Dougal Brown sets his ambitions for season
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Dougal Brown at the Gravel Sprint
CITY racer Dougal Brown is setting his sights on breaking into the Scottish Rally Championships’ top 10.
The 27-year-old revealed his targets after getting a much-needed confidence boost at the annual Fort Augustus Gravel Sprint last weekend.
Brown, who retired on the fourth stage of the season-opening Snowman Rally in Inverness due to engine trouble, believes he can now go full throttle for success.
“I am aiming to get into the top 10 in each round from now on,” he said. “Considering the engine problems we had in the first round, I took it easy in the last round and we finished 18th.
“But I now have a bit more confidence in the car because it is running well. It didn’t miss a beat through the Fort Augustus event so I plan to push quite a bit harder at the next event.”
Brown, who grew up in Kiltarlity and now lives in Muir of Ord, finished second at the Gravel Sprint in his Mitsubishi EVO 4.
He was delighted with the result after beating an old rival.
“Last year I was leading it pretty much all day and then Shaun Sinclair, who finished third this year, matched my time and won on a tie-break. So I was keen to beat him this year to make a point and I just managed that,” he said.
This year saw the introduction of electronic timing equipment with an accuracy of within one tenth of a second.
“I enjoyed it because it was almost like a day of testing,” Brown explained.
“We did the same stage six times so you can change the way the car is set up and try different driving techniques. Obviously since it is over the same course you can compare your times and see if it has made a difference.”
Last year Brown, an engineering manager who works during the week in Aberdeen, finished 26th overall in his second full rally championship season.
“I had some reliability issues throughout,” he added. “I only had three rounds that scored but this time I hope to do much better.”
Brown will miss the next championship event later this month for financial reasons.
“The problems we had at the Snowman Rally cost a few thousand pounds to resolve, but I will be back for all the races from June onwards,” he vowed. “That’s when I plan to push on and produce some great performances.”
