Snowman rally champion returns looking to win title for the third time
JOCK Armstrong says he is looking to score a hat-trick of Snowman Rally titles as he prepares to defend his crown in Ross-shire and Inverness-shire.
The 54-year-old from Castle Douglas claimed the Snowman Rally title for the second time in his career when he claimed victory 19 months ago with co-driver Hannah McKillop in a Subaru Impreza.
Now he is returning to the Highlands looking to win the championship for the third time when he gets behind the wheel this weekend, this time driving a Skoda Fabia.
Armstrong says he has every intention of defending his title on Saturday and is confident of his chances of coming out on top again.
He said: “I am not heading out to be second.
“If I get that smell of blood and the chance of success, I will be pushing harder than anybody. I will be disappointed if I am not on the podium. I would be delighted if I won and it depends who is also out there in the rally.”
Armstrong first won the Snowman Rally in 2011 and managed to follow up his success 12 years later when he came out on top in March 2023.
He says that last year’s victory was one of the most satisfying of his career, which has also seen him being crowned Scottish champion in 2015 and 2016.
He said: “Last year was probably one of the best wins of my career. I went on MRF tyres after doing a deal with a guy in a car park to put on them on.
“I met a girl called Hannah Mckillop to navigate for me. We jumped in the car with the tyres fitted on and I couldn’t have asked for any better. That has been one of the pinnacles for me and last season was a good one where we led the championship all year and missed out on the last round.
“This season I did the first round in my Subaru and I was fourth overall, I then jumped into the Skoda and did one rally and broke down first stage.
“I have not done a lot of seat time this year, but you still need to get an adrenaline rush and I am looking forward to it.”
Armstrong says that he is relishing the opportunity of going into the rally as the top seed in the competition. However, he knows there will be a quality field out there looking to take his crown.
“Being top seed always carries expectation, I will see where I am. I am still testing this car and that is a hard thing to do, to think where I need to go with it. The good thing is in the Scottish Championship, there is a lot of competition and there is no guarantee for anyone to win it. Even the boys at the top have no guarantee of winning it.”
Armstrong will be joined in the car with a different co-driver this year as youngster Owen Paterson will be helping him navigate through the course.
The driver is confident he will do a good job for him and is pleased to offer the opportunity to a youngster keen to progress in the sport.
“I am giving him the opportunity and hopefully he will be able to progress in his co-driving career from this. I have won the Scottish Championship and the Snowman Rally and you want to see other people to get the chance.
“I was desperate to rally when I was a kid and to give people that chance is a good feeling.”