Jock Armstrong  mastered the tricky and unpredictable conditions to secure an emphatic  victory on Saturday's Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally, the opening round of the Hankook MSA Scottish Championship.

The Castle Douglas ace was in a league of his own -  fastest through all five stages, in his Subaru Impreza to finish more than two and a half minutes ahead of  Lanarkshire driver, Alick Kerr, also in a Subaru, who posted his best ever SRC result.

Last year's championship runner up Mike Faulkner took the final podium spot a further twenty seconds back  in his Mitsubishi Evo 6.

Competitors were faced with a mix of snow, ice and gravel – at times all on the same stage – making tyre choice difficult.

There was no holding back Armstrong, however, who was determined to push for the win, having  finished third last year – his first attempt at the Snowman in 19 years.

With co-driver Kirsty Riddick, he was 23 seconds up on Kerr after the opening Meall Mor test, and following what many acknowledged to be the most difficult stage of the day, Millbuie,  had extended his advantage to more than a minute over last year's winner Reay Mackay, with Kerr a further three seconds adrift.

After SS3 Torr Achilty,  the overall cushion was 1 min 32 secs,  and by the end of SS4 Strathrory, Armstrong had an additional 20 second cushion, increasing it still further after the fifth and final test of the day, Scotsburn.

Said a jubilant Armstrong at the Hankook finish ramp in Inverness: "It's been fantastic – we were so close twelve months ago, and I thought there was no reason why we shouldn't go for the win, so it's all gone to plan.  Compared to last year, the stages were actually more difficult by not having so much snow on them. There was more ice, and you were also going a lot quicker. But all in all, a great day, and it's set us up well for the season ahead – we need to nail the first two or three rounds".

Riddick was full of praise for her driver: "It's been a fantastic day, and Jock has just driven so well for the conditions. There's not been a "moment" all day - it was a great effort".

Kerr won plaudits on last year's Snowman when he finished eleventh overall in a 2 wheel drive Ford Fiesta ST  before making his 4WD debut in a Subaru Impreza – a switch which saw him move  further up the rankings as the season progressed.. 

This was his first rally alongside experienced navigator Neil Shanks, and the 21-year-old Bothwell driver acknowledged that his presence was a confidence booster on the challenging event.

Having opted for snow tyres, Kerr was quickly into his stride, and apart from a couple of overshoots on SS2, turned in a superb display, with three second quickest stage times to his name.

Said Kerr: “This has been a dream start to the season. I was targeting a top 5 finish, but to get onto the podium on what is always a difficult rally is fantastic. It's a great start to my partnership with Neil, and hopefully we can continue our championship challenge on the Border Counties next month”.

Earlier in the day, Faulkner had spoken of the difficulties posed by the changeable conditions and grip levels – with sheet ice followed by gravel on some high-speed sections. It was, he said, a “question of survival”.

He  opted for a snow tyre on the first stage – finishing outside the top ten - before switching to an ice tyre for the six miles of Millbuie, where he promptly set the second quickest time.

He was also second fastest on the final Scotsburn test, and with co-driver Peter Foy, was more than happy with the outcome.

"It's brilliant – we'd targetted a top five finish – ideally a podium – so it's just what we wanted to start the year off. We had a few heart-stopping moments, particularly the fourth stage where we had a big spin, but apart from that it's just been a case of reading the road and making sure we had a strong finish". 

Dumfries farmer Rory Young and co-driver Allan Cathers, moved into fourth overall after SS4 Strathrory and held position – despite a string of punctures which meant they had to go into the final stage, Scotsburn, with a "flat" because he had run out of spare tyres!.

"After everything we've been through, we're pleasantly surprised by the result, to be honest," said Young, adding: "It's certainly been one of the most challenging days I've spent in a car, that's for sure. The five punctures were a bit demoralising, but we've survived and have a strong finish".

Non-SRC registered John Mackenzie from Thurso won the battle of the iconic Metro 6R4's to finish a superb fifth overall.

He praised  "new" navigator Ian Macdonald for helping make the day a success, adding: "The car has gone well with no problems, and despite the conditions, we've not really had any hairy moments to speak of. The Metro has handled really well on the high speed stretches.. I've perhaps driven a bit more carefully today – not so rash, and it's paid off”.

For local favourite Andy Horne, sixth place was a huge relief after failing to finish any of the eight rounds in 2009 behind the wheel of his crowd-pleasing DAM 4100 Gti.

Following a change of engine during the off season, the Inverness-based driver, alongside navigator Jim Howie, was determined to get his season off to a positive start – which was amply achieved, and included a third-fastest through the final Scotsburn test.

Like the majority of competitors, Horne found the conditions challenging:

"Surfaces changed all the time so you were never sure what was just up ahead. In all fairness, we could perhaps have gone quicker, but at the same time, we might have ended up in a ditch. My philosophy before the start was: "We ain't going to win any rally – we're going to go round as briskly as we can without taking any chances"".

With last year's Snowman-winning Metro 6R4 off the road for an engine overhaul, Reay Mackay, with Robert MacDonald on the notes, was behind the wheel of a "recently”  Mitsubishi Evo 7.

It was their second competitive outing in the car, and their seventh overall – two seconds adrift of Horne and Howie - followed a sixth place finish on the previous weekend's Riponian Stages in North Yorkshire.

Walter Henderson and Jim Kinloch were fifteen seconds further back in their Subaru Impreza, after what the Lanarkshire-based farmer conceded had been "an eventful but enjoyable event".

"The first stage in particular we were a bit slow off the mark – I'd never driven the car in the snow before", said Henderson, "But once we got into our stride it went fine, and we had a  fourth and seventh-fastest stage time, so it's been a good day".

Banchory-based Bruce McCombie – having switched during last season  fr om a 2WD  class-dominating Ford Puma to a Subaru Impreza – notched up a seventh and eighth fastest stage time on the way to ninth overall, alongside co-driver Michael Coutts.

The Dumfries crew of Davie Hughes and Bruce Harper rounded off the top ten in their Mitsubishi Evo 9,  after what Hughes described as a "horrendous but good fun day"  which started with a third fastest time on the first stage.

Remarkably, given the conditions, there were only 27 retirements out of the 120 starters. One notable “casualty” was one of the pre-event favourites, Lancashire based rally preparation expert Wayne Sisson, who got stuck in snow after sliding off on the second stage in his Mitsubishi Evo 9.

News of all SRC rounds can be found at www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk

TOP 12 FINISHERS – WITH TOTAL TIMES

1  Jock Armstrong(Castle Douglas)/Kirsty Riddick(Castle Douglas) Subaru Impreza  51 min 11 secs
2  Alick Kerr (Bothwell)/Neil Shanks (Elgin) Subaru Impreza  53.43
3  Mike Faulkner (Kirtlebridge)/Peter Foy (Bingley) Mitsubishi Evo 6  54.03
4  Rory Young (Dumfries)/Allan Cathers (Carlisle)  Mitsubishi Evo 5  55.22
5  John Mackenzie (Thurso)/Ian Macdonald  Metro 6R4  55.37
6  Andy Horne (Inverness)/Jim Howie (Kilmarnock) DAM 4100 Gti  55.45
7  Reay Mackay (Fort Augustus)/Robert MacDonald (Fort Augustus)  Evo 7  55.47
8  Walter Henderson (Lanark)/Jim Kinloch (Junglinster)  Subaru Impreza  56.02
9  Bruce McCombie (Banchory)/Michael Coutts (Torphins) Subaru Impreza  56.46
10 Davie Hughes (Dumfries)/Bruce Harper (Dumfries) Mitsubishi Evo 9  57.11
11 Craig McMiken (Newton Stewart)/Christine Sanderson (Berwick) Evo 9  57.43
12 Dougal Brown (Inveness)/Allan Matheson (Inverness) Subaru Impreza  58.13

CLASS WINNERS

Class 1  James Aitken (Abernethy)/Alistair Dodd (Corwen) Nissan Micra
Class 2  Kenny Munro (Ose)/Doug Jeffrey (Dunvegan) Vauxhall Corsa
Class 3  Niall Inglis (Dunvegan)/ Chris Munro (Dunvegan) Vauxhall Nova
Class 4  Stewart Davidson (Aboyne)/ Breagha Dobney (Inverness)  Proton Satria
Class 5  Neil Morrison (Dunvegan) Chris Ronaldson (Inverness)  Talbot Sunbeam
Class 6  Andrew Morrison (Inverness) Michael Hendry   Ford Escort RS
Class 7  Allan Smith (Inverness)/ Ian McIvor  Ford Focus
Class 8  Malcolm Buchanan (Uig)/ Ian Nicoll (Forfar) Ford Escort Mk2
Class 9    Eddie O'Donnell Jnr (Salen)/Eddie O'Donnell Snr  (Tobermory)  Ford Escort RS
Class 10  Craig McMiken (Newton Stewart)/Christine Sanderson (Berwick) Mitsubishi Evo
Class 11  Scott Murray (Perth)/John Mackenzie (Mosstodloch) Mitsubishi Evo 6
Class 12  Andy Horne (Inverness)/Jim Howie (Kilmarnock) DAM 4100 Gti

Top Five Overall Drivers after Round 1

Jock Armstrong        30 points
Alick Kerr                  28 points
Mike Faulkner           27 points
Rory Young               26 points
Andy Horne               25 points

Top Five Overall GpN after Round 1

Jock Armstrong       30 points
Rory Young             26 points
Craig McMiken        20 points
Shaun Sinclair         17 points
Dale Robertson       16 points