Huntly rally driver and 63 Car Club (Elgin) member John Wink finishes KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championships in third place overall after just missing out on victory in Carlisle Stages final event
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Eight rounds of the KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championships produced four podium finishes and a spectacular overall third place finish for Huntly driver John Wink.
The Hyundai i20 R5 driver and 63 Car Club (Elgin) team-mate and co-driver Neil Shanks led for most of Saturday's Carlisle Stages Rally - the final event of the championships.
They were beaten on the very last stage by County Durham driver David Henderson and navigator Chris Lees, who went on to take the overall Scottish title when leaders Jock Armstrong and Hannah McKillop fell out of contention.
Wink hailed his best rally season yet, though there was a tinge of regret that he couldn't quite produce a maiden SRC victory at the weekend.
"It’s been so competitive all year but this was a good run and it was just a shame to not get the win - it was close," he said. "It was just seven seconds, all in the last stage.
"We went into the last stage equal with David and he just took a bit out of us. We tried our best, we didn’t leave anything in the stage, that’s for sure. Fair play to David for taking the time out of us.
"We had a good celebration afterwards. I'm really happy with my season, I've finished eight from the eight rounds and been on the podium four times, and there's been some close fourth places as well."
Wink and Shanks kicked off the season in style, finishing second at the Snowman Rally with Wink also claiming the John Horton Star Drive Award for his performance in the Highlands.
The next event was Wink's home club's event, the McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages where his navigator Shanks is clerk for the course, meaning he had to recruit Will Atkins as his co-driver for the day.
The new pair finished third at the Speyside, and back with Shanks alongside him, Wink seventh at the Jim Clark Reivers Rally before taking fourth at the Argyll Stages.
Another fourth followed at the RSAC Scottish Rally and the pair were a few seconds off the podium at the Grampian Forest Rally in round six.
A third-place finish at Galloway Hills and Saturday's second racked up enough points for the pair to pip Michael Binnie and Claire Mole to overall third spot, just 11 points behind winner Henderson.
"It started well at the Snowman and the Speyside was really good as well. We had some really close fourth place finishes as well, just a second or two from third," Wink added.
The Huntly driver recalls finishing third in the championship a few years back but could make no comparison to this year's performance.
"I may have managed that in 2018 but that was very different circumstances. It was how other people’s results had dropped rather than what I had achieved, to be fair.
"This is by far the best season and the best championship finish in terms of how close I’ve been to the front."
He paid tribute to the efforts of his Elgin-based navigator Shanks, who also finished as third-placed co-driver in the championships - which takes the best five results from the eight rounds.
Another Moray co-driver was highly-placed, with Michael Hendry just behind club mate Shanks in fourth spot in the championship ranks.
"Neil is happy as well and the confidence has been built with every rally with Neil sitting beside me. It’s a great partnership and I think we will just look to build on that.
"We have had a mega year, no silly mistakes and finishing eight out of eight says it all."
Wink also thanked three-time Scottish rally champion Ken Wood, who oversees the work on his R5 car, and said a considerable amount of work on the vehicle at the start of the season gained its reward.
"It's testament to Ken for looking after the car as wel. And all the support of my sponsors, it’s been fantastic.
"It’s a great championship to be involved in.
"We had an upgrade to the car at the start of the year which put us more in line with the power of our competitors. It’s down to the driving and the notes now as opposed to the car not being fit.
"The upgrade took the car up level with the other top crews and it was a bit more of a level playing field.
"Obviously the work that Neil and I put in and the commitment on the stages as well, it has all come together. It’s just hard work.
"If you want to be competitive at the front end of the championship then you’ve got to put in the work and keep a level head when needed.
"It can give us confidence for the future. The plan is to try and do the championship again next year and it would be good to start off on a high like we finished this year."
