Sam Mullen, 1960 - 2026

Current day rally crews will probably say “Who?” while those of a certain age and era will more likely respond with a smile as it triggers memories of a force of nature by the name of Sam Mullen. Sadly, Sam passed away last week. Sam was a true character, what you saw and what you heard was what you got. No airs and graces, just forthright views expressed forthrightly! No offence meant and none taken, just a ball of energy and fun, although it was often the ‘fun side’ that got him into trouble!

At 16 years of age Sam joined Kerr & Smith, the Ayrshire based Vauxhall commercial vehicle and car specialists, as an apprentice mechanic to a chap called Ian Shennan whose brother Robert Shennan was already making a name for himself in rallying and Sam was soon inculcated into this culture!

Once he had had served his time Sam moved on working mostly for himself in a variety of premises around Cumnock, Auchinleck, Mauchline and latterly new Cumnock. Oddly enough he was back with Ian Shennan more recently where work was progressing on yet another Ford Escort Mk2. Sam was a master of all trades, a time served mechanic, proficient with bodywork repairs and good at welding, in fact all the skills needed to build a rally car!

It was around 1986 that Sam first ventured into the world of rally competition. Oddly enough, he started as a co-driver and he finished third in the 1987 East Ayrshire Car Club Co-Driver’s Championship! Less talked about was his driving debut although he actually finished an encouraging 38th overall in an Opel Kadett on the 1986 Baldoon Stages Rally. However, the end of season Galloway Hills Rally resulted in a non-finish – when the Opel ended up in a ‘burn’ (Scottish word for stream!) so a change of marque was called for and work commenced on the build of a Ford Escort Mk2.

Now immersed in the sport of rallying, Sam still did a bit of co-driving but for the 1989 season he concentrated on driving and he won the ‘5 of Clubs Championship’, a regional championship series in the south west of Scotland. Initially he teamed up with Sharyn Stewart for the 1989 Snowman Rally, still with the Opel Kadett, and they finished 45th from a start number of 56 and on the Scotphone Stages finished 33rd from a start number of 107. Then came the Granite City Rally. Although all the stages were contested they had an ever-so-slight wee ‘off’ in Clashindarroch which ensured they completed the rally but were OTL. They were 36th on the J&P Argyll event and topped that with an 8th overall on the Baldoon Stages Rally and 2nd overall on the Kames Trophy Rally. The duo finished off the season with 17th overall on the Galloway Hills Rally just 7 seconds behind a chap called Ivor Clark.

1990 was a lean year but he and Tom Hynd managed to get a run out on the Galloway Hills Rally and finished 11th overall now with a Ford Escort Mk2, but he certainly made his mark on the sport the following year.

The 1991 season started well with a 18th on the Snowman and 7th on the Scotphone Stages, then came the Granite City Rally. As a counter in both the Mintex British Championship as well as the national Scottish series, the rules for eligible cars were a wee bit different and those outwith the Mintex rules had to run at the back of the 95 car entry, five minutes behind the last National car! Sam and his home brewed Ford Escort were in good company. Donald Milne was there too with Bob Locke, Ian Wilson, Richard Wheeler and others with Sam and Jim Leighton winning their class and finishing 28th overall in an entry which comprised the best of British talent at that time.

They bounced back on the Hackle Rally with 10th overall and then Sam teamed up with Tom Hynd for the Fleming Toyota Rally losing out on a top ten finish after a puncture in the fifth stage at Glengrubach Moor – although that’s not what Sam called it later! Even so he ended his first full season in the national Scottish Rally Championship in 17th place overall and 5th in the Challenger’s Championship.

By this time Sam was earning a sound reputation for building rally cars and competing took a bit of a back seat for the 1992 season but he did manage a 10th place finish on the Weldex Rally in Argyll with one David McHarg Esq alongside! Another good result was 11th with Gerry Bryden on the Border Rally

1993 was arguably his best year. He finished 4th overall in the main Burmah Scottish Rally Championship and won the Challenger’s Championship outright after a string of decent finishes including 8th on the Weldex, 3rd on the RSAC Scottish National and 11th on the Weir Toyota with Gerry Bryden.

A good season with Gerry in 1994 resulted in 7th place in the Scottish Championship standings which included a 12th on the Valentine, 9th on the Weldex and 5th on the RSAC Scottish National. He didn’t manage a full season in 1995 although a highlight was 12th on the Snowman Rally first time out with Cosworth power in the Escort and another 12th on the Jim Clark Rally with Gordon Adam in the hot seat.

No-one really knows how many cars Sam actually built whether it was a 1300, 1600 or a Pinto, his cars had a reputation for being well built with good handling. Business had to come first but he managed a run out on the 1996 Snowman Rally with ace engine builder Ian Shennan and Ian recalled Sam’s determination. They had a big off into the trees in Teindland Forest on the fourth stage with Sam jumping out instantly tearing at the bushes, trees and rocks with bare hands to clear a path to get out and get going. They did – and they still finished 12th. Sam and Gerry Bryden also lost out on a top 20 finish on the Granite City that year with a puncture in Balloch Wood and one of his final events was the 1997 Rally Alno where he and John Truesdale finished 13th. And just for a laugh he and Tom Hynd contested the 1998 Park Systems Rally in a bright yellow Mk2 with a ‘Taxi’ sign on the roof – but that was only after the local Ayrshire Polis had a word when they spotted the car ‘testing’ on the local industrial estate! However, the discussion ended well once they realised it wasn’t any new taxi-driver, it was just Sam. The test must have been worthwhile – they finished 14th!

Although most co-drivers talked of his determination, they and many others also talked about his skill behind the wheel. Sam had a natural flair coupled with exquisite car control a fact which he enjoyed showing off just for the pure joy of driving flat-out and steering from the rear. A measure of his finesse was in evidence at the Kames events which he won, a venue that rewards neat and tidy lines, as opposed to his excessive use of the wider gravel roads in the forests!

But if Sam worked hard and competed fiercely, he played hard too, especially at the after-rally parties. When the glasses were drained and the bottles were empty, Sam Mullen was usually the last man standing. His antics are the stuff of legend whether he was on a table top demonstrating the ‘Mullen striptease’ or blowing the fuses on a Karaoke machine with his rendition of ‘My Way’. He was also possessed of a wicked sense of humour, best avoided by those of a sensitive and ‘woke’ disposition!

Sadly, over recent years Sam had to cope with Type 1 Diabetes a condition managed and overseen by Elsa although he passed away peacefully at home last week. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Elsa and the two boys Iain and Gareth, his immediate and wider family and all of his friends. Scottish rallying has lost yet another true character, a genuine one-off.

 

Rally - The debate

I don’t normally report or comment on funerals. It’s a time for family and friends to try and come to terms with such a terrible loss, but I see that other people have posted their own thoughts after yesterday’s Highland gathering. So I hope I can be forgiven for revealing one little tale from yesterday.

After the packed service (estimates vary around a thousand!) in Huntly yesterday a procession of rally cars followed the entourage to Huntly cemetery. It was a rather poignant and colourful tribute to a lost friend, one who had lived life to the full, and if truth be told just a wee bit of a party animal at times.

After the short open-air service and the black cars had departed there was some hesitation before the rally cars followed. That was because there was a heated debate underway in the lead car, the Hyundai i20 R5 resplendent in its full and exact 2024 Snowman Rally winning livery.

I don’t know who suggested it first but Ken Wood was saying surely we can’t do that in a cemetery and all the while being urged on by Neil Shanks to defy convention. Neil of course was John Wink’s co-driver on his last 40 rallies, and not just a co-driver but a close family friend, so knew him well. And under that ‘Doc Brown’ (from Back to the Future!?) exterior there lurks a streak of devilment in Ken Wood, as one might expect from anyone who wrestled a 300 bhp Rover Vitesse through the nation’s forest rally roads in days gone by.

Whatever, the debate raged on for a few seconds until Ken finally switched on the ‘Launch mode’ button on the Hyundai. According to him it wasn’t a ‘full launch’ just enough to make the heart of the beast pop and bang and reverberate across the grass and through the trees breaking the reverential silence.

They both agreed – he would have loved that. 

You want proof? There are two streaks of rubbery black smudges on an otherwise quiet stretch of tarmac in Huntly cemetery where they shouldn’t be.

For sure, John Wink would indeed have loved that.

 

Book progress

Last weekend the first digital proof of the next book, ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 2010-2019’, was delivered to the publishing premises of Castle Bunnet. This of course prompted yet another read-through of the text but also the first view of the photographic lay-out and the accompanying captions. First impression was that David (of Dash Design) has done it again. He has taken the jigsaw of photographs and made them whole, albeit in book pages. Of course it would be easy just to paste them into the pages like a stamp album but a book has to look good and read well!

The format is the same for this book as it was for the previous three with reports from every round of the championship during that decade in the first half of the book and then the photographic section in the second half.

As before, each rally report lists the top ten rally finishers plus each class winner, including Co-drivers, and at the end of each annual chapter the top ten Championship Drivers, Co-Drivers, Challengers and Juniors, and of course listing all the end of season Class points scorers. It’s always interesting to look through the class winners and points scorers because that is invariably where the stars of the future first appear!

As for the photo pages, they are split into three sections, first with four Personality pieces (because we had four different Champions in that decade) followed by a section on the People who took part and concluded with a selection of action photos from Alistair and Andrew Farquhar, John Lindsay and of course the multi-talented (?) author.

Now a word of caution, a touch of frivolity may have appeared in some of these photo captions. Of course they will all be ‘factually’ correct, although maybe not ‘politically’ correct, but why let some ‘woke’ nonsense ruin an otherwise accurate description?

The big surprise however, is that despite all the read-throughs which took place while writing the text and despite having passed through the hands of the two proof readers a few mis-types and errors still crept through that nit-picking process. No doubt there will be a few slip-ups yet which have passed inspection but this can happen to the best and most famous of authors and printers, not just the amateurs. So if you do obtain a copy of the book and spot a wee mistake, best keep it to yourself, because this will have been picked up and fumed over by the author on the first read through of the finished book!

What is glaringly obvious at that stage has been missed countless time before and he certainly won’t need any well meant pointing-out!! So be careful.

David now has all the corrections and list of style changes and will work through that, before the next stage when the proof will be passed to the printer and he will prepare an physical page print-out which will then have to be checked again before it is passed to the print and binding room.

In other words ‘BD Day’ is drawing ever closer, that is ‘Book Publishing Day’ – not to be confused with toilet furniture - think about it.

https://fife-motor-sports-agency.square.site/

 

Funeral Arrangements

 

There will be a ‘Celebration of Life’ for John Wink next week on Thursday 3rd of September in Strathbogie Drumblade Church, Bogie Street, Huntly AB54 8DX at 1pm, and later at Huntly Cemetery on the western side of the town just off Deveron Road. The family have respectfully invited all friends but family flowers only please. Donations for the The Leanne Fund can be made at the church door. And one final request, please wear a touch of colour in honour of John.

 

Rally - Seeking justice

The total number of marshals on the recent Grampian Stages Rally was swelled by one extra individual ahead of this year’s event! And not for the first time this season! Until this year, this ‘new’ marshal was a licenced co-driver of over 40 years experience who has competed very successfully at the top level in British stage rallying having started as a novice navigator on club road rallies.

And why was he marshalling? Because the sport’s governing body had refused to re-new his Co-Driver’s Licence!

Last year this individual and his regular driver hatched a plan to contest next year’s FIA WRC Grampian Rally to top their final years in this sport before resorting to the more ‘gentle art’ of historic rallying and bar-room bragging!

Come 2026 and Motorsport UK refused to automatically re-new this Co-Driver’s Licence – and so far without specific reason or explanation, thus scuppering hopes, plans and dreams.

And here’s the slightly complicated bit, the Co-Driver in question has a heart condition. This however is not something new, a slight defect he has had since birth. Up till now this has not been a problem.

The Co-Driver in question has, and uses regularly, a DVLA Class 1 driving licence to get himself around the country and to and from events so there is no problem there. He is mentally able to use OS maps and even sufficiently electronically competent to use a SatNav which means he can safely be allowed to leave home without the need for carers. He even has scans from his regular consultant which have shown no change over the past five years. In other words, he is normal, absobluidylutely normal. And yet the Motorsport UK medical view is that he does not meet DVLA Class 2 licence criteria and therefore have refused his licence renewal!

Of course this prompted a few questions from our aggrieved party which were initially sent by email to the appropriate named person in Motorsport UK. Answer came there none. Undaunted, a telephone call was made to the named personage and questions repeated. Apparently he was assured of a response. So far no response and no questions answered.

That is surely not good enough from a major sports governing body. The least that could be done is a private call to discuss the matter and explain Motorsport UK’s position. Perhaps there is a good reason for refusal and maybe that reason has not been fully investigated so far, but the very least that could be done is keep the chap informed, even if he is asked to keep their response confidential.

For sure there must be a reason, but to simply ignore a chap who has spent a few thousand pounds on competition licences over the past 40 or so years is either thoughtless at best, or inconsiderate at worst. Motorsport UK are often quick to penalise and/or fine perceived wrongdoers, as recent events in Scotland have shown, but when it comes to helping and advising folk they don’t appear to be just as quick off the mark!

Naturally our hero is made of sterner stuff and hasn’t given up, but to keep contact with the sport in the meantime he has qualified as a Marshal and is giving something back.

On a personal level, methinks our governors have taken their hands off the steering wheel on this one. Of course we need officials, organisers, marshals with regular training and qualifications, and yes the governing body has many rules and regulations to oversee and amend as and when necessary along with all the other things they have to do, like newcomer initiatives and bringing an FIA WRC round to the UK - again. But they have to remember that the lifeblood of the sport, any sport, is and are the competitors. Without them we wouldn’t need all the volunteers, or even Motorsport UK!

The non-identification of individuals in this wee story has been deliberate as there is no desire to upset any delicate sensibilities, but there is a wrong to be righted here, and on that basis all licence payers/holders should be concerned.

Hopefully we can return to this sorry tale with some better news !!

Note: Pics for illustrative purposes only, any similarity to anyone involved in rallying is entirely unintentional and purely coincidental!

John Stuart Wink, 1982 – 2026

One of the bravest, strongest and most humble of men passed away last week when John Wink lost his life-long fight with Cystic Fibrosis. First diagnosed with the disease when just a baby, life was difficult until a lung transplant 16 years ago eased his constant daily struggles. Eased, not cured. That condition was managed on a constant 24 hour basis daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. And yet he managed to build a hugely successful architectural practice in the north east of Scotland.

It wasn’t all work and no play though when he achieved a desire to go rallying. Twelve years ago in 2014 he teamed up with family friend and rally enthusiast John Forrest and together they contested the McCombie Builders Granite City Rally. They had hired/borrowed a Subaru Impreza through a couple of local worthies named Milne and Watson. In fact John was one of Quintin Milne’s sponsors in the early days of the Vauxhall Nova and Quintin persuaded him to go out for a run with him in a Subaru Impreza as a ‘thank you’ for his support. But it was when Quinton let him get behind the wheel that a fuse was lit with Q encouraging him to experiment with ‘late braking’.

Anyway, the two Johns were seeded at 105 in the 110 car field but they didn’t get very far. At the end of the Swanley second stage in Fetteresso Forest they were forced to retire when the gearbox broke - or blew up depending on who was spoken to! Disappointed? Yes. Discouraged? No.

It was around this time that a certain Ken Wood Esq entered the tale. He needed a new hanger at his  Insch ‘international’ Airport and as with all things flight-connected it had to be done properly and legitimately so he needed an architect. He was already aware of ‘young Wink’ who had an interest in karting and drank in the same pub of an evening and asked if he could help. Following a site visit Ken asked how much it would cost to oversee the build to which John replied it would cost nothing if he helped out with his rallying plans!

Far from taking Ken’s advice to start modestly with a Nova or Peugeot that rather quickly resulted in a flight from Aberdeen to Birmingham to look at a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6 where a deal was done and they flew back to Aberdeen before promptly turning around and driving all the way back south with a trailer to pick up the car!

Their next event was the McDonald & Munro Speyside Stages. Running at car number 83 Wink and Forrest finished in 53rd place. Job done, route completed, result achieved. Thus encouraged off they went to the Colin McRae Forest Stages.

It was a troubled outing. The car didn’t perform well over the first three stages and at Service they over-ran their time allowance trying to find a fix to get back on the road. Although they contested the final three stages they were OTL by the finish. Disappointed? Yes. Deterred? No. Determined? Most definitely.

John had found something which he could physically manage while challenging his intellect. He also realised he could be competitive, his illness was much less of a disability in motor sport although there were occasions on the longer stages and events where he would struggle, but it never once dimmed his appetite for the sport and the challenge. He maybe couldn’t play, tennis or football, or even golf, but he could drive a rally car, and he could be competitive against rival teams. 

At the end of the 2014 season the newcomers were setting top 30 times on the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally till the final sixth stage when the Mitsubishi slid off the road in the final technical and twisty stage at Dalbeattie. A beginner’s season of ups and downs perhaps, but the fire had been lit, there was no turning back.

The 2015 season kicked off with a spirited run and encouraging result on the Arnold Clark Thistle Snowman Rally where the duo finished 16th overall. Two more top twenty finishes followed before an Evo9 was acquired to replace the Evo6 and the improvements continued. At the end of the 2016 season they scored their first top ten result, when they finished 8th on the Grizedale Stages Rally in Cumbria. The 2016 season started well too and included a 10th on the Border Counties and 8th in Argyll but the driving shoes were now getting restless and another plan was being hatched.  

This time the flight to look at a new car went a bit further than Birmingham. The two Johns and Ken flew to Frankfurt to Hyundai HQ to look at a new car. On their first step inside the facility the heads were on swivels with hands reaching for wallets, but Ken was a moderating influence. The first i20 R5 chassis was sitting there still bearing its mud streaked stage testing evidence but was parked alongside a gleaming brand new R5. On the basis that the new car was untried and the test car had proven itself, the trio came away with chassis 001, the first such car in private hands although it has to be said, the Hyundai folks had to be convinced that the fledgling Scottish team were men of honour and serious intent!

The new car’s first outing was the Grampian Forest Rally where it finished 14th overall and rounded off the 2017 season with 5th placed finishes on the McRae Gravel Challenge and Wales Rally GB National. Improvements gained and potential proved.

In 2018, progress was still being made and resulted in 6th on the Snowman, three fourth placed finishes on the RSAC, Argyll and Galloway Hills Rallies and topped that with 3rd on Grizedale and 2nd on Wales Rally GB National. Those results ensured that John Wink finished third overall in the national Scottish Rally Championship that year behind Andrew Gallacher and Donnie MacDonald.

The following season saw a string of top six finishes culminating in John’s first outright victory on the 2019 Wales Rally GB National event – with Neil Shanks in the co-driver’s seat! Neil had in fact replaced John Forrest due to a clash of loyalties. John’s wife Aileen Forrest had taken an interest in rallying which resulted in her acquiring a Mitsubishi and hubby John duly switched co-driver’s seats!

John and Neil were now regarded as top contenders on any event they tackled but that all important inaugural Scottish Championship victory had to wait until the 2024 Snowman Rally where they scored maximum championship points for the first time.

In ten years of rallying John Wink’s record speaks for itself. Apart from individual results he finished fourth in the Challenger’s Championship in 2017 and won it outright in 2018. He also finished 3rd overall twice in the Scottish Rally Championship in 2023 and 2024 and was 6th in 2022 and of course he won the Wales Rally GB National Rally in 2019 and was runner-up the year before.

Throughout his rallying career there were occasional disappearances from the field of play when hospital visits and treatments had to be fitted in, and yet, I never heard any excuses, moans or complaints, he was just there for the competition, the craic and the fun!

And if John was brave, strong and humble, so too was his wife Joanne constantly caring for and providing support for her husband and their two young girls, Darci and Abbie. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends, supporters and huge circle of acquaintances. He will be sorely missed by us all, but none more so than Joanne and the girls.

 

Rally - Far North Classic

Northern DeLights …. Rallying seems to be more of a sprint these days than an adventure with the emphasis on speed and driving skill as opposed to navigation and concentration, but the sport of Targa rallying offers folk the chance to re-live the good old days, albeit it at a less frenetic but still equally enthralling pace!

So if you fancy a wee bit of an adventure why not head north, the real north, up beyond Inverness on the weekend of the 25/26 September for the ‘Far North Classic Rally’. Indeed many folk don’t realise that John O’Groats is 120 miles north of Inverness.

This event was widely praised last year and the eedjits - sorry, that should read - ‘the brains’ behind this year’s event are Peter McInnes and Fraser Hughes who are very experienced in the dark arts of targa rallying. They have devised a 165 mile route through Easter Ross and Sutherland over roads that see more hooves than tyres at this time of year (cos most of the tourists and motorhomes have fled south for the winter) with 5 Regularities and around 18 Timed Tests.

This should be a hoot, because Hughes and McInnes have history! Think back to 2018 and the Mull Targa Rally when this pair left Tain at 3am, caught the first ferry to Mull, did the rally, finished 19th, caught the last ferry and drove back home – all in the same day. By the way, they had no hood on their Mazda MX-5 and it rained all day. They were drookit by the time they got to the ferry, more drookit during the rally and well and truly waterlogged by the time they got home in the early hours of the next day. See what I mean about eedjits, sorry, awfy nice chaps!

That means that whatever they have come up with for their ‘home’ event will be well worth a shottie. Rally HQ will be at the Morangie Hotel in Tain with the clue in the name giving away the secret of the pure, clean air up there!

There are classes for regular Targa cars and Historic road rally cars and if ye’ve got a Willy, or a Jeep or a Land Rover there’s a class for you lot as well. It’s all about inclusion and fun.

Regs are on Highland Car Club website here:

https://f5c914e2-f8ed-45b4-8a59-95d9e6b5e6c6.filesusr.com/ugd/5df0c6_e5ca46c7386b48f489a19c8cfb40d15d.pdf

More Info with flavoursome pics on FB here:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=far%20north%20classic