All you need to know: 2024 Speyside Stages rally as Huntly’s John Wink looks to build on strongest year

The new Scottish Rally Championship season gets under way with the McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages this weekend.

By Andy Skinner

April 18 2024, 3:00 pm

John Wink's Hyundai i20 R5 heads the queue at the 2022 Speyside Stages sponsors day. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson.

Huntly’s John Wink has plenty to build on when this weekend’s McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages kick-starts the new Scottish Rally Championship season.

Wink is fresh from his strongest campaign so far, having finished third in the overall championship standings last season with four podium finishes.

Following the postponement of the Snowman Rally earlier this year, this weekend’s event will start the championship for the first time in its 26-year history.

Wink says success at his home event would be the perfect way to start his pursuit of an even greater prize.

He said: “We had our best season by quite a bit last year. We are just looking to build on that, and progress it a wee bit further.

“It’s not an easy task, as everybody is out to do the same thing as we are. It’s just a case of trying to keep our heads together, and be as quick as we can.

John Wink (left) celebrates his runner-up finish at last year’s Snowman Rally, with winners Jock Armstrong and Hannah McKillip in the centre. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson.

“It’s the first round, so you are not going to win the Championship on the Speyside.

“It’s just about keeping a level head at the same time.

Consistency key for Wink to maintain success

“The key is to be consistent, but you need to be quick at the same time – consistently average is not going to be enough.

“We need to try and push on a bit, and try to get to that next step.”

After maintenance on his Hyundai i20 R5 paid off last year, Wink is hopeful he can benefit further from his latest upgrades.

Wink, who is seeded sixth for this weekend’s event, added: “We made some drastic upgrades to the car which took us bang up to date power-wise at the start of last year.

“We have now done the same with the suspension over this winter – so we are running out of excuses now.

“My co-driver, Neil Shanks, and I have sat together for a wee while now, we have been working on changing and adapting the notes, which came together well.

“We are using Michelin tyres which are working well on the car.

“I think it just all came together – but you need a bit of luck as well, and things to go your way.

“We avoided any bad luck moments, and kept out of trouble.”

‘Event has a different look’

Wink’s usual co-driver, Neil Shanks, takes on the role of clerk of the course for the Speyside Stages – which means Will Atkins from Whitchurch will stand in.

Looking ahead to the event, Shanks is pleased to have been able to overcome logistical challenges in the organisation of what he says will be something of a new-look spectacle this year.

Action from the 2023 Speyside Stages. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson.

Shanks said: “It’s a little bit strange to be sitting in the middle of April, with the season having not started yet.

“It’s nice to be the first round – it’s something that’s new for the event.

“I’m not going to lie, it has been a bit of a challenge to get organised this year for various reasons.

“The way we work with Forestry and Land Scotland has totally changed, and it has taken a long time to put things in place with a lot of teething issues.

“There have been a lot of issues caused by availability of forests for various reasons, so the event has a bit of a different look this year.

“We had to shelve the plans to continue with the Friday night section that we ran last year, which was unfortunate.”

Strong competition for top prize

Topping the seedings among the 95 entries is last year’s Speyside Stages champion Finlay Retson of Blairgowrie, along with his Inverness co-driver Paul Beaton.

Shanks feels competition for the top prize is as strong as ever, adding: “We are delighted with the quantity and quality of entries. In terms of quality, in the 25 years I have been doing this, I can’t remember there being this level of competition for potential winners.

“Anybody in the top-15 could win the event, which has never been the case before.

“We have two returning multiple Scottish champions in David Bogie and Euan Thorburn, who will add to the competition along with the guys who were battling for the win last year.”