Close your eyes for a second.
Can you hear it? The lift in the revs as Guy Wilks takes off over this crest and the Peugeot 207 S2000 that houses his floored right foot climbs towards its sensational red-line of 8500rpm.
All before the gearbox chatter as he hits the brakes to tackle the approaching corner.
This is all a mental image I’ve teased myself with after finding this spectacular shot from the 2011 Rally of Scotland on the Girardo & Co. Archive.
Because I’m a fool, and I never went to the event itself.
I have some excuses. I was only 14, so had no form of getting there myself. And in my childhood I lived an extra hour away from Perth & Kinross than I currently do in Edinburgh.
But my word, do I regret it.
“There’s always next year,” I thought.
Wrong.
For 2012, the UK’s round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge had moved west for the Circuit of Ireland instead.
My chance to watch international stars on righteous Scottish soil in cars, and in a series, that was captivating me more than the World Rally Championship was gone.
But this is the power of the Girardo & Co. Archive. It has the ability to thrill you, but also to make you feel regretful and frustrated.
Much like rallying itself, as Wilks found out on this particular event. Leading after the first three stages, the British driver slipped to 22nd after Errochty with a costly spin – which I remember watching on live television!
Not from the woods. I’m over it, I promise…
The weekend ended early when he lost a wheel on the final stage at Scone Palace. Quite remarkably, Wilks has only ever competed on one rally since.
The forests of Perth & Kinross remain similarly quiet, but I have blind faith that one day the noise will return.
Please.
