DARLINGTON rally driver Guy Wilks grabbed an early advantage as this year’s RACMSA Rally of Scotland burst into action last night.

After Friday evening’s ceremonial start against the grand backdrop of Stirling Castle, the competitors immediately headed off for two tricky timed runs through the renowned Carron Valley Forest with darkness making the opening pair of speed tests tough challenges.

Having spent the past two days driving slowly through all 19 special stages, the drivers were well aware of the tricky conditions laying in wait, recent rains making the gravel tracks treacherously slippery in places.

Watched by huge numbers of spectators under a chilly starlit sky, the early action was predictably spectacular, fiercely fought and drama-packed.

Wilks, winner of the event in 2009, was first to show his hand in his Peugeot UK-backed 207 – setting the early pace to top the overnight leader board 4.4 seconds clear of last year’s victor Juho Hanninen. The Finn, though, is well placed in the fastest of the Skoda Fabia S2000s.

“It’s a good start but there’s still a long way to go,” said 30-year-old Wilks. “We could have pushed a little harder, but we didn’t want to take any risks and it’s paid off.”

Swedish ace P-G Andersson caused the biggest shock claiming third place for the Proton team – eight places clear of his team-mate Alister McRae in the second of the Satria Neo S2000s who holds 11th place.

Next up in fourth was promising 21-year-old Irishman Craig Breen in his Ford Fiesta to make it four different manufacturers in the top four positions. Underlining the international nature of the event the top six on the overnight leaderboard represent six different countries.

There was bad news for one of the local Scots, David Bogie. The newly crowned British and Scottish Rally Champion suffered an intercom failure in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX and has dropped more than a minute behind the leader to languish in 18th place.

“It was a disaster,” he said. “The intercom failed on the third corner. We couldn’t have had a worse start.”

That said neither Irishman Robert Barrable (Skoda Fabia S2000) nor Scot Graeme Schoneville (Honda Civic Type-R) completed the night’s stages.

The surviving crews now face a further 17 special stages totaling around 110 competitive miles all run against the clock in the forests of Perthshire and Stirlingshire before this year’s Rally of Scotland winner is crowned at Scone Palace near Perth on Sunday afternoon.