ecoRally Scotland well underway on day one…
Following a ceremonial start and scrutineering on a balmy Scottish Friday evening, the 21 teams taking part in ecoRally Scotland were started at seeded one-minute intervals from Dundee’s Innovation Parc on Saturday morning.
The field saw a range of marques at both National and International level receive their regulatory route 30 minutes prior, before setting off across Tayside, conquering the infamous ‘Dragon’ stage and stopping halfway on the route at famed Scottish motorsport venue Knockhill.
With set times for crews to complete each stage, points are awarded for every tenth of a second out, with the daily total calculated at day end.
In the International Category one, reigning Vice-Champions, and current championship leaders of the 2025 Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup, Guido Guerrini, (San Marino) and Artur Prusak, (France) lead the pack at 31.1 seconds.
Bridgestone FIA ecoRally Cup Champions, Michal Žďárský and Jakub Nábělek, (Czech Republic), came in second with a 2.9 second difference, with the furthest-travelled team, Kalin Dedikov and Antoaneta Dedikova from Sofia in third.
Father-son team Gerard ‘Gerry’ McGill and Finlay McGill were top Brits overall at 60.6 seconds.
Within Category Two, works-backed Alpine A290 and by ten-time French rally champion Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Guigou, and co-driver Emilien Le Borgne head the field with 30 seconds of penalty on the clock.
In the National Class, Motorsport UK’s StreetCar programme winning regional contenders topped the field, with Sam Naylor and Iain Carr, who entered the Scottish Sporting Car Club event, placing first with 83.2 seconds – truly going from StreetCar contender to FIA Rally driver in under six months.
Previous winners of ecoRally Scotland, James Hoyles and Iain Tuillie placed second at only 5.3 seconds behind, at 88.5 seconds, representing Ilkley and District Motor Club.
With more stages to take on and range anxiety facing some marques, there remains a lot to play for on day two…