12 June 2026 / By David Ferguson
The name ‘Dom Buckley’ is synonymous with Scottish rallying and as he heads out this weekend on a rally he won 29 years ago the one-time pro driver admits he can’t entirely shake off the desire to drive cars fast.
Hence why the 58-year-old Buckley of Dom Buckley Rally Sport Connections (RSC) is back in the cockpit this weekend, with one of his former apprentices Mikey Wastling alongside on the notes, tackling the Welsh Plains Rally he won in 1997.
“I can’t help myself sometimes,” he said, laughing, after emerging from scrutineering with his VW Polo R5, some 38 years after he first set off in a competitive rally.
“I thought I’d be quiet this weekend with just two cars in Wales, and the Polo was sitting there, so I thought it would be great to get out for a run, but then I got calls for another two cars and so we have four taking part. So, it will be hectic, but why not? Life’s too short to take it easy!”
I first logged on to Buckley’s rallying journey as a young reporter in the 1990s, when the Hassington lad was following in his father Dom senior’s footsteps (pictured with Dom snr and brother Neil). His late dad was a top competitor through the 1970s and 80s, mainly with Wally Duguid, George Blackie and Doug ‘Spud’ Redpath navigating in a Ford Escort RS.
Both good local sports talents, young Dom and his brother Neil left Berwickshire High School straight into a burgeoning Borders business, supplying and supporting rally cars competing in all corners of the world. ‘Young Dom’ would continue where his dad left off in the car with Redpath keeping him right, and the pair were so quick in their opening events that they were soon in the sights of the major works teams.
A series of podiums in his first seasons with a Mazda 323 from the Snowman to the Severn Valley, the Trossachs to the Border Counties, and a first overall in the Galloway Hills – and second in the 1990 Scottish Rally Championship – suggested the boy knew his way around forest tracks and tarmac roads.
Through the next few years he proved himself one of the most competitive drivers in the UK, with consistent top ten finishes, when he finished. He was signed by Volkswagen and, with Nicky Beech put in as his co-driver, steered a largely unreliable VW Golf III GTi to five top tens before that bit of fun ended in 1996, and he returned to the successful Buckley-Redpath partnership.
The Buckley family business was flying by then and so Dom jnr and Neil – who also won the Polo Challenge and British Group N titles with Redpath – found themselves running out of days and passport pages as they trotted the globe supporting WRC and ERC crews.
A highlight for Dom, however, was when the rallying world returned to his hometown of Duns and, after finishing second to Robbie Head in a works Renault on the first Jim Clark Rally on closed public roads, in 1997, he emulated his father Dom snr by blowing the field away in 1998 to win by over eight minutes it in an Impreza, with Neil Ewing alongside – 14 years after his dad and Redpath had uncorked the champagne.
He was the last Scotsman to do so until Max McRae, son of his old sparring partner Alister, ended the long wait for another Scottish triumph this year.
Dommy took some pride in that as the McRaes had turned to him when Max decided to launch a BRC bid this year, and he provided a pretty nippy Skoda Fabia (pictured in Duns). He didn’t have much time to celebrate to be fair as the Skoda was just one of 17 cars under his management through the Jim Clark weekend.
“Yes, that was a crazy weekend,” he admitted. “I was delighted for Max and Cammy [Fair, co-driver], because they’re good guys, but it was very hectic to say the least.
“It’s the way we work, fortunately or unfortunately. I sent an email out to all my customers – we have about 20 to 25 currently – last November, asking them to give me an idea of the events they wanted to take part in this year, to help me ensure I had cars standing by for them, and I got two replies!
It’s non-stop but a privilege to have made a career in rallying
“So, you can be heading to an event thinking you’ve got four or five cars and you end up with 10 – or 17! We’ve got cars in the WRC, the ERC and during Covid we even set up a workshop in upstate New York for the cars we had in the American Championship. So, yeah, we get about, and sometimes you don’t know who you will have until a week or so before the rally.
“Thankfully, I’ve got brilliant people that work for me and they just get on with it, and we try to keep stress to a minimum. But I’ve never known it any different.
“I grew up with it around my dad and the family business, and ever since I started on my own, 13 years ago now, it has been non-stop. But it’s a privilege to have been in motorsport all my life. I left school for college to be a mechanical engineer, and now I’ve been all over the world seeing amazing places and meeting amazing people.
“Of course, like any job it has its ups and downs, and it’s definitely a lot of hard work, but most of my customers are doing this because they have a passion for it, so you’re dealing with enthusiastic people who love what they’re doing, and you don’t get angry customers.”
He admits to concern at the cost of rallying in the modern day, and while the growing demand for rental rally cars, as opposed to buying and keeping your own, has been a big part of his business he says he likes the fact that it enables people to take up or stay involved in the sport.
He is known for the investment he makes in top rental cars, to avoid mechanical breakdowns, and out of 17 that started the Jim Clark only two didn’t finish – and that’s allowing for some drivers that drive in similar fashion to Buckley, ie right on the edge.
Dommy says that the squeeze on forests and reducing access was a factor in his decision to get back in the car this weekend, as he fears he may no longer have the opportunity to “go for a run” when he has a quieter weekend.
The WRC coming to Scotland in 2027 was a surprise recent announcement, and he hopes that it is a sign that the Scottish Government and other stakeholders are becoming more aware of the economic boost that rallies bring to their local areas, and also that it will ignite excitement in younger generations to write a new chapter of Scottish rallying history.
Retirement? You’re having a laugh!
But don’t take that to mean this Borderer is ready for a back seat. He will celebrate his 59th birthday at the end of the year but mention of ‘retirement’ brought the biggest laugh of our chat.
“Me and Tracey have spoken about retiring but that chat doesn’t last long. You’ve got to keep your mind active haven’t you? What would I do without flying to Barbados, back to Ireland, across to Rome or Monte Carlo, to Japan, or to the tarmac events across central Europe? Lots of things probably!
“Nah, I can’t see retirement happening any time soon. Rallying is my life and I’d get bored without it. Now, apologies, but I have a rally car that’s waiting for me.”
