28/08/2026
Another weekend, another adventure 😅
Last weekend we were back on the road after a rare weekend off, and you guessed it… back to Ireland it was!
This time, we would be doing our own little Circuit of Ireland it would seem, with two events on in two different places — the Down Rally taking place in Banbridge on the Saturday, followed by the Galway Summer Rally in Ballinasloe on the Sunday.
Thursday and the weekend got off to a great start when some Glasgow traffic slowed the progress for myself and Robbie, leaving us with just 9 minutes to spare for check-in for the boat 🥴. As we just made it on time to collect Tom, all was well… somehow.
Friday and both Fiestas were scrutineered and ready to go, with only the small (mighty) task of keeping Brian happy and making sure his camper was parked exactly to his liking 📐
Saturday now and Ross and Alan were well on their way to Ballinasloe for scrutineering for Sunday’s event.
Drew Gallagher and Charlotte McDowall would pair up once again in the now familiar Fiesta S2000T. After being given a nominal time on Stage 1 due to an accident, they were already on the back foot. With time to be clawed back, they plugged away all day, only for a sensor issue to stop the car on the final stage. Thankfully, it was only temporary and they managed to make it to the finish, but not without dropping a fair chunk of time in the process 😔
Brian “Red Bull” Watson and Sean Donnelly were back out, mainly to slag the absolute s*** out of each other and, secondly, to do a rally. And there was plenty of the first one, let me tell you 📝🔭👀
Brian was looking to get the better of his fellow Fiesta driver, close the gap and generally improve his speed. There was certainly nothing wrong with his speed when it came to dishing out insults about my service-area parking 😆 However, after all that, they managed another clean run and came out on top of the Fiesta battle. Better than average, some may say 😏
Down Rally done, it was time for Robbie and I to hit the road again, heading for our overnight stop in Athlone. A very nice town, but apparently a town with about three parking spaces, none of which were suitable for a van and trailer anyway 🤦🏽♂️ Apologies to anyone trying to park in the train station 😬 With the lads in Galway having both cars ready for the morning, our work was done for the day.
Sunday and both cars were ready to start, thanks to Alan and Ross… which we didn’t hear the end of 🥱
Gordon Morrison and Ashleigh Will were the first of the two cars competing, getting pretty used to these Irish stages by now, that was certainly reflected in the times. Montana must have got out of bed on the right side this time as he was on a mission. Maybe helped by the sushi and wasabi he had for breakfast.“Here Scott, taste that wee sauce.” No thanks, not for me 🤢🥵
Without a drama or a mark on the car, they finished the day 8th overall and 3rd in class. Another great result from the pair.
Ross Hunter and Chris Dodds were back out after their good run at the Jim Clark in May, looking to keep their Stellantis Cup hopes alive with another clean run. Unfortunately, a poor seeding meant they were already on the back foot and, even once reseeded, they still lost a lot of time through missed stages and nominal times. On the stages they did manage to run, however, all was well in the 208. They eventually finished 42nd overall and 4th in the Stellantis Cup. It was smiles all round in camp, especially from Bunny, I’d say, who was absolutely in his element piloting his new camper 😆
Rally done… but myself and Robbie weren’t.
We still had another mission on our hands — a 3hr 30 journey back north for an early morning start on Monday to collect a car for a new customer 👀, before a quick dash back to the boat to meet up with the other two, who had a very chilled Sunday evening in comparison 🙄
Jokes aside, another top job from all the lads involved. Everyone just getting on with the job, no matter how much abuse Brian throws at us 💪🏽🤣
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CRSpics.com Irish Rally Photography
Paul Donnell, A Biker With A Camera
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Now, while the weekend may have sounded full of fun and banter, it unfortunately wasn’t.
We, along with the whole of the Scottish rallying community, woke up on Saturday to the incredibly sad news of John Wink’s untimely passing.
A man who we had very few dealings with, but that didn’t matter to John. He was the sort of man who would never walk past you without stopping for a chat. He always had time for a conversation and was just a genuinely nice man. It’s a real reminder that, while we all spend our weekends chasing times, results and the next event, the people within this sport are what make it what it is. Our thoughts are with John’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.