August 02, 2010

Faulkner aims for top spot on Speyside - 7th August 2010

The Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages has attracted a top-class entry of more than 120 crews for the Elgin based event which will see crews tackle six stages in the Morayshire forests along with two tarmac tests around the spectator friendly town centre Cooper Park.

As the sixth of eight rounds, the Elgin-based rally is a key in the countdown to the final 2010 Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship placings.

After the summer break, Mike Faulkner and co-driver Peter Foy start third in their BSW Timber supported Mitsubishi Evo 6 - the pair aiming to maintain their consistent run on the "Speyside" in recent years. They were runners-up twelve months ago, following a third place finish in 2008.

The Kirtlebridge-based driver powered to a hard-earned second on the last round the Scottish Rally - and is under no illusion as to the strategy needed this coming weekend.
"Both David (Bogie) and Jock (Armstrong) will be hard to beat, but if we want any chance of the championship this year, then we'll have to outpace them. We'll be going at it 100 percent from the start", said Faulkner: "We had great run to 2nd in Elgin last year and we enjoy the stages, which are fast and very loose in places".

The Supply UK Hire Shops supported crew are currently 4th in the Scottish Championship and lead the Scottish Evo Cup. In addition to a challenge from the leading two seeds of Bogie and Armstrong a strong challenge will come from several of the top 10 seeds including Borders Rally winner Shaun Sinclair, preparation expert and technical partner Wayne Sisson along with the Ford Focus WRC crew of Cumbria’s Paul Benn and Richard Cooke.

Top seeded crews: