MullMurmurs – Chapter 4
Provisional Leaderboard after SS2 (of 19)
1 Neil MacKinnon/Daniel Barritt (Subaru Impreza WRC) 20 Minutes 02 Seconds
2 Paul MacKinnon/Andrew Roughhead (Subaru Impreza) 20m 39s
3 John Cope/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza WRC) 20m 39s
4 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy (Ford Escort Mk2) 20m 33s
5 Dougi Hall/Andy Richardson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 20m 35s
6 Paul Kirtley/Jim Kitson (Subaru Impreza) 20m 54s
7 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (BMW MINI Cooper S) 20m 59s
8 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 21m 10s
9 John Swinscoe/Paula Swinscoe (Mitsubishi Lancer) 21m 11s
10 Tristan Pye/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 21m 32s
With a few more times in we can now update the Leaderboard after the second stage of this 38th Tunnock’s Tour of Mull Rally and look at Daniel Harper! Up to 7th in the MINI.
Denis Biggerstaff is struggling though. As mentioned in an earlier Murmur, he was concerned about the paddle shift in the Subaru, and it got stuck in 4th gear at the end of the 2nd stage so the boys are attempting to change the gearbox at Craignure service. Fingers crossed.
Ian Forgan (66) is complaining about a slipping clutch. He adjusted it before the start p but adjusted it too much …. Duggie Ingram (64) has cowped the Mini in SS2 …. Mike Russell (67) ‘went farming’ in SS2, fortunately without damage …. John Paterson (48) is miserable. No fuel pressure in SS1 and an ‘off’ in SS2 …. It’s 4 years since Sandy Smith (69) last finished a Tour and didn’t get this far last year, but with a new co-driver has completed the first 2 stages …. Martin MacLean (72) says he’s driving like a Granny …. Paul Miller (73) says the car is feeling nervous over the bumps and that’s making him nervous … Chris Paton (74) says this is where it all went horribly wrong last year, so he’s driving with his toes crossed … Alick Kerr (75) the John Easson Scholarship winner had a slight panic at the start of the first stage when the intercom failed, but it was fine after they put a new battery in it zand he’s revelling in his first Mull – and he’s only done 2 stages (the enthusiasm of youth!) …. Chris MacKenzie (48) got a puncture near the end of SS2 …. Paul Marshall (80) has a very bad misfire over 4000 rpm and is struggling to get 4th gear in the TR7 …. Graham Brown (84) has front corner panel and headlamp damage after an altercation with a wall at an increasingly muddy Torloisk junction where earlier cars are cutting and spreading mud across the road …. It’s Bruce Edwards’ (87) first time here and after a cautious start in the Darrian started to have a few moments so has backed off before exuberance gets the better of him …. Stevie Browns’ (91) Nova is skipping about a bit at the back end …. Rick Fry (95) caught a car in there and lost a wee bit of time …. Murdo Morrison (93) was smiling at the end of the stage “I had a wee moment in there that was enough to put a smile on anyone’s face!” and he’s suffering from ‘disco lights’ – the headlamps and spots are switching themselves off at times and then coming back on again …. Allan MacKay (97) is enjoying the Lancer after years in a Ford Anglia and is amazed at the technological progress of modern cars “It’s got wipers that work, it’s even got a heater!” …. John Lloyd (98) had a wee fright at the start when the co-driver’s light failed, but they got it fixed.
And so the rally heads into the deep south for a loop of 5 stages before heading back towards Tobermory and the overnight halt. It’s dry, but slippy in places, and keeping adrenaline pumps fully fuelled and beating hard.
Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Salen Hotel 10.30 pm, Friday
