The 19th edition of the Flying Scotsman rally for vintage cars went down to the wire with the podium positions only decided on the final day of the 750-mile HERO-ERA rally from 12-14 April.
In the end, the event provided Paul Dyas with a maiden win, driving his 1937 Bentley with Mark Appleton. The win was unexpected because, going into the final day, it looked like Theo Hunt and James Galliver had the rally sewn up in their 1933 Frazer Nash TT Replica, but a sheared axle on the final leg put paid to their charge.
That left Dyas and Appleton not only in top spot, but with a healthy lead over their nearest rivals.
Dyas said: ‘A wet weekend in Scotland, what more could you want?! I’m absolutely chuffed to bits, couldn’t ask for more. Devastated for Theo and James, it’s not how we would want to win, but then that’s old cars.’
‘It’s actually the first time I’ve finished the event in the same car that I’ve started in,’ added Mark Appleton. ‘We look grumpy in the car but we’re always enjoying ourselves. Paul did so well, the way he throws the car around the tight tests is incredible”.
The pair won from Belgian Kurt Vanderspinnen in a 1928 Lea Francis Hyper , co-driven by Brit Iain Tullie, with the 1925 Bentley 3 Litre of Clint and Brad Smith in third.The Smiths came out on top of a ding-dong battle on the final day which started with podium sitters Stephen Owensand Nick Bloxham (Jaguar SS100) missing a timing control and receiving a 30 minute time penalty. That left a three way battle between Martin Hunt and navigator Bob Mannix, the Smiths, plus Anthony Boland and Anthony James (Talbot). In the final reckoning, the Smith father and son took third by just 21 secs.
