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Rally News - March 29, 2010 Saving Mull Don’t go cancelling your hols yet. Following a meeting in Craignure Village Hall on the Island of Mull, moves are afoot to ensure that rallying will continue on the island. Events have moved remarkably quickly since 2300 Club called off this year’s event, and even before they had taken a longer term decision about continuing in 2011, there were moves afoot to get something on the roads this year. The trouble is, that after 40 years of planning and experience, there were few people outside the current organising team who had any knowledge of how to mount such an operation. That is not a criticism, just a statement of fact, and it would apply to any new organising team who were going to take over an event from an established and ongoing concern, whether it was a single venue event of a forest stage event. Having said, that the present 2300 team comprises lots of people outwith the club who bring their own knowledge and experience to bear each year. The trouble is, this just happens to be one of the biggest rallies in the UK, with one of the biggest logistical headaches of any event and it has to deal with Road Closures, the Road Traffic Act and the Polis not to mention the local landowners and residents along the route. Since the shock news was made there has been a lot of empty-headed, bumping of gums going on from folk who know very little and from others who should know better, but out of it all has arisen a resolve to get rallying back on the roads. According to island councillor, Mary-Jean Devon: “Within 24 hours of the news that organisers, the 2300 Club, had made the decision to pull out of the event, we were making plans to host the rally ourselves. I received 40 phone calls within a few hours, because people are so concerned the rally was cancelled.” Councillor Gordon Chalmers added: “We are very supportive of the rally. We estimate that it brings at least £1.5m into the island’s economy each year. The animosity we have seen is basically a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding. People feel slighted at the incidents and allegations. There are those who resent the disruption, but their numbers have not really grown over the years.” Fine words indeed but where was all this support before the rally each year? Some people had just taken too much for granted, forgetting that a volunteer team of unpaid amateur enthusiasts were responsible for this event, not some salaried individual whose task it was to generate income and publicity for the island! Anyway, what came out of the Craignure meeting was the appointment of Steve Davies to put a new organising team in place. Organising this event is too big for Mull Car Club alone so manpower and support will need to be raised outwith the locality. Neil Molyneux has already said he will work with any team put in place and offer advice and support. Others from the Tour of Mull team have also stepped forward to offer support too. On that basis, the rally can now move forward. Plans at the moment would appear to indicate that the new team will run a copy of the 2008 event this coming October. It’s the most recent with all the relevant paperwork in place, as last year’s event used a stage in Tobermory to celebrate the 40th running of the rally. So just how important is the rally to the island? Over recent weeks I’ve heard various figures being bandied about, anywhere between £1m and £2m, but the last time I counted I stopped when I got over £3m, because a lot of folk forget that it is entirely due to the rally that many are attracted to the island during the summer months (for holidaying and recce-ing) and also for a bit of a holiday over Christmas and New Year. Add that in and the income generated breaks the £3m barrier. ** Welsh Bulldog Keith Cronin won the Bulldog International Rally in Wales at the weekend, the opening round of this year’s Dulux Trade British Rally Championship. But in second place were Border Counties winners Dave Weston Jnr and Ieuan Thomas who hung on to second place even with a puncture at the end of SS3. Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton finished 4th after a string of top five times all day, but who knows, he may well have finished on the podium had it not been for a driveshaft failure early in the event. It was only Euan’s third time out on his own Pace Notes, so there is more to come. Scottish Championship Chairperson Neil Shanks was in the Welsh woods too, co-driving for Darren Gass and they finished 6th. David Bogie and Kevin Rae had a bad day, they finished 12th! Not only had they to contend with a down on power engine all day, they got a seven-minute penalty for changing a wheel at an arrival control. In the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) Championship, Elfyn Evans won the category from John Boyd and Craig Wallace (who also finished 21st o/a) and John MacCrone and Stuart Loudon were third in category, first time out in their just-built Fiesta and first time for John in a LHD car, finishing 24th overall. Looking at the stage times after the event, MacCrone was pretty much on the pace but his hopes of a fairytale debut win struck trouble n the second stage. A wheel clipped a rock and punctured the left front tyre. But when the car fell off the jack it cost the crew over 12 minutes to get the show on the road again. I’ll bet there were some dark mutterings in Gaelic during that little episode! John Boyd’s second place was encouraging too. The Fiesta engine had just undergone a complete rebuild after its opening round inversion last month and with confidence restored he was on the pace by the end of the rally. ** Border Counties Jim McDowall finished 44th on the Border Counties in his Mazda 323 but says that is likely to be the car’s final outing in the forests: “I’m running out of spares,” said Jim, “so what we’re planning to do is knock the windows out, fit Perspex and I’ll hand it over to Jamie to go auto-crossing.” Son Jamie was in fact co-driving for Jim on the Border and at the mention of going auto-crossing, started nodding his head vigorously. So that’ll be unanimous then, eh? That immaculate Lancia Delta Integrale belonging to Roland Wessel was missing from the Border Counties entry list. Instead Roland and Malcolm Vie were uncomfortably ensconced in a Subaru Impreza. “We found oil leaking from the turbo after the Snowman,” said Roland, “and also that some of the turbo blades were chipped, so it needs checking out and a rebuilt. Diplomatic as ever, and commenting on his Japanese ‘supercar’, all that Roland could say of it was: “It’s not a Lancia!” John Morrison was better pleased with his 10th place on the Border Counties: “I fitted a dog box for the Snowman but didn’t really get the conditions to properly try it out,” he said, “so that was a better run on the Border. In fifth it’s geared for 130 mph!” Euan Duncan has his first taste of Honda power at the Border Counties in the new Civic Challenge. “I had my first run out in the car at Knockhill the previous weekend, just for a bit of testing ahead of the Border,” said Euan, ”power-wise it’s not that much different from a 1.9 Peugeot but it handles better. It has a longer wheelbase and it’s wider than the Peugeot and it feels so much more stable going downhill especially when braking for corners.” Last of the big spenders Jim Howie lashed out on new mega-buck helmet which was looking decidedly second hand by the end of the Border Counties. “The microphone kept falling down,” he explained, “so I had to keep sticking it in place and supporting it with sticky tape and tank tape.” Apparently this caused some mirth from the driving side of the DAM where Andy espoused the opinion: “I don’t see why you need to shout anyway, this engine is quieter than the old one!” Big Jim’s eyebrows shot up so far and so quickly at the audacity of that statement, that his bunnet fell off. Methinks he doesn’t believe Andy, either that, or Andy’s going deaf. Dave Lauder approached me at the Border Counties, he’s planning another Perth Motor Show for June 20th so if anyone has anything they’d like to show off, either car or other items, then here’s an opperchancity. Also, any club on the lookout for members could take advantage too. More info to follow soon. What recession? After the Border Counties, the total number of competitors registered so far in the 2010 Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship numbers 220 after two rounds. Last year, the TOTAL figure for the season was 211! It must have something to do with the free jackets, eh? P.S. Did you know this is Machars Car Club's 60th anniversary this year? **** |