Rally - And so it begins

Yet another visit to the loft. This time, the lever arch files for the years 2000 to 2009. Regardless of what you might find on other internet rally results sites, these are the complete, final and most accurate sets of results from ten years of the Scottish Rally Championship.

The main problem facing anyone researching results is defining Class Winners. Many sets of ‘Final Rally Results’ list primary award winners and class award winners, and therein lies the difference. A class award winner is not necessarily the actual class winner. That’s because many events in the past excluded the top three or top six, sometimes even the top ten, from ‘winning’ a class award.

In other words if a 1600cc car was to finish in the top ten, it might not necessarily ‘win’ the first in 1600cc class award, that would instead go to the ‘first’ 1600cc car outside the top ten.

Confused? It gets worse. There could well be a mixture of WRC, GrpA and GrpN cars in the top ten places overall on an event and none of them might feature as ‘class award winners’ that would go to the first of those runners outside the top ten, six or three, depending on the individual event regulations 

And just suppose one event counts towards different championships, for instance the SRC and BTRDA and perhaps a couple of regional or Association/Club championships, a different set of results may well have to be produced for each of them to allow coordinators to assign points to their registered contenders. 

Championship coordinators have therefore to be very careful when allocating points and researchers too, as well as purely interested rally fans, have to ensure that they are working from the ‘correct’ sets of results. 

Which means each set of rally results from this decade will have to be gone through individually to ensure that the relevant class winners are accorded that status and credited as such in the book. That process was undertaken with the two current books for 1980-1989 and 1990-1999 and so it will have to be done again for this next book covering the ten years 2000-2009.

So anyone who has a trophy which hails them as Class 1, 2 or 3 winner on such and such an event might well be wrong. They may well be the class award winner but not the actual class winner, there is a difference.

No-one quite knows why this practice is common in rallying, but it was generally regarded as a means of spreading out the trophies and preventing the outright winners from hogging all the silverware.

Naturally the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ book series will credit the ‘actual class winners’ and if anyone disagrees I’ve got a big pal with a short temper - and he’s awfy friendly with The Bears!

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Rally - Orange turned blue

If last weekend proved anything it was the resilience and tenacity of the Great British Marshal. The north of England and southern Scotland were no places for normal folks venturing out into the great outdoors and yet little huddles of hi-viz orange jackets were spotted all around the countryside even in the most inhospitable of locations.

How some of them ever reached their locations heaven knows. Trees were blown down across main roads, not just forest roads, and then there was the snow and the ice, the rain and the mud, the wind and the cold. 

But they weren’t there just in time for the rally cars arriving. Many of them were there well ahead of due time as routes had to be checked, stakes hammered into frozen ground, arrows stapled and miles of tape strewn across roads and junctions. That meant up and out of bed long before rally crews stirred under their duvets.

And all this on top of weeks of pre-event preparation and planning. Routes had to be recce-d and measured and indications highlighted for the siting of stage sign, plus areas marked for marshals, while suitable parking places had to be earmarked for radio and recovery/rescue teams and paramedic crews. This pre-event detail will not be noticed by passing rally crews but the work has to be done.

Similarly, it’s not just rally crews who have to pack the van and load the trailer, the Marshals and Officials all have their own kit and have to fund their own transport. 

MS UK pay mileage and accommodation expenses to their appointed officials on each event, but club officials and volunteer marshals don’t get owt from the governors. Marshals provide their own vehicles, buy their own fuel, pay their own accommodation in most cases, and furnish their own provisions, and for what? Chillblains, frostbite, footrot, or very rarely sun stroke. And then there’s the midges!

Regardless of what Mother Nature throws at them plus route changes, stage cancellations and time schedules changing at the last minute, there is a job to be done, and this stoic band of volunteers are steadfast in their determination. The bigger surprise is that most of them remain cheerful and helpful, and if any one of them ever does resort to colourful language, especially when that rare breed of spectator arrives, the surly lout who knows better, surely they can be excused? 

And once the cars have passed, the forests and roads have to be changed back to normal. Junctions opened up, stakes and arrows reclaimed while many Marshals also willingly act as litter pickers because of the thoughtless, selfish, stupid actions of the messy few.

Even then the job is far from done as once the volunteers get home and thawed out or dried up, the cars have to be emptied, clothes washed and aired, boots and kit cleaned, and the camp kitchen and paraphernalia put away - ready for the next time. It’s no wonder that Marshals don’t compete – they haven’t got the bluidy time!

A few years back the Scottish Championship tried to introduce a Points Reward Scheme, the more events attended and officiated, the more points the individual earned. Golden Wonder backed the scheme and there were some big prizes for the top points scorers but the initiative failed because it was dependent on rally organisers and clubs sending in copies of the Marshals Signing-On Sheets. That wasn’t an easy task at the time as the Sheets had to be collected from each stage, collated, photo copied and either posted or faxed back to the co-ordinator.

In the light of new technology perhaps it is time to have another look at such an initiative, and one that perhaps MS UK could undertake on the sport’s behalf. After all they have all the basic information on computer due to new Marshal/Official licencing and training schemes and they issue such volunteers with ID cards.

Here’s the plan. MS UK should sign up to Nectar Points (or some other reliable redemption scheme) and everyone who gets issued with an MS UK card is automatically enrolled and perhaps even given 100 points as a signing-up incentive. Thereafter at every event, the volunteer’s card is scanned and points awarded. Naturally there would be a scale for awarding points starting with marshalling on a navigational road rally, more for a Targa, more for a single venue event and even more for a forest stage rally. These points could be exchanged for any sort of goods that the volunteers need such as snacks, proper food, outdoor cooking equipment, clothing, batteries, torches or even tools, whatever the store sells!

Yes, there will be a set-up fee and an ongoing charge but if I can take payment for selling books on my bluidy phone, then surely MS UK could come up with an ‘App’ to allow Marshals to scan their cards at a specific event and score points. What’s the alternative? Pay the Marshals, or expenses at least? If none of the above, at least give them all a voucher for midge repellent! 

Good idea, or what? And I won’t charge MS UK for it!

However it would need the clubs, event organisers and Associations to take this up and carry it forward ‘cos the MS UK high heid yins don’t reply to me any more, they just ignore any messages sent from the far north. I wonder why?

Anyway, well done each and everyone of you. I doff my bunnet in admiration. If M&S did volunteers, they’d be rally marshals. Gaun yersels lads and lasses.

Book - 'Booking' the Book

Phew! …. Just a wee note to all those who have messaged, emailed, texted and even phoned me with regard to the latest book, the ‘Scottish Rally Championship 1990-1999’. It does seem to have gone down rather well! Thanks very much for all the kind words and good wishes.

It’s not just the memories that the book itself generates but the other more personal memories that are triggered when each reader recalls certain events or sees some of the photographs. Admittedly a few of the photographs are a wee bit cheeky, but it seems as though I have got away with it – no hate mail or threats of physical admonishment as yet.

There were however two photographs which didn’t make this edition and that was because I asked the subject’s permission beforehand – it was refused. Fair enough, but it seems you all want more.

More than one reader has already suggested that I produce a photograph book, just pictures and wee story captions alongside to explain the context. That’s maybe not a bad idea, but I always had the notion in mind that there could be an extra book in the series for all the stories and pics that didn’t make the cut first time around. By that time I should be beyond caring about being sued for slander, libel and/or defamation, I reckon folks might just take pity on a pensioner prisoner! I won’t be seeking permission for that one – just publish and be damned, and then go into hiding!!

Anyway, that lies ahead, for now I’m about to get the third book underway, the ‘Scottish Rally Championship 2000-2009’. That should be ready later next year as all the rally notebooks are not buried as deeply in the loft as the previous ones, so should be easier to get at.

The Mull book has also gone down rather better than anticipated and I have commissioned another short print run. Even folk who weren’t there and didn’t know what the original ‘MullMurmurs’ were have enjoyed it.

So if you’re looking for a late Christmas present, better ‘book’ it early:

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Road - Another dud cell

Just when new electric car prices are starting to fall and the used electric car market shows a glimmer of light, another threat to this new Government-led ICE car replacement initiative comes charging over the horizon.

The Government has already announced that from next April electric and low emission vehicles will be taxed in line with current DVLA guidelines. That means free road tax is going the same way as free public chargers. So much for cheaper ‘green’ motoring.

And there’s more – possibly. According to a survey carried out by Startline Motor Finance there are indications that some companies are considering ‘dynamic pricing’ for public car chargers.

Remember the furore over the Oasis re-union gigs? The more people who tried to buy tickets the more and quicker the price went up. Instead of hundreds of pounds the ‘official’ ticket sellers were able to charge thousands! Capitalism at its finest, eh?  And what was behind the scheme? Bland claims about ‘the market decides’ were just a pathetic excuse to try and hide the real reason – sheer bluidy greed.

Well, it looks as though the ‘dynamic pricing’ formula is not dead yet. If Startline’s survey results are any indication they could be coming to a charger near you. Not surprisingly, over half the folk who responded thought it was a bad idea, but giving hope to the greedy pocket plunderers, almost a quarter of respondents though it would be a good idea as they would be able to charge their vehicles when the dynamic pricing was at its cheapest.

Great in theory but how does the average motorist know which public chargers are operating at which pricing structure and then how do they know if there won’t be a queue, or the price has already risen, by the time they get there?

Folk who have home chargers and the ability to plug in at their place of work won’t be affected but for everyone else, where’s the protection?

We have been continually promised cheaper electricity by successive governments both up here and down there. Huge claims have been made about investment in ‘renewables’ and huge generating figures have been claimed for wind and solar power, so the simple, question is – when will we see the benefit?

Methinks all this increased power output is being used to heat up the ‘hot air’ which is being expelled by those who sit in the seats of political ‘leadership’ and the boardrooms of the power generating companies.

We can’t win, can we? Bah, humbug!

Book - Now on general sale

The second book on the history of the Scottish Rally Championship has now been published and is on sale – in ideal time for Christmas presents!

It follows on from the previous 1980-1989 book and covers the decade 1990 to 1999. If the 1980s were a ‘golden’ period in Scottish rallying, the 1990s burnished that reputation during which time three world titles were won by two Scottish drivers and one Scottish co-driver.

All three rose to prominence during this decade and continued to compete in Scotland before international success took them further afield.

This book differs from the previous volume in three main respects following ‘complaints’ received after publication of the first book. These ‘complaints’ were all received from buyers of the first book who wanted longer reports, more stories and more pictures!

This book has therefore complied with those wishes/demands/threats! Each of the 80 plus individual rally reports from the 1990s decade is longer and more detailed, there are more stories and even more photographs – again, many of which have never before been published.

The popular ‘McRae’ section has again been included which also features many previously unpublished photographs. This has resulted in a bigger book with more pages - and all due to customer demand.

There were also requests for more ‘personality pages’ and three have been included in this latest book. They are all there on merit, but where would I stop? Everyone who competes in the national championship is a ‘personality’ in their own right!

Do you think more should be included in the next book – the 2000s – or should there be a separate book devoted to such meritorious individuals

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Rally - A sporting spectacle

Standing with a bunch of auld, and not so auld, rally hands at Kames yesterday, some of the wizened, battle hardened desperados reckoned it was an awfy expensive way to go rallying with not a lot of bang for your buck and wondered what enjoyment the competitors got out of it.

They missed the point. The folks that were actually taking part were thoroughly enjoying the whole affair and its challenges. With regard to cost, it can’t be compared to a modern special stage rally, it’s more like an endurance Targa Rally. And yes, a four day event of this nature might well have an entry fee upwards of £5000, but what cost is a family holiday abroad these days, just to lie on a beach with a gallon of sun cream?

The entry fee at first sight might be worth a gulp or two but it is an all-inclusive figure. In the case of the ‘RAC Rally of The Tests’ that means four nights bed and board with regular meal stops and evening get-togethers. Compare that with the Entry Fee for a one day stage rally these days which is heading upwards of £1000 before you add in accommodation for one or maybe two nights for crew and service crew. And that’s before you add in the cost of tow vehicle, trailer, tyres and fuel.

And we haven’t even mentioned the cars yet. What price a stage prepped Mk2 Ford Escort these days let alone a Fiesta R5, and compare that with a ‘road rally’ spec Escort Mk1, Sunbeam, Corsa or Golf. The price differentials are huge here. Of course there is also a wide choice of sports cars from which to choose, from  MGBs and Triumphs, to Sunbeams and Healeys, whilst the more affluent members of society may hanker after more exotic and expensive historic machinery, like Bentleys, Jaguars, Rovers, Alfas and Lancias, but again, most of what is available costs far less than a current spec World Rally 1 or 2 car.

Like any form of motor sport, the competitor’s budget will determine the vehicle choice, for instance, there was a Morris 1000 and a Maestro out there yesterday with their crews having a ball.

No race suits or crash hats, and no roll cages, but if Nomex panties are your thing, then go for it.

For added fun and challenges, some folk go for the weird and wonderful. Vehicles that would give some Scroots the heebie jeebies if you turned up for one of their sanctioned historic rallies as evidenced by some Buicks and Chevrolets yesterday. These were often favoured by the American moonshine smugglers 60, 70 and 80 years ago who raced across state lines in America to the beat of flat head V8s and straight sixes. And maybe that’s why some folk choose these – the noise!

Of course navigation skills are required and this is where the team effort comes in. In some events, all the navigation can be done prior to setting off, which helps those who may succumb to motion sickness when the head is down poring over maps, while others require a bit more concentration whilst on the move. Along the way there are Driving Tests and Regularities which exercise driving skill, and to ensure that the correct route is being followed ‘Code Boards’ may be set up to be recorded in passing.

Local car clubs are offering an increasing number of Targa Rallies these days and folks can dip their toes in the water using their regular family runabout before taking things a bit more seriously. The atmosphere around these events is also rather different to stage rallies where there is time to chat and compare notes, and the competition is less intense with folk willing to share tips and hints.

And whilst the bystanders stood around yesterday harumphing about the lack of spectacle, the participants were having a ball.

This was, and is, quite simply a sporting celebration of the automobile with added camaraderie and endeavour.

Rally - RAC Rally of the Tests

This weekend …. Starting from Darlington today, the 22nd running of the HERO organised ‘RAC Rally of the Tests’ heads to Scotland. After a tour of County Durham and the Pennines the crews head north through Duns to overnight at Dalmahoy this evening. Tomorrow (Saturday 9th), the route takes them via Tests at Larkhall Kart Circuit (1st car 09.40 Hrs) and Kames Motorsport Circuit (1st car 11.30 Hrs) to a lunch halt at Drumlanrig Castle. Then it’s back to Cumbria via Lockerbie and Langholm, for the final Sunday loop.

But don’t go thinking this is a gentle tour of the countryside, the route incorporates 30 Tests and 22 Regularities. Of course the drivers have the easy bit, they just steer the thing and do as they are told whereas it’s the navigator who is really in charge of the navigation and timetable and no doubt have to put up with any ‘hissy-fits’ from the other side of the car when he/she messes up a timed test!

Of course the main attraction of this type of event is the competition machinery. The rally is for pre-1968 cars (although some others are allowed) and includes a wide variety of machines in the 80 car entry, from MGBs and Triumphs to Chevrolets and Buicks plus Volvos, Lotus Cortinas, Minis, Alfas, Lancias, Porsches and all sorts.

Of particular interest to us ‘locals’ is the number 22 Volvo Amazon 132S of George and Rosalind Topp. A once upon a time navigator for a certain James S McRae, George is now a committed historic rally driver and it’s Rosalind who keeps him on the road – most of the time. Prior to this second ‘career’ George was a real journalist and edited the weekly ‘Hamilton Advertiser’ newspaper in Lanarkshire and was a great friend to Coltness and Lanarkshire Car Clubs and Scottish motor sport in general following the careers and promoting the exploits of Lanarkshire rally and race drivers. Sadly the newspaper is mere shadow of its former self and wouldn’t know the difference between a rally car and a political rally with shouty people making a nuisance of themselves.

Also on the entry list is another refugee from Scottish stage rallying, Callum Guy is entered at number 14 in his Sunbeam Tiger with Amy Henchoz in the ‘hot’ seat. A former ‘works’ Volkswagen driver Callum has over recent years competed in a huge number of historic events right across Europeland with a variety of cars including a Vauxhall Chevette and now the Sunbeam, but he seems to keep changing cars more often than his socks.

By the way, if you do visit Kames tomorrow, I will be there and have books with me!! Look for the red Transit.

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Book - Now available on-line

Following the ‘unofficial launch' of the new ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 1990-1999’ book last Monday evening at the Coltness Car Club open night, the book is now available to purchase in the on-line ‘booktique’ at £45 per copy plus £5 P&P - all 250 pages, over 80 rally reports, many ‘true’ tales and over 400 photos, ready for public consumption :-

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P.S. Just make sure you pick the right one!! The covers may look similar but the photographs are different.

The Treasure Hunt

Prior to Monday’s night’s bunfight in Ashgill, Coltness Car Club staged a Treasure Hunt on the Sunday and despite the fiendish, twisted mind that pulled it all together (Ally again!) some of the crews actually found their way round (more or less) the whole route while tackling some ‘University Challenge’ grade questions.

Considering the malicious mind that came up with the associated quiz, resorting to Google or Wikipedia was no good, nor was encyclopaedia Britannica any use in finding the answers. In fact, the complete works of ‘Oor Wullie’ annuals would have been of more use given the level of intellect employed in compiling the questions!

As for clean sheets, that’s only what posh folk put on their weans’ beds so there was a lot left for the results checkers to consider, discuss and adjudicate before delivering their verdict at the finish, although no Protests were accepted and anyone mentioning the ‘Blue Book’ was docked even more penalties.

The winning survivors were the studious and stubborn Donald and Struan Young, with Jim (Chief Bear) and Ann Brown second, while Martyn (wait till his Ma sees the state of his tee-shirt!) Douglas and Ryan Dunbar were third with Malcolm Wilson once again pressed into presentation duty.

And whereas normally senior club officials would have been too embarrassed to receive such an award on a ‘home club’ event and would have declined, the runners-up suffered no such affliction.

Book - Launch event

What a night …. The Bears did it again, thanks this time primarily to Ally Shaw. In the nicest possible way Ally is hard work. A force of nature. Slice him through the middle and it will read “Number 1 McRae Fan!” through him like a stick of Blackpool rock.

It was Ally who was behind the award marking Jim McRae’s 50 years of success in rallying and Malcolm Wilson OBE was there to stamp a bit of authority on proceedings. Ally had also commissioned two rather special ‘trophies’ for the presentation accompanied by accurate scale models of the actual Ford Escort Mk1 which Jim drove on the recent Grampian Stages. It was therefore really nice to see the owners of the car, Wullie and Mike Stuart amongst the audience having travelled all the way from the awfy far north. Even four times Scottish Rally Champion Ken Wood (with his carer Andrew!) had made the long trek south for the night.

And once again, what a turnout. Dalserf Bowling Club was packed and yet the dance floor remained untouched by any threat of ‘rhythmic movement to music’ which is an alien concept to the Bears.

Folk started queuing before the doors were open and the room filled up quickly once the lights were switched on. The noisy chatter levels rose to such a pitch that it would have made an MS UK Noise Official flinch while the flowing banter was punctuated by bursts of raucous laughter and more than the occasional profanity was uttered.

Meanwhile ‘the bookseller’ was doing a busy trade and was quite overwhelmed by the reception and the warm words of praise for this latest rallying epic. Only one punter queried the price (thanks Alex!) but its all your own fault. You wanted more, and you got it. It was indeed most gratifying thereafter to note little knots of people hunched over opened copies of the book, flicking through the photos and remarking on weel kent faces and of course, those who are no longer with us. So once again, thank you all, from me.

All too soon, Stewart ‘the Larkie Lip’ Weir called the rom to order and aided by his glamorous assistant (Ally!) the presentations were made to Jim and to his navigator on the Grampian Rally, Gail, with Malcolm doing the business. Although ‘some years’ apart in age it’s perhaps odd to think that both Jim and Malcolm started rallying in 1974, but as 5 times British Champion Jim gleefully pointed out, it wasn’t till Jim stopped competing that Malcolm won the British Championship title for himself!

The ensuing chat amongst the guests was notable for just how relaxed they were in this company – the constant smiles and laughter ‘on stage’ echoed around the packed room as insults were traded and secrets revealed. It looked very much as though Malcolm enjoyed his evening as much as Jim although there was one moment of tension when Jim mentioned that negotiations for next season with regard to young Max’s (who was also in attendance) plans would soon have to begin bolstered by Stewart adding the threat that Jim was considering the appointment of Ronnie Gray as Team Manager  - that nearly brought the house down!

Once the show was over, Malcolm’s chauffeur, none other than Arthur Gallacher, whisked his Boss back over the Border ready to resume normal business life on the morrow after a good natured night of ribaldry and fun.

And that surely is what rallying is all about.

As for the latest book, ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 1990-1999’, it will be available on-line sometime tomorrow when I update the wee website but I’ll let you know the details when it’s done.

Book Night - Point of order

CASH only …. Just a wee reminder to anyone attending to-night’s Coltness Car Club open-night in Dalserf Bowling Club. The club bar only takes CASH, it disnae dae cards or cheques, and will certainly ignore any claims of: “Ah’ve left ma wallet at hame!”

However, the bookseller will have his wee machine with him and can now also take card payments with his phone – will wonders never cease? The machine works well when there is a good signal, and we experienced only a few hiccups last year with some of the lesser known cards. So no Monopoly money and no home made cards otherwise you’ll be shown the ‘red card’!

Early interest suggests that it will be awfy busy tonight with doors open from 7.30pm. This also means the car park will be busy too so please park your private conveyance carefully and thoughtfully just to help everyone on the night and dinnae go annoying the neighbours.

Remember, this is the home of The Bears.

That’s not a threat by the way, that’s a warning! 

Book - Panic averted

Panic averted (see previous Post) …. First batch of books collected. 20 boxes equals half a tonne – and there were already some boxes of ‘Mull Murmurs’ books in there!! That made the old Tranny settle on her springs. Good job the Polis weren’t about, but then it’s closing time on a Friday, eh? So that’s us ready for the bunfight on Monday evening. Let the good times roll, Yee Haaa!

Rally - Don't Panic

Don’t panic, don’t panic …. Cue the Benny Hill music and visions of Lance Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army’s dancing around like a mechanic who didn’t let the turbo cool down long enough before reaching down for the dropped 20mm socket.

Phoned the printer this morning to check what time I should be there to pick up the books and spoke to the pleasant young lass in the office:

“I’m sorry he’s not in this morning.”

Me: “That’s OK he said he would leave the books at the warehouse door.”

Her: “I’ll just check, can I call you back?

The minutes ticked ominously by like a cooling down BDA after a hot climb of Drummond Hill with my heart rate rising faster than an F1 dynamometer. Of course I knew that we were now in the hands of the book binder, but maybe he didn’t have the same sense of urgency as the printer?

An hour later, the phone rang, and I was quicker off the mark than Keith Cowan at a free post-rally buffet.

“How many books do you need?”

I told her.

“Oh!” followed by a hand being clamped over the speaker.

“Can you be here for 3pm, we close at 3.30?

A rather relieved reply followed: “I’ll be at the back door, waiting!”

Fingers crossed, eh?