Co-driver Hannah McKillop opens up on 'delight' after Borders Competitions Jim Clark Reivers Rally win
Hannah McKillop was Garry Pearson’s co-driver at this weekend Borders Competitions Jim Clark Reivers Rally
No sooner had she stepped down from the podium as the winning co-driver in the Borders Competitions Jim Clark Reivers Rally for 2026, Hannah McKillop was hunting out her passport for a return to the American Rally Championship.
The 32-year-old, who is from Northern Ireland but lives near Norham, is one of the top navigators in UK rallying. She first teamed up with Garry Pearson from Duns just over three years ago, but has also navigated for top Scots Jock Armstrong and Scott McBeth, and has guided Northern Irish driver Aoife Raftery through the European and American championships.
Raftery competed in the weekend’s Jim Clark Rally as well, finishing 20th overall, but she and McKillop have entered the American Rally Championship, and after finishing 12th in the Kubota Olympus Rally in Washington last month they head to Chillicothe for the Southern Ohio Rally on June 11th to 13th.
And McKillop acknowledged that it feels good to be heading back stateside with a new trophy in her bag.
“It’s been a really good weekend in the ‘Jim Clark’,” she said, “and I’m delighted for Garry particularly, to win his hometown event after a good few years of trying.
“We had a great battle with Garry’s fellow Duns driver Euan Thorburn and his co-driver Paul Beaton, and they pushed us all the way, but it was great to be standing on the top step [of the podium] in Duns Square.
“Now, I have to switch my thinking to Aoife, who is a different kind of driver to Garry, and get our minds around the American Championship, which is something different altogether, and then we’re back for an event in Donegal, and then I’ll be back for Garry when we decide what Scottish and British events we have next.
“But it’s great. I am very lucky that I have two extremely good drivers to navigate for and when everyone is in tune, and there’s full trust between driver and co-driver, there is no feeling like flying through a Borders or European or American countryside, totally in control, and coming out on top!”