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Rally News - December 8, 2008
From the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally on Sunday 7th December
Kenny Wills and Peter Stewart were up to fifth place on the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally when the Mitsubishi skated off the road and got stuck. Whilst the crew were trying to extricate the car they ignored the ringing telephone inside until Kenny eventually decided to answer it. It was a message from home telling him that Peter's wife Kim had gone into labour two weeks early and had been taken to Stirling Royal Infirmary. Car forgotten! Peter sped off to Stirling and fortunately managed to be there when a baby boy duly made his arrival at 6.15 pm. Congratulations!
Speaking of Kenny Wills, the big cheapskate was trying to bribe the Marshals for better times at Stage Starts and Finishes, you know the sort of thing: "Psst, I'll bung you few coins if you start the clocks after I've left and stop them before I reach the finish." Well, if anyone was taken in, they were in for a big dissy. Turns out the 'coins' were in fact foil wrapped chocolate buttons (as modelled here by Kenny!). Kidding aside, I'll bet the Marshals enjoyed their wee chocolate treats, cos it was bluidy perishing out there all day. Nice one Kenny.
According to co-driver Louise Sutherland: "It sounds magic!" She was referring to Steve Bannister's latest bid for automotive reliability. He has replaced his 2 litre Vauxhall engine with a 2 litre BDA. The Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally was its first outing: "I wanted a test before this," said Steve, "but we didn't get it finished in time, but I was pleased with the way it ran. It's 50 hp down on the Vauxhall unit but as long as you remember to get it up a gear and keep the revs up it's good. If it wasn't for a puncture I might have given John Crawford more of a run for his money, we took time out of him on the last two, but I'll get a proper test before next year's Snowman Rally."
Neale Dougan was out and about at the Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally, but was being chauffeured around by a lady driver: And without being too unkind, perhaps it was the method of chauffeuring that prompted his response: "It's the first time I've felt the urge to want to drive again," said Neale. Obviously, he's on the mend now.
Like many club events, it's surprising the numbers of family members who rally round to help out on the day. Isobel 'Cruella' Riddick had roped in her Mum to make scrumptiously succulent chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing and cherries (it tasted even better than it sounds) for HQ and Results Team staff, while Cruella herself had made truck loads of rock buns. The fact that husband Mike is a builder has nothing to do with the consistency of Cruella's buns. One sip of coffee and they melted in your mouth. Honest, I only had one - that she was aware of.
Gordon Boyd was looking apprehensive at the start of the Hills even before John Boyd had fired up the engine. The boy was out for the first time in their recently completed Ford Fiesta ST, and 'Pops' was worried about all that ice frozen crusting the gravel and all that adrenalin coursing through the number one son's veins! As it is he was worrying needlessly. John didn't put a mark on the car, although Gordon's face fell when the phone rang while he was kicking his heels at first service - it was John. But he'd only broken a track control arm on a rock.
There's an awfy lot o' stoor and noise coming from a certain automotive business based in Cawdor just outside Inversneckie. Big Dave Tennant is up to something at Bitz Motorsport. If you fancy rallying a home-built 4WD two-seater that has the potential to be quicker than Petter Solberg's company car, then it's worth popping in to the big chap's premises or giving him a bell. He has been in touch with an outfit called Adrenaline Motor Sport based in Newquay (near France). This company builds a car-kit which will accept the full driveline and power units from Subaru Impreza cars. They also build a competition version of the monocoque with full roll cage. Just imagine all that power in grip in something that weighs less than a bumble bee's overnight bag! And just to whet your appetite, check these out:
http://adrenalinemotorsport.co.uk
http://www.murtaya.com
Bumped into Alistair 'Big Al Your Video Pal' Miller at the Hills - my fault, I should have been looking where I was going. Good job I wasn't on my bike at the time! Anyway, the aforementioned white haired gent is still shooting video film, and if you want to know what he's up to these days, you'll need to go on to YouTube and search 'AMTV'.
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