Rallying: Scots rally bigger and tougher than ever

Scotland's biggest annual motorsport event, RallyScotland, gets under way in the grounds of Scone Palace near Perth today. And the three-day rally, the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Championship which will generate in excess of £2 million for the Scottish economy, has become bigger and tougher since the inaugural event 12 months ago.

"Over the two days there is actually about four miles more competitive distance to be covered and the challenge is greater," clerk of the course Iain Campbell, who masterminds the 12-stage, 122 competitive miles rally, explained yesterday.

"There is a loop of three stages on Saturday which the crews tackle twice, and another loop of two stages they run through again twice on Sunday; that's tough for everyone.

"The Saturday stages at Craigvinean, Drummond Hill, Errochty are true Scottish classics and will test the drivers, and while Sunday's test in Clashmore is tough, the two runs through the 18-miler at Loch Ard in the Trossachs will sort the men from the boys.

"Last year many of the drivers, including Kris Meeke and Alister McRae, said Loch Ard was the best rally stage in the world. That's huge praise, but we always intended RallyScotland to be a difficult test.

"Alister has already stated, he feels this could be the hardest event on the calendar due to each stage having a distinctively different character.

"We'll find out if that's the case when the event finishes on Sunday."

Finn Juho Hanninen comes into the three-day event as champion-elect, having an insurmountable lead in the title race ahead of his Skoda team-mate Jan Kopecky, who sits-out the Scottish event.

But three British drivers — last year's IRC champ Meeke, McRae and 2009 RallyScotland winner Guy Wilks — head into the gruelling forest tests determined to be on the top step of the podium at Stirling Castle on Sunday.

McRae, the former British champ, now based in Perth, Western Australia, is keen to get back out into the forest stages he knows so well and compete in front of his home support.

"I haven't competed in Scotland since last year's RallyScotland," McRae, who has contested the Asia-Pacific Championship and starts today bidding to improve on the second place he achieved in his Proton Satria S2000 12 months ago, said.

"There's nothing like rallying in front of your home fans and I'll be doing everything I can to go one step better than last year and finish on the top step of the podium."