Road - The new Defender

The Covid19 delayed press launch for the new Land Rover Defender was a strange and subdued affair yesterday. This was the first such event up here for six months and on arrival at the 'Scottish Land Rover Experience' centre host venue near Dunkeld there were no hand-shakes and (thankfully) none of these now fashionable greetings by hugs!

As for the vehicle itself, the new Defender is nothing like the utility vehicle of old, cram packed with electronics to make off-road masters of the most inexperienced novice. The vehicle's ability is quite extraordinary, but it comes at a price.

There's no denying the new Defender has gone upmarket. No longer can it be classed as the farmer's friend, the quality and capability of the vehicle will undoubtedly find new friends. It's on-road manners are quite impeccable and incomparable with the previous model whilst its off-road performance is more than a match for anything its predecessor achieved before.

Full review to follow. 

Rally - Enter Stage Right

The first stage rally to be held in Scotland since the Lockdown will be the Garden Memorial Stages Rally at RAF Condor on Saturday 26th September. Entry is limited to 75 cars and two person crews (with a limit of 2 members per support/service team) and already the organisers have received enquiries from as far afield as Newcastle and Oxford. In other words if you're interested, better be quick!

Regulations for the 6 Stage (39 miles total) event are on the website now and Entries are due to open this weekend, closing on the 19th September. Entry Forms will be available shortly on: https://www.rallies.info/

This will be a non-spectator event and all required Covid-19 regulations will be observed and restrictions will be in place, and enforced.   https://www.condormsc.co.uk/

The same club is proposing to run another single venue event at Milltown later in November and with Glenrothes MSC intending to run their Kingdom Stages at Crail at the beginning of November it might just be well worth blowing the cobwebs off your pride and joy and polishing the rust and get out there to go rallying.

 

The French Connection

As promised, it's time to get back to rallying - well sort of. It may surprise you to know that the 'jaggybuunnet.co.uk' on-line magazine covering Scottish rallying continues to attract interest from ever more faraway places. To cope with this growing international demand, it now has a foreign correspondent (currently marooned in France - topp man), where a worrying development has come to his notice.

Whilst exercising French social distancing - you now have to be at least a metre apart to blow a kiss on both cheeks - our peripatetic reporter spotted an unusual sporting occurrence and paused to take notice. A man with a white van arrived at a public road intersection and parked up on the verge. He jumped out wearing a hi-viz vest and brandishing a bright red shovel.

Apparently this official personage's duty was to prevent traffic from the side road joining the main thoroughfare as a cycle race was coming by and he was the official road closer! Motorsport UK please take note. There was none of this road closing and opening convoy of cars full of officials business, a legion of Corps Urbain officiers and Gendarmes, road signs and arrows galore with armies of Marshals. Nope, just a man with a van and a shovel.

Formerly based in Coltness  'Bear' country and a Coltness Car Club member of long standing, our intrepid correspondent was even more disconcerted to notice the Polish branch of 'CCC' has apparently switched from horsepower and cars, to pedal power and cycles in these motor sport restricted times.

This 'Le Club de Cyclisme Coltness' (CCC) was participating in a local French road race (ahead of the Tour de France) and showed allegiance to their hairier and less svelte Scottish counterparts with a deeper shade of burnt yellow team wear colours with the internationally recognised 'triple C' logo embroidered on their cycling shorts.

The Polish club have taken this a stage further. Instead of adopting the Bear as their mascot, they have adopted a rather more domesticated and politically correct bovine mascot which calls to mind an old Scottish saying: "If you want to drink and drive, drink more milk and stay alive'.

Anyway, never was our journalist's flabber more gasted than seeing this display of sweaty foreign Coltness flesh on public view. It fair put him off his battered and deep fried snails and frogs legs on toast.

As I said, Motosport UK please take note. The French have got more experience of closing roads than we have - and they have got it sussed. I mean, how many men with white vans do we have over here - and all they need is a shovel?

And just in case you think this is a wind-up, check the TV coverage of this year's Tour de France which concludes next week and is on just now. If you need more proof, Team CCC has its own website. However, in a bid to deny their questionable heritage they have manufactured a rather different back story, so it's up to you who you believe!

https://cccteam.eu

Now, would I tell you a fib?

P.S. Apologies for the quality of the pics - I'll have a word!

 

The Early Arrival

With regard to yesterday's post, may I apologise for the outbreak of sentimentality. That was down to the unexpected and earlier than anticipated  arrival of the latest addition to the Bunnet clan.

This is not usually a page for domestic or family matters, but events determined otherwise and I would like to thank one and all for the kind words and best wishes. Thanks too for the advice - well, some of it!

However, a word of explanation might be in order.

Since Junior's arrival had been decreed by the professionals to be on the 19th of this month, the family took the decision to have one final wee trip out with a treat last Sunday before the big day was due.

Accompanied by Lady Bunnet and the Maw and Paw-to-be, the foursome set off for the grey and imposing pile which sits amidst golfing's finest greenery at the head of Glen Devon for a socially distanced, relaxing and posh afternoon tea. Sated and refreshed, a gentle walk round the gardens was called for as a token gesture to the excessive consumption of dainty sandwiches, wee scones and teeny cakes.

A grand day out.  Everyone happy and content. Apart from one. He had other ideas. Perhaps having missed out on such a sumptuous repast he was hell bent on making an entrance.

On Monday morning, the Doc was called and a visit to the Hospital was recommended for a check up at Noon. By mid afternoon the bold lad was making his bid for freedom. On Monday evening, the job was a good 'un. A very 'unBunnet-like' early arrival. Three weeks early in fact.

He weighed in at 7lb 11oz. The new parents have a name in mind but that has yet to be announced. The main thing being that both Mother and Child are well and Dad is fair exhausted.

There is however just one area of concern. The new lad's Dad is a footballer and fan - and his Grandfather isn't! Anyone got a baby rattle that sounds like a BDA?

Anyway that's enough of such matters It will be back to motor sport shortly - very shortly.

Celebration and reflection

Just the other day one Colin Clark Esq, rally Commentator, Broadcaster, Podcaster, Tweetster, Breakfaster and Writer, accused oneself of being the 'grandfather' of Scottish rallying journalism.

Umbrage was taken, insults returned and revenge sought - but you know what? He was actually more right than he (and I) realised. That was because yesterday I was merely a proud father and last night I became an ever so proud grandfather.

As if these troubled times were not difficult enough, inundated as we are with plagues and pestilence, famine, drought, floods and hurricanes, melting glaciers and litter strewn mountain tops, the arrival of a pandemic has added greatly to the world's woes.

And just when you think the cycle of gloom and despondency is unrelenting, there comes a little ray of sunshine which lifts the spirits, brings joy to the present and promise for the future. It's simply magical how the arrival of new life, a baby's cry and tiny fingers trying to grasp the air itself can make all those problems disappear. How can something so small provide such happiness and hope?

Thirty years ago, old hands may recall the adventures of 'Baby Bunnet' in the Scottish Rally Championship newsletter and in the monthly 'Jaggy Bunnet File' column in the much missed 'Road Sport North' rally newspaper. Well, Baby Bunnet is all grown up and is now a Mum as of last night, and both are well.

At the moment the term 'grandfather' doesn't sit too well on such 'youthful' shoulders and it may well take some time to adjust to this changing of the seasons. So a word of advice to those who may seek to exploit this situation to their humorous advantage - Gang warily!

There is just one other little cloud on the horizon - the son-in-law favours the baseball hat style of headgear!!

Rally - Coast 2 Coast 2021

There's a been a bit of shoogling about these past few weeks with rallying calendars for next year, and no doubt the shoogling will continue depending on viruses and vaccines. Worst hit are the forest rallies. Despite last weekend's successful running of the 'M-Sport Return to Rally Stages', multi-forest events still face an uncertain future and are subject to the whims and advice of the great, the good and the ungodly!

On the other hand, there is more than a glimmer of hope for closed road rallies. With fewer trees to hide behind, spectator numbers can be observed and assessed making the job of exercising a degree of control over them somewhat easier. At least that's the theory. Again, much will depend on Government advice.

Admittedly, and through no real fault of their own, this Government advice is about as changeable and unpredictable as the Scottish weather, but all sports and gatherings are suffering in similar fashion. On that basis it's just something that we will all have to put up with until such times as we've overcome the virus - or it has done for us!

Anyway, with all this in mind the Machars Car Club organisers of the inaugural Donnan Construction SVM Coast to Coast Rally have plumped for the 8th of May 2021 as their scheduled date for the running of this new closed road event. Starting, finishing and servicing in Stranraer, the route has been simplified in light of current restrictions to two loops of three stages. So stick the date in your Diary now.

Coming three weeks before the Jim Clark Rally, this might just provide an attractive option for a bit of testing as well as offering up a unique new competitive event in its own right.

Admittedly the May date was not the club's first choice, but they also have to be mindful of the Northern Irish rally calendar as interest has already been expressed from across the water. Not surprising really when you consider that Belfast is closer to Stranraer than Glasgow, Edinburgh or Carlisle!

So May the 8th it is - God willing and virus permitting!

It's the way he tells them

When the weather's dreich and we're all living in strange times, a little bit of laughter helps the world go round, so the mad magician (aka Carry on Doctor) entertained the troops at Stark Motorsport last weekend with an impromptu comedy routine.

Apparently, for best effect, the funny story should be delivered in a deadpan fashion with the punchline being accompanied by a wave of the hands while uttering "Just like that" - which also works better in a gruff voice with a tinge of lunatic laughter.

To make the joke appear funnier, the performer should also chortle enthusiastically at the conclusion before making his escape.

Even so, this appeared to go down well as the Crew Chief collapsed on to a pile of tyres and the support crew were left helpless with laughter on the floor.

On the other hand I don't think an invitation to 'Live at the Apollo' is to be expected any time soon.

Note: The joke cannot be repeated here for Health & Safety reasons as it may cause innocent readers to collapse with laughter in the street, at work or at home. Given the effect at the weekend, one would have to ensure the audience was already sitting down and perhaps even strapped in!