Ulster Rally role for Scott by Sammy Hamill.

Reproduced from a Belfast Telegraph article in 1980.

Peter Scott, one of Ulster’s leading navigators, is switching roles to become Clerk of the Course of the 1980 Belfast Telegraph Ulster Rally.  He is to take over from Victor Lea, who has had to relinquish the role because of business commitments.

Much of the preparation for the Hanley-Henley Tarmac Championship rally on August 22/23 has already been completed by Lea and his committee, and Scott, a regular competitor on the event in the past, will step in and finalise the plans.

A vastly experienced competitor who has co-driven on international rallies with most of Ireland’s top drivers, including Billy Coleman, Cahal Curley, Ronnie and Dessie McCartney, and most recently Bertie Fisher, Scott is also Secretary of the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs, the body responsible for the rally’s organisation.

It will be his first time in charge of an international rally, although in the past he has been involved in the organisation of rallies at all levels.

Scott’s most recent event was the Donegal International Rally where as partner to Fisher they were in second place when their Ford Escort was involved in a crash which injured five spectators.

“Having been involved in an accident like that, one of my priorities, naturally, will concern safety for both competitors and spectators alike” he says.  “If I feel spectators are behaving irresponsibly, I will have no hesitation in cancelling stages.”

This year’s Ulster Rally will cover a 500-mile route with 28 special stages totalling 250 miles.