Dale prepares for Scotland
With the Scottish Rally only a few days away, Justin Dale and the Peugeot Sport team have been testing in the Scottish forest. Although it was hoped to debut the new Peugeot 206 on this event, a lack of parts means that once again Justin and co-driver Andrew Bargery will start the event in the proven 106 Super GTi.
"Obviously I want to be out in the 206", commented Justin, "but the Welsh proved the 106 is still a competitive car and able to win events outright. It's now over a year since I last rallied competitively in the forests, so in some ways it's an advantage to at least be in a car I know well."
In preparation for the event, the team spent a day testing in the forests south of Ayr, close to the Scottish stages. The only significant change from last year's gravel set-up is a new tyre pattern. The Michelin Z-pattern tyre has an asymmetric tread - which in theory means the tyre will be ideal for the Scottish stages, combining straight-line grip with traction in the corners.
The Scottish Rally is based in Dumfries in South West Scotland and includes some of the classic Scottish stages. Two runs through the 19 mile Ae stage form the 65% of the rally, with the remaining stages all about 5 miles - Windy Hill (run twice), Castle O'er and Twiglees (shortened due to Foot and Mouth concerns).
The event starts on Friday 14th September, with two passes over the stages to write pace-notes, followed by scrutineering and the official start in Glasgow. The rally proper gets underway at 08:00 the following day, returning to Dumfries at about 16:00 after 6 forest stages.
9th September 2001
