Bob Wright wins MSA Marshal of the Year 2006

MullMurmurs – Chapter 1

Well, hullawrerrchinasanhowzyertastebudstinglin? Welcome one and all to the 37th running of the annual Tour of Mull Rally and an especially warm welcome to that harbinger of all things scrumptiously tasty, St Tunnock’s of Biscuitry, sponsors of ‘the best rally in the world’.

Things got off to a quietly rowdy start in the Aros Hall last night where a Scotsman, an Englishman, a Welshman and an Irishman gathered together for the pre-rally forum chaired by someone from another nation entirely (but we haven’t found out where), Mr John Fife. First time on the panel James MacGillivray represented the Scots and for someone who’s shy proved remarkably adept at the spoken word. John Cope was there on behalf of the English and determined to go well this year, the most ‘winningest’ man in British rallying and having driven more types of rally car than anyone else, John Price is back for another crack at the one event which has frustrated his trophy cabinet and Denis Biggerstaff is back – just for the craic!

But even before that Rod Brereton was up to his usual tricks on the Wednesday night running a music quiz in the MishNish and raised £275 for the RNLI while another on ‘good works’ duty was Dougi Hall. He cycled the full length of the 22 miler yesterday setting a time of 1 hour 7 minutes 33 seconds and averaging 19.94 mph for the trip – then he cooled down by cycling over the lochs! And the reason, he was being sponsored to raise funds for the bear Cubs, the groups of rallying youngsters that Steve Davies is helping out – and Dougi is still open for donations, it’s a good cause!

And just before the rally gets underway, make sure you get ‘tooled up’ for the weekend, the 2300 Club girls are selling Tunnock’s Tour of Mull gear in the Aros Hall and the fully informative programmes are on sale there too and many shops around the towns and villages. This is essential reading because it contains stage maps and timetables, without which you will see nowt to-night!

But back to the rally, Scrutineering opened for business at Tobermory Distillery where first through was Tony Bardy who has hired a Steve Petch Hyundai WRC machine in place of his Nissan. “It’s an early 50th birthday present to meself” said Tony – about one year early I thought.

John Swinscoe’s Lancer EVO9 looked mean. He brought it in direct from Japan and started prepping it on the 11th of September. Mark Jasper sounds as though he’s well prepared. He and Don Whyatt (2nd time at Mull) drive the stage once to make the Notes and then drove them once to check them! The Metro looks well after its ‘bump’ on Ulster: “I was leading at the time,” said Mark, “and doing 100 and something, then we went off!”

When asked why he had such a huge airbox on top of the Metro V6, John Price said: “It needs a lot of air!” Still, it’s cheaper than petrol I suppose. Next up was the MINI triplets of Daniel Harper, John Cressey and Ian Dawes. The cars have around 270 hp and 6 speed gearboxes built by Minisport. Daniel and John’s cars are the same as last year but Ian and Gary Dawes have forfeited their Astra in favour of the MINI. According to Daniel it’s a “2 Dawes model” (Think about it!).

Ian Colman appeared in his facelifted Nissan. He put it into Tony Bardy’s place for a checkup and they moved the intercooler from the top of the engine to low down at the front. More efficient, but more exposed!

Dave Thwaites has got a new 2.4 Duratec in the MkII in place of the 2 litre Vauxhall. It’s got more power and more torque and a big Atlas, with big diff and big shafts … Chris Tooze is hoping for a better run out on Mull than he had in Ulster. The Corsa shed a wheel 2 miles into the 1st stage … Eddie O’Donnell came through Scrutineering with clean hands! The car has actually been ready since June when he went to do the Donegal, only he didn’t. The cylinder head went porous and he had to withdraw his entry so all he had to do was get the engine rebuilt for Mull … Duggie Ingram’s Mini looks a bit of a handful with its Jack Knight 16 valve head and throttle bodies … and John Rintoul has new glasses, now he’ll actually see what he’s been missing over here all these years! … Dave Taylor is a lucky starter. He got his car pinched out of the garage on Tuesday after thieves played bumper cars with 8 other showroom vehicles to get it out. But it ran out of fuel after 4 miles and the thieves couldn’t get fuel into the WRC spec filler. A lady jogger spotted it behind a hedge and phoned Easson’s garage so they got it back … not so lucky is Billy Bird, the Lancer put a rod through the block last night … Ian Grubb had a fright last night too when the Lancer’s brake pedal went to the floor but an overnight master cylinder change had him back in action this morning.

We didn’t see Neil MacKinnon this morning but we saw his car – he was still in bed, but sone Paul was there with Emma McKinstry’s Lancer. The car is up for sale, but the MacKinnons did a deal with Kenny for two cars on Mull this year. And local hero Calum Duffy was there too. He’s got a new engine in the car. He did Crail late last year and did the Sperrins Rally in Ireland a few months back where he finished 16th overall and 2nd in class so he should be match fit for this weekend.

It was also good to see Dutchman Lex Koevoet back again. He marshalled for the first time on Mull last year and was so taken he’s back for more. He will be marshalling at Ardtun with the BMRMC whose stage starter is none other than Vanessa Bott who is the Chief Start Marshal at Oulton Park. Apparently Oulton Park does a bit in motor sport too!

And finally, Mull does strange things to folk when they first visit and then keep coming back, but few stranger than this. Granite City Clerk of the Course, Gerry Potter and Entries Secretary Rae Osborne got married in Tobermory registry office yesterday morning at 11.00 am witnessed by Doug Weir and Stevie Brown and photographed for posterity by Iain Robertson. Gerry said they did it quietly to save a lot of fuss (I reckon he was saving money!) but if you see a car out there to-night on marshalling duty with steamed up windows, just be careful, it might be the newlyweds! Congratulations from all of us to all of youse.

And finally, finally, the Polis have one of them new fangled see-far-away radar guns that can spot a speeding motorist at a mile! So be careful and be sensible. And if you hear a siren and see flashing lights just ahead of the rally to-night that could be Bulletin Bill with the MullMurmurs, so look out and be ready!

Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Tobermory, Noon, Friday

MullMurmurs – Chapter 9

Results after SS17 (of 17)

1 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy        Ford Escort MkII        2 Hr 09 Mins 25 Secs
2 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser        Ford Escort MkII        2h 10m 30s
3 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell        MINI                2h 11m 05s
4 John Cope/Rob Fagg            Subaru Impreza            2h 11m 18s
5 Tony Bardy Bardy/Reg Smith        Nissan Sunny GTI R        2h 11m 38s
6 Tristan Pye/Andrew Falconer        Subaru Impreza            2h 12m 50s
7 Shaun Sinclair/Chris Hamill        Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9        2h 14m 31s
8 Dougi Hall/Sam Hall            Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9        2h 14m 58s
9 Wayne Sisson/Daniel Stone        Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9        2h 15m 39s
10 Tugs Sherrington/Sam Bould        Mitsubishi Lancer EVO4        2h 15m 49s

Class Winners:
A– Andy Knight/Drew Sturrock        Vauxhall Nova            2h 19m 02s
B – Iain MacKenzie/Angus Mackenzie     Peugeot 106            2h 18m 00s
C – Doug Weir/Duncan Brown        Ford Escort MkII        2h 17m 55s

The 40th Tunnock's Tour of Mull was like the Scottish weather. Unpredictable, unexpected  and full of wind, at least when the competitors are describing their antics to me! Don't believe me? Look at those results again. The top three cars are two wheel drive, two of them drive from the rear, and one of them pulls at the front. And not a turbocharger in sight. Progress, eh? Dontcha just love it?

In theory, and looking at the opposition, they shouldn't have been there, but that's the appeal of rallying. Despite all the technology and all the gizmos there is still a need for flesh and blood behind the wheel and on the pedals. Which brings me to the winners of this anniversary tour. Neither of them have either flesh or blood. Calum escaped from a Terminator movie and Iain escaped from Madame Tussaud's.

The pace of that MkII last night, in wet, dry, greasy and grippy conditions was unbelievable. Those were not mere mortals inside that car last night, they were robots, programmed for heroic deeds. Far-fetched? I don't think so. Think back to Friday night and the end of the third test, when the Escort limped out with a puncture. They were in 24th place after that one, and there they were in the early hours of Sunday morning battling for the lead. If you read that in a comic, you'd look at the cover to see if it was Superman or Batman, not Dervaigman.

Just over a minute behind were James MacGillivray and Ian Fraser. The 2005 winner was back on form scoring his third runner-up position in one of the world's toughest events (the Safari is just a stroll in the park after this – Ok so it's a big game park, but Haggis can be pretty fierce in their natural habitat!) after one of those typically canny drives that doesn't look dramatic but carries the speed well through the bends.

And scoring their best result for some time, Daniel Harper and Chris Campbell. Daniel of course scored some pretty heroic results in the past with a real Mini, but he achieved something pretty unique last with the German sausage tin derivative. Third overall after nearly losing a wheel took a bit of doing. After a fright like that, normal folks with real red blood would have the heebie-jeebies for weeks after an incident like that. I'm just not sure whether he's got brake fluid or 15/40 running through his veins.

So, what of 'the rest'? John Cope and Rob Fagg were top 4WD runners. And if anything proved just how critical tyre choice was, John's progress highlighted the need to get it right. He was in contention all the way but suffered a Simpsons 'Dohhh' moment late on Saturday night when he chose slicks in a moment of pure guesswork (he claimed divine inspiration) – for the wettest stage of the night! The result? He dropped from third to fourth.

Tony Bardy and Reg Smith had a good run in the 4WD Nissan. It may be old technology these days but it was fit for the changeable conditions that the 150 crews experienced this weekend. First time on tar with the new hatchback style of Subaru Impreza, Tristan Pye and Andrew Falconer were a superb 6th overall and top Group N runners, but perhaps the most unexpected visitors in the top ten were Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill. Shaun finished 5th overall in this year's Scottish Rally Championship and was regarded as something of a forest specialist, and which no doubt contributed to his Number 50 seeding, but has now proved he has a liking for the black stuff. Tarmac that is, not the other black stuff – although he has a liking for that too, allegedly.

And what of Dougi and Sam Hall in 8th place. This was the third time that Dougi has led this rally at some point, but as he pointed out at the finish, he's been lying second more often when disaster has struck, sometimes mechanical sometimes of his own making, but two punctures at crucial moments late last night was just sheer sporting cruelty.

Wayne Sisson and Daniel Stone were 9th and Tugs Sherrington and Sam Bould rounded off the top ten after two nights and one afternoon of high speed dashes, bashes and crashes.

But they were  the lucky ones. Paul MacKinnon went off when he was in the lead and Neil MacKinnon crashed out on the third stage after sharing the lead with Paul and Dougi Hall after the two short, but memorable, opening blasts around Tobermory City Centre. Willie Bonniwell retired with gearbox failure and Dave Pattison  was setting encouraging times till his fuel pump stopped pumping and his gearbox stopped selecting.

Paul Kirtley had his troubles too, with an ill handling Subaru and a bad tempered turbocharger while Eddie O'Donnell could write a much bigger book about his non-finishes than this pamphlet on finishing. Even after an all-nighter on Friday, the Escort was finally coaxed back into life ready for the Saturday afternoon run, only to strike a large stone which damaged a strut and punctured a tyre.

Just outside the top ten there were a few more surprises. Iain and Angus MacKenzie won the 1600 class with 14th place overall while Andy Knight and Drew Sturrock took the 1400 class with 16th place. Doug Weir and Duncan Brown took honours in the 2 litre class although Dougs son, Stevie Brown went for a stroll on the beach at Scridain – but took the Fiesta with him at the time, just when a finish and a result was on the cards!

There were nice tales too, and a not so nice one. Neil Morgan was out of the rally on Friday, but did the Trophy and couldn't help playing to the packed grandstands at Dervaig junction. He took pity on the wet, cold and bedraggled assembly and executed four doughnuts just to cheer them all up. And cheer they did – just don't tell the cheerless MSA!

And there was the farmer on Friday night who lost a coo in Gribun which was found by Gordon Halley. The result was messy but could have been nastier. The coo finished second and the Peugeot finished second-hand but Gordon was remarkably upbeat about it afterwards and reckoned his 'victory' was down to him using Matador Tyres. Oh please yourselves, I thought it was funny. But when the farmer refused to move his coos on Saturday night, the organisers were faced with the unpopular, but highly understandable decision, to cancel the Gribun test on the grounds of safety. Hitting a butcher's shop on four legs is not funny, it's dangerous.

Grant 'Sid the Parrot' Fleming, with Fergus Loudon of Tunnock's in the left hand seat, finished but avoided the ritual dunking in Tobermory Bay, perhaps because of his advancing years, or perhaps because his service crew are now only too well aware that parrots are less graceful in the water than swans. Whatever, they were lucky to finish. When the bonnet blew open in Glen Aros, it and the lamp-pod crashed back into the windscreen crazing the glass and bending the roof. Fergus could see very little, and Grant could see little more but the Fiesta made it back in more or less one piece.

As ever, 2300 Club's grateful thanks are due to a whole host of folks including, Mull Community Council, Argyll & Bute Council, Strathclyde Police and all the rescue and recovery services, Tobermory Distillery for the most unique Scroot venue in the world, and everybody else on the island, except one farmer – and the stag who made the ultimate sacrifice when 'taking out' one of the Polis motors on Friday night.

Thanks too, to Bulletin Bill – with Daniel Krob from the Historic Rally Championship in the Czech Republic, for their help in distributing this drivel around the island. Daniel's English wasn't very good, and his Scottish even worse, but he had a ball all weekend, thanks to all of you, the traditional island hospitality and the sheer eccentricity of this unique event. And a special thanks to Saint Tunnock's of Biscuitry. Their dedication to the welfare of the nation's tastebuds is matched only by their enthusiasm for this event. And the pies were just the icing on the cake, or should be ballast in the belly, before the arrival of much beer tonight.

And finally, our thanks to one other. Did you notice those racing clouds scudding across the weathered sky last night? Given the amount of cloud you might have expected more rain than we actually got, but they weren't all rain clouds, a lot of them were simply pipe smoke. Thanks Brian.

That’s yer lot for this year,
Yer Auld Pal, Jaggy Bunnet
Sunday, 12 Noon, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland, (in the middle of the world map near the top!)