Rally - Rallying return

32 years after winning the Snowman Rally, the name of Jock Gray was again seen on a rally car last weekend but sadly no winners laurels this time. Neighbour and pal Walter Henderson carried the tribute on his Mk2. Walter and Jim Kinloch finished 41st overall and 4th in class and fairly lucky to do so because there was much wheezing and peching involved, not just because they were contesting the ‘Super Seniors’ category, but because the starter motor in the Escort failed! Well done team AGGRO – Auld Gits Go Rallying Often!

(An Alistair Farquhar photo.)

Rally - Sad auld git!

I sat down and counted the words in this week’s ‘Motorsport News’ Mull Rally report. There were just 540 words plus the result. Seven drivers were mentioned and one co-driver. And this was supposed to inform us what happened on a unique sporting event which attracted 150 competing crews to one of the toughest challenges in British motor sport. A sad reflection on rally reports of old, eh?

But it’s not their fault, it’s ours.

That’s primarily down to one main factor – the internet. The arrival of the internet with Ebay and Gumtree and all the other sales outlets virtually killed off newspaper and magazine advertising, the main source of income for most print publications. So the cover price went up and as it did so, the punters stopped buying. The result, fewer pages, shorter reports and less news coverage because fewer journalists could be employed and freelancers hired.

The big surprise is that MSN has managed to survive so long.  Circulation is less than a twentieth of what it once was

So don’t blame young Luke for his short report or Matt the Editor. Luke would have been given a word count by the Editor which was determined by the number of pages he could afford and the number of articles he could fit in the space dependent on the amount of advertising generated for that week’s issue and the paper’s current circulation.

And I’m as guilty as anyone. I don’t have a subscription now either. At £3.99 per issue it’s far too costly but I bought this week’s paper to read the Mull report having thought they might have made a better effort for an event comprising 20 Special Stages totalling some 140 miles of the most tortuous twisting terrain in the kingdom with 150 crews fighting it out on the ‘best rally in the world’. I should have known better.

Sadly, there are no ‘proper’ rally magazines any more. No more waiting with excited anticipation for the next issue of the monthly ‘Rally Sport’ magazine with its general informative overview followed by individual crew by crew reports. Not only have we lost Rally Sport but also PaceNotes, Rally Car, Road Sport North, Scottish Clubman, and many others like Car & Car Conversions and Competition Car. As for the weekly Autosport, it wouldn’t recognise the difference between the back end of a rally car and the arse end of a F1 reporter.

And we’ve lost them all for the same reason. Newspapers and magazines of old used to have back page sections full of adverts for cars, bits of cars and things needed for fixing cars. Now it’s all on-line. Instead of taking a loo-break to sit down with trousers at ankles to read the back pages, we’re still in the same position, but flicking through telephone screens instead.

Another factor is that younger readers appear to have shorter interest spans and won’t sit down to read a full report or article, more content to flick through social pages looking for shaky film clips and information on friends and rivals. But is that really true? Better journalism and more entertaining reports could possibly reverse that trend.

Browsing social media for rally news is like viewing a house through a letterbox. It’s hard to find a full and comprehensive rally report on there, all we seem to get is mere snippets, and try to piece the bigger picture from that. Then there is the question of accuracy and believeability. Who exactly is the author of such ‘news’ and ‘information’? Can the unknown name be trusted? You only have to look at the F1 chat lines and blogs to read the conspiracy theories. All too many of these ‘fan’ outlets are more concerned with ‘clickbait’ than imparting facts.

Of course, rally results are more plentifully available thanks to the internet, but they can only offer a black and white view of this colourful and vibrant sport.  Sets of result simply cannot convey the exciting, dangerous, intoxicating, compulsive, nature of the sport or soothe the skint knuckles, burnt fingers and bruised shins which can result from such a frenetic activity.

So what’s the answer? There is no answer. The regular, reliable, comprehensive dedicated rally magazine is dead, and if MSN disappears, what will we be left with? So be careful what you wish for.

All we have now is this bluidy internet monster. R.I.P. ‘Rally Sport’.

Rally - Mull memories

There will be others who will provide a much more detailed and complete report (Motorsport News? – ever hopeful!) on this year’s Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally but each and everyone who was there will have their own personal memories and highlights.

There were only two crews under 2 hours for the 140 mile, 20 Special Stage event and that was 4 times (now 5) winner Paul MacKinnon and Paul Beaton over a minute and a half clear of twice winners Daniel Harper and Martin Cressey, but Paul will have some way to go to equal his Dad’s record of 12 Mull victories!

Third place fell to last year’s winner Fergus Barlow with Darren Thompson in the hot seat. Of course all three crews were expected to go well whereas early leaders John MacCrone and Kirsty Riddick lost out first with a puncture and then a wee bit of an ‘off’ whilst James Ford and Neil Shanks were mighty impressive till they too dropped out on the Final Leg. But I tell you what, that puts rallying’s relative newcomer Neil Roskell’s fourth place into perspective with he and Daniel Barritt holding off the Bogie Mk2 rocketship.

David Bogie and John Rowan were best of the 2WD brigade in fifth place overall but didn’t Stewart Morrison and Johnny Baird do well, just over a minute and a half behind the former multiple Scottish and British Rally Champion. In the face of such strong opposition Jonathan Mounsey and Richard Wardle did well to finish 7th especially after that horrific shunt on the Jim Clark Rally earlier this year and occasional rallyist Stephen Thompson and Larry Higton raised eyebrows with 8th.

Special mention too, to Ross Hunter and Chris Dodds first time out in the Rally4 Peugeot who were ninth while ‘little Sis’, Sarah Hunter, flew the family flag high when she and James Braithwaite finished 45th in her Fiesta R2T. Gaun yersel Sarah!

Rounding off the top ten were occasional rallyists Gordon Cunningham and Stuart McManus doing extraordinarily well, but young (not so young nowadays!) Alec Brown with Lewis Brown did an exemplary job in 11th place just ahead of the BMW Compact of David Wilson and Dave Robson – that was a result!

Further down the field there was good news for young Ally Currie. Not just a finish but he and Chris Hamill finished inside the top 20 in 18th place and 1st in class. Navigating for Joe McKeand, Charlotte McDowall was 29th beating her ol’man and wee brother, Jim and Jamie McDowall who were 61st. That’s her off the breakfast detail for a week!

Rally sponsor John Marshall made it round in one piece without inflicting too much damage on the passing scenery as he and Craig Wallace finished 56th just three places ahead of Steven O’Donnell and Dingle McDougall. And wasn’t it nice to see an O’Donnell amongst the finishers list, and also not last through Scrutineering for a change, unlike his faither and grandfaither. 

Seeded at car number 100, the Autopoint Rally Team (all 13 or 17 of them, whatever!) resplendent in their eyeball smacking new rally jaikets and able to celebrate Martyn Douglas and Mark Thurley’s excellent 69th place finish second time out in the new car, and if miracles are to be believed on this sainted isle, here is the proof, Sandy and Ian Arbuthnott not only finished a rally without undertaking a major rebuild during it, they got a result with 78th.

And then there were the gallant wee Minis, the ultra professional and colourful Martin Page and Daniel Hurst 1275 GT in 87th place ahead of the Kenny Watt and Eilidh Williamson puddlejumper in a superb 95th place out of 100 finishers.

But they were the lucky ones. Dangerous Des was giving the big cars a real fright till the gallant wee Peugeot broke its gearbox, Mike Storrar cowped the unique MarinaFord, while Nikki Addison’s Honda gave up the ghost on the penultimate test (how cruel was that?) and the all-girl crew of Linda Brown and Iona Johnstone failed to finish when the Fiesta couldn’t keep up with their ‘need for speed’!

And what of the Photographers, Film Makers and even the Commentators. Having witnessed their epic efforts, Cecil B DeMille’s ‘The Ten Commandments’ was just a ‘B’ pic trailer!

And finally, the Marshals. What a huge bunch of stubborn stalwarts they all are. Little islands of humanity marooned amidst 300 square miles of rockery and greenery withstanding the elements with nary a complaint or harsh word – well, hardly any!!

Of course there were many more tales to tell, but these are just a few personal highlights, everyone else will have their own. Here’s to 2025.

Oh, and by the way, that wasn’t just mist or low cloud wafting over Dervaig at the weekend, I’m sure there was a tincture of pipe smoke in amongst it, courtesy of the ever vigilant spectator – thanks Brian.

Rally - Mull, a different view?

It’s maybe a good job that Jaggy Bunnet isn’t providing rally bulletins any more. Methinks his clutch on reality may be slipping. Reports had it that he was seen on Mull this weekend, but I’m not so sure …. and yet the following missive from afar landed in my in-box this morning. If he was there it would seem that he spent more time in Tobermory Distillery than he did on the stages ….

According to him, this is a true record of proceedings ….

‘The Invasion of the White Boxes’ ….

They came from across the sea.  Herds of ‘white boxes’ with many pulling smaller windowless white boxes and from Craignure and Fishnish they did scatter across the green and rocky landscape like swarms of aphids on the succulent green leaves of a beautiful rose. As they spread across the magical isle, many stopped and gathered together in smaller tribal encampments from whence these white boxes disgorged a whole army of assorted upright two legged figures.

Wearing an assortment of multicoloured apparel, the invaders were seen to roam aimlessly across the wild terrain seeking out what looked to be vantage points from which to inspect this wild domain. Amongst them were a lesser number of individuals sporting highly vivid rankings of yellow and green while a few, possibly of a more authoritative bearing sported uniforms of glowing orange and they were seen taking up stationery positions in remote parts possibly acting as guards or lookouts for the hordes.

If this was a foreign invasion and occupation, then it quickly became more violent. Some of the white boxes were seen to open their jaws wide and disgorge highly colourful and menacing conveyances which rolled along the ground on revolving discs. Initially quiet, as darkness fell, these machines were heard to utter a frightening crescendo of noise, some spitting flames and creating great plumes of sparks whilst emitting pungent clouds of smoke as the rotating discs spun on the island’s roads.

As night fell, these mechanical steeds sped across the terrain at ever increasing and more frightening pace as the hordes drew back – in fear? Or admiration? It was hard to discern the facial expressions of the onlookers in the foul wet darkness of the night.

Great beams of light cut through the murky darkness sweeping the heavens as a portent of what was to come. The noise growing louder as they approached the multitudinous large groups huddled together for warmth and shelter, their noise and excited chatter overwhelmed by the mechanical cacophany of the speeding night monsters. And then gone in a flash of light and sparks fulfilling all the senses of the watchers – sight, sound and smell with the earth rumbling underfoot with each passing.

And when all had passed, the silence was tangible as the weary watchers trudged and splunged back to the white boxes for restorative sustenance – barbequed haggis washed down with manually and lovingly distilled water – carrots and green tea considered an abomination amongst such company!

At the finish of the speedfest, a new King was acclaimed, Paul ‘Son of Boko’ MacKinnon with his squire Paul Beaton adjudged to be the victors, ahead of the visiting furriners led by Daniel Harper and Martin Cressey, whilst last year’s king, Fergus Barlow with Darren Thompson, abdicated office to King Paul and finished third at the head of a magnificent list of resolute accomplishers and heroic fechters – with special and heartfelt commiserations to those who didn’t.

It was now time to wring out the wet woolly headgear and sponge down the sodden fabric apparel – ready for the next session, for all too soon it would be time to depart, load up the white boxes, decamp and leave the island to its annual hibernation – till next year.

Apparently there is more such historic nonsense here:

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

Rally - Customer Service

To help the curious, the aged and infirm and those suffering night blindness – after getting an eye searing blast of Cibie Super Oscars (ask yer faither) or a Lazer light bar during the hours of darkness - my big pal has come up with an idea to help find his ‘Book-tique’ on Friday. He has invested in a suitably decorated banner to fly above the red Transit, hopefully situated near Scrutineering, or somewhere else around Ledaig Car Park adjacent to the Distillery and Bus Stand. 

If the flag as at full height then the incumbent will be at home, if it is at half mast then approach cautiously and chap the windae delicately in case the auld git is having a senior moment (i.e. an elderly nap) in order to engage in a purchasing endeavour.

If there is no flag showing then ye urr looking in the wrang place! However I’m sure exact details will be published here once parked up and open for the business of dispensing educational and enlightening reading material for the rallying masses, namely ‘Murmurs on Mull’ and ‘The Scottish Rally Championship 1980-1989’ and we’ll also have some copies of Eric Dymock’s authoritative biography of Jim Clark.

And if you still can’t see the fluttering flag then you must be suffering the after effects of a visit to the MacG, the MacArms, the Mish, the Western Piles or maybe even a bit of product sampling in the Distillery emporium.

And for only 20 quid it’s 350 pages of nostalgic reading material to while away the hours waiting for a replacement or weather delayed ferry on the way home.

Rally - MullMurmurs

Thirty one years ago saw the publication of the first ‘MullMurmurs’ bulletins, a service which continued until 2010 when the internet and social media overtook the printed word as the mass means of communication.

The trial run of this service started on the 1993 Philips Tour of Mull Rally but it was only ‘semi-officially’ sanctioned, there were some on the organising committee who were a mite disapproving! Although it got off to a faltering start it was well received by competitors, the fans and the local populace, and a much more improved service ran in 1994 and carried on for the next 17 years.

Information was gathered during the rally, typed up on stencils which were then used to run off hundreds of copies on a hand cranked duplicator machine. It was similar to the bulletin service run by the Pattersons on Irish events and on the annual Lombard RAC GB Rally but rather than stick to plain facts, the ‘Murmurs’ included gossip, scandal scuttlebutt, local folklore, fairy tales and occasional flights of fancy. Whenever the flow of factual information flagged, there was left room for other stories which would never be allowed to reach the more formal news outlets and publications.

Even though mobile phones had been invented there were far too many ‘dead’ spots on the island for coverage to be guaranteed hence the need for some form of information service for the hundreds of fans and followers who descended on the island each year. As such the bulletins played a vital role in relaying results and information, in what was hoped was also an entertaining manner. However the sheer nature of this unique event lent itself to such a service and it continued although never actually with full ‘official’ blessing.

Apparently no one individual, club or organisation had ever managed to keep a complete set of 18 years worth of bulletins – apart from the chap who wrote them – one Jaggy Bunnet Esq! Late last year he was prevailed upon to collate them and publish them.

The result is an A5 paperback book called ‘Murmurs on Mull’ which contains ALL of the published bulletins plus a bit of background. The book has been on sale now for a few months but for those who might yet wish to purchase a copy, there is a plan afoot for Jaggy Bunnet’s mobile ‘book-tique’ to visit Ledaig Car Park in Tobermory on Friday 11th of October from which copies can be purchased. Look for the red Transit van! Depending on ferries it is hoped to set up shop around 9.00 am-ish or earlier depending on the queues. More information will be published here as and when confirmed.

By the way, the 1993 event was won by Neil MacKinnon and Mike Stayte in a Ford Escort Cosworth while the MG Metro 6R4 of John Price and Jim Kitson was 6th.

If all else fails, copies are still available on-line at:

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

The Book - Signed-off

That is the 1990s Scottish Rally Championship book signed-off and now in the hands of the printers. Both the pleasant and painful bits of the process were completed this morning. The pleasant bit was seeing the 270 page printer’s proof in all its pre-publishing glory and formally signing it over to the printer. The painful bit was then a sit down chat with the boss to discuss the final price. The chat started with the almost customary preamble these days – regardless of any commercial undertaking – with the warning that the original estimate had increased. Apparently the price of paper has gone up – again.

I could have opted for a cheaper grade of paper and different cover but that’s not what this book is about. It’s about creating a permanent and worthy record of an important part of Scottish motor sport, in this case rallying.

With that in mind it looks and feels very similar to the previous book. The initial text section features over 80 detailed rally reports while the photographic section features over 400 photographs, most of them in colour. In other words it will spark even more memories than the previous book. Even so, some photos had to be left out as you’ll see from the pics of these ‘weans’ and cars below – but there’s plenty more in the book.

Some folk have wondered why it takes so long to produce a book. Surely it’s just a matter of writing some text selecting a few photos and sending them off to a certain world-wide on-line marketplace. And yes I did look at those options to begin with, but quickly dismissed them. These third parties assume they are taking the major financial risk so they will dictate (and I mean ‘dictate’, there’s no discussion) terms. Take it or leave it. I left it.

But thanks to the book sponsor and advertisers the personal financial risk is reduced whilst the end product and its design, despatch and delivery remain in my control.

That also meant there was no artificial intelligence’ involved in the book’s production, it was all down to humans and my grateful thanks are due to the additional photographers and proof-readers who are also human – mostly!

It is planned that the book will be ready for early November and some discussions about a possible ‘book launch’ have already taken place. Last year’s low key gathering at a Coltness Car Club night was never intended to be a formal book launch but what a night it turned out to be. There were rallying celebrities and royalty galore having travelled from afar and the Dalserf Bowling Club premises in the usually quiet village of Ashgill were bursting at the seams. What a night.

I did contact the SECC in Glasgow as an alternative venue but once they heard ‘the Bears’ were involved last time, they quickly and firmly declined my request in case they turned up again this time.

In celebration of this morning’s sign-off I shall raise a glass of a rather special sherry casked 12 year old malt this evening. Special, because it was most thoughtfully donated in support of my endeavours by a rather generous and kindly gentleman who ‘does a bit of rallying’. I say ‘celebration’, the feeling is more akin to one of ‘relief’!

In other words: “Deagh shlàinte aon agus a h-uile duine.”

I’m not taking orders yet for the ‘Scottish Rally Championship 1990-1999’ book, but there are still some 1980s books left on:

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