Junior rally driver Alick Kerr is gearing up to tackle the Jim Clark Reivers Rally next Sunday – despite planning to sit the rally out just weeks ago. The 20 year-old from Bothwell will contest the fourth round of the Hankook Scottish Rally Championship after all as he looks to build on a strong debut outing for his Bags Online Subaru Impreza.

With no tarmac gear for the Subaru, it looked like Alick was going to have to miss the asphalt-based Clark, the only sealed-surface round of the Scottish series. But thanks to the support of Bags Online’s Alistair Tough, himself a former Impreza driver, foundry engineer Kerr has been sorted out with a set of tarmac wheels and can keep up his challenge for SRC honours.

“When we bought the car it was set up for gravel rallies, and seeing as there is only one tarmac round in the Scottish Championship there wasn’t really any sense in spending a fortune on all the gear for just one rally,” admits Kerr. “But Alistair has helped us out with the wheels he had for his old car, so we find ourselves getting ready for the Jim Clark!”

The Alick Kerr Motorsport car heads to Duns in the Scottish Borders with additional backing from BagsOnline.co.uk and Opie Oils. The support of both companies has proved invaluable to the Kerr team as Alick looks to build on his excellent inaugural outing in the Impreza. On their first ever competitive stage in a four-wheel drive car, Kerr and MSA British Rally Academy member Drew Sturrock posted a top-ten stage time in the new machine on their way to fifth in class and sixteenth overall.

“The car is great, very quick and powerful – we set some very respectable times on our first rally in it so hopefully things will go well second time out,” continues Alick. “I haven’t rallied on tarmac since the Clark last year, but with a six-speed gearbox our Subaru could be at a big advantage on the very fast stages.”

As well as a change of surface, Alick Kerr also has a temporary change of co-driver for the upcoming event. Inverness doctor Steven Brown will step into the hot seat of the Bags Online Subaru Impreza for the Duns-based rally, returning to the navigator’s seat after making his own driving debut earlier this year! “I did a smaller rally with Steven last year and he did a great job, so I should be able to work well with him,” explains Kerr. “He’s a good co-driver, very professional and organised.”

Further information on the team can be found at www.alickkerr.com