MULLMURMURSMULLMURMURSMULLMURMURS – Chapter 8
– published on the island, during the event by Jaggy Bunnet
Provisional leaderboard after SS17 (of 20)
1 Harper/Campbell (Mitsubishi Lancer) 2 Hr 04 mins 51 secs
2 MacKinnon/Stayte (Subaru Impreza WRC) 12h 05m 08s
3 Duffy/Duffy (Ford Escort MkII) 2h 09m 22s
4 Cope/Cope (Ford Escort Cosworth) 2h 10m 34s
5 Colman/Colman (Nissan Sunny) 2h 13m 35s
6 Swinscoe/Whittaker (Ford Escort MkII) 2h 13m 53s
7 Bird/Pulleyn (Ford Sierra Cosworth) 2h 14m 03s
8 Durham/Mort (Opel Corsa Kit) 2h 14m 50s
9 Baird/Quirk (Mitsubishi Lancer) 2h 15m 17s
10 Miller/Bailey (Subaru Impreza) 2h 15m 42s
Daniel Harper still leads after 17 out of 20 stages of this 33rd Philips Tour of Mull Rally but the gap between him and Neil MacKinnon is reducing. It’s down to 17 seconds but what a duel. Harper was faster over SS16 and MacKinnon faster over SS17 so there is very little between them at present. It’s dryish and cold out there on the dark roads of Mull this October night but the competition is white hot. As for MacKinnon, he says: “I’m starting to get the hang of this thing now!” Duffy is still third, but in addition to a non-existent clutch, the seat collapsed under him at Calgary and he had to wedge himself up with his elbows! Behind him, John Cope is a worried man. The oil pressure took a dive over Mishnish and he’s not sure what’s wrong. Ian Colman was almost caught by Billy Bird in the long one: “I don’t like that stage and don’t usually go well on it so it wasn’t unexpected,” said Colman. John Swinscoe is on a charge and is putting both Bird and Colman under threat and in fact has now overtaken Bird for sixth and has his sights set on the Colman Nissan. But it’s now Mark Durham’s turn to strike trouble. A rear wheel bearing on the Corsa Kit has collapsed and that puts his 8th place in severe doubt. John Baird is up to ninth: “I had a big heroic moment in there, with Stan shouting at me ‘keep it in, keep it in’, he also took time to remind me that there was more grip on the black stuff than the green!” Brian Cameron lost all his lights at the start of the long one and it looks as though John Cressey is out, the Astra on its side in Mishnish. Also out is Willie Bonniwell with a blown engine. He caught and passed Tim Stell in the long one and Tim couldn’t see through the black oil cloud for the next 5 miles before it cleared! According to Theo Bengry: “Another 5 days of this and I’ll get the hang of this.” Doug Weir’s still going despite putting the Nova in the water at Dervaig – again! The reason for Martin Healer’s retirement was engine failure. After Friday night the engine was pumping oil into the water! … Jim McDowall was working late in MacKay’s Garage, the water pump failed this afternoon prompting a change in the Lotus engined Avenger. And finally, the reason behind Chris Paton’s ‘brand new’ Nova was not simply a rush of blood to his wallet, apparently (allegedly?) it was a 25th wedding anniversary present. According to wife Mary he’s taking it easy because he doesn’t want to bend it or mark the bright red paintwork. This is Chris’ 32nd Philips Tour and co-driver Dave Cabena’s 33rd.
Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, The top of Tobermory, Saturday, 11:00 pm
