Rally - Northern Knights

Northern knights - of the road …. It was a night when the rutting and barking stags fell silent as new monsters roamed the hills and glens on the Isle of Mull. These flame spitting, roaring protagonists howled their own unique mechanical cacophany as they ruled the roads for one final night.

And so it was that John MacCrone and Kirsty Riddick swept to victory on the 2026 Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally. Although harried all the way by Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank, the Fiesta Rally2 failed to catch the flying Escort Mk2, but it was close, the leaders were separated by just 39 seconds at the finish after 133 miles of narrow, sinuous, bumpy, ditch and rock lined tarmac. Finishing third were Scott MacBeth and Andrew Falconer in the VW Polo R5 moving up from sixth place previously held by Jonathan Mounsey and Richard Wardle, but lost out when their Ford Fiesta R5 slipped off the road in the 21 mile opening test of the final Leg.

As for the ‘giant-killers’, Ross Hunter and Chris Dodds also lost out on a top ten finish when their Peugeot 208 Rally4 also slipped off the road, but Luke Constantine and Ifan Devine scored a quite sensational 7th place finish in their front wheel drive, 1.2 litre, 3 cylinder, Opel Corsa Rally4. Every bit as impressive, perhaps even more so, was the ninth place finish of a rather elderly, ever so slightly battle scarred, 20 year old Peugeot 206 crewed by ‘Dangerous’ Des Campbell and Rhys Donaldson, and this result surely topped that mighty impressive 11th place finish on the 2019 Jim Clark Rally up against the best of British.

Throughout the field of 87 finishing crews there were many tales to be told, successes recorded and near-misses recalled but only a few can be highlighted here. 22 year old Lewis Hooper with old-hand Steven Brown finished 12th overall in their Fiesta R2 while Junior 1000 graduate Ollie Forrester with Chloe Fleming, the number 62 seeds, scored a marvellous 14th place finish in the wee Citroen C2R2. And didn’t Sarah Hunter do well, with James Braithwaite the number 82 seeds, finishing 17th overall in their Ford Fiesta.

Other results of note included Stevie Brown, the man behind the microphone, and Leesa Watson finishing 20th in a Vauxhall Nova, European Championship co-driver Cameron Fair, having swapped Pace Notes for driving gloves, and Scott Paterson were 32nd in another Vauxhall Nova and they finished just ahead of the gallant wee Rover Metro of Innes and Kirsty Mochrie.

Nikki Addison drove her Honda Civic round to 44th place with Callum Atkinson while another Junior 1000 graduate, Ruan Lowry with Ian McRae finished 54th in their Citroen C2. Iain ‘Phooey’ Noble and grandson Iain MacDonald also scored a finish in the Hillman Avenger as did Marc McCubbin with Steven Whittet in the diminutive SEAT Mii. Of course there were many, many more, and we all have our own favourites, but to finish a Mull Rally is a victory in its own right. It’s not only ‘the Best Rally in the World’, as advocated by one Ian Grindrod Esq no less, but it’s also one of the toughest.

And so the Isle will fall silent once again allowing the stags to take up their rightful position as kings of the island – until next year! Maybe next time I will be allowed to stay longer and witness more.

 Provisional Leaderboard after Leg 3:
1, John MacCrone/Kirsty Riddick, 2h 11m 58.4s
2, Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank, 2h 12m 37.4s
3, Scott MacBeth/Andrew Falconer, 2h 13m 35.6s
4, Stephen Thompson/Larry Higton, 2h 15m 54.9s
5, James Hall/Tom Murphy, 2h 17m 42.2s
6, Colin O'Donoghue/Evan MacBride, 2h 17m 43.3s
7, Luke Constantine/Ifan Devine, 2h 18m 42.1s
8, Hugh Brunton/Richard Crozier, 2h 20m 23.6s
9, Des Campbell/Rhys Donaldson, 2h 22m 14.5s
10, Andy Woodward/Harry Stubbs, 2h 22m 29.9s

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Rally - Leg 2

Watching from afar …. One of the big attractions (?) of the Island of Mull is its generosity. This 300 square mile rockery adorned with greenery offers the islanders and its visitors a remarkable abundance of weather which further includes a tremendous variety of hot/cold, dry/wet, windy/misty conditions. And whilst rally drivers on the annual Beatsons Mull Rally appreciate this variety of challenges think of those volunteers who Marshal this event bent double into the wind to hold position or standing drookit as the Atlantic Ocean seemingly washes over them at times. If that sounds bad, all is forgiven, well nearly all, when the sun shines on this sainted isle.

And so it was that Friday night’s survivors headed out in daylight on Saturday afternoon for Leg 2 which comprised 6 stages totalling some 40 miles of rain slicked, sun parched, wind swept tortuous tarmac winding its round the north end of the island.

As ever Mull claimed its expected quota of victims including Daniel Harper in the Mini, young Ruan Lowry, top ten seeds Billy McClelland and Craig Rutherford, and Owen Paterson who fell victim to a slippery right hander with the Subaru sliding off on the outside of the bend followed by David Wilson in the BMW. Apparently some spilled/dropped oil added its own multi coloured slick to the watery wetness. They joined a list which already contained the likes of notables such as Ian Chadwick, Stewart Morrison, ‘Montana’ Morrison, Cole Hastings, and very sad to say, Fergus Barlow.  Unfortunately, John Stone was amongst those early casualties on Friday night and had to be hospitalised for further checks following a crash. We can only wish him well.

Meanwhile back at the front, Hugh Hunter is getting into his stride, the Fiesta2 closing the gap on leader John MacCrone’s Escort Mk2 to just over half a minute while Colin O'Donoghue has dropped back from the runner-up position to 7th place. He dropped over 2 mins on the Hill Road/Kilninian stage, a treacherous sliver of tarmac winding its way over the hill and down the glen between grassy banks and dry stane dykes. Behind the leading duo, Jonathan Mounsey/Richard Wardle have moved into third place having passed Stephen Thompson/Larry Higton but the gap at the end of this Leg is a mere 2 seconds. And you know what? Dangerous Des and Luke Constantine are still in the top ten!

Unfortunately Ross Hunter has dropped out of the top ten with a Maximum on the Calgary Bay stage but wee sister Sarah has moved up to 18th place overall (gaun yersel girl) and equally impressive is young Ollie Forrester’s pace as he lies 16th after the daylight run. Another spectator favourite has also lost out, the bellowing Triumph TR7 V8 of James Wilson while it also looks like Mike Storrar is out- that notorious Morris Marina pilot! And what of car 129, the 1 litre SEAT Mii? Well Marc MCubbin is still going as is ‘Phooey the Fireman’, well to be truthful ex-fire brigade officer!

And it ain’t finished yet, the final Leg through Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning of one of the longest and toughest club rallies in the UK takes the survivors back into the darkness and uncertainty of this magical, mystical place where spectators stand in fear of a light touch on the shoulder never knowing what lurks behind them in the trees and the heather – was it human or animal - or neither?

 Provisional Top Ten after Leg 2:
1, John MacCrone/Kirsty Riddick, 1h 23m 19.1s
2, Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank, 1h 23m 51.8s
3, Jonathan Mounsey/Richard Wardle, 1h 26m 04.2s
4, Stephen Thompson/Larry Higton, 1h 26m 06.1s
5, James Hall/Tom Murphy, 1h 26m 47.0s
6, Scott MacBeth/Andrew Falconer, 1h 26m 50.4s
7, Colin O'Donoghue/Evan MacBride, 1h 28m 01.0s
8, Hugh Brunton/Richard Crozier, 1h 28m 09.9s
9, Des Campbell/Rhys Donaldson, 1h 29m 10.8s
10, Luke Constantine/Ifan Devine, 1h 29m 32.1s

Note: There has been an officially accepted change of co-driver for James Hall.

Rally - First Leg, Mull

A Night for giant killers …. Friday night was not a night for the fearful or the ungodly. As ever, the Beatsons Mull Rally served up a battlefield where giant-killers rode their skill and their luck. To call conditions treacherous is an understatement. It’s not just the rain that upsets predictions and hopes, it is where the water lies in hollows and verges or runs across the road in veritable streams – and usually in the wrong places. Like braking zones!

And yet, the front runners still manage to head the results, but not all of them. John MacCrone and Kirsty Riddick covered the 44 miles of water slicked tarmacery of Friday’s opening night tests in 41 and a half minutes. That’s not skill, that’s witchcraft. Fully a minute behind them were Colin O’Donoghue and Evan MacBride. I’m sure I saw a leprechaun cackling away merrily on the roof of the Escort in hot pursuit of the witches’ four wheeled broom but only 8 seconds behind them were Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank heading up the ‘old guard’.

In fourth place was a Rally4 car, the Opel Corsa of Luke Constantine and Ifan Devine and there was another Rally4 car in the top ten with Ross Hunter and Chris Dodds in the Peugeot holding 8th place, but putting in a demon drive (yet again) was the old school Peugeot 206 of ‘Dangerous’ Des Campbell and Rhys Donaldson.
 
And this is where the real magic of Mull makes itself known, and it’s not just about the machinery its about the men and women inside the projectiles. In 18th place overall are Daniel Harper and Chris Campbell – in a Mini. Not one of those giant german sausage tin MINIs, but a real, genuine British Leyland Mini – just like the car in which he finished 10th overall on this event exactly 30 years ago!

And what about Junior 1000 Graduate Ollie Forrester, first time on Mull in his new Citroen C2. The first time he’s seen real rain and terrifying darkness. He and Chloe Fleming lie just outside the top 20 in 21st place. Marvellous, absobluidylutely marvellous! There’s another young Junior 1000 graduate showing well too with number 99 seeds Ruan Lowry and Ian McRae holding 60th place in the 125 car field.

Top lady at this stage, and she is a rally driver, not just a ‘lady’ rally driver is Sarah Hunter (that’s her big brother in the top ten!) who is holding 28th place with James Braithwaite. No real surprise there given her proven pace on Irish events this past year! And there’s the wee Rover Metro of Innes and Kirsty Mochrie skipping over the puddles to finish the first Leg inside the top 50 in 47th place and looking more like CalMac’s Loch Frisa when it encounters some of the more watery sections!

And that’s what Mull is all about, the people and personalities, so keep an eye out too for Iain ‘’Phooey the Fireman’ Noble in the 121 Avenger, Marc McCubbin on his first Mull with a 1 litre Junior (although Marc’s certainly no ‘Junior’!) Challenge car running car 129 and Cammy Fair, the co-driver turned driver, in his new Nova running car number 90 – but pick your own favourites and follow their fortunes – or misfortunes!!

And what of Fergus Barlow? At the shakedown yesterday, his rally hopes took a dive when a death rattle was heard from under the bonnet. The search was on for an engine or a car, and in the end a bright red Historic spec Escort Mk2 was sourced from Stirling and sent northwards. At close of play last night, Fergus and Heather MacCrone running with the number 135 on the door were holding 12th place overall – first time out in a completely different car!

Provisional Top Ten after Leg 1:
1, John MacCrone/Kirsty Riddick, 41m 30.8s
2, Colin O'Donoghue/Evan MacBride, 42m 32.2s
3, Hugh Hunter/Andy Marchbank, 42m 40.1s
4, Luke Constantine/Ifan Devine, 42m 55.15s
5, Jonathan Mounsey/Richard Wardle, 43m 41.2s
6, Stephen Thompson/Larry Higton, 44m 06.5s
7, Des Campbell/Rhys Donaldson, 44m 11.7s
8, Ross Hunter/Chris Dodds, 44m 13.2s
9, James Hall/Laura Stone, 44m 31.2s
10, Owen Paterson/Catrin Price, 44m 38.0s

Booktique roadtrip

Thought I'd break the long and arduous road trip north with a short scenic cruise aboard the luxurious 'Inner Hebridean Disco Princess' which offers a full zero calory range of nowt and nae drink but has a huge outdoor freshwater pool for bathing in the all inclusive price.

Rally - Planning ahead

Planning a long and arduous road trip requires considerable thought and research. As such, suitable enriching fortification is an essential requirement both before, during, and after such a demanding undertaking. With that in mind any traveller contemplating such a gruelling endeavour must ensure adequate supplies of nutritious foodstuffs to last, not just the pre-event planning, but the long trip itself utilising its mix of highways, byways and former drove roads.

Then there is the added hazard of the risky sea crossings across the whirlpool of the ‘Narrows of Corran’ followed by the Atlantic current running through the ‘Sound of Mull’ where the carrier of choice, CalMac, ferries boatloads of people wearing anoraks with hoods. An added hazard here may also include having to deal with the intervention of Police, Border Control and Island Immigration Officers although the RNLI can be relied upon to intervene and ensure safe passage.

In other words a road trip to the Isle of Mull is no piece of cake hence the need for careful consideration and planning. Fortunately, the source of such sustenance can easily be acquired once the border with SouthLand has been crossed into NorthLand in any number of retail stores and food banks across the land.

And if there is a shortage – perhaps the blame can be laid at my door. I’ve got mine, have you got yours?

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Rally - Mull bound

The Book-tique is heading to Mull next Friday 9th October, but only for the day. First ferry over in the morning and an evening ferry back home. Unfortunately, a full weekend is just a bit out of reach these days. The Doc was told it was just a wee day trip to deliver some orders, but I didn’t quite get around to telling him the destination was Tobermory, and he didn’t ask!

The plan is to set up somewhere near Scrutineering which this year is back in the Distillery yard and I’ll publish a wee fotie with details once I get there so the Book-tique will be easily found.

I’ve got some orders for collection but I’ll also have copies of all the other books as well as copies of ‘Murmurs on Mull’. This book actually takes up from where Brian Molyneux’s book finishes. The late founder of the Mull Rally published two books, the second an update of the first, and covers the period 1969 to 1993 with ‘Murmurs on Mull’ taking the story from 1993 to 2010.

However it has to be said, and potential readers warned, that the style and content of the ‘MoM’ volume is rather different from the academic, erudite and detailed storytelling of the original documentaries as written by the original and genuine authority on the subject, whereas the current story extension wasn’t!

In fact the ‘MoM’ volume is comprised entirely of the FULL set of the ‘MullMurmurs’ on-event bulletins which were composed and typed on to stencils during the rally itself and then run off on a duplicator in the back of a van before the hurriedly printed bulletins were handed to ‘Bulletin Bill’ and his sundry collection of press-ganged cohorts for distribution around the island – and all accomplished while the rally was underway!

Unfortunately, the author of the original Mull Rally books which told the story of ‘the Best Rally in the World’ declined to update the history any further and so in the absence of intellect, common sense and expert insight this 1993-2010 update relied entirely on the compilation of the on-event bulletins as invented, composed and written by the feverish mind of one Jaggy Bunnet Esq.

No-one is quite sure who this character was (is?) such was his fleeting presence at various locations around the rally route and in the pubs (fuelled by the Salen Hotel’s steak pie – thanks Gerry) compiling the gossip, scandals, tales, fibs and occasional rally facts into some sort of informative medium. Remember this was in the days before pocket sized computers, compact dot matrix printers and mobile telephones which could send and receive messages without having to sprachle up nearby hills in search of a signal.

In fact, the introductory chapter in this book details how the job was done while the reproduction of the bulletins themselves in this 350 page (yes, really!) book tells the story of the rally as it was at the time recalling the sights, sounds, smells and weather as events actually happened.

In fact, I have been told by an authoritative source (?) that it provides the most evocative commentary on events as they happened.

So for one day only, the Book-tique will be on Mull and open from 9.00 am (ish) to 5.00 pm (ish) on Friday 9th October somewhere near Scrutineering. Just look for the red Transit and I’ll try and put my flag up as well !!

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Book - On schedule

Print run done …. ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 2010-2019’ book is now in print! It’s still far from finished though as the sheets will have to be guillotined and then bound with hard cover added, but it is still on schedule for the November launch.

Speaking of the launch there will be a couple of changes for this year’s ‘do’. Firstly it will be in a new (but nearby) venue and secondly it will be a wee bit more low key this time. The first one was pretty much just a basic car club get-together albeit with hunners more folk in attendance! The second one had attracted a few stars including Arthur Gallacher who had dragged his M-Sport boss up to the Coltness ‘country club’ for a night-out and then the third one turned into an even more formal ‘Rally Forum’ when more guests turned up and the ‘Larkhall Foghorn’ had to be pressed into service as MC.

Anyway, the idea is to get back to basics, folk can just come and go as they wish, and have a natter (or not) with like minded folks. No timetable and no guest list, so there’s no need to be there for a certain time while later arrivals won’t miss anything. Having said that, someone might just get up at some point during the evening and utter a few words, but really no formal plans are being laid.

Things just got a wee bit out of hand over the past two years, so no expectations this time, just a chance for a natter and an opportunity to get a book ahead of the Christmas rush. More details and directions will follow.

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

#ScottishRally #RallyScotland
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