Rob Cotton wins class on Grampian Forest Rally

 

Rob Cotton is back in contention for the BRC National title after a faultless performance on the Voly Grampian Forest Rally.

 

The reigning John Easson Award winner won his class and finished 31st overall on the two-day event, driving his Subaru Impreza.

 

“After the problems we’ve had in previous rounds, our sole aim was to win the class and not have any issues with the car,”  said Rob, who was co-driven by Ethan Kidd.

 

 

“And that’s exactly what happened, we stuck to a plan and it paid off. The car is now performing exactly as I want it to, and that gives you so much more confidence in the stages.

 

“We won the class by 50 seconds, which meant we could drive quite conservatively and not risk an off.”

The result means that Rob is currently lying second overall in the National standings to rival Chris Richmond, but when dropped scores are taken into account he is leading.

 

Last weekend’s performance brought an added bonus for Rob and his team from Cotton Competition, near Garstang.

He explained: “The last two events we have done have left us with a huge amount of work to do on the car. Not so this time, so it’ll be nice not to have to spend the next three weeks rebuilding the engine!”

Rob is back in action on the all-tarmac, closed road Rali Ceredigion on September 5.

 

Former JEA winner Mark McCulloch finished 11^th overall in his Proton Satria Evo, last year’s JEA winner Johnnie Mackay claimed 23rd and second in the S2 class in his Mitsubishi Evo.

JEA runner-up Meghan O’Kane finished 51st overall and second in the S6 class in her Fiesta R2.