It was a case of so near and yet so far for Lanarkshire rally driver Alick Kerr on the Colin McRae Forest Stages as the youngster came agonisingly close to snatching the Scottish junior  championship at the death.

Kerr (20) and Aberdeenshire co-driver Drew Sturrock (19) turned in a near flawless performance in the Leaker Direct Rangemaster Fiesta ST to score maximum class points, however results elsewhere determined their fate. Meanwhile, the pairing took their best result to date in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy as they continue to get to grips with the car.

Despite being based in Perth, the Colin McRae Forest Stages was effectively Kerr’s home event – as well as being the only Fiesta round hosted north of the Border, it is also run by the Coltness Car Club of which Alick is a member. So the foundry engineer was understandably delighted to have produced a fine drive in a season blighted by bad luck and finish his Scottish Rally Championship campaign in style.

“That was good for a change. We managed to go puncture and problem free, which was a pleasant surprise after all the troubles we’ve had,” admitted Alick, who sealed the SRC’s Class 6 and runner-up spot in the junior championship. “I didn’t think I had started the day that well, to be honest, but when I saw the timesheets I noticed I was actually doing quite well.”

Although Alick and Drew returned to Perth town centre at the end of the rally as first Scottish junior crew, they were dependent on the misfortune of others if the junior crown was to fall their way. And in spite of some late drama that saw eventual champion Mark McCulloch push his car over the finish ramp with a broken clutch, Kerr finished second junior for the second year running.

Some fine stage times also saw the Scottish crew mixing it with usual Fiesta Sporting Trophy frontrunners Meilyr Evans and James Everard, beating them by fifteen and nineteen seconds respectively.

“We had a bit of a push on today to ensure we did everything we could to take the juniors, and it felt like we were really quick all the way through the Errochty stage even if it was a bit bumpy and scary in places,” commented Kerr. “We could have been quicker still if it hadn’t been for a spin and a stall on the third run which cost us between fifteen and twenty seconds.”

“We felt much more confident on the Scotmaps notes, as we are more used to them and know how they work,” added co-driver Sturrock. “The notes definitely helped us, and overall it was a good day with no problems.” Further information on the team can be found at www.alickkerr.com