The Lanark Highlands Forest Rally is back for its second year, and this year it’s a lot drier. The overcast sky above didn’t bring any rain, thus making this years rally a completely different experience from last years.

The event uses the Lavant Mill Road, which was used in the 1974 WRC Rally of the Rideau Lakes. The road will be run 5 times to make up the 50km of competitive mileage, and the competition couldn’t be hotter. Last years champion Nick and Kelly Mathew are returning, along with many OPRC regulars. This year also saw the surprise, last minute entry of Crazy Leo.

The competition was intense all day in all classes. Leo set the pace for his day right off the start, setting a new stage record of 6m56s. Right behind him was Nicola Narini, followed by Nick Mathew. Leo held his lead all day, but the fight for second was on. On the second stage, Nick took back second place by 4s. The next stage Nicola fought back, and was back in second by 3s. He would beat Nick Mathew in the next two stages, claiming second. The fight for fourth was also gearing up, until a slow final stage by Martin Donnelly solidified him in fourth.

The Group 2 class was dominated by Peter Kocandrle, finishing 6th overall. The battle for second and third came down to the wire between Sergei Grishechkin and Patrick Rainville, both drivers were fighting hard, finishing just 7s apart.

Group 5 saw only two entries this year; Martin Walter in his 91 Nissan 240SX and Thierry Menegoz in his 2000 Dodge SRT-4. Martin would go on to win Group 5. Production GT had three entries, with the winner being Warren Haywood. Production Sport had several entries, with a good battle between Eric McKinnon and Grant Riddell. The two drivers swapped stage times throughout, but a 1m penalty to Grant pushed him back to finishing second in Production Sport.

A great time was had by all, the day saw lots of smiles on both the competitors and the volunteers.