Fine weather expected for opening stages

As excitement builds for the ceremonial start of the 2010 RACMSA Rally of Scotland, the BBC is forecasting clear skies for the opening stages.

The spectacular show is flagged away this evening at Scone Palace near Perth, home of the historical Stone of Destiny and where former kings and queens of Scotland were crowned. The high-speed competition then switches to more traditional rally country – the legendary forest gravel tracks of Perthshire and Stirlingshire. Saturday’s challenging stages are in the Tay region mountains to the north-west of Perth, while the Trossachs provide a stunning backdrop to Sunday’s action before the mid-afternoon ceremonial finish at Stirling Castle. The route totals more than 800km, with some 200km of those made up of competitive special timed stages.

Mild weather in the run-up to Rally of Scotland has left the stages in excellent condition, although temperatures are forecast to fall from above the seasonal average to some way below it during the course of the weekend.

“We have just driven over the entire rally route and the special stages are in really good condition. It’s going to be a fast and fabulous event for both the fans and competitors,” reports Iain Campbell, Rally of Scotland Clerk of the Course. “There were some concerns that we might have to revise the opening stage in the grounds of Scone Castle after an historic 16th century arch was destroyed by a contractor’s van, but I’m delighted to say that we’ve been given clearance to run the section as originally planned.”