The Scottish Malts 2025 Final Rally Report

The Scottish Malts Rally 2025 finished on September 5^th in front of the fabulous Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder. After five days of rallying, over 915 miles, the winners of the biennial regularity rally were the 1959 Austin Healey 3000 crew of Ken and Sarah Binstead, relieved to finally take their first ever win after an epic and ultra-close contest with the 2023 Scottish Malts winners, Dick and Harry Baines in their new 1972 Porsche 911E, a total contrast to their usual Mini Cooper S. Paul Hernaman and Ray Crowther rounded out the top three in their Porsche 924S, surviving electrical scares to stay on the podium.

A total of 41 cars began the rally, with participants from as far away as America, Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, and Europe; a truly international field. The route 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.

The fight for the win went down to the last moment, 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, including finishing a very close second on the London to Lisbon in 2024. Most recently they finished third on the 2025 Summer Trial as the continued to knock on victory door.

They chipped away at the Baines, who were competing in a new Porsche rather than their eponymous Austin Mini Cooper S, 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. We’ve Finally done it, so we’ll make the most of it, we’ve got bragging rights now!”

Ken Binstead: “We couldn’t relax. We’d come up here for a holiday, and we ended up with an incredibly close competition, which is brilliant, but all credit to the Baines’. You know, they pushed us all the way, and it was not going to be an easy win at any stage, they would close to within three seconds and stay right on our tail! But finally, we were able to do it and get that elusive first win – great!”

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 in time, we’re going to hopefully ship off on Thursday to drive over there. [Geneva]”

Harry Baines: “The throttle cable snapped in the middle of Oban, just off the ferry from Mull but the mechanical assistance crews jumped in to help and get us back into the rally. So, we’re pleased with the event: “It’s been a good, a good bit of competition. Well done to Ken and Sarah, they’ve done a great job and congratulations to them on their first win. We were always very close, three or four seconds, but we are very thankful to Bob and Pete, the sweeps who got us back on the road this morning.”

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 was a popular one, despite electrical issues in the Porsche threatening the result.