While much of the attention on next Saturday's Colin McRae Forest Stages will focus on the rally legends contesting the event in memory of the 1995 world champion, there are some important loose ends to tie up in the County Saab MSA Scottish Championship.
Jimmy Girvan secured his second Scottish title after David Bogie crashed out on the Merrick Forest Stages earlier this month. The spotlight on this final round will now switch to Group N for showroom-spec cars - in which Steven Clark leads Barry Groundwater by a single point - and the fight for the Junior Championship.
These contests will be played out in front of what are expected to be huge crowds, who will flock to the famous Perthshire stages to witness a true one-off event in memory of Colin McRae who died in a helicopter crash a year ago, along with his son Johnny, and family friends Ben Porcelli and Graeme Duncan.
Those competing include world champions Bjorn Waldegaard, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomquist and Louise Aitken-Walker, and a string of British and Scottish title holders - headed by Jimmy and Alister McRae, with, amongst others, Russell Brookes, Malcolm Wilson and, notably, Andrew Cowan, who won his Scottish crown in 1976, and went on to set up the Mitsubishi Ralliart world rally team.
Steven Clark, who will have experienced co-driver Michelle Falconer on board, is determined to put on a good show in front of the crowds on what is likely to be his last event at the wheel of his 11-year-old Mitsubishi Evo 4.
"My car is up for sale but I won't be holding back because of that,” Clark said. “There will be thousands of spectators expecting to be entertained and we'll do our best to put some smiles on faces.
"The only way I can be sure of winning Class 8 and GpN is to beat Barry so I'll be going flat out from the start - and with the event being a tribute to Colin McRae, who was always flat out it's the best way to show my respect for an amazing talent."
Clark has been doing the sums, and outlined the various permutations: "Barry needs to finish fifth SRC crew or above to have any chance of taking GpN", he explained. "Sixth would see him finish on the same points as me, assuming I didn't improve on my score, but I would take it by virtue of having a higher best score.
"If Barry finishes 5th, then I need to be 6th or better to win. If he finishes 4th, and I am 5th, we would both be on the same score, each with a 26, two 25's, two 24's and a 23 as our counting scores. However, I would take the title, since I scored my 26 earlier in the year. If he finishes 3rd or above, I must beat him to take it!"
