Garry Pearson is set to return to the ARR Craib MSA Scottish rally championship next weekend when the series heads to Elgin for the Speyside Stages – the second round of the 2018 season – with the Duns driver aiming to take the title he missed out on two years ago.
Pearson and co-driver Paula Swinscoe had planned a full season behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5 but missed the Snowman rally due to Pearson suffering a leg injury.
He said: “Paula and I are keen to win the Scottish rally championship together.
“Missing the Snowman has been a setback but we’re keen to get out there and experience the stages again while learning the pace of the R5.”
The McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages will be Pearson’s first competitive outing for 12 months, so he’s unsure where exactly he’ll be in terms of pace.
“After being out the car for a year, the Speyside will be a learning curve, but we’ll try to find a good rhythm and finish the rally,” he said.
“I haven’t seen the stages yet but I love the event and have had success there, winning it in the past.
“I imagine we’ll be starting with fresh notes and with virtually no time in the car I think the other lads will be at a higher pace than us.
“Considering our last outing was the Pirelli international event where we did just four stages and the time before that was six months prior to the Pirelli, we’ll be doing well to get into the top five.” In order to get round this problem, Pearson has been out testing his Fiesta R5, but budget constraints have meant he hasn’t been able to complete as many miles as he’d have liked.
“We’ve managed to get 15 miles on the back of somebody else’s test this week,” he said.
“That’s not many miles, unfortunately, but we couldn’t afford to do any more. I need to test out an altered driving style and find a starting point with the set-up for the Speyside.”
Lack of test miles aren’t the only problem Pearson faces as he gets back behind the wheel next weekend, though. The leg injury that ruled him out of the Snowman is still affecting him.
“Unfortunately, we’re not there (fully fit) yet,” explained Pearson, “but we need points. So the Speyside is a must-do event.”
Looking beyond the Speyside, Pearson is optimistic that he can mount a championship challenge providing he can get up to speed and get the car to the end of every event.
Pearson will be one of more than 100 crews starting the Speyside Stages.