IRC Scotland - Day 1: SS1 ~ SS7 (Updated)

SS1

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

2) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

3) Keith Cronin (Abarth Punto S2000)

4) Adam Gould (Team BF Goodrich)

5) Daniel Siguroarson (Mitsu Evo)

6) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

SS2

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

2) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

3) Alastair Fisher (Mitsu Evo)

4) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

5) Daniel Siguroarson (Mitsu Evo)

SS3

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

2) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

3) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

4) Dave Weston Jr (Subaru Impreza)

5) Alastair Fisher (Mitsu Evo)

SS4

1) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

2) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

3) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

4) David Bogie (Mitsu EvoIX)

5) Dave Weston Jr (Subaru Impreza)

SS5

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

2) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

3) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

4) Alastair Fisher (Mitsu Evo)

5) Dave Weston Jr (Subaru Impreza)

SS6

1) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

2) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

3) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

4) Jonathan Greer (Mitsu EvoIX)

5) David Bogie (Mitsu EvoIX)

SS7

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000)

2) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000)

3) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000)

4) Jonathan Greer (Mitsu EvoIX)

5) David Bogie (Mitsu EvoIX)

Overall (Day1 - SS1~SS7) UPDATED

1) Kris Meeke (Peugeot 207 S2000) 56m35.3s

2) Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000) +21.2s

3) Alister McRae (Proton Satria Neo S2000) +1m18.2s

4) Jonathan Greer (Mitsu EvoIX) +3m49.1s

5) David Bogie (Mitsu EvoIX) +3m54.2s

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McRae and Proton doing well in Scotland

Zoom A hard-fought day it was

To the delight of his home fans, Scottish rally star Alister McRae has ended the opening day of Rally of Scotland in third place, with the Proton Satria Neo S2000 running perfectly throughout.

McRae admitted the torrential rain on this final round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge had created the worst driving conditions he had ever seen in his career: a career which spanned 15 years in the World Rally Championship. But, through this exceptionally tough test, McRae had nothing but praise for the Proton, built by British team MEM.

The Satria didn't miss a beat through today's five stages (Day One consisted of seven tests, but two of those ran at Scone Palace last night), allowing McRae to place the car in a comfortable third place at the end of the day.

"It's mission accomplished for today," said McRae with a smile. "It's been a very tough day on the stages, but I'm really happy with our position and the way the Proton has performed. It's been perfect."

McRae and Proton had the honour of running first on the road on Britain's inaugural IRC round, but the Scot admitted that position was a double-edged sword through some of the stages.

"In the last stage before the morning service and then in the two middle stages, it would have been better to have been further down the order," said McRae. "There was a coating of mud along much of these roads which would have cleaned a little bit for those guys behind. I guess the flip side is that we're not having any rocks pulled out into the road for us.

"By far, the toughest stage of the day was Drummond Hill. That was incredible, probably the toughest stage I've ever driven. It was incredible. We were getting wheelspin in third and fourth gear going up the grassy sections: that certainly kept you interested!"

McRae's only problem of the day was when the Proton's screen began misting up. "With this amount of water around, it's not surprising," he said. "This has been one of the wettest days rallying ever and if ever there's going to be moisture in the car, it's today. I think I might have added to the problem a little bit: I've been doing a bit of heavy breathing from time to time!"

The highlight of McRae's day was posting second-fastest time on the third stage, Craigvinean.

"We said a podium position was, sensibly, the best we could really have hoped for," said McRae. "And to be in this position at the end of the opening day is fantastic news. The drivers ahead of us know these cars, they've been in them all year, and the cars are completely developed.

"This Proton has massive potential still. We've made another step with the gear ratios, the engine and dampers here, but there's still more to come. And, don't forget, I haven't done so much driving this year. I'm very happy with where we are right now."

Proton MEM Team Principal Chris Mellors mirrored his driver's mood on Friday night, saying: "Alister has done a great job for us today. We haven't had to touch the car at all. We're very, very pleased with the way everything has gone today. So far, so good. It's a bit of shame that Alister has had to clean the road a little bit at the front, but it's always nice to have a Proton running first!"

After a day in the Perthshire stages, with central service based in the beautiful surroundings of Blair Castle between Perth and Inverness, the rally heads south-east for Stirlingshire tomorrow.

The second and final day of the event comprises six stages and, with even more wet weather forecast, the event is only going to get tougher from here until the finish at Stirling Castle Saturday afternoon. Source - www.rally-live.com