Daniel Harper was playing down his valiant
performance last night: “We’ve done a lot of work to the car. Things were going
well on the Isle of Man when the driveshaft broke and we were lying fourth. I’m
not going quick, the others are going slow,” he joked, “but it’s all about
keeping the pace here.”
John Cope said: “The car is fine, I just didn’t drive it
well last night, but now it’s daylight I’ll be able to see where I’m going.”
Alan Gardiner didn’t feel he was going well last night, till he saw his times:
“We were on slicks all night. They were fine, till we got to Dervaig!”
Kev Dunn’s Nova (45) looks as though it is sitting high:
“We’ve gone up a wheel size. It’s the same as the R2 Fiestas and it feels
alright. It also gives us more choice with tyres.” This is his first event
since last year’s Mull. Explaining his top 20 pace in the Mk1 Curly Haigh (24)
didn’t claim any driving credit: “It’s just one near miss after another.
Constant near misses,” he laughed. Steven Ronaldson (30) is still smiling after
his night in the Metro: “It was aquaplaning down the Glen so I had to back off
a wee bit to get through it. There’s also lots of mud on the road from the
front runners cutting.”
Nigel Worswick (14) had to change the clutch master cylinder
in the Escort Cosworth overnight and is softening up the suspension for today.
Ian Chadwick (25) said everything was “going swimmingly” in his 170hp Honda
Civic. Gary Adam punctured 3 mls into the first stage and then struggled to
change the wheel as the studs were too tight, then a second tyre (on the same
side) went soft in SS2. John Rintoul (34) remarked that the ferns are higher
this year and he can’t see round the corners as well as last year. He’s also
having trouble with the Hyundai’s gearbox: “It’s difficult to get it into 6th
gear and its jumping out. I don’t want to force it – I borrowed the ‘box from
Steve Petch.” First time out for 12 years, Simon Proud (38) says he’s just
trying not to crash it: “If I do, the wife says she’ll buy a horse!”
Mike Storrar (73) in the Horris Maronda is still going:
“She’s a bit excitable. Up on tippy toes a bit, I’m just trying to find a set
up that works.” Alasdair Currie (90) had the light pod fail on the first stage
when a fuse blew but no excuses in Calgary when he sideswiped the Armco: “The
back end just stepped out and we bounced off the Armco but it jammed Steven’s
door shut and he couldn’t get out at service.” Not only is this Greg McKnight’s
(60) first Mull, he’s never been on a ferry before: “And I thought gravel was
slidey!” Jim McDowall (56) is having to keep an eye on his clutch slave
cylinder which is leaking. Reay MacKay (33) said: “I’ve never experienced
anything like that in my life before – getting caught in a monsoon with 300bhp
and rear wheel drive.” When Mark Constantine (41) changed his steering rack last
night, the wheel bearings came loose and he wonders if that was what was
causing the Corsa to dart about the roads. He’ll find out today if it’s fixed.
Nick Thorne (78) had a panic this morning when he couldn’t
find his ignition key on the start line but a spectator found it and handed it
to a marshal and when the call went out over the tannoy, the marshal stepped
forward and saved the day. Euan MacKay (65) found his tyre pressure gauge was
10psi out this morning: “I was running the tyres at 45psi last night and
wondered what was going on.” Normally servicing for John Cope, Peppe Planeta
was driving on his first Mull when his Mitsubishi sprung a radiator leak: “I
borrowed an egg from our B&B and put the egg white in and some flour –
we’ll be having cake at the finish.” Still, the bodge seems to be working.
After marshalling here for a few years, Jamie Stewart (72)
built a new Peugeot 205m for his first run out in two years and first run out
on Mull. Jimmy Allan (92) reckoned his suspension was “hard as buggery” and it
was darting about all over the place so they’ve softened it up for today. First
time out in LHD, Fuey the Fireman (94) executed a perfect 360 at Dervaig
hairpin last night in the Italian built Fiat 500. The Nova of Donald Bowness
(119) lapsed on to 3 cylinders on the start line of SS1 and then the ignition
switch melted, so the stage was done with Donald driving one handed and holding
the switch together while Ian changed gear!
Driving the smallest car in the rally, Neil McCarthy (112)
said his wee 649cc Daihatsu is so slow that when he crested one rise in the
road he saw a hedgehog half way across the road, but it made it safely to the
edge before the car reached it!
