The Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally

SATURDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2024

August 16th, 2021

1981 winner will mark the 40 year Anniversary by competing on 2021 event

The winner of the 1981 Galloway Princess Rally, Stanley Orr, will compete on this year’s Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally to mark the 40th Anniversary of his event win. The organising committee are delighted to mark the occasion by offering Stanley an Entry Fee of £75 – the same as the fee paid in 1981.

Northern Irishman Stanley, from Killinchy in County Down, was just 22 years old when he took his standard Group 1 Ford Escort to victory on the 1981 Galloway Princess Rally.

The event was sponsored by Irish Sea operators Sealink from 1979-1981, and was temporarily renamed in honour of their new vessel, Galloway Princess.

Contested by 108 starters, the 50-mile rally was based in Castle Douglas and contested over 10 stages, including Dundeugh, Tairlaw and Glentrool, as well as Glengap, Fleet and Clatteringshaws, which are still used on the event to this day.

Joint Clerks of the Course on the day from event organisers Solway and East Ayrshire Car Clubs, were David McHarg and Norman Gowans, with the latter still an integral part of our small committee to this day.

Stanley and Co-driver John Armstrong spent the day in a close battle with the Ford Escort RS 1800s of Bill Dobie/John Ayres and Robin Farrington/Dave Oldfield, before taking a 10 second victory.

Stanley and current Co-driver Graham Henderson will use this year’s Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally as a warm-up for November’s Roger Albert Clark Rally, a five-day marathon event contested over 350 miles of stages across England, Scotland and Wales. As well as an Entry Fee of £75 – the same as the fee paid in 1981 – Stanley will also run with number ‘40’ on the doors of his Ford Escort RS1600.

Results from the 1981 Galloway Princess Rally can be viewed in our Results Archive.

Photo of Stanley in action on the 2018 Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally © John Lindsay