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Rally News - Friday, 3rd July 200
Scottish Scuttlebutt
Despite what you read in other places, Jimmy Girvan didn’t actually roll the Subaru on the Scottish. He had a small problem with the intercom after second service. It was working OK on stage 5, but failed completely 4 miles into SS6. With Mike using hand signals Jimmy had a wee off about 5 mls in which must have damaged a brake hose and caused the subsequent failure. With only 2 wheels braking and the reservoir running dry quickly, the corners were coming up much faster. They did about 4 mls with no brakes and no navigator, so Jimmy was doing “a brill job”, keeping it on the road and not getting caught. Alas it was all too much. At the first chicane - quarry L9 - they hit a pile of rocks a metre high which launched the car through some trees. It landed on its nose and Jimmy was winded against the steering wheel. It slid forward further down a 5 m sheer drop, again landing on its nose. Luckily they were near the radio point. Both got out of the car OK, although Jimmy had to lie down for an hour – the ol’ man had done his back in! However, Jimmy insisted that Mike show the ‘OK’ board, he didn’t want the stage stopped for him for medical help. Methinks he’s been watching too many John Wayne films – True grit and all that. Still, the car is not too badly damaged and will be out for the Speyside.
The Hebridean Hurricane was sidelined at the weekend when Calum MacKenzie went off on Stage 4. He had earlier spun on S3 at a tight hairpin right and had to reverse out, dropping 2 seconds to Banner, but of more concern to the canny Calum was the fact that his tyres were knac… totally destroyed after just 6 miles! In Twiggers, the rear end went wide on a L4, the back end stepped out and clipped the bank which knocked the front round into the ditch. The car ran down the ditch, but there was a wee road across it and when it hit that it broke the steering arm. Calum reckoned that ‘the Malton Missile’ was 4 inches short of doing the same thing and considered himself lucky! It was good spectating though. Rory young tore off his bumper and numerous other cars had BIG moments there. There was a bad camber on the exit of the corner and anybody who was trying got onto the loose and sucked them in. Well, that’s Calum’s excuse anyway! And just to complete his weekend, he got flashed by the camera on the way down and the engine blew on his van - holed piston. It ended up on the RAC recovery lorry! Intriguingly, Calum is now wondering whether to use the last 3 events to get used to a 4wd car, or stay with his beloved Escort!
The Scottish also marked the continuation of a rather worrying trend, especially for us older types. As if the heat wasn’t bad enough. The girls and the fashions were raising temperatures too. Not only were the Red Bull girls there, but so too were the Kick Energy girls and this time they were joined by yet another lass from Rock Star energy drinks in a serious set of hot pants and fishnet tights. Well, there I was, standing there minding my own business, watching the scenery and looking at the remarkable tan on the exposed back of the Rock Star girl, when an onlooker commented: “She must have wandered through Big Hamish’s paint booth when he was spray painting a slurry tanker!” Lord help me, I nearly choked!
Scottish Junior Alasdair Graham has sold his Ford Escort MkII (to Malloch Nicoll) and for the RSAC Scottish Rally had hired the Rally Xtreme BDA powered MkII. “It’s just like my old car,” said Graham, “apart from the engine, gearbox, back axle, suspension and the power band is different!” He had three runs with the car at the pre event media day and said: “It’s really quite different to drive especially with the dog-leg 1st gear pattern, but it’s a lot quicker than my old car.” He finished second in the Historic Rally. Mind you, I had to laugh. His Dad, one Roddy Graham Esq, took one look at the MkII on its arrival and said: “Look at that - a proper rally car. It’s got opening quarter-lights to flick out the fag ash!” Aye, get your priorities right Roddy.
Malloch Nicoll has bought Alasdair Graham’s MkII (see above) and plans to have it out on the McRae Stages Rally. “I did the McRae last year and didn’t like running way at the back in the EVO, and there were all these MkIIs up at the front of the field, and I just thought I’d like to be with them.” Malloch’s next outing will probably be the Quinton Stages in a week’s time, but that will be with the Lancer.
Mike Faulkner was amongst a few top seeds who attended the RSAC Scottish Rally media event and had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it was good to get a run out in the car ahead of such a fast and furious event, but he did managed to incur rather more expense than he intended. The bonnet flew open at one point and smashed the windscreen. When he tried to find out who was responsible, it was accusing looks all round. But the service crew stared back – he was the last one under the bonnet! Still, winning on Saturday took the financial sting out of it.
James Robertson debuted his new car on the RSAC Scottish Rally. The Fiesta has been replaced with a Citroen C2R2. “I wanted to take advantage of 1600cc cars being allowed to run at the front of the field,” said Robertson, “with the Fiesta I was running at the back.” His first run in the car was at the pre event media day: “It reminds me of my Ford Puma. The steering tends to wander on straights, but it’s early days, we’ll get it sorted.” Unfortunately he retired after 4 stages on the rally with gear selection difficulties and didn’t want to risk it.
There was a pre-rally Forum at Haughs Subaru on the Thursday night hosted by Bubbly Bob Molloy before the Scottish where a raffle and an auction was held (Tom Hogan bid for and bought a set of a signed overalls – maybe he’s thinking of a comeback!) to raise funds for ‘Help for Heroes’. Lance Corporal Claire Wassell won one of the main prizes. She had never been to a rally before and had never sat in a rally car, and her prize was a ride with Stevie Brown in the Ford Fiesta at the Media day. Apparently the culture shock was life-changing. Claire, who was servicing for Land Rover pilot Paul Wright, now fancies another go.
It’s amazing what you learn at rallies, and some of it quite irrelevant, but nonetheless fascinating. Take for instance the case of Pamela Hilton’s lucky pants. She was navigating for Niall Cowan in the MG, but her boyfriend Clive Anstey was driving a Proton further back. On the last rally (in Englandshire) on which they competed, they changed their pants to see if it would bring them luck. Pamela wore Clive’s boxers and Clive wore Pamela’s purple thong. Apparently it didn’t bring them any luck at all so they changed back for the Scottish. Then asked why she was co-driving for Niall rather than Clive she said that it was part of her Community Service Order and she still has 35 hours to serve!
Ian Paterson is a Dad. 7 lb 9 ounce William arrived at 1.00 am in the early hours of Friday morning before the Scottish. Typically, the event was announced in droll Paterson fashion: “I’m fair chuffed, that’ll be a Rage buggy for Christmas, and no’ a pony!” And Claire was fine too, just before you ask.
I’m worried about young John MacCrone. I wonder if he’s got his priorities mixed up. There he was at the end of the Scottish having won the Brick & Steel 205 Peugeot Challenge after a fierce old dogfight with Colin Smith, and the Scroots were picking over his car, as they do. Concerned? He was leaning on the barrier chatting to his girlfriend. And there was more. In a flagrant display of affection in a public place, namely Dumfries High Street on a Saturday afternoon, he got a peck on the cheek! He was 20 years of age on Monday 29th of June after the rally, so I’m putting it down to hormones! Happy birthday anyway.
This rallying can be heartbreaking at times, eh? George Bryson was 4th overall after stage 2, and 5th after stage 4. He was lying 2nd in the Historic H2 class only 10 seconds behind Robin Shuttleworth. As his car is only 1580cc he was happy to be beating some much more powerful cars, including David Marshall in his 2 litre BDG engined RS1600 who came up to George at the start of stage 4 and asked him if he would mind slowing down as he was taking 15-20 seconds a stage from him! George took 6 seconds back in stage 5, then, disaster! While sitting in the time control for stage 6, he switched off the engine and it wouldn’t start again. There was a broken wire inside the distributor, right at the ‘magic eye’. He tried to repair it twice without success, and on the third attempt it fired up. He drove 100 yards and it came off again. “I was gutted, to say the least,” said George, “as it’s the first time the wee car has let us down in 6 events including the RAC. That’s us now till the Trackrod in September so we will see how the rest of the championship rounds go.”
Charles Blair was dead chuffed with his Class 1 win in the VW Polo, despite giving it a fearful bowf in the final stage. Eight weeks ago it was an autotest car so that’s all the time he had to prep it for stage rallying. And there’s more, Marieanne Gray was a ‘virgin’ co-driver. She had never seen Notes before. No wonder Charles was so chuffed at the finish.
And finally …
At the finish of the Scottish, Mike Faulkner said: “If we had been going any harder, we wouldn’t be here!” Says it all really, eh?
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