FOLLOWING back-to-back victories in his new car, David Bogie says confidence is high going into Saturday's GWF Energy Merrick Stages Rally in south-west Scotland.

At the same time, the Dumfries driver and Hawick navigator Kevin Rae are fully aware that on the classic fast stages of the Galloway Forest, the Ford Fiesta R5+ could lose out to the more powerful Ford Focus WRC of main rival Euan Thorburn from Duns.

The Borderer - who won last year's Merrick alongside co-driver Paul Beaton – currently leads the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship after five events.

Thorburn, who has two wins and three second-place finishes so far this season, has a twenty-three-point cushion over Barry Groundwater, who is sitting out this round. Bogie, with three wins, a fourth-place, and a non-finish, is a further five points adrift in third spot.

With the final championship placings decided on the best six scores from eight, both Thorburn and Bogie know that the Merrick is a “make or break” round.

“Having lost out narrowly to David on the Scottish and the Speyside, we need to win the Merrick and the last two rounds if we're to have any chance of taking the title", said Thorburn.

Bogie, the five-time champion, is equally focussed about making it onto the top step of the podium: “Euan and I certainly need wins from now on. The cushion he has – if he doesn't get wins – means he can fall back on some good results, but when dropped scores come into account, the championship does take a fair shuffle. Ultimately it comes down to Euan and I driving as fast as we can from hereon in”.

He went on: “Certainly confidence is high after two wins from two. On the Speyside Stages, I felt I was handling the R5 a lot better - as it should be driven. However, on the downside, I think we could be at a disadvantage on the Merrick. The 1600 engine will be down on power compared to the 2-litre Focus, so I think we're really going to have our work cut out. If a win comes our way then we'll be happy – if not we'll need to keep focussed and concentrate on the remaining two rounds”.

Dale Robertson from Duns, co-driven by Tranent's Paul McGuier, will be targeting another maximum points haul in the Group N category in his Mitsubishi EVO 9. He now sits third in the points, after taking the class honours on the Speyside.

Among the 2WD entries, Steve Bannister and Hawick co-driver Louise Rae will be the crew to beat in their Ford Escort Mk2, while in Class 7, Callum Atkinson from Lauder, driving a Ford Fiesta, has a comfortable twenty-one-point lead in Class 7 for FWD cars up to 2000cc.

Kieran Renton from Coldstream, co-driven by Jedburgh's Dave Robson, currently occupies the runners-up spot in both the 1600cc class, and the Scottish Junior Drivers' championship in his Ford Fiesta R200.

In the battle of the Peugeot 205's, Duns' navigator Richard Simmonds will be back alongside talented young Kinross-based driver Blair Brown. The pair are presently second in the Class 3 standings.

Meanwhile, Duns' crew Colin Aitchison and Garry Pearson will be looking to get their championship campaign back on track after two successive DNF's in their Vauxhall Chevette HSR.

For the fifth successive year, the start and finish, as well as Friday night scrutineering, will be located in front of rally headquarters at the former county buildings in Wigtown.

Crews will tackle six stages in total. Three of them – Jenny's Hill, Drumjohn and Arroch Hill – are in the immediate Glentrool area, with another, Auchinleck, to the east of Newton Stewart off the A712. The remaining two stages - Black Hill and Balloch – are further north in the Straiton/Barrhill area, the first time the event has visited South Ayrshire for six years.

Clerk of the Course, Graham Bisset, said safety was the number one priority for everyone involved in the rally: “In terms of spectator safety, it's vital that those out watching the action are fully aware of the risks. Rally cars travel very quickly, and they can go off the road. We have warning notices at all the stage accesses, and there is detailed safety information in the event programme and on the website. Marshalls are positioned throughout the stages, but they can't be everywhere, so it's important that people look after themselves, and those around them. If there are any problems or concerns on the stages then we'd like to hear about them. For this year, we've introduced a spectator safety line, with the phone number publicised in the programme”.

Further details can be found at www.merrickstages.co.uk