The RSAC Scottish Rally might have been a challenging weekend for teenage rally driver Alick Kerr, but in the end persistence paid off for the 19 year-old from Lanarkshire.

Kerr and Laurencekirk co-driver Drew Sturrock had to endure all manner of problems as they piloted the Leaker Direct Rangemaster Fiesta ST through the forests surrounding Dumfries, but got the car to the finish to boost their Scottish Rally Championship aspirations.

Things didn’t start well when an electrical problem appeared on the opening Ae West stage. Bothwell-based Alick was forced to crawl along for several miles in first gear as a result, costing him six minutes on the fourteen-mile test. The fault disappeared before the Heathhall super-special spectator stage and the team’s service crew could not find the source of the problem during the first halt. But on the third Kinharvie test the electrical gremlins reared their heads again and more time was lost. This time, however, the mechanics traced the issue to wiring near the car’s crank sensor and the Ford was repaired.

The day’s dramas weren’t over yet, though. In among all the confusion of trying to get the car repaired and back on the road within the allotted lateness, the crew miscalculated the time they had to arrive at the next stage start and were handed a fourminute time penalty for checking in early. Somebody clearly wasn’t smiling on Alick and Drew on Saturday, because their car then picked up two punctures on the same side on the same stage shortly afterwards.

Nonetheless, with other Junior crews dropping off the radar as the day wore on, Kerr and Sturrock knew that if they got to the end in one piece it would greatly help their title aspirations. A stage time eight seconds faster than class leader John McClory’s Honda Civic Type-R on the penultimate Ae North run gave a clear indication of Alick’s potential behind the wheel, and a sensible run through the final stage secured the points.

“All in all it wasn’t the best of days, but we got to the end and picked up some points,” reflected foundry engineer Kerr. “The electrical problem was sorted by the second service but by then we had lost fifteen minutes. And then after that the car got two punctures on the same side in Greskine, which made it much harder to drive.” “Our second run through Ae was good, as we took eight seconds out of class rival John McClory in there,” added 18 year-old Drew. “John’s Honda Civic has got a brand new engine in it and has had a lot of work done to it over the first few rallies of the year. That makes it a very competitive machine so we were pleased to be able to beat it.”

Alick and Drew now have to dust off their passports again as they prepare to head to the next round of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy. The Swansea Bay Rally will take place on Saturday, 19 July 2008, and the young crew are targeting a good result in what will be the backyard of many of their rivals. “We’re down to Wales again for the Swansea Bay, having already been there this year for the Severn Valley Rally,” explains Alick. “Hopefully we’ll get a good result because we need it for the Fiesta Sporting Trophy and it gives us
something else to focus on alongside the Scottish Championship campaign.”

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