Rally - The finish line approaches

The news from the 2024 Galloway Hills Rally didn’t come as shock, just a surprise. The event is a long established forest stage rally in the south west of Scotland and run by a canny bunch of amateur car club enthusiasts. The key word here is ‘amateur’ but that doesn’t mean they lack competence, professionalism or experience in what they do, just that they don’t get paid for doing it!

And it’s the same right across Scotland and the wider UK. The organisation of the vast majority of competitive car rallies across the country is reliant on the goodwill, enthusiasm, willingness, fortitude, stubborn-ness, camaraderie and a deep seated love of the sport by a willing band of masochists who ignore the midges, glaur, sunburn, sodden feet and frostbite just to put on some challenging automotive entertainment for others. Not just the car club stalwarts, but also the volunteer officials and marshals who support their efforts.

But it looks like they are fighting a losing battle. Whilst many clubs enjoy the support of foresters and managers at local level, the high heid yins who sit in their air-conditioned offices surrounded by paperwork, computers and good intentions have a much narrower view of the ‘sport for all’ approach. They seem to prefer the much more gentle pursuits of picnickers, ramblers, dog-walkers, anglers, twitchers, botanists, naturalists, lepidopterists, entomologists and arborists with the only ‘motorised’ access being offered to mountain bikers.

It would also appear that four wheeled pursuits are facing a restricted and diminishing choice of suitable forest venues and roads while having to bear prohibitive escalating costs. Of course the counter-claim will be made that the public forests are open and available to all, but as far as rallies go, it is on their terms and at a cost which they determine.

The sport’s governing body must share some of the blame too. They may claim to be working with the various forest and land authorities in the four home nations but we see little evidence of that at ground level. It would be most welcome if they were a bit more open about their discussions and negotiations to ensure that the folk they represent are kept informed.

Admittedly their actions are limited by the ever increasing requirement for additional safety regulations and the constantly rising crippling insurance charges.

Faced with that rally organisers are up against it, and then there are the costs. To stage a 45 mile forest rally these days can cost in the region of £45,000 in forest road charges alone. The main trouble here is that, according to some of the ‘old guard’ in the forestry business, gravel roads are not being constructed to the same standard of quality as they were 50 years ago, despite all the advances in road building and grading machinery. That means they damage more easily and the resultant damage is worse. Admittedly that isn’t helped by modern four wheel drive rally cars and advancing tyre technology! The end result is the ‘hire’ charges go up.

Getting accurate figures and costings is as easy as extracting the teeth from wild haggis, but some independent contractors are extremely puzzled by how these ‘official’ figures and costings are calculated.

Then there are the other ‘hidden’ costs for arrows, stakes, tape, chicanes, printing both decals and paperwork, venues for scrutineering and Rally HQ, radio equipment, the creation of spectator areas plus fuel expenses for those who recce the route, the set-up crews and the Course Cars although it’s worth pointing out that many individuals are still out of pocket refusing to claim all their costs.

It's often a thankless under appreciated task and perhaps another reason why so many youngsters avoid being ‘called up’ to help out. Which is another problem facing the sport, the ageing generation of organisers, officials, marshals and helpers. There does appear to be a reluctance amongst youngsters to take on the commitment to organise and provide person-power.

Closed public roads are not the answer, if anything, such are the safety restrictions required by local Councils and the Police that these are becoming almost prohibitively more expensive too. The idea of participating in or attending outdoor events ‘at your own risk’ has long been banished from official documents as certain sections of society appear to live in a personal blame-free existence claiming ‘it’s someone else’s fault’ when things go wrong.

Perhaps the new British government could introduce a Bill to allow ‘Comon Sense’ to become law, rather than have this challenged and undermined by the unscrupulous types who frequent our courts of law. It could be argued that ‘compensation culture’ will kill off rallying quicker than those who manage our public forest estates.

Best enjoy it while we can, for as Private Frazer once said: “We’re all doomed!”

Rally - Notes from an onlooker

Spotting Owen Paterson trying to fold himself up to get into the co-drivers’ seat of the Skodaru prompted the question, how does he fit? Apparently the better part of last week was spent trying to get the seat pushed back as far as it will go roll-cage permitting. The only other idea to come out of this is to adopt the Ford GT40 Le Mans response. When the Ford GT machine was designed, the floor and roof line were determined by the average sized racing driver of that time but it would appear that the designers forgot that racing drivers sometimes need to wear crash helmets, so for the taller than average drivers a bubble had to be inserted into the roof. Perhaps they’ll need to do the same to the Skodaru if they can’t get Owen to sit cross-legged in his favourite yoga pose.

The McKnight knightmare ahead of the Scottish commenced after Argyll when the engine detonated inside the Escort. Apparently it blew holes in both sides of the block before blowing all the bits out of the underside through the sump. Not much chance of a rebuild there then, so the car was dispatched across the water for a replacement motor and a Millington installed, but despite the instructions regarding the essential gearbox modifications required for such a change, these were somehow neglected or ignored and the car was returned supposedly ready to rally. It wasn’t. Hence much midnight and daylight oil being burned to take the engine out again, modify the gearbox and clutch, re-install it and get some miles on it before Friday Scrooting.

On a more controversial note, there was some criticism expressed of the need for a wider rallying re-think, in particular the idea of getting those who have retired early in an event back into the fray to tackle later stages. In the case of mechanical repairs this should be relatively straight forward and minor body work repairs treated similarly leniently. Of course more serious impact damage or breakages would have to be assessed more carefully and this is where the Scroots come in. They should make the decision. One can understand the nervousness of insurance companies who take fright when the words ‘damage’ or ‘breakage’ enter the conversation but really that’s why the motor industry and motorsports competitions have spare parts, mechanics, technicians and engineers. In the case of quick and simple repairs why not allow competitors to slot back in to the running order and run through the later stages? OK, having to miss a couple of stages won’t threaten the final results but it will allow those who would like a little more seat time to get a few more miles under their belts. After all, they have probably shelled out 7, 8, 9 hundred pounds or more to participate in a rally and with no chance of a partial refund, that’s a helluva dent in the wallet to bear if the gearbox or axle fails in the first stage. It’s all very well to say that such competitors may have exceeded their lateness allowance but by missing out one or two stags and re-slotting back in to the running order, why couldn’t that be allowed? If it is simply a matter of time limits then why not have a ‘trophy rally’ format as used by other events as a means of giving the competitors at least a little more value for money. Surely, in a bid to offer better value for money MSUK needs to have a serious discussion with rally organisers about such an idea? As things stand it would be all too easy to discourage newcomers and the regular club crews.

And finally ….

As for the cause of Martyn Erskine’s rally retirement, may I suggest that it was solely down to his choice of footwear. Any adult with that idea of sartorial elegance shouldn’t be allowed out unaccompanied, and certainly not in possession of a valid driving licence, let alone a competition licence! Really! His carers should know better.

Rally - In the ‘Fanzone’

 The RSAC Scottish Rally provided a novel experience this year thanks to Jas P Wilson & Sons, agriculture and forestry engineers, as numerous spectators and anxious service crews watched the forest drama unfold on the large screen in the on-site ’fanzone’. Perhaps fanzone is stretching it a bit, but as a sign of things to come it was indeed a most valuable addition to Scottish rallying.

A lot of behind the scenes planning by both Iain and Michael had gone into this year’s lay-out, starting with a plan to place the larger support trucks at the back of the enlarged service area with the ‘smaller’ units in the middle ground between them and the facing large screen TV. This ensured that very few awnings and poles ruined the view and most folks could catch a glimpse of the screen from right across the service park. Many folk might not have noticed that, but it took some original thought and planning, plus a fair bit of cajoling by the somewhat harassed service park marshals on the day to make sure it happened.

But ‘Wilson’s Wonders’ had gone further by creating an area for spectators to gather and which rightly could be called a fanzone. Some new gravel had been laid and rolled in the parking field opposite the service area creating a curved ‘D’ shaped gravel drive on the inside of which was a grassy area with picnic tables. Lined up around the outer edge of the new walkway were the Country Kitchen food emporium and ice cream van, a model car seller and a bookseller (and indeed quite a few books were sold – thankfully!)) with the large screen TV set up at the end.

In fact, the boys had planned a much larger artic mounted screen but during the week got ‘the phone call’. Apparently the truck had broken down, but for a ‘smaller fee’ would a smaller trailer mounted screen be acceptable? With little choice in the matter the ‘Wilsons’ agreed and it all worked out perfectly well. The screen showed adverts and past filmed clips from previous events before showing live coverage from the stages. The pictures were excellent and the on-stage commentary provided as usual by our very own ‘Jack and Victor’ who were joined by a new ‘Isa’. Thankfully Isa was able to offer a bit more knowledge and intelligent insight into the more usual garrulous flow of information, comments and ribaldry.

If this idea proved successful then Iain and Michael might well have bigger plans for next year. Gaun yersel boys, it was magic. The picnic tables were kept busy as were the food and ice cream vans as folk came and went from the service park all day. Really well worthwhile and worked a treat.

Not only that a couple of large mini-buses had been laid on for ‘park and ride’ spectators to use between the car park at Jas P Wilson and the Dalbeattie stage. Nice one.

Topping that all off was the closed off High Street in the town which hosted the rally finish. The only thing that spoiled the day was the rain, but then we’re used to it, are we not?

So those of us who were not able to visit the stages, for whatever reason, could watch and listen from Dalbeattie. The next best thing!

As it turned out, it wasn’t a day for the local crews with Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry the ‘only’ crew finishing in the top ten in eighth place to provide the local fans with some good cheer. Top seeds Jock Armstrong and Owen Paterson were out in SS2 with a broken bottom arm in the Skodaru while the normally cool, calm and reliable Rory Young and Allan Cathers caused a surprise when their VW slid off the road in SS2. David Hardie and John McCulloch put the Escort off in there as well although Niall Cowan with Jack Morris got as far as the penultimate stage before driveshaft failure in the MG. Stuart and Alice Paterson went foraging in the undergrowth with the Subaru and had to be rescued by the Army Land Rover lads, while Martyn Erskine did a passable impression of Robin Hood escaping from the Sheriff of Nottingham when he and Chuck Blair sought refuge with the Mitsubishi in the trees!

Iain Wilson and Mark Roberts didn’t even get that far, the hired MG’s gearbox getting stuck in 2^nd gear and the car limped out of the stage into retirement. With no ‘trophy rally’ possibility that was their day done and dusted there and then. There ain’t no justice, eh?

I suppose there was some ‘local’ cheer after all because Kirsty Riddick co-drove the winning car, the VW Polo GTI R5 of David Bogie who comes from the far east – Dumfries! This was Bogie’s eighth win on his ‘home’ event but didn’t Jonathan Greer and Niall Burns do well with a strong second place in the Citroen C3 Rally2.

There was however one heckuva of a tussle going on for third place finally settled by ONE second in Euan Thorburn and Keith Beaton’s favour, the VW crew just pipping the Ford Fiesta crew of Finlay Retson and Paul Beaton. Scott Beattie and Peredur Davies drove well finishing fifth in the Fiesta just ahead of the Hyundai i20 of John Wink and Neil Shanks.

Top 2WD drive? Who else? Young Robert Proudlock with Steven Brown after an exemplary drive in the 1200cc Peugeot 208 finishing in a superb 13^th place overall half a minute clear of the Ford Escort Mk2 of Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank, but Greg was lucky to be there after an unbelievable week prepping the car after its comprehensive engine blow up in Argyll.

Top 1600 (non ‘world’ car) runner was the MG ZR of Niall Cowan and Jnr and Charley Sayer Payne in 28^th place which was quite a feat, holding off the Peugeot 206 Cup car of the rapid Barry Lindsay and Caroline Lodge.

And so ended the 78th RSAC Scottish Rally, but amongst the winners, there was one other, the Jas P Wilson crew who created one of the best rally service park facilities and Rally HQ’s in the country, and if encouraged, will do even more next year. Here’s to them, and as Arnold Scotcheggnchips once said: “I’ll be back!”

Pop-Up Bookshop

The next outing for the mobile book boutique will be the RSAC Scottish Rally this Friday and Saturday (19/20 July). Apparently permission has been granted to set up shop at Scrutineering on the Friday and then a pitch at the Service Park on Saturday probably near the large TV screen – look for the red Transit. I will of course have copies of ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 1980-1989’ and ‘Murmurs on Mull 1993-2010’ for sale although there has been some talk about stocking some motor sport books by other Scottish authors – we’ll see!

Anyway, work is progressing on the next book in the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ series covering the decade 1990 to 1999. The main text is more or less complete and the photograph selection process is well underway but there are difficulties here, not so much what to put in the book, but what to leave out.

The introduction to the book has also been completed, although in writing it, many memories resurfaced.

Rallying in the 1990s faced uncertainty and indecision as the sport’s direction came under scrutiny. Remember the handicaps? The sport’s governing body dithered over what to do with the rise of the 4WD ‘supercars’ so handicaps were suggested and then introduced to try and ‘equate’ the competition. With the MSA unsure, the various clubs and championships took it upon themselves to introduce a penalty of 1.5, 2 or 2.5 seconds per stage mile depending on the event and the championship.

That was ultimately dropped as unworkable and the MSA introduced a 2.5 litre cap on engine size and tried to restrict power output to under 300 bhp. They also banned many of the ‘home-brewed’ specials like Allan McCleary’s 4WD Quastra, Duncan Jaffray’s Rover S20  and Andy Burton’s Peugeot Cosworth. Looking back surely that was an ill-considered move frustrating the creativity and inventiveness of private individuals as many of these ‘specials’ were perfectly designed engineering triumphs in their own right. Perhaps the trouble was that some of these cost effective ‘shed built’ one-offs were capable of beating the financial muscle and engineering might of the manufacturers’ own attempts to build rally winners! We couldn’t have that, could we?

Another ploy to replace the Group A 4WD machinery in the British Championship with Formula 2 machinery failed too although it has to be said that the blame cannot be laid totally at the door of the sport’s governors. Much of that was down to the engineering ingenuity of manufacturers, private preparation companies and talented individuals who could ‘exploit’ the rules and maximise the limitations to their advantage. Remember the F2 ‘screamers’ with their Maxi, Super and Kit car evolutions?

As a result costs escalated as automotive development advanced and the demand for more usable power and better handling cars created ever faster cars.

As in all forms of motor sport, as soon as new regulations are introduced to try and ‘level up’ or down (to borrow a political phrase) the competition, the designers and engineers are poised and ready with their slide rules, computers and innovations to create the next world-beater.

I suppose it’s called progress. It’s also called competition – but that’s why we love it, eh?

As for the photos, here’s some which won’t make the next book !!

Rally -The RSAC comes to town

The news that next Saturday’s RSAC Scottish Rally will have a ceremonial finish in Dalbeattie town centre is most welcome. Whereas such affairs can get a bit lost in bigger towns and cities, Dalbeattie is not a big town by any means so the rally and its entourage will have a wee bit of an impact on daily local life this coming Friday and Saturday. The fact that the rally will finish in the High Street will therefore give the local folks a better idea of what the invasion is all about.

Adding to the atmosphere will be the nearby location of the Service Park which is right on the southern outskirts of the town at James P Wilson’s agricultural emporium and yard. This also means that the service crews will be able to see the formal Finish for themselves as the town centre is just a short daunder away. Take a left out of the yard and the High Street starts from the first junction on the right.

And if all the plans come to fruition there will be a large screen TV in the field next to the service area showing live action from the stages. Modern technology is wunnerful, ain’t it?

Town centre finishes are of course nothing new for ‘the Scottish’ from the high jinks of Grantown on Spey and Aviemore in the distant past to the rather more sober shenanigans of Ayr, Glasgow, Perth and Dumfries in more recent times, and now Dalbeattie.

Unlike many other towns these days, Dalbeattie still has a ‘proper’ High Street with ‘proper’ shops and not just rows of blank lots and boarded up windows. It also has an award winning - personally sampled and approved - ‘chippy’ in Alpine Street just off the Cross!

Timetable and spectator info here:

https://www.scottishrally.co.uk/spectator-viewing-areas/

Thirty years ago, the rally finished in Perth and provided Chris Wagner and Alan Stark with their first ever outright win on a Scottish Championship rally. After 16 Special Stages, the Audi 90 quattro was followed home into second place less than a minute behind by the Opel Manta 400 of Andy Horne and Jim Howie. Sam Mullen and Gerry Bryden won the 2 litre class in fifth place in their Escort Mk2 with the 1600 class winning Vauxhall Nova of George McDonald and Murdoch Campbell in sixth place. 

As for the 25 stage international part of the rally Malcolm Wilson and Bryan Thomas dominated that with 22 fastest stage times on their way to victory over Ford team mates Stephen Finlay and Campbell in Roy in the second Escort Cosworth. Marcus Gronholm and Voitto Silander were third in a Toyota. Coincidentally, Dalbeattie’s own Murray Grierson with Stewart Merry finished fourth overall and top Scottish crew in their Subaru Legacy – the only all-Scottish crew in the top ten!

And finally, a certain ‘pop-up’ bookshop may well make an appearance in the service area at Dalbeattie with a huge choice – of two books! More news to follow.

A national injustice

If it has done little else, the ongoing 'European Shirt-Tuggers and Shin-Kickers Championship' has once again highlighted a great injustice within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Whilst Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland radio and television services, England doesn't. And that surely is unfair to the English. They should indeed have their own channels.

It is because they don't that the BBC continues to broadcast items of English news and current affairs to the whole of the UK, whether the rest of us want it or not. And while it would be nice for our neighbours to win this 'Euro kickabout' it will mean that the rest of us will be subjected to never-ending reminders, re-runs and replays, and ongoing punditry for days, weeks and possibly months to come. And gawd forbid they should lose, as the ongoing insights, comments, criticism and blame would add to this purgatory for the rest of us. 

So let's hope that this oversight by the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation will be corrected as a matter of urgency before the tears/blood start running out of the nation's tellies, whether through joy or despair.

Surely it is time that the English had their very own TV and radio channels just like the rest of us and allow them to wallow in their own personal joy/grief to their hearts content. Why should they be deprived of such a service?

Perhaps we should organise a petition so that they can join the rest of the home nations with their own media outlets and let the BRITISH Broadcasting Company concentrate on BRITISH news for all of us. 

It's only fair, isn't it?

Jock’s Run - Update

As of this morning, the Biggar Young Farmers Club charity road run held two weekends ago has raised £27,210.03 for the ‘CJD Support Network’ and money is still coming in to the ‘Just Giving’ page which will remain open till March next year. In fact, the CJD Network is Biggar YFC’s chosen charity for this year and they will continue to fund raise till their AGM in 8 months’ time. They are a credit to their vocation and the nation.

Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/biggaryoungfarmerscjdfundraising