ARC / RD5 / ARGYLL RALLY 2024
21/08/2024WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW SCOTT
The 2024 Protyre MUK Asphalt Rally Championship continued its Scottish tour, moving northeast to the scenic Cowal Peninsula for the fifth round of the championship.
The Argyll Rally, run by the experienced members of the Mull Automobile Club, boasted significant expertise in organizing closed-road events and had prepared an outstanding event for 2024. Based once again at Dunoon Stadium, this year’s weekend offered 75 stage miles of top-class closed-road rallying, spread over two days. After two runs through the fan-favorite Dunoon Town Centre on Friday, five stages in the surrounding countryside lay ahead, several under the cover of darkness. This was followed by a further eleven stages on Saturday.
The event itself has a rich history. Originally known as the Burmah Rally, it began in the early 1970s as a gravel rally. It quickly became a key fixture in the British Rally Championship, drawing competitors to the region. The rally was renowned for its battles through the local forests, featuring legends of the sport such as Roger Clark and Jimmy McRae. In 2017, after a thirteen-year hiatus, the Argyll Rally reappeared on the British rallying calendar, switching to using closed public roads in the region. This change has since propelled it to become one of the most well-respected rallies in the UK.
LEG 1 (SS1 – SS7)
The weekend began with the traditional blast around Dunoon town centre, where a packed crowd lined the streets to witness the start of the event. Hugh Brunton’s Skoda Fabia R5 emerged with a narrow three-second lead over Mark Kelly and Hugh Hunter, who were tied for second after the tricky double run of the opening test. The ‘proper’ rally commenced on stage 3, with crews tackling four closed road tests taking them into the dark. Initially down in seventh place after the streets of Dunoon, Callum Black and Jack Morton quickly made up ground.
They recorded the fastest time on the Tarsan Dam test, clocking in four seconds quicker than anyone else and moving into the overall lead. Black edged out Mark Kelly’s Fabia by four seconds, with Hugh Hunter another second further back, his comintment clearly evident over the Jump (below). Meanwhile, Hugh Brunton, after his early lead, had dropped down to fourth overall.
PHOTOS: CALLUM BLACK & JACK MORTON | MARK KELLY & WILL ATKINS | HUGH HUNTER & ROB FAGG | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Friday night’s leg consisted of seven stages, and as darkness fell, Black’s lead grew. He gained an additional 4 seconds on Mark Kelly in the following stage and then extended his advantage by a significant 38 seconds over the next three stages as night fully set in across Scotland. Mark Kelly and Will Atkins were holding second place until they clipped a rock on the final stage of the night, causing their Fabia R5 to lose a wheel and forcing them to retire from the event. Hugh Hunter and Rob Fagg also had to retire late on Friday after a heavy landing in their Fiesta Rally2 injured the driver’s back. These two retirements elevated Neil Roskell and Dai Roberts in their Fiesta Rally2 to second overall, 41 seconds behind Black, despite co-driver Roberts feeling under the weather. Hugh Brunton moved up to third, while William Hill and Richard Crozier in the Fiesta Rally3 car advanced to fourth, over 2 minutes behind the leader.
PHOTO: NEIL ROSKELL & DAI ROBERTS | HUGH BRUNTON & DREW STURROCK | BY ANDREW SCOTT
| POS | LEADERBOARD | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 C.BLACK / J.MORTON | 21:39 |
| 2 | #2 N.ROSKELL / D.ROBERTS | +41 |
| 3 | #5 H.BRUNTON / D.STURROCK | +1:16 |
| 4 | #18 W.HILL / R.CROZIER | +2:17 |
| 5 | #19 D.ATKINSON / P.SANDHAM | +2:34 |
LEG 2 (SS8 – S18)
The morning loop consisted of stages clustered around Loch Fyne, including the fast and challenging Bealach Maim over the hills before dropping down Lochside, and the quick blast along the shoreline of SS12 Loch Fyne. The Leg finishing over the Whistlefield pass to the North of Dunoon. early Saturday morning, Black was to prove unstoppable, winning all six stages before the service and extending his lead to a massive 1:40 with five stages remaining in the final loop. Neil Roskell and Dai Roberts consistently secured second place in every stage but one, gradually losing time to Black while steadily increasing their gap from Hugh Brunton. Brunton was third on every stage except Bealach Maim, where he finished second. However, going into service, Brunton was a minute off Roskell in second place.
PHOTO: CALLUM BLACK & JACK MORTON | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Meanwhile, William Hill and Richard Crozier maintained their fourth place overall in the little Fiesta Rally 3, despite dropping time to Weaver Motorsport’s Jerseyman James Labey. Labey impressively climbed from ninth to fifth over the six morning stages, just 21 seconds behind Hill heading into the afternoon loop. Labey’s resurgence pushed the leading 2WD crew, Darren Atkinson and Phillip Sandham, down to sixth, trailing just three seconds behind the Fiesta ahead.
PHOTOS: WILLIAM HILL & RICHARD MORTON CROZIER | JAMES LABEY AND SION CUNNIFF | DARREN ATKINSON & PHIL SANDHAM | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Heading into the afternoon loop, the Callum Black/Jack Morton juggernaut continued its dominance, winning every stage until the final test, SS18 just over three miles through Whistlefield. Neil Roskell and Dai Roberts managed to take that stage by a solitary second. This victory was exactly what Black needed after a somewhat mixed start to the year, where despite having the pace, luck and other factors had gone against him. This result firmly put him back into contention for the Asphalt title race.
PHOTO: CALLUM BLACK & JACK MORTON | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Neil Roskell, as the event runner-up, elevated himself to second overall in the championship standings. This also meant that Dai Roberts took the lead in the co-driver standings.
PHOTO: NEIL ROSKELL & DAI ROBERTS | HUGH BRUNTON & DREW STURROCK | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Hugh Brunton and Drew Sturrock continued their impressive rally, finishing in third place—a result they were happy with despite earlier gearbox issues. The first non-Rally2 crew home was the Rally 3 Fiesta of William Hill and Richard Crozier. Despite struggling to find a rhythm at times, they managed to mix it with much more powerful machinery and secure a brilliant fourth place. James Labey pushed hard throughout the afternoon stages but couldn’t quite catch Hill, ultimately finishing a frustrating 3 seconds behind him at the end of the rally.
PHOTO: WILLIAM HILL & RICHARD MORTON CROZIER | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Despite the unpredictable weather, which alternated between dry and wet conditions, Darren Atkinson thrived in his MK2 Escort. On Friday night, he experienced a major scare, and on Saturday morning, he lost his intercom. Despite this, Atkinson, alongside his co-driver Phil Sandham, who celebrated his 75th birthday during the rally, secured sixth-place Protyre Asphalt points. Finishing sixth and continuing his consistent approach to the season propelled Atkinson to the top of the series standings, positioning him for a potential test drive with M-Sport in a Puma Hybrid Rally1.
PHOTO: DARREN ATKINSON & PHIL SANDHAM | BY ANDREW SCOTT
| POS | FINAL LEADERBOARD | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #1 C.BLACK / J.MORTON | 1:00:58 |
| 2 | #02 N.ROSKELL / D.ROBERTS | +2:04 |
| 3 | #5 H.BRUNTON / D.STURROCK | +3:26 |
| 4 | #18 W.HILL / R.CROZIER | +5:50 |
| 5 | #28 J.LABEY / S.CUNNIFF | +5:53 |
“Delighted to come away with back to back Argyll wins with Jack. We really enjoyed the stages and managed to control the pace from start to finish. The Friday nights stages were a challenge in the dark, some of the most technical pieces of road the U.K. has to offer. Then we used Saturday to try some new tyres and set up combinations, winning by 1min 59 seconds. Really Impressive job by Jack on the nots, I think that’s the most demanding road for a codriver to get the pacenotes out in time. Thanks mate!”
Callum Black
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVERS TABLE | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DARRAN ATKINSON | 114 |
| 2 | NEIL ROSKELL | 109 |
| 3 | CALLUM BLACK | 107 |
| 4 | SIMON BOWEN | 101 |
| 5 | WILLIAM HILL | 93 |
NEXT TIME
The Protyres Asphalt Rally Championship we relocate into Wales for the Tour of Epynt Rally, and a day two affair over the infamous roads of the military ranges.
