The Snowman Rally preview – who'll be ice cool under pressure?

THE 2022 Scottish Rally Championship gets under way on Saturday with the Snowman Rally – which looks set to be a hot contest.

Immediately catching the eye for the opening event is the return of the SRC’s most successful team – five-time champions David Bogie and Kevin Rae in their MINI WRC.

The 2021 championship runners-up, Jock Armstrong and Cammy Fair, will also be looking for a strong start to the campaign.

They will tackle the Snowman, which is based at the Black Isle Showground, near Muir of Ord, Easter Ross, in the iconic orange Subaru Impreza that has brought Jock so much success over the years.

Argyll winners Freddie Milne and Patrick Walsh endured a season of blinding pace and bad luck in 2021. But the rest of the field better watch out for the Ford Fiesta R5 crew.

Ian Forgan and Chris Lees were another team who impressed on their inaugural Fiesta season, leading the championship midway through the year. Refreshed parts are on the way from M-Sport as they continue to up their pace.

Last year also saw the resurgence of the Mitsubishi Evo, with Scott Beattie and Paula Swinscoe, and 2020 Snowman winners Michael Binnie and Claire Mole both taking the fight to the R5s.

They’re going to be joined by the returning Angus Lawrie, Ross MacDonald and Scott Macbeth – all young chargers capable of putting in some great stage times.

Also likely to be in the mix in the Evo battle will be the ever-improving Willie Paterson, fresh from a top 10 finish on the final round of 2021.

Donnie Macdonald is hoping to bounce back from a disastrous 2021 with long-time navigator Andrew Falconer in their Fiesta R2.

Mark McCulloch and co-driver Michael Hendry dominated the 2WD championship last year but take a leap into the unknown for 2022