Dream Debut For DirtFish

Scottish rally driver Ruary MacLeod, from Ayr, made a blistering start to his British Rally Championship campaign on last weekends Rallye Sunseeker, based in Bournemouth.

In a DirtFish Rally School liveried R2 class Ford Fiesta, the youngster finished 9th overall on his British Rally Championship (BRC) debut. Co-driver Paul Beaton comments, ‘We came to the Sunseeker on a learning capacity. Ruary has never made his own pace notes before, and this is his own interpretation of the road as you are driving at full speed. He coped extremely well at this task, as it is a skill that takes a lot of time to master, and only the top drivers are really good at it. His notes worked brilliantly, and I could noticeably see him growing in confidence using them.’

What makes Ruary's result all the more impressive is that the opposition he faced was world class. The top young drivers from all over the world are using the BRC to perfect their skills before moving on to the World Stage, with a two car team from Finland, one of the top American 2wd drivers, the reigning Finnish Fiesta Sport Trophy Winner and current Pirelli Star Driver, as well as the UK's own World Rally Championship Academy hopefuls Elfyn Evans and Alastair Fisher. These drivers were all competing in the hotly contested R2 class, however, Ruary also had the more powerful R3 cars to compete against. Again with world class talent as well as the cream of Britain and Ireland.

Driver Ruary MacLeod says, ‘I have to be very happy with the result today. I learnt so much from this weekend and have to carry that on to each round. I have an excellent team around me to learn from and would like to thank my sponsors, DirtFish Rally School and Royal Aero Group. The competition this weekend was phenomenal. There were close battles going on throughout the field. To be setting top times in only my second outing in the car, and first time using my own notes, is very encouraging for myself and the team. We know exactly where we are losing time to the more experienced guys and will be challenging them for top honours on the Bulldog Rally in Wales next month.’