McRae stamps his mark on home soil with BRC Jim Clark Rally victory

McRae produced one of the standout performances of his career to master the fast closed-road asphalt stages around Duns.

A stunning charge through Friday night’s darkness proved decisive, with the Pirelli-backed Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 crew fending off relentless pressure from Castrol MEM Rally Team duo Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss and Osian Pryce/James Morgan to claim a hugely popular home victory.

And it was an enthralling contest from the very first stage.

Pryce set the early benchmark aboard his Michelin-shod Yaris, edging out McRae by just half a second on the opening Bothwell test. Team-mate Evans responded immediately on the longer Abbey St Bathans stage, taking the fastest time and remaining firmly in contention as the crews headed into first service.

Behind the leading trio, Garry Pearson and Hannah McKillop [Fiesta Rally2] settled into fourth on home asphalt, whilst Sam Touzel/Max Freeman impressed on their British Rally Championship debut in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 to round out the top five.

But as darkness descended over the Borders roads on Friday evening, McRae came alive.

The Scotsman delivered on the repeated Bothwell stage, going seven seconds faster than Evans before mastering the night-time conditions to extend his advantage further. By the overnight halt, McRae and Fair held a commanding 12-second lead.

McRae wasted little time asserting himself again on day two, producing another blistering stage time to begin Saturday’s action. Any hopes of a Pryce comeback effectively disappeared soon after, however, when an overshoot cost the championship leader around 27 seconds on the opening loop.

Evans remained McRae’s closest challenger over the remainder of the rally and secured a second consecutive runner-up finish to strengthen their championship challenge.

At the front however, there was no stopping McRae. A controlled drive across Saturday’s remaining stages secured a hugely popular second British Rally Championship victory for the young Scotsman, and his first on home soil.

“This win feels pretty good” said an emotional McRae.

“This one came to us, not easily, but I think we had a really good rally this time. Compared to the Cambrian, this last stage was a lot less stressful!

“Massive thanks to the team, and luckily Dad [Alister, 1995 BRC champion] was over to witness this one. Obviously, this win is for Dai [Roberts] and James[ Williams] and their families”.

In taking his second BRC victory Max also created a little bit of family history - becoming the first McRae to win The Jim Clark Rally.

It’s also the first time a McRae has won a BRC event in Scotland since 1998.

The result has propelled Max and Cammy firmly into championship contention, only three points off the top spot after two rounds.

The British Rally Championship now enters an extended summer break following the cancellation of the Kielder Carlisle Stages, originally scheduled as round three of the series.

Attention will now turn towards the Grampian Forest Rally in August as the title battles prepare to resume later in the year.

As originally published on BRC.com