Provisional Leaderboard after SS2 (of 19)
1. Dave Miller/Andy Bailey (Subaru Impreza) – 20 Mins 56 Secs
2. James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Subaru Impreza) – 20m 58s
3. Eddie O’Donnell Jnr/Eddie O’Donnell Snr. (Ford Escort MkII) – 21m 26s
4. Doug Weir/Duncan Brown (Ford Escort MkII) – 21m 40s
5. Billy Bird/Plug Pulleyn (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) – 21m 41s
6.Denis Biggerstaff/Graham Thomson (Subaru Impreza WRC) – 21m 55s
7. Alex Taylor/Kim Baker (Subaru Impreza) – 21m 56s
8. John Swinscoe/Paula Swinscoe (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) – 22m 03s
9. Willie Bonniwell/Kevin Rae (Ford Escort MkII) – 22m 04s
10. George MacDonald/Ian Nichol (Subaru Impreza) – 22m 08s
(( Please note, this leaderboard is VERY provisional, and covers only those timecards received at the time of printing – it could well change.))
Day 1 of the 2005 Tunnock’s Tour of Mull Rally was dry and sunny and the weather forecast for the weekend was good, but as night fell and rally cars fired up in anger, the wind started to rise, and it started to get cold, very cold. Was that a spot of rain I felt?
And if you think the weather is uncertain, nothing is more uncertain than this sport. Within a mile from the start of the first stage, top seed Calum Duffy pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. It would appear that the Escort has suffered electrical problems. Then came number 2 seed and Neil MacKinnon had to pull over in the Subaru when the throttle body jammed. He lost time in the stage. He managed to get out under his own steam, but running late on the road he was catching cars in stage 2.
Tony Cope was off in the first stage for 3 minutes but got going again and Roger Binyon is reported off the road and so far hasn’t appeared at the Control here in Salen. Daniel Harper in the MINI is out with a broken gearbox, but John Cressey’s twin car is still going, although the suspension is not right and the brakes are fading on him. Tim Stell had a major 5th gear moment in SS2, and discovered that fear has both a texture and a colour. It’s soft and brown!
Dave Miller was quite pleased, faster on both those tests than he was last year. Denis Biggerstaff is going well too but feels the Subaru is ‘moving around’ on him a nd is thinking about raising the ride height of the car at service. George MacDonald has a serious misfire and Stuart McQueen is suffering gear selection problems and did SS2 in 3rd gear. Mark Durham who used to drive the Corsa Kit is enjoying his Mitsubis hi Lancer: “I should have got one of these years ago!”
Tony Bardy is finding the brake pedal going ‘long’ on him so will need to get that fixed at Craignure service and Dougi Hall is going well although he slid wide on one bend and lost a bit of time. Dougi also took time to remind Jaggy that he didn’t go off in Calgary last year as claimed in the programme, he broke a driveshaft! Oops. It looks as though Dave Thwaites is out in the ‘wide’ Escort, with engine failure and Paul Miller in the Sierra is report ed to be well off the road in SS1. Steve Davies is also out, mechanical problems in SS2. And possibly the shortest rally of the weekend? Pete Jackson’s gearbox failed on the start line of the first stage.
That’s yer lot for now, Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet,
Salen Hotel, 9.30 pm, Friday night.
Breaking News – Neil MacKinnon and Mike Stayte are out, OTL!
