Kingdom Stages 2006

The Kingdom Stages Rally at Crail 2006

Local brothers John and Jim Rintoul have won the Kingdom Stages Rally for the second time in their career.

It was a third Crail win of 2006 for the lads, and they savoured it. The retiral of John Marshall on the second stage of the event certainly eased the pressure on the Rintouls, but there was no sense of 'what if'. Rintoul had been fastest on the first stage, five seconds faster than anyone else and a full 20 seconds quicker than Marshall.

And he was fastest on every other stage of the day. A convincing performance.

Run under blue but cold skies, the event was run over six stages, and Crail took its usual toll of the unfortunates. It had no sympathy for Junior WRC contender Barry Clark who missed a gear, 'buzzed his engine' and ground to a halt on the very first stage. Or for John Marshall, who took off his nearside front suspension on stage two. Or for Graham Redpath who broke a driveshaft on the same test.

A total of 27 crews fell by the wayside. But the rest drove on, enjoying the unique experience that is Crail in the autumn.

Apart from minor mishaps, everything ran smoothly until the first stage after the break. Alan Ross / Nicola Anderson had been pedalling their Fiesta like crazy all day but their run came to an end on this stage. Alan remembers hitting a tyre on the right front, then going over several times.

Marshals at the scene said the front wheel hit a tyre, the car went sideways, a rear wheel hit a tyre and the car rolled end over end. Nicola's helmet came off in the accident.

Alan had concussion, and was released from hospital the same night. He said he was pretty sore, but recovering. Nicola was kept in hospital overnight. She had a broken arm and concussion, but thankfully no more serious injuries.

GMSC and all those involved with the rally wish them both a full and speedy recovery.