The Scottish Malts 2025 Final Rally Report

The Scottish Malts Rally 2025 finished on Friday in front of the fabulous Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder. After five days of rallying, over 915 miles, the winners of the bi-annual regularity rally were car 12, the 1965 Austin Healey 300 of Ken and Sarah Binstead, closely followed by the 2023 winners, Dick and Harry Baines in the number 31 Porsche 911E, with Paul Hernaman and Ray Crowther rounding out the top three in the number 39 Porsche 924.

A total of 39 cars began the rally, with participants from as far away as America and Australia in a truly international field, on a route that ran a loop around Scotland, as far north as Inverness and as far west as the famous Isle of Mull, beginning and ending at the famous Gleneagles, as tradition dictates. Along the way the rally passed through unbelievably beautiful scenery, from coast to mountain top, and visited 14 distilleries, one of the USP’s of this particular rally, although it is important to add that the visits were strictly alcohol free.

Tight Fight goes the Way of the Healey

The fight for the win went down to the last, with just four seconds separating first and second place at the flag. Despite giving themselves a little catching up to do after day one, Ken and Sarah Binstead continued the good form that has seen them on a few HERO-ERA podiums in the last couple of seasons, most recently finishing third on the 2025 Summer Trial. They chipped away at the Baines, who were competing in a Porsche rather than their eponymous Austin Mini, using all their experience and guile to reel in the car ahead. The lead finally changed hands at the end of day three, and from there on in Ken and Sarah were not going to let it go, wrapping up a maiden win and finally getting to stand on the top step of the podium, after being so close recently.

Sarah Binstead: “We’re delighted, absolutely thrilled. It’s been a fabulous five days. You know, we’ve been on roads we probably would never take ourselves on. So, it’s a win on our first exploration of Scotland. Finally done it. We’ll make the most of it, we’ve got bragging rights now”

Ken Binstead: “Couldn’t relax. We’d come up here for a holiday, and we ended up with an incredibly close competition, which is brilliant, all credit to the Baines’. You know, they pushed us all the way, and it’s not going to be an easy win at any stage, but you know, to be able to do it is great.”

Second Place for Former Winners

Second place would have to suffice for the incumbent event champions, though being in the fight for the win would no doubt have been satisfying for the Baines, as they were competing in a new car. But for the intervention of the event mechanics it may have been a different story, after the throttle cable on the Porsche snapped during the morning of the final day. Ironically, this event was always supposed to be a shakedown for the car, as father and son Dick and Harry look towards the Classic Marathon in a just over a week’s time. If this is how the shakedown goes, they can perhaps hope for even more from that event.

Dick Baines: “It’s very good, it went very well, yeah, really enjoyed it. A nice car, if we can get the repairs done to it later in there, we’re going to hopefully ship off on Thursday to drive over there. [Geneva]”

Harry Baines: “It’s been a good, good bit of competition. Well done to Ken and Sarah, you know, they’ve done a great job. We’re very close three or four seconds, and we were very thankful to Bob and Pete, the sweeps who got us on the road this morning. The throttle cable snapped in the middle of Oban, just off the ferry. So, we’re pleased with the event.”

The top two were relatively out on their own at the front, with Paul Hernaman and Ray Crowther 38 seconds behind the fight, as they rounded out the podium, a position that they had occupied since the second day of the five-day rally. They had secured the position by a good margin, with 23 seconds back to James and Gill Holt, fourth and winners of class 4 in the Mercedes Pagoda, and in truth always had the chasing pack at arm’s length. Navigator ‘Crow’ is a bit of living legend in the sport, so no doubt his presence on the podium will be a popular one, despite electrical issues in the Porsche threatening the result.

Paul Hernaman: “Yesterday was a little bit dramatic for us. We lost the electrics, but fortune was in our favour. We managed to keep going because of other people’s problems, and here we are on the podium. Chuffed.

Ray Crowther: “Yep, absolutely delighted. I was going to say earlier on, I remember the way I used to watch the top gear with the rally reports, Colin McRae and Tony Mason. And Colin would say, No problem, Tony. We had plenty of problems!”