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Immediate
release.
21
October 2008
Scottish
visitors revel in the South Down Welcome.
Stornaway
Rally ace, Alisdair Graham and co driver Keir Beaton from Inverness
were by far and away the further most travelled competitors on
the recent F&M Contracts Down Rally.
The
2007 Scottish Junior Rally Champion undertook the epic 865 mile
round trip, which included a 3 hour ferry trip from the Isle of
Sky to the Scottish mainland, to reach the County Down town of
Castlewellan for round 9 of the Pacenotes NI Rally Championship
event.
And
while the event did not go quite as planned, the Scottish teenager
gained valuable experience and knowledge of the different type
of roads encountered around the Mourne Mountains region.
“We
competed on the Down Rally in 2006 but unfortunately retired with
suspension failure after setting some competitive times.
What
really struck us about our first visit was the really friendly
nature of the other competitors and the helpfulness of the event
organisers while we were there” said the Colin McRae Vision
supported driver.
“We
kept in touch with our new found friends and again in 2008 we
decided to make the trip across the Irish Sea”
Alisdair
and Keir made a good start on the 2008 event and were not far
off the class leader James Kennedy’s pace, but a wrong tyre
choice on the middle loop of the event and then lost 20 seconds
when they encountered a retiring competitor on the last corner
of the last stage dropping them back 3 places in the final results.
“It
was a little disappointing to drop a few places at the last, but
we thoroughly enjoyed the event and the experience and it was
great to get phone calls on the Monday after the event from our
new friends to make sure we had got home safely.”
Alisdair’s
plan for next year is to again tackle the Scottish Championship
and it is hoped that a few visits across the Irish Sea can be
arranged.
“Next
year we will stay a little longer so that we can really enjoy
the legendary Irish Hospitality”
ENDS
Background
notes:
The
2008 F&M Contracts sponsored Event attracted competitors from
Scotland, all the six counties of Northern Ireland, Donegal and
Dublin.
Several hundred spectators watched the event and availed of free
printed and on-line Event Guides.
Significant increases in takings have been reported by Forest
Service for cars and buses using the Tollymore Forest Park.
Local
Hotels and B&B’s also benefited from the increase in
visitors while the Rathfriland Motor Club utilised local business’s
to provide all the equipment and services required to run the
event.
The
event also enjoyed coverage in the local press and Radio and in
the UK Specialist Motorsport publications.
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