Scott Macbeth claimed his very first Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) victory at the season-opening Tore Car Sales Snowman Rally on Saturday [February 14].
Co-driven in his Volkswagen Polo R5 by Andrew Falconer, the local Muir of Ord driver beat Icelandic crew Daniel Sigurðarson and Ásta Sigurðardóttir (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) by 17 seconds while early rally leaders Alexander Vassallo / Chris Lees (Ford Fiesta Rally2) completed the podium.
Bitterly cold conditions greeted the crews as they left the Black Isle Showground for six special stages in the forests near Inverness. Outlining how competitive 2026 is set to be, just one second separated the fastest three cars – Vassallo, Macbeth and Thomas Gray (Polo R5) – on the opening Ardendrain test, and it was similarly close on SS2 Balnain as Macbeth moved to the front but only be a second over Vassallo.
After a trip back to service, the rally’s longest stage awaited and would ultimately prove decisive. Conditions were extremely icy, but Macbeth was brave and kept his foot down to be rewarded with a strong 23s lead at the end of Millbuie. Vassallo didn’t quite have the same rhythm and slipped back to fifth, allowing SRC debutant Sigurðarson to assume second place.
Event organisers took the sensible decision of cancelling the second running of Millbuie, leaving Macbeth in preservation mode for the two final stages of the event.
Third fastest on SS5 and second quickest on SS6, the 33-year-old managed things perfectly to deliver a dream result for himself, and co-driver Falconer whose first and last SRC win was at the Snowman Rally in 2016, exactly 10 years ago.
Scott Macbeth said: “This feels really good, but I’m relieved to be honest – it was a very tricky day in those conditions. It’s the same for everyone but it’s very different to drive on ice and frozen gravel. We had a big overshoot on SS3 and lost a chunk of time which could have made things difficult for ourselves, but I’m delighted. It’s my home rally so it’s one you always want to win.”
Sigurðarson was similarly pleased in second place, having proved his pace against the experienced locals, while Vassallo made it back up to third despite a misfire on the final stage. Both drivers recorded their very first Scottish championship podiums.
Gray and co-driver Harry Marchbank missed out on the rostrum by a painful four seconds in his Polo while the experienced Bruce McCombie mastered the conditions to complete the top-five in his Ford Fiesta R5 alongside Neil Shanks.
Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry started the event as the number one seed in his striking Proton Satria Evo, which had been wrapped in yellow and red to pay homage to Barbara Armstrong’s factory Seat Ibiza Kit Car from the late 1990s. But it didn’t bring the Dumfries driver much luck as a puncture two miles into the first stage left him playing catch-up. He recovered to sixth.
Two-time Scottish Rally champion Jock Armstrong brought his distinctive Subaru Impreza back out after driving a Skodaru in 2025 with co-driver Owen Paterson. But he too suffered a disappointing Snowman; fifth after the first stage before he retired on the road section to the second with a fuel leak.
Martyn Erskine and Peter Carstairs produced a brilliant performance in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII to take victory in the Oakbank Challengers championship – placing a fantastic seventh overall ahead of Peter Stewart and Stephen Petch’s state-of-the-art Rally2 cars.
Mike Stuart and Clare Fraser were similarly stunning on their way to the G&M Mechanical Services Rally Preparation 2WD victory. Driving a historic-specification Ford Escort Mk1, the Alford driver was as high as sixth overall after two stages before eventually finishing 10th overall and 25 seconds clear of his nearest category rival Craig Rutherford.
Natalie Robinson and Sam Collis drove a strong rally too in their Peugeot 208 Rally4; Robinson claiming top points in the Questmead SRC Juniors category.
SRC chairwoman, Fiona Moir, said: “The 2026 season is up and running and what a fantastic event the Snowman Rally was. The championship would like to extend its appreciation to the entire rally organising team for pressing on with the event in these challenging times.
“Scott Macbeth and Andrew Falconer were very worthy winners of what proved to be a challenging event. We’ve seen Scott’s potential for years in the SRC so it’s fantastic to see him get that first victory – particularly at his local rally.
“This sets us up for a brilliant championship season with ultra-tight battles just not at the front, but throughout all the categories. The Border Counties is just three weeks away but it can’t come soon enough!”
The next round of the 2026 Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship is the Border Counties Rally, based in Jedburgh on Saturday March 14.
