Motorsport UK Academy
Tricky Trackrod for Emily and Liam

Motorsport UK Academy
Provisional Top Ten after SS2 (of 19)
1 Neil MacKinnon/Mike Stayte (Subaru Impreza WRC) 19 Minutes 52 Seconds
2 John Cope/Tony Cope (Subaru Impreza WRC) 20m 18s
3 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy (Ford Escort Mk2) 20m 21s
4 Dougi Hall/Allan MacDougall (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 20m 33s
5 Paul Kirtley/David Jones (Subaru Impreza WRC) 20m 37s
6 Paul MacKinnon/Kirsty Riddick (Mitsubishi Lancer) 21m 09s
7 John Price/Caroline Price (MG Metro 6R4) 21m 11s
6 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 21m 15s
9 Denis Biggerstaff/Graham Thomson (Subaru Impreza WRC) 21m 20s
10 John Swinscoe/Bill Robertson (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO9) 21m 25s
(Please Note: These times are provisional pending confirmation by Rally HQ)
A clearer picture is now emerging of the battle for the lead on this Teacake Tour of Mull Rally with Neil MacKinnon snatching an early lead after two stages from the on-form John Cope. But don’t discount Calum Duffy yet, the night is young!
Biggest surprise of the night so far is the pace of young Paul MacKinnon (Neil’s son) who is well inside the top ten first time out in a Lancer. James MacGillivray is toiling with the new car which is not yet set up the way he would like it and isn’t Paul Kirtley going well?
Further down the field the casualty list is mounting and the tall tales are getting taller by the mile. Martin Healer (31) broke a driveshaft on SS1 … John Marshall (30) is struggling with turbo problems in his new Subaru … Willie Bonniwell (11) is out with a broken gearbox … Iain Grubb (27) is reported stopped in a stage … Iain MacKenzie (37) has damaged his suspension … Mike Russell (56) broke a driveshaft …. Neil Morgan (48) has lost a headlight (but didn’t admit what against!) … Ian Dawes is having a problem with the MINI, a driveshaft keeps popping out and popping back in again … Stephen Thomson boiled his brakes at the end of SS1 – but in a Nova who needs brakes? …Duggie Ingram (70) is toiling with a misfire. He has a sump in the petrol tank and it keeps slopping past the pickup! (The cheapskate should fill it up)… Martin MacLean (65) got passed by 3 cars when he had fuel starvation … Geoff Wright (78) was looking pleased with himself, he passed one car and caught another in SS2 … John Rintoul (73) lost a chunk of time when he had to stop and change a punctured tyre, well, his co-driver did. John couldn’t see in the dark and Jim changed the wheel on his own – sounds like porkies to me! …Chris Paton (83) is going well. The Nova has new bigger brakes and although they overheated on SS1 were perfect on SS2: “I’m not going to put a spanner near it when I get to service” beamed Chris who is tackling his 36th Tour of Mull whole co-driver Dave Cabena has started all 37! … Grant (Sid the Parrot) Fleming (75) with co-driving Tunnock’s Production Director Fergus Loudon limped out of SS2 with a broken driveshaft: “It broke in SS1,” said Grant, “and so we had to take it easy through SS2 – but we still didn’t get caught by anyone!” … looking puzzled at Salen was Paul Miller, all the electrics cut out at the end of SS1 and they spent a lot of time fixing it before they could start SS2 so investigations are called for at Service.
And finally, for those of you feeling a little starvatious after this opening night’s entertainment, PoshNosh in Tobermory Main Street is staying open for the purveying of butties and Tunnock’s delicacies till the wee sma’ hours.
Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Salen Hotel, 11.30 pm, Friday
Ewan Tindall will adopt a cautious approach to this weekend’s RSAC Scottish Rally – and with good reason. For the 2300 Club’s […]
MULLMURMURSMULLMURMURSMULLMURMURS – Chapter 10
– published on the island, during the event by Jaggy Bunnet
MullMurmurs – Chapter 4
1 P MacKinnon/D Barritt (Subaru Impreza) 22m 35s
2 C Duffy/I Duffy (Ford Escort MkII) 23m 02s
3 D Hall/S Clark (Mitsubishi Lancer) 23m 15s
4 D Harper/C Campbell (BMW MINI) 24m 01s
5 K Hall/R Millener (Ford Fiesta) 23m 56s
6 J MacGillivray/I Frazer (Ford Escort MkII) 24m 02s
7 J Cope/R Fagg (Subaru Impreza) 24m 16s
8 W Bonniwell/K Rae (Subaru Impreza) 24. 26s
9 T Pye/K Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 24m 37s
10 E O’Donnell/S Proud (Ford Escort MkII) 24m 44s
The 39th Tunnock’s Tour of Mull is serving up a feast of fearsome and fastidious delights, but not everyone is enjoying them. John Marshall had a puncture on the first stage of the night so that set him back, plus the Subaru has all Mark Higgins’ settings, and John is no Mark Higgins, apparently! Tommi Graham had a turbo pipe come off and the Lancer barely made it through the 2nd and 3rd tests overboosting all the way. Martin Healer had no intercom on the first one and only half an intercom on the 2nd. From Dervaig onwards Ian Colman had no brakes. A pipe had come off but it was fixed at service. Gribun, with no brakes? No thanks. Billy Bird reckons his new Astra is “the most horrendous thing I’ve ever driven”. John Morrison caught cars on the first two otherwise OK. Chris Tooze punctured on the first one and had to stop, then the jack kept sinking in the mud. After replacing the wheel he jumped in the car and drove off then pulled over when he saw headlights in the mirror – but it wasn’t a following car, he was still wearing his head torch. Doh! Giles Brooksbank had an alternator problem at the end of SS1 and did the next two on sidelights. When Chris Woodcock’s Lancer gets hot it starts misfiring badly. He put new plugs in at Craignure, so fingers crossed. Full marks to Jim McKenna for observation “it’s dark so it is, it’s hard to beat the daylight – and Dervaig bridge needs to be widened!” Alan Gardiner lost 40 seconds on the startline of the first stage, when the Marshals had to push Dave Thwaites stricken car off the stage! Poor Dave, he didn’t even get it mucky. Gerry Cassidy is suffering fuel starvation in the G3. Paul Miller was still buzzing, he got it into 5th gear in Loch Scridain and he was also in a ditch on the Hill Road but got away with it – this time. Stevie Brown had the Fiesta cut out on him over a yump and lost time when it wouldn’t re-start and then had a brake problem over the next two. Ian Woodward knocked his back box off on Scridain but fitted a spare at Craignure before the bizzies noticed!
It looks as though John Cressey is out, he was spotted parked up and Mike Storrar has put the Anglia off. He went straight on instead of going round a corner!
Yer Auld Pal, Jaggy Bunnet – Friday, Gone midnight, Salen Hotel.