Rally - Booktique in residence!

 Arrival in Crathes .... So much for the weather 'forecaster's' crystal ball gazing, or sticking a finger oot the windae. They said rain in the east, well, we've got it in the west as well! Anyway, got the Book-tique squeezed onto its spitch but won't put books on display till I see if the rain goes off! Fingers crossed. With over 90 cars entered on the Voly Grampian Rally plus their supporting vans and trucks, the Milton of Crathes site is already looking awfy busy, albeit folks are just arriving to take the covers off and get the tea urns boiling. Anyway the flag is up so rhat means I am now officially in residence. Just had a wee smile to myself, Arthur Gallacher has just arrived with the M Sport wagon, took one look at his allocated pitch then stepped it out to see if his truck would fit. Now just to sit back and watch him manoeuvre it in. So that's this morning's entertainment sorted!

#ScottishRally #RallyWeekend #GrampianRally

#MotorsportBooks

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

Rally - Book-tique heads North

Sounds like it’s going to be quite a ‘do’ in the north east this coming weekend for the Voly Grampian Rally. What an entry! The great and the good (that’s the internationalists) are due to meet up with the blessed and the beautiful (that’s us, the national and club rally folk) to do battle in the Grampian forests. 

In some ways it might just bring back the spectacle of the old RSAC Scottish rallies when they were truly ‘international’ and the Granite City rallies when they were truly ‘national’. This weekend’s forestry feast might not match the rambling stage menus and mileages of old, but it will give us a wee taste of what’s to come. If folk think this will be a big weekend in Banchory, just wait till next year! Mrs McCombie had better start her cake baking now!

Anyway, the mobile Book-tique will be there and I still have some posters left! I keep telling folk, they cannae order them on-line or ask me to hold some back – once they’re gone, they’re gone!

I might have to bring some extra books with me as well. It would appear that some folk are of the opinion that these books will provide a source of inside information on the north east forests as they contain reports and tales from Scottish and Granite rallies in the past and therefore offer up some idea of the competition and the nature of the roads. Misguided? I don’t care, if they want to buy the books, then I’ll sell them. In fact I might even do a deal for all three – for cash!

So if you’re looking for the red Transit and red chequered flag flying high (well, medium high – that Welsh bloke still has a taller flag pole than me!) it will be in the Service Area at Milton of Crathes as opposed to the ‘RallyZone’ at Banchory. That’s because these books probably won’t appeal to the general public, more the genuine rally enthusiasts, fans and followers.

The Book-tique will be there all day Friday and Saturday, 7th and 8th August.

#ScottishRally #RallyWeekend #GrampianRally
#MotorsportBooks
https://fife-motor-sports-agency.square.site/

 

 

Rally - Cauld white stoor

Not that I want to give next week’s visitors to the ‘real’ North (as opposed to Mr Burnham’s vision of ‘the north’) the heebie jeebies ahead of their arrival, but it’s better to arrive informed than turn up in ignorance, is it not? For those in the deep south more used to heatwaves, it might just be advisable to pack a set of snow tyres and frostbite lotion alongside the sunscreen and slicks ahead of next weekend’s Voly Grampian Rally, 7/8 August.

Whilst some folk (who live closer to France than Scotland) have been sweltering in above 20 degree heat there are tales up here of hungry polar bears marauding the outskirts of remote settlements. Rest assured there is one thing that Scotland has plenty of, and that’s weather – of all varieties, and often seen in the same day!

For instance, the Granite City Rally of 1983 was a case in point. Where folk expected sandy, gritty clouds of kicked-up stoor, as defined in last week’s FB post, they were greeted with the icy white variety which fell from the heavens 

Back then, when four wheel drive was a novelty, Darryl Weidner and Doug Hart won the Granite City Rally in their Audi quattro with a time of 87 minutes 23 seconds for the 16 stage, 80 mile route. But possibly with the ‘drive of the day’, George Marshall and Ken Wilson in their Vauxhall Chevette finished second only 16 seconds behind the flying turbo tractor.

In third place was the Ford Escort of David Llewellin/Martin James ahead of the Escort of Terry Pankhurst/Roger Freeman and the Opel Ascona 400 of Phil Collins/Stuart Harrold. Rounding off the top six were Allan Arneil and David Cannon in another Escort 

Don’t believe me? The pictures tell their own tales and show Allan Arneil, Hugh Munro, Ivor Clark, Mike Stuart and Wilson Girvan.

Welcome to the true North!

#ScottishRally #RallyWeekend #GrampianRally
#MotorsportBooks
https://fife-motor-sports-agency.square.site/

Rally - World Class Stoor

Excitement is building ahead of this year’s Voly Grampian Rally on the 7/8 August and rightly so. Ahead of next year’s anticipated WRC visit, this year’s Scottish Rally Championship counter is attracting interest from much further afield with some of the top international teams sending crews to what was once the UK oil capital – before the politicians started to interfere!

And in a bid to make the newcomers feel right at home, the north east has its own over abundance of top quality stoor. That is the ‘rightful’ north east, the one with Peterhead and Aberdeen and not Newcastle Upon Tyne and Middlesbrough, but I digress, the recent Acropolis Rally featured Greek ‘stoor’ but Scottish stoor is a far superior grade. It is comprised of a very fine strain of celtic grush which is not as cloying and gritty as furrin stuff. That is down to centuries of hie’lan coos hoofing across the landscape, water from illicit stills cascading over the rocks, porridge eaters tramping across the ground, redcoat footsoldiers marching over the hills and glens and the spillage of blood, snot and other fluids which acted as a grinding paste on the Scottish granite. It is however a grade much favoured by the Scottish midge which can safely take to the air when the stoor is flying!

So visitors can be assured of a warm and welcoming reception when they arrive in the north east to sample the local forest fayre as demonstrated here on the 1982 Granite City Rally by the Vauxhall Chevette of Terry Kaby and Rob Arthur, the Opel Ascona of Bill Dobie and Dilys Rogers and catching the dust of the car ahead is the Talbot Sunbeam of Robin Eyre-Maunsell and Peter Scott. As for the final pic, that’s the Ford Escort of Darryl Weidner and John Parker disappearing into the distance followed by a tasty plume of stoor!

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

Other pictures of stoor are available and can be posted here if required by other explorers, missionaries and rally fans!

 

Rally - Sign of the times?

 A daring daylight robbery took place at this year's RSAC Rally at Dalbeattie. Somebody nicked one of the books off the display in the Book-tique. That's a first in three years of attending rallies and car shows. I was just more surprised than angry when I noticed. I wonder how much it will be to install CCTV !!!

 

 

Rally - at the RSAC

 Face in the crowd - an interested bystander !

Rally Raising the standard

 Just spotted a new flag pole - wonder if Jas P Wilson would do me a deal. The man in the moon would even see my flag !!