He was one of many drivers who reflected on how tough the stages had been - particularly the first run through Ae Forest - which saw eleven retirements, plus many more who just made it to the end of the 14 miles with varying degrees of car body damage.
"It was really slippery and loose - very difficult - and we also had understeer on the car which we managed to put right by the afternoon," noted Faulkner. "At the end of the day we were third in the championship points so we'll see where it takes us on the next round."
Oban's William Bonniwell in his Subaru Impreza, and Stonehaven's Barry Groundwater at the wheel of his Evo 9, traded stage times throughout the day to finish fifth and sixth overall respectively - the gap between them a mere 3 seconds by the end.
Groundwater took top honours in GpN, ahead of class leader Steven Clark, who admitted he had been 'fortunate' to make it to seventh, after going off a couple of times in his Evo 4.
Eighth spot went to non-SRC registered Jock Armstrong of Castle Douglas in a hired Evo 9 - the deal so 'last-minute' that he had only had one previous run in the car, on the eve of rally shakedown.
Dumfries farmer Rory Young continued his strong championship campaign with a ninth place in his Evo 5 – although he too found the first stage 'treacherous'. Paul Mackinnon had made the long journey to Dumfries from the Isle of Mull and was rewarded with a solid tenth-place finish in his Subaru Impreza.
The highest placed 2-wheel drive entry was Mike Horne of Duns who brought his Ford Escort home in 21st overall, twenty-two seconds ahead of Bruce McCombie who continued to dominate the 1600cc class in his Ford Puma.
![Dave Weston - Ford Focus WRC. SRC. [Pic credit: RALLY-PHOTO.COM]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/462990.jpg)
