Rally - Meanwhile, back in 1990

A fairy tale, or fake news? …. The following two images are taken from the rally programme for the 1990 Johnstons & Paton Rally in Argyll. This was the fourth round of the Esso Scottish Rally Championship that year and the event preview highlighted the appearance of another promising youngster while previewing the championship’s progress so far. Oh! And by the way, the entry fee was £140 plus 10 quid for event insurance while the 122 mile rally route, which started from Dunoon, contained eight Special Stages with 48 miles of forestry roads. And another thing, the rally started at 11.00am and the first cars were back in Dunoon just after 5!

The rally was won by Donald Milne and Bob Wilson in the Metro 6R4 from the Toyota Celica of Jimmy Girvan and Campbell Roy with the Mazda 323 of George Gauld and Stella Boyles in third place. As for the ‘hero’ of the preview, after setting third fastest time over the opening stage the gearbox of Dom Buckley and Doug Redpath’s Mazda dismantled itself rather violently!

Anyway, you might (or might not!) enjoy the preview as printed in Lanarkshire Car Club’s 22 page rally programme which was priced at 50p ….

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Rally - The phone call

The house phone rang. I didn’t recognise the code, but I answered it anyway, even though I don’t need double glazing, more insurance or claiming a lost inheritance from a long lost cousin in Nigeria. The voice on the other end announced itself as belonging to a chap called Vince Finlayson. That was an even bigger surprise. We haven’t spoken in over 40 years, not because we fell out, but simply because like so many others, the young Vince stopped rallying to concentrate on the family business and dropped out of the sport.

The old hands won’t need any introduction but to those who don’t recognise the name, Vince was a front runner way back in the 1970s – in a Hillman Imp! This was an era when the Imps and Minis could still give the ‘new kid on the block’, the Ford Escort, a run for its money. In just his second season of stage rallying Vince finished third overall in the 1972 Shell Scottish Rally Challengers Championship and followed that up with a fifth place finish in the 1973 Challenger’s Championship.

Having scored a few top ten finishes in the 1973 season, Vince was promoted to the overall national Championship division, but by this time the Ford Escort was starting to dominate the world’s stages. Like so many others in this sport, budget and available time constrained his outings although he continued to set the pace in the one litre class whenever he appeared. Those appearances were also limited by geography.

Living and working in Kyle (polar bear territory!) meant he tended to concentrate on the more northern events as a trip further south necessitated using the ‘old drove road’ more commonly known as the A9. If you think that is slow these days the old road was much slower as it twisted and turned its way through the glens and through the towns and villages which are now by-passed! Back then, shovels and wellies, along with provisions, were always carried in the boot in case of being snowed-in, even in Summer!

Vince finally ‘retired’ in 1980 after a couple of seasons with a Talbot Sunbeam and although the fire still burned within, other priorities took over.

Back to the phone call. Apparently his wife had bought one of the books and like so many of you he wondered if there was, or would be, a book covering the earlier years, so he phoned, and probably wished he hadn’t because he got the full story. With three books out and the fourth now at the printers, the plan always was to go back to the early days and record those. As I explained, the trouble was no club or individual really kept records back then and so I was having difficulty in completing my research.

It turns out that Vince has a cupboard in a nearby cottage, which is rented out. The cupboard door is also behind years of stored stuff so it hasn’t been opened in a very long time. Guess what? He’s going to make a very small voyage of discovery on my behalf. Who knows what treasures lie within?

However, what I failed to ask him was the truth behind a story which has travelled through the mists of time and is still remembered in certain dark places to this day. Apparently, after some pre-rally prep work, Vince took the Imp out for a wee test to a nearby forest which he had used before. Having closed the gate behind him he drove up the length of the dead end road to make sure all was clear before turning the wee beast round and going hell for leather back down to the gate.

Unbeknownst to him an elderly couple had driven their car into the stage, parked it up, set up their picnic table and two chairs and then stepped back when they heard an awfy din heading their way. Hurtling round the corner came a somewhat blue-ish, yellow-ish coloured dervish heading right towards them. According to folklore, Vince had three choices, hit the car, hit the folk or take out the table. With a fearful clatter the table, cutlery and crockery went skywards and Vince headed for the gate! Whether there is any truth in that story or not, you’ll need to wait till the final book to find out!

So let that be a lesson to you all. I’m still looking for results and stuff from the early days, especially the 1960s, so dinnae throw anything out just yet. Over the next couple of months I’ll make a list of what I think is missing from what I have gathered so far and then we’ll all know what gaps have still to be plugged.

By the way the 1976 photo has been ‘borrowed’ from Bob Bruce. Thanks Bob.

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The current books are also available on Ebay, just type in ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ and you should find them.

Book - Flying Finish

Ain’t technology wonderful? At the beginning of last week I gave the printer a USB stick and three days later I had a digital print of the complete ‘Scottish Rally Championship 2010-2019’ book on my desk ready for the final read-through before giving the go-ahead to start the printing press! In the past I got a set of flat A3 sized sheets to look through but the print room chief took the time and trouble to guillotine the pages and bind them with a facsimile cover so that from a distance it actually looks like the real thing. It’s obvious the big Boss wasn’t around.

Now with a copy of the ‘finished’ article David the designer and Michael the printer and myself had a few wee chats just to sort out a few wee niggles. For instance who would have thought that 150gm weight paper would differ in thickness depending on who made the paper? Of course we’re talking fractions of millimetres here we but in a 266 page book that adds up and determines how thick the spine has to be and the exact dimensions of the book cover itself. Those final measurements couldn’t be made until the ordered paper arrived, and there was some sort of delay with that, but it’s finally sorted and this week Michael started making the printing plates. So we are now through the 300 metre boards and into the Flying Finish.

Anyway I also found out a couple of other things. For a start paper costs have gone up. There’s a surprise, eh? Apparently it’s down to the conservationists wanting to preserve all trees and not pulp them to make paper which is also a hugely energy consuming process, and guess what, energy prices have gone up too. That process also uses a lot of water, which you’d think we had plenty of here in Scotland, but apparently it ain’t cheap either! This climate change business has a lot to answer for.

It’s the same from the company which supplies the cardboard wraps for posting books out to on-line customers, the cost of their raw materials and energy prices have gone up too. However the ‘superbly efficient streamlined’ Castle Bunnet sales operation will be able to absorb most of these costs to maintain the book price at the same level as the previous two volumes although p&p costs will have to rise by a pound.

So what will you get for 45 quid – 266 pages containing approximately 140,000 words and over 350 photographs, and for those customers in foreign parts, the Glossary at the back of the book has been retained to help the puzzled with the technical terms and Scottish-isms. Oh, and one other thing Fergus requested that I lighten up on the photo captions, so I asked my big pal Mr Bunnet to help out with a few! Be careful what you wish for, eh?

Speaking of technical terms, the assumption has been made that the vast majority of readers will have some understanding of the sport. On that basis I deliberately haven’t gone into detail with regard to MSA/Motorsport UK Rules & Regulations or the dark arts of time-keeping and Pace Notes simply because that would have required more words and more pages and my page limit was 270. And we all have a fair working knowledge of those, don’t we? So if things haven’t been explained as clearly as some folk would have liked – tough!

As for the front cover, you’ll just have to wait and see. This mock-up one has been ever so slightly disguised!

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The current books are also available on Ebay, just type in ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ and you should find them.

Funeral Arrangements

 

The funeral for Sam Mullen will take place on Tuesday 29th September at 2.00pm at Masonhill Crematorium, Ayr, KA6 6EN, which is situated just a mile or so to the south and east of the Holmston roundabout on the A77 with access to the location via the ‘Old Toll’ cross roads on the A70. Thereafter at Lugar Bowling Club, Muirkirk Road, Lugar, Cumnock, KA18 3LJ.

WRC at the BBC

The aftermath …. A number of people were asking why there were no ‘crowds’ at the ‘BBC / WRC / Rally Scotland launch the other day. That was simply because this was a press and media announcement about the new deal struck by the BBC and the FIA WRC Promoter being staged at Pacific Quay in Glasgow’s city centre. This was work, not enjoyment or entertainment.

There were two cars there to give some of the dignitaries a wee hurl and the chance to get some footage without folks having to get their feet wet trudging into a forest. This was Scotland in September of course and this event was held on a Friday morning at 8.00 am!

In actual fact, there was indeed a decent turnout of Press and Media folk, and also some podcasters and influencers – a sign of the times, eh?

Anyway I realised later the announcement and display were only part of the attraction. When guests went inside BBC HQ, there to greet them and dispel some of the dreich wintriness outside, were some of Scotland’s finest – not high heid yins, but a welcoming and tantalising table of gastronomic delight. It didn’t last long!

Please note: The final three photographs were staged for artistic effect and may not actually provide a genuinely accurate reflection of those real-life activities at the conclusion of the press/media call. Fake news? AI generated (Artifically Innocent)? Or maybe not!!

#WRCScotland #WRC
#ScottishRally #RallyScotland
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WRC Rally Scotland

Coming to a rally jacket near you soon …. The new logo for ‘Rally Scotland’. Don’t know what you think but the design has apparently been inspired by the Saltire and a tyre tread pattern. Whatever, it looks simple, effective and really quite attractive.

Of more importance will be who the BBC select to front the programmes. The hope is that they don’t just plump for an already ‘well-known name’ but go for people with rally knowledge, especially at World Championship level. Of course they will also need presenters who can appeal to newcomers as well as the old hands and this is where things will get tricky. Of course the ‘young things’ will want to know about ‘brands’ and personalities whereas the auld geezers will relish the inside info on tyre compounds, spring rates and gear ratios. And that is going to be a difficult balance. I just hope they don’t do what BBC Scotland did ten years ago when they fronted their Scottish Championship coverage with ‘The Biscuit’ and ‘Wee Rhona’!

Anyway, one of the big ideas behind working with a terrestrial free-to-air (provided you’ve got a TV licence) broadcaster is that this will provide a greater opportunity to attract a new and wider audience. Apparently the growing number of Pay TV channels and their rising costs are making viewers much more selective in their choice of options. While rally fans may well choose to pay for coverage that reflects their taste, those who don’t really know anything about rallying won’t be attracted and therefore not stump up. Which is where a terrestrial broadcaster can offer an attractive option to the sport.  

We also have to remember that the BBC is not just a single TV and radio channel operation any more, they are getting a bit more energetic in their adoption of new technology with a whole array of iPlayer, internet and podcast options so that bodes well for next year’s coverage. They will have seen what is being provided at present so they have a good idea of what they will have to provide in future. They seemed to lose interest in the sport when we lost Colin and Richard but with Elfyn poised on greatness, here’s hoping that interest can be rekindled. Fingers crossed, eh?

This gives the sport a whole new opportunity to promote itself and excite and attract new fans while giving something back to hardened motor sport enthusiasts. The in-car, on-car, drone and helicopter footage as well as external camera work is already providing fabulous insights, spectacle and high drama so there will be little doubt about the quality of the action coverage which just means they have to get the presentation right.

Care will also need to be exercised over ‘commentatorial’ political ‘woke’ comments because ‘the greens’ will take an interest. They seem to be awfy keen on banning anything on wheels entering the forests – legs and feet only! Where their arguments weaken is the simple fact that every sport already depends on bikes, cars, vans and trucks to move competitors, spectators, contractors and equipment around the country from venue to fixture and back again, and motor sport is no different. It has been said that the sport of football in the UK already consumes more petrol and diesel than motor sport. And when you think about the logistics of that, it kind of makes sense, does it not?

Some observers have also expressed fears over October being a crowded month and wondering if enough Marshals and volunteers will turn out to help this event as well as the Mull Rally and other end of season competitions which will make it a very busy, and personally costly, period.

Of course much still depends on the final date but with Mull being fixed by Act of Parliament and the FIA dictating WRC schedules, here’s hoping for a bit of goodwill on both sides. Having said that, the Scottish Minister for Sport fair enjoyed her wee hurl yesterday!

By the way, today’s action foties come courtesy of Graeme Brown (GeeBee Images) who was in professional attendance yesterday and whom I first encountered at Knockhill umpteen years ago and hadn’t seen for yonks due to his world wide wandering. It was really good to catch up.

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WRC on TV with BBC

We don’t have a confirmed date yet, but the FIA World Rally Championship is definitely coming to Scotland next year and the new WRC promoter has signed a three year deal with the BBC. In return the terrestrial channel will carry reports on each and every round with extensive additional and live coverage of the Scottish event being staged in Aberdeen and the north east, probably early October 2027.

There was a real heavyweight turn-out this morning (Friday 18th Sept.) at BBC Scotland HQ on the bonnie bonnie banks and I don’t mean the cars. The Scottish Minister for Sport Maree Todd MSP was in attendance (and got a hurl!) along with Eric Boullier the CEO of the new WRC Promoter and of course Motorsport UK was represented by Hugh Chambers. Toyota had sent a car for Elfyn Evans while M-Sport had a car for Josh McErlean.

It was also good to welcome back the BBC to rally sport coverage. It’s been a while since they covered the Scottish Championship so maybe, just maybe, we can get them enthused once again – just as long as we don’t have any big daft ex-rugby players presenting the programmes!

Also in attendance and keeping himself busy, scurrying about to make sure things ran well and safely was Iain ‘Skunner’ Campbell who had also called upon a contingent from ‘The Coltness Bears’ to help with marshalling duties, not just because they were one of the closest car clubs to the location, but it might well have had something to do with the fact that two of Scotland’s World Rally Champions, Colin and Derek, were both members of Coltness Car Club. Nice wee bit of continuity there, eh?

Catching the guests by surprise was another rare visitor – the sun! At times it caused havoc with the foties and filming, but taking pics for the WRC was our very own Graeme Brown (from EK) who was quite pleased with an assignment on home turf as opposed to trekking around the world photographing the WRC and Superbikes. He says he’ll send me some of his shots from today so you’ll have to do with my efforts for now!

However, at least it was dry and nobody got drookit although by the time things were over, the big grey clouds were rolling in the from the west.

I’ll write a bit more later but it’s all starting to feel a bit real, eh?

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