# 2017 Scottish Rally Championship

The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises seven gravel surface events.
The 2017 season began in the snow-covered forest tracks around Inverness on 18 February, with the season finale taking place around Castle Douglas on 9 September. Driver Jock Armstrong and regular co-driver Paula Swinscoe started the season as defending champions having won the 2016 Championship.
Aberdeen based haulage company ARR Craib sponsored the series for the fifth year in a row.
Following the Grampian Stages in August Euan Thorburn and regular co-driver Paul Beaton were declared champions in their Ford Fiesta R5. With only one event left to run the pair were uncatchable in the points table.

## 2017 calendar

For season 2017 there was seven events held predominantly on gravel surfaces.
| Round | Dates | Event | Rally HQ | Surface | Website |
| 1 | 18 Feb | Snowman Rally | Inverness | Gravel / Snow | (website) |
| 2 | 18 Mar | Border Counties Rally | Jedburgh | Gravel | (website) |
| 3 | 22 Apr | Speyside Stages Rally | Elgin | Gravel | (website) |
| 4 | 20 May | RSAC Scottish Rally | Dumfries | Gravel | (website) |
| 5 | 24 Jun | Argyll Rally | Dunoon | Gravel | (website) |
| 6 | 12 Aug | Grampian Stages Rally | Banchory | Gravel | (website) |
| 7 | 9 Sep | Galloway Hills Rally | Castle Douglas | Gravel | (website) |

### Calendar changes

Due to calendar changes within the British Rally Championship, the Scottish Rally, usually held in June was brought forward to May. June, meanwhile welcomed a new event to the calendar, the Argyll Rally which saw a return to the forests of Cowal after an absence of 14 years.

## 2017 events podium

| Round | Rally name | Podium finishers | Podium finishers | Podium finishers | Podium finishers |
| Round | Rally name | Placing | Driver / Co-Driver | Car | Time / Diff leader |
| 1 | Snowman Rally (18 February) | 1 | David Bogie / Kevin Rae | Škoda Fabia R5 | 37:51 |
| 1 | Snowman Rally (18 February) | 2 | Shaun Sinclair / Jamie Edwards | Subaru Impreza WRC | +0:58 |
| 1 | Snowman Rally (18 February) | 3 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | +1:20 |
| 2 | Border Counties Rally (18 March) | 1 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | 43:32.4 |
| 2 | Border Counties Rally (18 March) | 2 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:30.5 |
| 2 | Border Counties Rally (18 March) | 3 | Mike Faulkner / Peter Foy | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | +0:30.5 |
| 3 | Speyside Stages (22 April) | 1 | David Bogie / Andrew Roughead | Škoda Fabia R5 | 51:55 |
| 3 | Speyside Stages (22 April) | 2 | Desi Henry / Liam Moynihan | Škoda Fabia R5 | +0:39 |
| 3 | Speyside Stages (22 April) | 3 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:42 |
| 4 | RSAC Scottish Rally (20 May) | 1 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | 42:10.1 |
| 4 | RSAC Scottish Rally (20 May) | 2 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | +0:35.2 |
| 4 | RSAC Scottish Rally (20 May) | 3 | Shaun Sinclair / Jamie Edwards | Subaru Impreza WRC | +0:58.9 |
| 5 | Argyll Rally (24 June) | 1 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | 32:38 |
| 5 | Argyll Rally (24 June) | 2 | Jock Armstrong / Paula Swinscoe | Subaru Impreza | +0:04 |
| 5 | Argyll Rally (24 June) | 3 | Shaun Sinclair / Jamie Edwards | Subaru Impreza WRC | +0:31 |
| 6 | Grampian Stages Rally (12 August) | 1 | David Bogie / Kevin Rae | Škoda Fabia R5 | 41:17 |
| 6 | Grampian Stages Rally (12 August) | 2 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:58 |
| 6 | Grampian Stages Rally (12 August) | 3 | Paul Bird / Stuart Louden | Ford Focus WRC | +1:21 |
| 7 | Galloway Hills Rally (9 September) | 1 | Jock Armstrong / Cameron Fair | Subaru Impreza | 39:35 |
| 7 | Galloway Hills Rally (9 September) | 2 | Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton | Ford Fiesta R5 | +0:03 |
| 7 | Galloway Hills Rally (9 September) | 3 | Shaun Sinclair / Jamie Edwards | Subaru Impreza WRC | +0:44 |

### Notes

* 1 2 3 Crew was not registered to score points towards the Scottish Rally Championship.

## Drivers' championship standings

| Pos | Driver | Car | TSR | BCR | SSR | SCO | ARG | GSR | GHR | Points |
| 1 | Euan Thorburn | Ford Fiesta R5 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 28 | ** | 171 |
| 2 | Jock Armstrong | Subaru Impreza | 26 | 30 | 21* | 28 | 28 | 27 | 30 | 169 |
| 3 | Shaun Sinclair | Subaru Impreza WRC | 28 | 3* | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 28 | 162 |
| 4 | Mike Faulkner | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 | 21 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | Ret | 151 |
| 5 | Mark McCulloch | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 | 22* | 25 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 148 |
| 6 | Michael Binnie | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 5 | Ret | 19 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 124 |
| 7 | Donnie Macdonald | Ford Fiesta R5 | 20 | 12 | 22 | 23 | DNS | 22 | 24 | 123 |
| 8 | Iain Wilson | Subaru Impreza | 16 | 22 | 14 | Ret | 19 | 18 | 23 | 112 |
| 9 | Simon Hay | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 6 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 20 | Ret | 108 |
| 10 | Rory Young | Ford Fiesta R5 | 25 | 26 | DNS | 25 | DNS | DNS | 27 | 103 |
| Pos | Driver | Car | TSR | BCR | SSR | SCO | ARG | GSR | GHR | Points |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Non-podium finish |
| Purple | Did not finish (DNF) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| Blank | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blue | Nominated dropped points |
$^{**EuanThorburnfinishedsecondoverallontheGallowayHillsRallybut,havingalreadywontheSRCtitle,wasnotregisteredforSRCpoints.Thiswastoavoidaffectingchampionshiprunner-uppositions.}$
Points are awarded to the highest placed registered drivers on each event as follows: 30, 28, 27, 26, and so on down to 1 point. At the end of the season, competitors nominate their best 6 scores out of the 7 events as their final overall Championship score.