Jed duo Iain Heard and Jack Amos all help to fly the Borders flag high.
There are three exciting female drivers to watch in the field of nearly 80 crews. North Yorkshire stars Christina and Natalie Robinson reprise their regular battle while Kyle of Lochalsh’s Meghan O’Kane aims to challenge them in her Fiesta. Kelso navigator Carin Tait-Logan is also back in action, this time keeping Dumfries man Richard Stewart on track in his Peugeot 208.
For map info, the best spectator positions and stage times, visit: https://www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk/; and follow Border Counties Rally on Facebook for all the up-to-date news.