Jack claims third place overall in stage rally debut
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Castletown teenager Jack Ryan achieved a superb third place overall in his first experience of driving in a stage rally.
He was competing in the Annabelle Tennant memorial event as part of the Junior 1000 championship at Milltown, by Elgin, with Robin Nicolson as his navigator.
It was Jack's debut visit to the track and he met his navigator for the first time at scrutineering the day before the race.
There were five stages with five competitors.
Driving a Volkswagen Up, Jack (15) went off the back in stage one but finished with the second best time. He went off fourth in stage two but finished fastest.
Stage three was 12 miles long and his tyres were bald by this point so he dropped to third. Stage four was also 12 miles and, with no time to change the tyres, he came off twice.
Stage five was in the dark and Jack finished in second, securing third place overall.
Jack had rounded off his karting season in style at Golspie at the end of October.
He started heat one in pole position, and was leading the race, but the track was still very damp and he came off. He got going again and managed to finish in second place.
He started in second position in heat two and got up to first position, holding onto it until the finish.
Jack started in fourth place in the third heat. He was hit at the start of the race, doing a 360 turn, but fought back to first position.
He lost his position to Craig Stephen but in lap seven he passed Craig to regain the lead. However, a broken chain meant he did not finish.
Jack started the final in third position in horrendous conditions with the track very wet. He got up to lead position in lap two and maintained his position, finishing seven seconds in front.
Boyndie was the setting for the first round of the Northern Challenge. Jack didn’t have a great race, finishing sixth on the points table.
In the second round at Golspie he pulled it back to finish third overall.
In the team challenge the names are picked out of the hat. Jack, Jamie Mackay, Ryan McGinnes and Rhuraidh Macdonald, all from the North of Scotland Kart Club, won the challenge with the least points
Jack won the Gala Shield for the least points in the Junior Max category. He was presented with the Christopher Gale Memorial Award by Gordon Mackay, who said: “This year I chose Jack Ryan for the Christopher Gale Memorial Award. He had an excellent season of karting, he never gives up and has a fantastic attitude towards his racing."
