Rally - Calm before the Storm

Although the Book-tique will be at the Jim Clark Reivers Rally this coming Sunday 24th, it won’t be there on Saturday 23rd and will only be there on Friday 22nd if some folk wish to avail themselves of some entertaining and informative reading! So if you are looking for books before heading home after the Friday/Saturday event best let me know beforehand - I can be contacted via DM on FB if interested.

This non-appearance on the Saturday is due to the refusal to issue a domestic Pass for Saturday as there is a holiday weekend shortage of the official Carers normally required to accompany a certain personage on extra curricular duties!

However, the reason this offer is being made for a Friday visit is that a couple of our visitors from the far south, even beyond Carlisle and Coldstream, have expressed interest in acquiring some copies of the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ books as they believe these tomes of deeds past and gory forest descriptions have an educational value and will be helpful in knowing what awaits rally folks in the North East of Scotland in August later this year and for the WRC visitors next year.

Given the interest being expressed by our furrin cousins it is indeed fortuitous that these books feature a ‘Glossary’ at the back to help protect their Anglian innocence from the celtic candour of the Scottish vernacular. Apparently there are still some fresh and virtuous souls out there who don’t understand what glaur and stoor are, let alone cowped and gubbed, so this helpful addition to the books will prove a godsend no doubt.

The book-tique will therefore be open for business all day Sunday in the Reivers Rally Service Area, and if required, on Friday in the same place – look for the red-chequered flag!

And if you fail to make a personal visitation you can always buy the books on line:

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

Also available on Ebay – search for ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ Books

#rallyscotland

#motorsportbooks

 

Rally - Shrinkflation

Of course I blame the Government, Trumpland, the oil companies, the gas and electric companies, the greedy big supermarkets, the crooks that run the Water Boards, the bigger crooks who work in Stock Exchanges and Banks – we all same to be paying more for poorer quality, smaller quantities and worse service.

And so it seems, it has come to this. Signalling the end of civilisation as we know it, this quality of life draining process has wound its way down to Rhona’s tablet. Anyone involved in the Ecosse Junior 1000 Rally Championship series will know only too well of the invigorating and restorative properties of the sweet and sugary substance known as Rhona’s tablet and available in the big tin to all who frequent the Ecosse Junior marquee at rallies. A Scottish delicacy famed far and wide, and yet it too has seemingly been afflicted by the curse of shrinkflation, the cost of ingredients being driven ever upwards by the greedy and uncaring.

Where once this home made succulence was mouthful and chunky, it is but a shadow of its former self. Not so much a ‘sugar fix’ as a ‘sugar tickle’!

We’re doomed, we’re all doomed !!

 

Rally - Faster and Furiouser

What a grand day at Kames yesterday for the Mayfield Garage Services Kames Rally, what the track lacks in length it more than makes up for in interest and complexity and the best of it is that spectators can see almost the whole stage from the grass banking. At times there were up to four cars on track at any one time and the eyes simply couldn’t keep up with the action.

Graham Bruce and David Aitken eventually won the day by 30 seconds from Ross Fernie and Bryan Hamilton with Wily Willie Pollock and John Marshall safe in third - but they were only one second behind watching the mayhem play out ahead of them. Alister Watson got off to a slow start on the first two stages with a sick Escort, which was quickly fixed only to retire later, followed by Colin Gemmell who withdrew when the VW’s transfer ‘box failed, Billy McClelland was penalised for an overshoot and Steven Street was up for the fight but retired on the final stages. Mind you he had one of those wild fishtailing ‘spectator-step-back-quick’ moments on the fifth stage and how he got away with it, providence only knows!

Peter O’Neill and Alfie Letham finished fourth, and didn’t they make that wee 1600cc Nova dance, and Cole Hastings was in the top ten in that raucous Honda engined MG till the final stage. He says it revs to 9,500, I think he’s being awfy modest!

Top Ten:
1, Graham Bruce/David Aitken (Ford Escort Mk2) 19m 49s
2, Ross Fernie/Bryan Hamilton (Subaru Impreza sti) 20m 19s
3, William Pollock/John Marshall (Ford Escort Mk2) 20m 20s
4, Peter O’Neill/Alfie Letham (Vauxhall Nova) 20m 25s
5, Stephen Donnelly/Rian Walker (Ford Escort RS1800) 20m 27s
6, Peter McCallum/Stephen Clark (Ford Escort) 20m 45s
7, Duncan Ferguson/Jamie McQue (Vauxhall Chevette HS) 21m 02s
8, David Telfer/Hayden Brown (Ford Escort Mk2) 21m 05s
9, Shane Collins/Greg Halfpenny (Ford Fiesta Rally 4) 21m 07s
10, Graeme Rintoul/Jim Rintoul (Ford Fiesta ST) 21m 07s

In the Ecosse Junior 1000 event William Paterson and Mark McCulloch were having a right old ding dong with McKenzie Snowden and Rob Fagg till the blue Skoda simply fell over and landed on its roof. It was one of those two-wheeling, will-it, won’t-it hairpin moments, but it did. Even so Snowden’s winning margin over James McLaughlan and Andrew Blackwood was only two seconds, and they were only two seconds up on third placed Gregor Reid and Simon Mills! How close was that?

Top Ten:
1, McKenzie Snowden/Rob Fagg (VW UP!) 22m 05s
2, James McLaughlan/Andrew Blackwood (VW UP!) 22m 07s
3, Gregor Reid/Simon Mills (Seat Mii) 22m 09s
4, Lion Koffman/Richard Stewart (Skoda Citigo) 22m 13s
5, Ollie Poole/Richard Simmonds (Seat Mii) 22m 18s
6, Zak Furber/Chloe Fleming (Skoda Citigo) 22m 26s
7, Rhys Purvin/Barry Young (VW UP!) 22m 43s
8, Charlie Kelso/Jon Hawkins (Citroen C1) 22m 50s
9, April Blair/Eilidh Williamson (Skoda Citigo) 22m 57s
10, Gregor Beatson/Craig Wallace (Skoda Citigo) 23m 35s

 

Rally - Mayhem at the Mayfield?

The Mayfield Garage Services Rally, Sunday 10th May - Grudge match or friendly rivalry? This weekend’s rally at Kames, Muirkirk, has a full-house entry of Seniors and Juniors who will contest 14 stages commencing at 9.00am on Sunday morning.

Heading the entry list are four previous Kames Rally winners including last year’s victors Steven Street and Robert Wood. Hot favourites? You decide, because right behind them are three times Kames Rally winners Graham Bruce and David Aitken 2022, ‘23 and ‘24, so they know their way around. Behind them at number 3 is Billy McLelland who won the Albar Kames Rally in 2009 - and the Kames Time Trial in 2010 with Helen Brown co-driving. This weekend Billy will be partnered by Eamon Boyle.

Running at number four are Colin Gemmell, and Derek Keir, who won the Albar Kames Rally in 2017 in a Ford Escort Mk2 - and finished 2nd in 2014 with Chris Hunter in a Subaru. Colin also won the Kames May Rally Time Trial in 2012 and finished 2nd in 2011, plus his faither Ian was one of the original East Ayrshire Car Club stalwarts behind the idea of a Kames Motorsport Complex 46 years ago and was instrumental in the track design!

Running at number five are William Pollock and John Marshall who were third at Kames in 2023, so all they have to do is blow the doors off the four seeds ahead of them and they’ll be in the trophy hunt. But keep an eye out for Peter O’Neill and Eilidh Williamson who are running at number 6 in a Vauxhall Nova behind three Escort Mk2s, a Subaru and a VW Golf R7. They were fourth in the wee flyer last year and 3rd the year before!!

In total there are 27 ‘senior’ entries and 18 ‘Junior’ entries, this latter group contesting their own Junior 1000 Ecosse Championship for 14-17 year olds in a variety of one litre cars. This is the ideal training ground for youngsters seeking a start in stage rallying but if you think the auld gits in the Seniors class are competitive wait till you see the ‘up and at ‘em’ brigade in their buzz bombs – just stand well back.

And playing a starring role at Kames is the café and it is always a delight to see what tortuously tasty tray bakes will be on offer on the day along with other more mundane delicacies like bacon sandwiches, and maybe even pie sandwiches!

Spectators on the day, and interest from afar, can find results on the event at the www.scotresults.org website run throughout the day by Raymon Mann and his magnificent steam driven, coal-fired computerisator machine.

Also in attendance will be the Book-tique (the red Ford Transit Custom) selling copies of the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ books compiled, written, produced and published in Scotland. There won’t be a display or a marquee though due to space restrictions at this awfy busy international motor sports venue, but if you see the van I’ll not be far away. If you don’t know what I look like then just look for the most handsome bloke in the paddock - and then work back from there !!

The Book-tique made its first appearance of the year at Elgin the other week for the ‘Be More Colin’ Superstage event where again restrictions on space made for a more modest display, but only one potential customer needed an OS map reference to find it! And if I get permission I’ll put up my flag!

And if you fail to find me you can always buy the books on line:
https://fife-motor-sports-agency.square.site/

#rallyscotland
#motorsportbooks

Rally - The Perfect Day

The sun shone, the crowds gathered and the cars performed. Yesterday’s ‘Be More Colin’ Superstage event lived up to its name, it was a super day out. A get-together of lads and lassies mixed with auld gits galore and shiny metal in a celebration of a life lost and yet lived to the full. Mind you, what was intended to be a fun day out suddenly got awfy serious when that wee green light winked on at the start line of the day’s eight stages around Cooper Park in Elgin. What a stramash, eh?

The fight at the front was a fierce and furious affair between the Fords of Scott Mutch and David Bogie with the outcome not being settled till the final stage when Scott and Greg McDonald just pipped David and Daniel Forsyth for the win by 0.9 of second! But surely the star of the show was Alan Scott, with Shaina Archibald, in the wee MG ZR which buzzed and flew roon the public park. Looked at in daylight the 1600cc front wheel drive machine was only a second per stage slower than the mighty Ford badged monsters ahead of him.

In fourth place were Johnnie Mackay and Orrin McDonnell in the Mitsubishi, once they had found their way out of the car park that is, ignoring the ‘way out’ and ‘exit’ signs they left the service area for the rally start by leaving through the entrance. And it’s a good job the rally stage was only on the other side of the road otherwise they might not have found that either!

Nick Runcie behaved himself to finish fifth in a ‘borrowed’ Mike Moates Subaru Impreza with Michael Coutts on board, although I’m not sure if that was air escaping from a punctured tyre in the Moates’ camp or just a huge collective sigh of relief that the Subaru was returned intact! Rounding off the top six was another 1600cc motor, the Peugeot 206 of ‘Dangerous’ Des Campbell with Dawn Henderson hurling the poor wee thing roon the park like a peerie oan the end of a wean’s whip (ask yer parents).

And then there were those who didn’t. Paddy Munro was his usual effervescent self but only after the first stage. An ECU in the Escort ‘tripped’ and the car lapsed into ‘road mode’ and it took him ages to think what the fault was. Alison Horne lost out when a driveshaft in the MINI broke but wee brother Adam saved family honour by finishing 12th – and he beat his faither, so that will make breakfast in the Horne hoose interesting this morning.

Brett MacKenzie also lost out with a failed driveshaft although with the tender administration of a 14lb hammer the offending item was gently persuaded to ‘slide’ back into place. Liam Wood’s Fiesta ST smacked a kerb hard breaking two wheels and a hub and yet the team didnae give in. They set to sourcing replacements and making repairs and within half an hour the wee car was back on all four wheels. Sterling stuff.

And what about young Martin Gillespie, sat his BARS just weeks ago, and entered his first rally at the wheel of his self-built Corsa SRi. I say ‘self-built’ but whit a team effort that was building the car from scratch in two months! The wee car just looked a jewel sat there in the sun yesterday at the rally start. And not only did he finish, he and Sean Devine were 20th overall just behind the Nova of Mike Moates and Gary McDonald. Just when you start to worry about the future of the sport along comes a truckload of youthful enthusiasm like that to put a smile back on your face.

Of course there were many, many other tales to be told and shared and one can only hope that someone looking down from above fair enjoyed the frolics.

Top Ten:
1, Scott Mutch/Greg McDonald (Ford Escort Mk2) 9m 20.7s
2, David Bogie/Dan Forsyth (Ford Escort Mk2) 9m 21.6s
3, Alan Scott/Shaina Archibald (MG ZR) 9m 30.0s
4, Johnnie Mackay/Orrin McDonnell (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo7) 9:34.3
5, Nick Runcie/Michael Coutts (Subaru Impreza) 9m 44.9s
6, Des Campbell/Dawn Henderson (Peugeot 206) 9m 47.5s
7, Iain MacDonald/Laura Dawson (Peugeot 106) 9m 48.1s
8, Doug Weir/Stevie Brown (Ford Escort Mk2) 9m 48.7s
9, Ben MacDowall/John Shepheard (BMW130i) 9m 55.0s
10, Euan MacKay/Chelle Hunter (Peugeot 106) 9m 55.1s

Be More Colin Superstage

 Open for business! Tight for space here in the main service area for the 'Be More Colin' Superstage event in Elgin, so no room for the wee marquee. The stage itself is just a short stroll away in Cooper Park beside the half built or half demolished Elgin Cathedral, what a shame. All that scaffolding around it, still I think it will be finished quicker than a new CalMac ferry, eh?

Book-tique on Tour

 …. and so it begins. The mobile book-tique will make its first appearance this year at the ‘Be More Colin’ Superstage event in Elgin on Friday and Saturday 24/25 April. It was supposed to make its debut at the Snowman Rally a few weeks back, but it wasn’t to be, so this weekend marks its most northern appearance to date! So if all you folks in the far north haven’t yet purchased a copy of the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ books then here’s your chance!

The plan is to park the red Ford Transit Custom in the main Service area so that rally fans will be able to find it rather than set up in the spectators enclosures, because the casual spectator won’t be interested in such an informative and entertaining tome – only the diehards. And to help you find the van, look for the flag pole with the red and white chequered flag fluttering in the breeze or hanging limply in the mild Spring air!

There are three books in total (the fourth is underway) each covering a separate decade – 1980-89, 1990-99 and 2000-2009. There is a separate report on each event in each championship year, plus event top ten results and class winners, and the vast majority of the photographs have not been previously published.

Working on these books has been a great joy and memory box tickler because looking back on events past is a reminder of where many of today’s and yesterday’s top Scottish rally stars started, for instance, Colin McRae in a Sunbeam, Robbie Head and David Bogie in Novas and Euan Thorburn and Garry Pearson in Peugeots and of course Jock Armstrong doing star-jumps out of his pram! Only kidding Jock – honest!

You can also look before you buy as samples will be on display.

For more information on the weekend’s activities, 63 Car Club who are organising this weekend’s rather special event in memory of a lost car club member, have published full details plus a map on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1423316002930665&set=a.219617156633895

The invited list of 45 competing crews will be headed by record breaking, seven times Scottish Rally Champion and current Scottish Champion David Bogie with local co-driver Daniel Forsyth and he’s bringing his glorious Ford Escort Mk2. And if you get a chance have a peek under the bunnet and lie on the flair tae have look underneath. This no ‘normal’ Mk2! And joining the Ford-fun filled fray, Bruce McCombie, Barry Groundwater and Scott Mutch have forsaken four wheel drive in favour of Escorts and they’ll be up against the likes of Andy Horne in a Hyundai i20 R5 and Johnnie Mackay and Brett MacKenzie in their Mitsubishi Lancers. And something else to tickle the earbuds, Ben McDowall’s BMW!

And then of course there is the ‘stand well back’ brigade led by Paddy Munro, ‘Dangerous’ Des Campbell, Nick Runcie and Brian ‘The Sheriff’ Watson. And no doubt bringing a tear to the eye and a tug at the heart strings will be Kenny Watt’s original wee Mini – as opposed to the German sausage tin varieties! All this and more.

Eight stages around the perimeter of Cooper Park in the centre of Elgin will feature non-stop action on Saturday from 8.55 am until 5.00 pm, with Scrutineering on Friday evening – ah cannae wait!

And if you fail to find me you can always buy the books on line:

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

#rallyscotland
#motorsportbooks