Rally - UK Rally Scene

With UK rallying at a dead halt, 'UK Rally Scene' magazine has no events on which to report, but far from hanging up their anoraks on a nail on the back of the door and going into lockdown, 'the staff' have used the time constructively - or perhaps that should be historically!

The latest issue is out now and for those of a certain generation there are nuggets of gold inside and for those of more youthful persuasion there is a bit of an insight into the 'golden age' of rallying. The interview with Terry Kaby is a case in point.

 
I first became aware of Terry in the mid 1970s driving a Triumph Dolomite Sprint. His performances and results in such an unlikely rally machine brought him to a wider audience including team managers, but the big problem was, there were so many good drivers about. It wasn't just results and skill that was rewarded with professional drives, a dash of luck was needed too. Sometimes the wrong guys got the drives and the good guys were left out.

Who knows  where Terry might have ended up had he got the right breaks at the right time. He had the speed and the talent but he was just one in a very competitive field of young and ambitious drivers back in the day.

A wee bit more up to date (and not yet quite 'historic' himself) is an interview with Barry Lindsay, who does things with a Peugeot 106 that would defy Harry Potter in his Anglia. As ever there's more to read and lots to look at. Get the latest issue posted out to you on Ebay now - and it's still only a fiver!

Testing Times

That yesterday's Autotest at Kames and AutoSolo at Errol went ahead is a tribute to the sheer tenacity of both East Ayrshire CC and Saltire Rally Club stalwarts. As late as the Wednesday before the events there was a phone call from the deep south saying that in light of the differences between Scottish and English legislation the events could not be insured and therefore would have to be cancelled.

Whilst the Scottish Government has no specific mention of motor sport in its guidance notes, EACC had looked at the general guidance and adjusted the format of their event to conform. This was explained to Motorsport UK who thought the outcome "ingenious". The events were back on.

If ever there was a case for the re-instatement of SMS (Scottish Motor Sport) within the Edinburgh based SportScotland office, this was it. In retrospect, Motorsport UK's withdrawal of support from this organisation without putting something else in place was short sighted. The current Covid19 pandemic has proved that with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the 'home' nations need some form of independent professional representation at 'local' level.

I digress, the solution was indeed ingenious. The organisers divided the competitors into two 'bubbles' to ensure that numbers within each group did not breach the Scottish Government guidelines. Marshal numbers were also strictly limited.

That wasn't the end of it. The whole process of organising and entering was 'paperless'. There were no Scrutineers present at the event as all competitors had 'self-declared' on their Entry Forms. In fact, there was no official MS UK representation there at all, even just for a nosey!

No Final Instructions were issued either, but they were posted on-line and competitors asked to print out their own Test outlines. Results were produced on the day by club members and posted on the club's social media page.

That side of things worked very well, but MS UK's wasn't quite as efficient. Many of the official forms they sent out were supposed to be 'editable' PDFs. The majority of competitors and officials had trouble with them, and that included the 'media representative' so he has first hand experience of the frustrations. The forms could be downloaded, but couldn't be completed on-line so MS UK will have to look at that. However they did supply the organisers with Covid19 kits for the Marshals.

On the day, most folk were mindful and sensible, which says much for motor sports folk compared with some of the scenes we've seen on telly from other sports and their followers over recent days.

Setting up at Kames also required additional work. Parts of the toilet block were taped off to accommodate a one-way, one in, one out operation with plenty of signage and hand sanitiser 'stations' set up. All very professional. Sadly, the Kames cafe was shut - so no pies!

But given the hurdles placed in the way of both organising teams, what these amateur volunteers achieved, working in their own time and with their own resources, whilst trying to accommodate the Government guidelines was quite simply, remarkable.

However, transferring these procedures, skills and knowledge to the world of stage rallying won't be quite so easy, so don't expect a take-up any time soon.

Motor Sport Returns

James Jones

Good craic at Kames yesterday, but somehow strange. There was tyre smoke and squealing tyres, sliding cars and flattened cones. Just what you'd expect – usually, but there were no spectators. Also, no large family groups and fewer team personnel and club members. 

Still, the competition was good, although some took it more seriously than others! After 16 long weeks, it was a chance to let off steam – or smoke rather!

James Jones won the event in a 1400cc Volkswagen Lupo while new Dad, Derek Connell was second in a 1300cc Nissan Micra. Marc McCubbin was 3rd in his 2 litre Ford Focus, but was hampered by a flare-up of gout in his right foot – the go faster one. That’s a new one, eh?

That the event ran at all in these strange times proved to be a triumph of common sense and perseverance over ignorance and bureaucracy. 

The full behind the scenes story will be told here shortly.

Derek Connell

Marc McCubbin

Lockdown release

I'm so excited I could eat a Vegan Scotch pie. I'm going to 'observe' a motor sports event tomorrow. The smell of hot clutches, tortured brakes and burning rubber. Cars, competition and people. Plus a slight whiff of petrol fumes - the nearest some of us get to that these days is firing up the lawnmower!

Ok, so it's only an Autosolo (for road legal cars), one of two (that I know of), which are taking place tomorrow but the excitement and anticipation is genuine. Sad, eh? Yup, really sad!

One of the main reasons for going is to find out exactly what the organisers have had to go through to get their events off the ground. If you thought organising an Autosolo is simple, well it is, but not in these Covid19 restricted times.

Both sets of organisers have had to make strenuous efforts to comply with H&S rules, Government requirements and Motorsport UK regulations and the plan is to have a chat with them and write up a wee feature on just how hard it has been.

And if it has been difficult for them, one can only imagine the gargantuan task that will face forest stage or closed road rally organisers in times to come.

One of the events has 17 entries the other has 20 and an invitation was extended to one media rep to attend either, but the one nearest home makes most sense. As such it was the easiest way to make a choice without upsetting anyone.

Unfortunately these are NON-SPECTATOR events, one of the many additional stipulations laid down by 'group gathering' and 'social distancing' rules. So you'll all just have to wait till it's over and then you can read all about it here.

Happy days, eh?

Rally - The amorous MacYeti

swoop, hug and snog

Although Nessie's notoriety and fame is world-wide, Scotland has other unique and lesser known wildlife. Apart from the usual golden eagles, wildcats, red deer and red squirrels there are numerous almost mythical creatures including the Haggis, the Kelpie, the Selkie, and of course the Ghillie Dhu which inhabits the nation's rallying forests and is much feared by those who break down or crash far from civilisation in the dark green depths of the vast conifer plantations.


There are also whispered tales of the even more rare Scottish MacYeti. This hirsute shy creature has a kindly and amorous nature, but keeps itself well hidden in the wild, although it has been known to mix and mingle socially with unsuspecting humans in everyday life.

Rarely seen outwith its favoured territory these days, there is indeed some photographic evidence from times past when photography was in its infancy, that the tartan MacYeti was indeed lured out of its natural forest habitat to venture amongst those who shared its love of the forest - the rally folk.

Indeed this cuddlesome beastie, unlike its fierce, fanged and hairier American cousin, actually participated in some of the games that people played.

Unaware of its separate bloodline, unsuspecting rally folks unknowingly embraced this lovable character. However, its social skills started to rouse a glimmer of suspicion about its true genetics and what gave the game away was this 'missing link's' behaviour at after rally prizegivings.

No lady was safe from its amorous advances and at particular risk were those ladies who were often invited to present the prizes. The MacYeti had quickly cottoned on to the fact that these ladies in particular were susceptible to an overly amorous approach - without resulting in a slap in the kisser! And it did take full advantage whenever the opperchancity presented itself.

A sparkle in the eye and a playful smirk heralded the inevitable swoop, hug and snog. And we all did laugh heartily, that is, before such inappropriate practices were banned by the 'fun police'. Ah, such innocent times.

Of course, this was in the days before political correctness plagued our society. Would such innocent mannerisms be tolerated today? Is the MacYeti now an endangered species? Should it be saved from extinction?

Or should we simply bow to the practice of offering equal opporchancities and have to provide a choice of male or female presenter and entice the MacYeti back out of the woods to play?

(Note: No Yetis were embarrassed, or physically or mentally harmed during the taking of these photos!)

Rallying Returns

M-Sport are behind the organisation of a one-off event taking place in Greystoke Forest on Saturday 22 August 2020. Working with Motorsport UK and West Cumbria and Eden Valley Motor Clubs, entry will be limited to 45 cars and crews and open only to any M‑Sport manufactured Focus or Fiesta.

Unfortunately this will be a NON-Spectator event as the idea is to produce a series of short films explaining the necessary safety measures and advising event organisers how to best combat the effects of COVID-19.

The event itself will act as an example of how the UK can return to rallying so hopefully rally fans will respect the NO-Spectator stipulation as well-meaning but unwanted attention could jeopardise the sport's return.

However, it has been proposed that the action will be filmed for wider public viewing.

Full Press Release here:

http://www.jaggybunnet.co.uk/2020/07/14-jul-rallying-returns/