Entries Flood in for 2008 Tunnock’s Tour of Mull

MullMurmurs – Chapter 5

Provisional Leaderboard after SS7 (of 17)

1 MacKinnon/MacGillivray        48 Mins 04 Secs
2 Hall/Hall                49m 36s
3 MacGillivray/Fraser            49m 52s
4 Duffy/Duffy                50m 00s
5 Harper/Campbell            50m 22s
6 Pye/Falconer            50m 45s
7 Cope/Fagg                50m 45s
8 Pattison/Whittaker            50m 53s
9 Bardy/Smith            51m 01s
10 Sisson/Stone            51m 13s
(Note: These positions may change as more Time Cards come in)

At the close of play on Friday night at the end of the first Leg of this 40th Tunnock’s Tour of Mull, Paul MacKinnong and Ewan MacGillivray still lead the rally. For the moment, Paul has picked a pace he is happy with: “I’m not really bothered what the others are doing at this stage. I’ve stiffened the suspension up a wee bit but it’s still skipping a bit on the bumps.”

Behing him Dougi and Sam Hall are holding station in second place. “I’ve softened the suspension up a bit,” said Dougi, “but these boys are flying tonight.” Ewan MacGillivray is still in third place but the fast closing Calum Duffy has designs on higher positions: “I was pretty steady in Scridain,” said Calum, “but I pushed a bit in Gribun.”

John Cope dropped back a bit: “I stalled on the startline of Scridain,” he admitted sheepishly, but the car appears to be bottoming out too much for his liking and this will need to be checked overnight. Tony Bardy is cursing himself for being too smart: “I changed the steering rack for this event as I thought the new one would be a bit too nervous over the Mull bumps, but if anything it’s worse!” Daniel Harper is still going well, despite: “I know it can’t be helped, this is rallying after all, but I just can’t get going with all this stopping and starting.”

So as the top seeds head off to bed, the 2300 Club organisers were still working on the notional times for stages 3 and 4. The top seeds managed to get through them all, but after the accident they were forced to run the later runners around them and they would all get a notional time for the tests. Anyway, that will all be sorted out.

Meanwhile, further back in the field, Euan MacKay (99) was worried about some smoke appearing inside the car but it didn’t seem to slow him down and Callum Bendall (82) had a wee spin in SS5 when the Ka got a wheel on the grass verge. Mark Borthwick (101) exclaimed: I thought Otterburn was bad, but this takes the biscuit.” (I wonder if he meant that as a pun? Think about it. Oh please yourselves, I’m tired and it’s late).

Jim McDowall’s (97) gearknob came off in his hand, David Johnston (102) is worried about his clutch pedal sinking to the floor and David Calvert reckoned the lost the Notes somewhere in Loch Tuath but it didn’t slow them down. Martin Page was planning a precautionary underside inspection at Service after a really heavy landing on one of the Tuath jumps and Graham Brown was worried about heavy landings too. All his electrics cut out, but came back after some frenetic wire waggling but he had Gribun ahead with even more jumps! Ross Hunter (112) was slowed when he caught a car and Haydn Williams (111) caught a deer. It was so close it knocked a door mirror glass out. Bruce Hosie is worried about excessive play on his power steering but is carrying on at unabated pace and David Steggles has concerns about his brake pedal ‘going long’ at all the wrong times. Alex Brown in the MacCrone Peugeot is taking things steady, it’s his first real rally in the wet and Gordon MacFadyen (126) arrived at the Salen Control with smoke reeking out of the back brakes.

First time out in a 4WD car, Iain ‘Fuey the Fireman’ Noble is getting on fine but he’s never driven a car with so many switches and buttons. Aye this new technology catches up with us all Fuey. When the back end of the Sunbeam stepped out on him, it made James Fairbairns (129) wake up smartish and Shug Rutherford (124) is concerned about his low oil pressure. It might be John Hislop’s (130) first time on Mull but co-driver Gareth Williams has been around here a few times with Dougi Hall. Kevin Charles (132) was just dead chuffed to have caught and passed a car and Norman MacPhail (134) was struggling to get back on the pace after the long wait before Stage 5, but he was looking happier as he headed towards his home stages in the south of the island.

That’s yer lot for now,
Yer Auld Pal, Jaggy Bunnet – Friday, 4.00 am, At the Sea Life Centre in Oban

The Final Instalment

Final Results after SS19 (of 19)

1 Neil MacKinnon/Mike Stayte (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2 Hr 21 Mins 53 Secs
2 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy (Ford Escort Mk2) 2h 24m 23s
3 John Cope/Tony Cope (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 27m 13s
4 Paul Kirtley/David Jones (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 28m 37s
5 Denis Biggerstaff/Graham Thomson (Subaru Impreza) 2h 29m 40s
6 Tony Bardy/Reg Smith (Hyundai Accent WRC) 2h 30m 19s
7 John Price/Caroline Price (MG Metro 6R4) 2h 31m 14s
8 John Swinscoe/Bill Robertson (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9) 2h 33m 10s
9 Cameron MacLean/Alastair Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 2hr 34m 34s
10 Tristan Pye/Andrew Roughead (Subaru Impreza) 2h 35m 24s

12 Mike Storrar/Weazel Currie (Ford Anglia) 2hr 38m 05s – 1st 1600cc
28 Chris Woodcock/Heid Woodcock (Proton Satria) 2h 45m 40s – 1st 1400cc

There’s an old saying, ‘Beware the quiet man’. I never really knew what it meant – I do now. And anyone who witnessed the 37th Tunnock’s Tour of Mull Rally will too.

Neil MacKinnon and Mike Stayte never get excited and don’t have much to say. Never in the limelight and never controversial, their motto would appear to be ‘Actions speak louder than words’. And so it proved. They had their problems over the weekend, but the McKinstry lads were on the case. Never a word of complaint or criticism from the ‘MullMeisters’, it was simply taken on board with quiet acceptance.

Mind you I could be wrong. He could be quite different around the house for all I know, kicking the dog and leaving his clothes all over the floor, but there was nothing untidy about his drive into the record books. His 11th Tour victory.

“I enjoyed that, and I enjoyed the car,” said  Neil, “There was never really a problem with the gearboxes, we could work round it. In fact the third one wasn’t a ‘new’ box, and we knew it wasn’t as good as the one we used on Friday night and the other on Saturday afternoon, but as long as I lifted off before changing up, it was fine. Having confidence in the car meant I could lift the pace whenever I needed, which was quite often, with the likes of Callum (Duffy) and John (Cope) behind me, but the suspension was good and so were the Michelin tyres – and so were the.McKinstry lads. Aye, this was good.”

In the face of such a force, Calum and Iain Duffy were always going to be looking at the tail end of a Subaru, but that didn’t stop them trying. It’s one of the great ‘sanity tests’ of life, seeing Calum in a MkII, your eyes see one thing but your brain refuses to absorb it. His speed and commitment are a revelation to be hold. “It was certainly the fastest rally I’ve ever done,” he said at the finish.

By darkness on Saturday the Copes were virtually resigned to their fate, third again. “We were pleased with our pace on Friday night,” said John, “but the puncture left us always coming from behind – and you don’t give them two a chance like that! But what was really good was just how few retirements there were, it was a good fight.”

Paul Kirtley was beaming at the finish despite a rock-clattering, track-splaying impact on the long penultimate test and did just enough to keep ahead of Denis Biggerstaff who had his own last minute dramas. A power failure towards the end of the penultimate stage and a puncture before the start of the last one saw him drop down the running order, but he finished. And finally getting to grips with the Hyundai was Tony Bardy, just doing enough over the closing stages to displace John Price for sixth. But was JP annoyed or upset? “It was another tough rally – but I absolutely enjoyed it.” And so too, did we who only watched.

But those were the lucky ones. Last year’s winner James MacGillivray crashed out of contention on Saturday night, Dougi Hall suffered engine failure and so too did the O’Donnell twins. So gutted were they, neither has yet had the energy or the desire to lift the bonnet to see what gave up. Willie Bonniwell broke a driveshaft and Daniel Harper broke his car. If he hadn’t lost a wheel on Friday night who knows where the MINI might have finished!

But this rally is not just about the top seeds, everyone who finished are heroes including the John Easson Scholarship winner, Ryan Borthwick: “I didn’t really enjoy it on Friday night, it was the first time I had rallied in the dark – but by the end it was good!” And the last I saw of Ryan he was badgering his Dad: “We need something quicker for next year Dad.” And what of the Bear Cubs, Heather MacCrone and Sarah Jayne Daly. They finished one place behind Ryan, in 55th place overall, a simply stunning and richly deserved result and one of which every one of the youngsters and teenagers involved in the project should be proud. And for once, Steve Davies has come up with a good idea and got a result out of it – unlike his own exploits! And a special word for 17 year old Drew Sturrock, son of Bulletin Bill, who was co-driving for Jonathan Mounsey. It was only his fourth rally and 1st Mull. He finished, and finished 34th – something his Dad never did on the island!

In the classes, Mike Storrar scored an exceptional 12th place overall in the 1600cc winning Anglia, but is increasingly worried about sourcing parts for his car, apparently the doors are now made of ‘unobtainium’. Jim McKenna in the Toyota Starlet was 2nd in class while Donald Brown got third after a fire threatened to engulf the Sunbeam. Chris Woodock heaved a sigh of relief at the finish not just for winning the 1400 class, but because the Proton can now be returned to its owner in one piece, so the threat of banishment has been lifted. Only 17 seconds behind him at the finish was Alistair Willis in the Nova while Alan McLlaughlin was third in the Puma.

Yes, there were incidents but fortunately all are walking wounded, if not physically then certainly in the pocket, and only one casualty was detained overnight Friday, and our best wishes to them all. Lyndon Barton suffered transmission failure, Doug Weir crashed, Mark Jasper disappeared and Mark Durham left his Lancer in an awkward place in Mishnish last night. It’s nose was on the tarmac but the tail was on top of the Armco at Calgary.

Paul MacKinnon suffered engine failure (when knocking on the door of the top six!), John Cressey holed a piston, Iain Grubb broke a driveshaft, John Marshall blew a turbo and John Paterson converted a once pristine MkII into a badly collated box of constituent parts.

For the third year in a row, the backdrop to the rally looked like a Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer wrapper, red skies and golden rays of sunshine, while the islanders hospitality was as warm and squidgy as a tea cake – so here’s a plea to St Tunnock’s of Biscuitry – don’t ever make a water biscuit!

And here’s a thought. In 1993, Neil MacKinnon ran with the number 4 on the door after four years without a result. This year, he had number 4 on the door, after four years without a result. He won then, and won again for the next four years! Ominous or what?

As ever, our thanks go to an increasingly long list of rather special people, to all at Tunnock’s, and to all competitors, service crews, marshals and officials, and also to those nice folk at Volkswagen, Bulletin Bill and all those who gave prizes at the Rally forum, Subaru, Ford, Kumho, Dunlop and Mintex. We love you all.

And finally, I couldn’t resist this one. Apparently a certain journalist had borrowed a brand spanking new Volkswagen Transporter California camper van from VW’s Press office to cover the Tunnock’s Tour, although the ‘real’ object of the exercise was to appraise the vehicle for an article in ‘Professional Van & Light Truck’ magazine. Late on Friday evening, our hero was parked outside the Salen Hotel, admittedly on a wee bit of a slope, whereupon he stepped out of the vehicle. The electrically powered side door slid quietly shut as the van rocked on its suspension – with the keys sitting on the table inside, and so were his phones! The Polis were unable to offer any help due to the deadlock sophistication of the vehicle, the local garage was busy and every AA and RAC patrol person on the island was out servicing for someone on the rally. So what did our hero do? He smashed a window. As he later explained, he hadn’t locked himself out of the van, the van had locked the keys in. First on the scene was Gerry from the Salen Hotel with dustpan and brush in hand – so that our hero could sweep up all the broken glass in his Car Park – Thanks Gerry.

And I couldn’t resist this one either. Local man Bill Langford was unable to start the rally when his engine failed, but when he was asked how he was getting on with the Pace Notes, replied: “You’d be as well reading ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ to me!”

And finally, finally, what a grand night we had on Friday. Warm and gloriously bright. But I know where that came from, somebody upstairs had turned on the fire, put up his feet and switched on the light – all the better to see what we were up to down here. Thanks Brian.

That’s yer lot for 2006,
Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Strongarbh, Tobermory, 12 Noon, Sunday