The Rally2Raise team of Aberdeen’s Rachel Clark and Brampton’s
Caroline Lodge enjoyed a successful Scottish rally last weekend when they
finished second in class with driver Rachel also picking up the trophy for the
best lady driver.
After a disappointing Granite City rally in April the team’s
aim for the Scottish was to get to the finish in their E.Watson & Son,
Pirelli, AW Motorsport, McPherson Document Solutions, Charles Derby Ecosse and
San Juan Services-supported Nissan Micra 1300.
The event started with a pair of stages near the village of
Ae. Both of these went well although
with Rachel recovering from glandular fever she was suffering at the end of the
14 mile-long second stage.
“I was pleased with the first two stages, it was the first
time Caroline and I have competed together but we quickly gelled and had a
troublefree run,” said Rachel. “The second
stage left me worn out, the glandular fever totally zapped my energy and I’m
not back to full health yet so doing a 14 mile stage in a very hot rally car
wasn’t ideal but we made it through and it was great to find we were third in
class going into service.”
After the service halt the team faced three more stages. The
first was a short blast through Heathhall where the Micra entertained the huge crowd
of spectators watching at the watersplash. The event ended with two stages near
Gatehouse of Fleet which the team completed with no problems and they headed
back to the finish in Dumfries town centre in second in class.
“I’m delighted with the result and winning a trophy that has
previously been won by the likes of Louise Aitken-Walker just topped off what
was a fantastic weekend. I’d like to dedicate the trophy to Cath Simpson who we
lost recently, a true rally enthusiast that will be greatly missed by many
including me and the team.”
“Thanks to Caroline for a spot-on job with the notes and
keeping me alive with drinks and sweets all day, Colin and Craig Wallace for
transporting the car to and from the event, Clark Motorsport for servicing,
Paul at Motorsport Mugs for sorting our last minute graphics request and all
our sponsors for their support.”
The Rally2Raise team will be back in action on the Speyside
Stages in early August. Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk
or www.facebook.com/rally2raise
for more information.
