1999 – Murmur Chapter 3

MULLMURMURSMULLMURMURSMULLMURMURS – Chapter 3

– published on the island, during the event by Jaggy Bunnet

Provisional Top Times after 4 out of 22 Special Stages:

1	Chris Griffiths/Aled Davies	Subaru Impreza	24:11
2	James MacGillivray/Brian Kennedy	Mitsubishi	24:45
3	Dougi Hall/Gareth Williams	Ford Escort	24:54
4	John Price/Caroline Broad	MG Metro 6R4	25:00
5	Callum Guy/Fred Bell	Vauxhall Astra	25:09
6	John Cope/Tony Cope	Ford Escort Cosworth	25:13
7	Daniel Harper/Les Reger	Vauxhall Astra	25:28
8	William Bonniwell/Ali Campbell	Ford Escort	25:41
9	John Cressey/Ian Grindrod	Vauxhall Astra	25:52
10	Rob Barry/Alan Whittaker	Mitsubishi	26:04
11	Steve Smith/Alistair Douglas	Subaru Imreza	26:06
12	Doug Weir/Duncan Brown	Nova 1600	26:09

Treat these times as a guide only, these are merely times of the first cars running on the road … Early reports indicate that the Vodafone Millennium stage through Tobermory was a roaring, if trifle noisy, success. Apparently Chris Griffiths' anti-lag system echoing off the walls was spectacular while Pricey's V6 sounded minted.

So, leading the 30th Philips Tour of Mull Rally at this early stage is 3 times runner-up Chris Griffiths, but he's having his moments, "Every year I forget just how bumpy the roads are up here. I can't soften the car any more, so I'll just have to hang on".

Lying second is James "Jock the Bull" MacGillivray, first time out in a 4WD car, "I'm just getting the hang of it, this'll take some getting used to".

But the big news is that last year's winner, Callum Duffy appears to be out. Reports indicate that the Escort clipped the armco in Gribun damaging a wheel and the suspension … Eddie O'Donnell also appears to be out in the same stage, having gone off the road, but the crew are OK … George Hill has also joined the 'disappeared', the Mitsubishi left the road at the first junction in SS2 … Daniel Harper hit a pot hole at Dervaig which knocked the tracking out and the Astra is not handling too well at present … Mark Hudson broke the clutch cable at the start of SS4 which caused a bit of anxiety but he did the stage and reached service.

And finally, two years ago at the Ceilidh Place in Craignure the 'delicacy of the day' was 'Reindeer Droppings' (choc chip cookies) and last year it was 'Highland Cow Pats' (choc biccies with raisins), this year, Susan (Mine Host) has excelled herself with 'Sticky Peat Boggies' (corn flakes in treacle and chocolate). They are awfy tasty, but so sticky you won't be able 'to go' for a week – they don't half make yer cheeks stick together!

That's yer lot meantime, look out for more news later.
Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Craignure, Friday, 11:30 pm.

Published October 13, 2007

2007 – Murmur Chapter 5

MullMurmurs – Chapter 5

Provisional Leaderboard after SS8 (of 19)

1 Neil MacKinnon/Daniel Barritt (Subaru Impreza WRC) 54 Minutes 35 Seconds
2 Dougi Hall/Andy Richardson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 55m 29s
3 John Cope/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza WRC) 55m 58s
4 Paul Kirtley/Jim Kitson (Subaru Impreza) 56m 34s
5 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (BMW MINI Cooper S) 56m 51s
6 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 57m 03s
7 John Swinscoe/Paula Swinscoe (Mitsubishi Lancer) 57m 32s
8 Tristan Pye/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 58m 09s
9 Tony Bardy/Reg Smith (Hyundai Accent WRC) 58m 41s
10 John Cressey/Stan Quirk (BMW MINI Cooper S) 59m 30s

The 38th Tunnock’s Tour of Mull could be renamed ‘Things that go bump in the night’ going by recent events, after a steady start, the scenery is now taking a pounding. But let me begin with an apology. Although I had the correct order in my previous top ten leaderboard, I mis-heard some times and it must have looked like amateur gibberish, but then again, I’m getting too old to be up this late at night or early in the morning depending on your point of view.

But the big news is that Calum Duffy is out. He made it through the third stage but it would appear that his earlier ignition and alternator problems were unable to be resolved. And just when it looked like MacKinnon Jnr was going to give the ol’man a hard time, Neil turned it up a notch, just one second off his own 2004 Calgary record and equalling John Cope’s 2004 record over Mishnish Lochs. Unbeknownst to him though, son Paul was in trouble in Calgary, two punctures dropping him out of the top ten. Pressure off, but this is such a cruel sport, is it not?

It’s also an unfair sport. Despite heroic efforts to get the car ready (again) for Mull, the O’Donnell twins are out. The Escort is parked well off the road in Calgary – through a hedge! Dougi Hall has leapt into 2nd place but John Cope is still there, so too is Paul Kirtley despite a big ‘off’ in Calgary, but just look at Harper in the MINI and now Cressey is in the top ten too despite a big spin in Calgary, and another at Dervaig. John Swinscoe is pleased, he’s just gone under 7 minutes over the Lochs for the first time and Lyndon Barton is just getting back up to speed after his recent big ‘off’ in Epynt. Willie Bonniwell punctured in Gribun and had a huge spin while Stuart McQueen was in serious trouble – he nearly ran out of cigarettes. And how’s this for a bit of luck? Mike Storrar’s clutch failed at the finish of the final stage, and it was downhill all the way to the Tobermory Control, so he made it, and lives to fight another day.

Further down the entry list, Ian Ackroyd (117) is out in SS2 after a bump in which he broke his arm so he was carted off to Salen Hospital …. Alan McLaughlin (78) is out too, after he parked his car on the beach – quite a few yards from the road in Calgary ….Derek Carless (85) has retired with mechanical problems …. Andrew Smith (94) crashed in the Lochs …. and Malcolm Davey (111) is out too which is a great pity. He was dedicating this event to the memory of Howard Turner who died in Yorkshire just a couple of months back …. Louise Thomas (131) is out too, so her charity fund raising efforts won’t be as great as they could have been …. Rod Brereton (154) has parked his new Clio off the road in the second stage …. Dave Dalgleish (124) retired with either gearbox or clutch failure …. Norman MacPhail (134) is off in SS4 ….and Shug Rutherford (122) lost all his oil pressure.

Time for a tea cake, Tunnock’s of course, and bed.

Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Tobermory, 2.30 am, Saturday

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