With a history that dates back to 1968, the Scottish Rally Championship is Scotland’s premier rally series, unearthing future British and even World champions like Colin McRae over the years.
The only regional championship in the UK to offer competitors both Tarmac and gravel events, 2026 features seven high-octane events running from February to September, beginning with the Snowman Rally based in Muir of Ord, just outside Inverness.
The championship has attracted a stellar entry once more in 2026, with the contest expected to be more competitive than ever in the absence of the five most recent Scottish champions – David Bogie, Euan Thorburn, David Henderson, Garry Pearson and Andrew Gallacher.
The leading contenders
Two-time champion Jock Armstrong is the only Scottish drivers’ champion from the past 20 years on the entry list, returning to his faithful Subaru Impreza alongside co-driver Owen Paterson after driving a Skodaru in 2025.
Taking the challenge to the Castle Douglas driver is Dumfries ace Mark McCulloch, who finished second in last year’s championship behind the wheel of his homebuilt Proton Satria Evo. He and co-driver Michael Hendry have the honour of starting as car #1 on Saturday.
The rest of the top-10 is flooded with state-of-the-art Rally2 and R5 machines, headed by local Muir of Ord man Scott Macbeth who’ll be guided in his VW Polo R5 by Inverness’ Andrew Falconer. Macbeth’s is one of three Polos on the entry, along with Tore’s Thomas Gray (co-driven by Harry Marchbank) and Robert Adamson (co-driven by Harry Stubbs).
The Ford Fiesta is equally well represented, as Stephen Petch / Michael Wilkinson and Alexander Vassallo / Chris Lees each bring the latest Rally2 version, and SRC stalwart Bruce McCombie and returning co-driver Neil Shanks pilot the older-generation R5 model.
Making a welcome debut in the SRC is Icelandic driver Daniel Sigurðarson, who’ll be co-driven by his sister Ásta Sigurðarson. A well-known crew across the UK, the duo make the trip north for the Snowman in the car that won last year’s championship, the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, eager to test themselves against Scotland’s rapid drivers on their home turf.
Chasing category glory
There’ll be competition up and down the field at round one, with several competitors registered for the G&M Mechanical Services 2WD Championship, Oakbank Challengers Championship, Questmead Junior Championship, Haddo Energy Super Seniors and Groundwater Lift Trucks Subaru Cup.
Alness’ David Wilson leads the 2WD charge in his BMW ahead of last year’s champion Paddy Munro (Ford Escort Mk2), Ross Jarrett (Ford Escort Mk2), Craig Rutherford (Ford Escort Mk2) and event sponsor Ross MacDonald (Peugeot 208 Rally4).
Duncan Campbell returns to defend his Challengers title in his Subaru, Fraser McDougall and Robbie Wood will battle in the Juniors and five Imprezas have entered the Subaru Cup at the Snowman, led by Jordan Anderson.
SRC chairwoman Fiona Moir is looking forward to another season of Scottish rallying getting underway.
“It’s fantastic to be starting our season back up at the Snowman Rally, the traditional curtain-raiser for the Asset Alliance Group Scottish Rally Championship,” said Moir.
“We are delighted to welcome back so many returning competitors to this year’s championship, but also some new faces who could well upset the applecart. Our thanks to all of our partners and supporters for helping us create another competitor-friendly championship – I can’t wait for it to get underway.”
The 2026 Snowman Rally totals 42 miles split across six special stages, beginning at 8am from the Black Isle Showground and finishing at 3.45pm in the same location, where the service park is also held.
