Black wins Argyll Rally for second time

Black and co-driver Jack Morton stormed to back-to-back event wins, spraying the champagne in Dunoon town centre on Saturday night after finishing almost two minutes ahead of Euan Thorburn in his Volkswagen Polo R5, with Neil Roskell rounding out the podium in third in his Fiesta Rally2.

A bumper entry headed to the region for one of the biggest Argyll Rally on record, with some of the best drivers in the country assembling to tackle two days of closed road motorsport and around 75 competitive miles.

Made possible by the support of Dunoon Presents, the local community and the authorities, the weekend kicked off with the now traditional blast around Dunoon town centre in front of a packed out crowd lining the streets.

After the double run of the tricky opening test, it was Hugh Brunton’s Skoda Fabia who held a slender one-second lead over Thorburn heading into the closed roads proper.

Having been down in seventh after Dunoon, Black soon made headway up the leaderboard with the fastest time over the Tarsan Dam test, to sit just one second adrift of the Duns driver and by the very next stage, he was out front.

Seven stages in total made up Friday night’s leg and as darkness descended, Black’s lead increased.

A puncture for Thorburn added to the general uneasiness of the Scot’s feeling in the car and he would drop down to fourth by the overnight halt. Roskell moved into second with Michael Binnie third, although no one could match Black’s insatiable pace, leading by 41 seconds.

Saturday provided the bulk of the mileage and once again Black was unstoppable, winning every one of the six stages before service and opening up an unbeatable lead, taking 14 stage wins, overall victory and maximum Protyre National Asphalt Rally Championship points.