SPEYSIDE 2009 REPORT

The NessRallySport crew of Don Murray and Andy Philip suffered the first ever mechanical failure in their Macritchie Highland Distribution backed Subaru Impreza at the weekend, during the very first stage of the rally. Don takes up the story;-

"We saw the car for the first time since the Granite on the Saturday morning, and it looked immaculate as we prepared for the open 2 stages which are a quick blast around the 0.7 miles of Cooper Park in the centre of Elgin. After only 3 corners it was clear that all was not right, as the drivetrain was vibrating badly, and there was little or no traction. We cruised to a halt at the stage finish, then put the car in first gear and travelled all of a further 200 yards before we lost all drive.

We then had a very pleasant couple of hours sunbathing in the park until we could be recovered. To be fair its the first mechanical issue we have had during an event, and its was simply wear and tear damage to the internals of the gearbox, which is just one of those things".

The team plans to have the car running again within the next week, and plan to contest the next round of the Scottish Championship, which is the Merrick Rally based in Newton Stewart, on the 5th of September.