Alick Kerr - Merrick Forest Stages

Lanarkshire rally driver Alick Kerr heads south to Newton Stewart this weekend for the Merrick Forest Stages with all still to play for in the County Saab Scottish Rally Championship. Bothwell-based Kerr and Aberdeenshire co-driver Drew Sturrock return to action in the Leaker Direct Rangemaster Fiesta ST after a hernia operation forced Alick to sit out the previous round of their campaign.

The 20 year-old driver is relishing the challenge of taking on the famous Glentrool forest complex as he looks to close the gap to his Scottish junior title rivals. With final scores derived from competitors' six best scores from the eight championship rounds, there's still time for Alick (20) and Drew (19) to take honours in the hotly contested class if they finish the season strongly.

‘We need to go out and score well on both of the remaining rounds of the year if we want to take the junior title - and I'm up for the challenge!’ declared foundry engineer Alick. ‘After being pipped at the post last year I want to go one better this season, and if things go our way I think we can still do it.’

‘It was disappointing having to sit out the last round, but my hernia operation was brought forward so I had no choice but to go in the week before the rally,’ continues Kerr. ‘Stevie Brown, who has been my main rival this season, has also dropped three scores already, so both of us are going flat out to the finish from now on. It's brilliant to have someone in the same car as us to measure ourselves against, but we can't forget the three Peugeot 205 challenge drivers who are also in the title hunt.’

In addition to going for honours in the coveted Scottish junior series, Alick and Drew are also in contention for top spot in the SRC's Class 6 for front-wheel drive cars under 2000cc.

And if the junior title race looks like going down to the wire, the Class 6 battle is set to be even closer - as well as sparring partner Brown in the identical Fiesta, Kerr and Sturrock have Glasgow construction boss John McClory to contend with. ‘John's Honda Civic is of a much higher specification than our car so he's going to be flying,’ explains co-driver Drew. ‘However, on our last outing we were quicker than John when our car was going well so hopefully we'll have the edge on the Merrick.’

Just one week after the Merrick, the Leaker Direct Rangemaster Fiesta ST will be heading back down to Dumfries and Galloway for the Autumn Stages in the scenic grounds of Drumlanrig Castle. The Autumn Stages will provide an excellent opportunity for Kerr to gain more experience behind the wheel of his car as he prepares for the final round of the Scottish Championship - and with four-wheel drive cars excluded from the Autumn, Alick has the chance to score a brilliant outright result.

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