Motorsports:Bothwell’s Alick Kerr finishes second in the Snowman Rally.

Mar 4 2010 by George Topp, Hamilton Advertiser

BOTHWELL junior driver Alick Kerr got his 2010 Scottish Rally Championship campaign off to a superb start, taking second place in the Inverness-based Snowman Rally.

Kerr, who has teamed up with experienced Elgin navigator Neil Shanks for the season, turned in a composed drive in difficult conditions in the Leaker Direct Rangemaster-backed Subaru Impreza.

In the run up to the event, all talk was of the weather conditions that over 120 crews would face, and fresh snowfalls just before the event turned the Inverness countryside into a winter wonderland.

In the wintry conditions there were only really two tyre choices – snow or ice rubber – and Kerr’s decision to go with the former for the day proved to be crucial.

“From last year’s event, I knew how important the correct tyres were,” said Kerr. “For me, the obvious choice was to go with snow rubber.

“I was a bit worried because there was absolutely no snow in Inverness on Saturday morning but by the time Neil and I arrived at the start of stage one, we were certain it was the right choice.”

Despite feeling that they had been a touch conservative through stage one, their time proved otherwise and the pair, in their first rally together, were a strong second behind pre-event favourite Jock Armstrong in his Subaru

“It’s been a dream start to the season,” added foundry engineer Kerr. “I was targeting a top-five finish, but to get onto the podium is fantastic.”