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Rally Report - April 28 2009 Station Garage Mitsubishi Granite City Rally, Saturday 25th April Nice Guys Do Win What a belter of a rally. The third round of this year’s Hankook Scottish Rally Championship provided yet another butt-clenching finish. Going into the final stage of the Station Garage Mitsubishi Granite City Rally, David Bogie and Kevin Rae looked fairly secure in the lead, until Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy passed them stuck in a ditch. It prompted a question from Mike: “Was that who I think it was?” Peter was just as unbelieving: “I think so.” Whatever, the duo had rightly earned their first rally victory – ever! Equally meritorious were the runners-up. Barry Groundwater and Jude Wylie held off Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick for second place with current Scottish champion Jimmy Girvan in fourth. SS1 – Durris 1, 4.70 mls, Dry. Guess who had a big plate of Weetabix this morning? It must have been Faulkner. He got the drop on everyone with 4m 32s, but it was hardly a Blitzkreig, Jimmy Girvan/Mike Ramsey and David Bogie/Kevin Rae were only a second slower (4m 33s) while Euan Thorburn/Claire Mole were a further two seconds adrift (4m 35s). Barry Groundwater and Jude Wylie were fourth quickest (4m 37s) from Calum MacKenzie/Alan Clark (4m 38s) and Jim Carty/Ian Fraser (4m 42s) who spun and stalled on the marbly surface when the rear end got away from him. Despite the fact that most of the 2WD runners were first on the road, stage surfaces were still very slipper for the 4WD mob, as Steven Campbell found out. He slid off but kept his foot down and allowed the 4WD to pull him back on. Shaun Sinclair lost boost pressure after Scrutineering the previous night and after an all-nighter it still wasn’t right, so he was going for a finish even though down on power. SS2 – Fetteresso 2, 8.76 mls, Dry. After the early wake-up call, Bogie made a break for it on the second test: “That was just like Finland in there,” grinned Bogie, “It didn’t feel as quick as the times show, there was lots of sideways!” Good job his Mom wasn’t here to hear that. For the first time David was at a rally on his own, Maw and Paw were in the Maldives! His 8m 33s was six seconds better than Thorburn (8m 39s) but Faulkner was still there (8m 40s). Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick were fourth quickest (8m 48s) at the start of a frustrating day. No real reason for that, but Jock is still sorting out the new car and was running old tyres. Oddly enough, this was his first ever Granite: “I’ve never been here to do a rally before,” he said. MacKenzie was on fire again (8m 49s) from Reay MacKay/Robert MacDonald (8m 52s), but where was Girvan? The MacDonald Formwork Subaru had punctured on a L6 into a R8 and had just caught the edge of the road. Girvan was now in 13th place. At least he was still in the chase. Championship leader Willie Bonniwell was already out. The gearbox had broken. So too was Andy Horne’s Metro, it would appear that Andy managed to knock a wheel off! Making a welcome reappearance was the jovial Charlie Jarrett having his first run in a Mitsubishi as opposed to the Escort, but when the cut-out switch wire broke he had to hold the switch all the way to the stage finish before it could be fixed it on the road. Don Murray had a half spin, realising that: “ambition greater than talent equals accident.” Chris Collie went off and got stuck in a ditch where there were no spectators, but I’d love to have witnessed Gordon Murray’s ‘off’ in here. In fact the Subaru went so far off, the trees closed over behind them and they couldn’t see the road. Russell had to get out and walk ahead of the car like Moses parting the Red Sea so they could regain the road. They did, but dropped around 7 minutes! SS3 – Glenfarquhar, 8.73 mls, Dry It was Bogie again in Glenfarquhar (8m 22s) by three seconds from Thorburn (8m 25s) despite a broken brake pipe, with Faulkner third quickest (8m 28s). “It’s not that I’m going any slower,” grinned Faulkner, “they’re just going faster.” Armstrong was still there (8m 29s) and Girvan (8m 30s) was facing a bit of an uphill battle now to get back in the points. All the more so because the top three were flying! Carty rounded off the top six (8m 34s), but with 3 stages gone, Bogie was now in the lead by 11 seconds from Thorburn, and Faulkner a further one second behind the youngster. Speaking of youngsters, Alick Kerr was having his first run in a 4WD car having just recently acquired a Subaru Impreza. He had been 9th equal fastest on the first one and 12th quickest on the second, but a bolt sheared in the front hub in here. He backed off but finished the stage and managed to get it fixed at service. He ended up 16th overall on his 4WD debut. At the other end of the age spectrum, Malloch Nicoll was better pleased with his performance during the second half. He had changed the ‘fancy’ (I’m assured that’s a technical term) management unit in the electronic diff for a standard competition unit which improved grip levels no end but his rivals were well gone by this time. John Rintoul was wearing a worried frown as he approached service. The Mitsubishi was losing water and he suspected head gasket failure. Tommy MacKay got a fright when the brake pedal sank to the floor with over 2 miles to go, but he didn’t let on to Eileen, this was only her second event! And Steven Lockhart’s crew were all set to investigate the underside of the Mitsubishi after he rumbled over a rock on the far side of a crest. SS4 – Drumtochty, 6.86 mls, Dry Girvan was now back inside the top ten, just, so there were some serious championship points at stake now. He fairly flew through Drumtochty, but so too did Faulkner and they tied on 7m 25s, only one second quicker than Bogie (7m 26s). As for Thorburn (7m 27s) he hadn’t given up either! Groundwater was still on the case (7m 31s) from Armstrong (7m 33s) and Carty (7m 36s) but John Crawford got the better of MacKenzie in here – by a solitary second! It was Jim Carty’s turn to show concern with the Subaru jumping out of top gear while Martin Craik’s Subaru was suffering from a leaky turbo, and he was down on power for the rest of the event. This stage also accounted for Peter Taylor and Paul Hughes. Fortunately there were OK, but when the Subaru rolled it had sufficient impact to twist and jam the doors and they were having trouble getting out till Chris Collie and Roy Kemp stopped to help. Nice one boys, and thankfully no injuries SS5 – Fetteresso 2, 7.10 mls, Dry But as the cars headed towards the fifth test at Fetteresso, the Revolution Wheels Subaru of Thorburn started to misbehave. According to those following it on the road it was popping, banging and farting fire. It was either an electrical or fuel problem. Whatever, the car died mid stage and Thorburn was out. Afterwards, just about everyone said Fetteresso was the best stage – ever! Especially the Escort MkII drivers and Frank Kelly rolled his eyes in delight as he recalled it later. It’s a fast and flowing rollercoaster of a test and it was packed to the rafters with spectators. And in a sight reminiscent of last year’s Colin McRae Stages, the spectators rose to the MkII drivers applauding them as they went past. It was quite moving to see crowd appreciation like that. More please. MacKenzie drove his wee bootees off in here. His time (7m 12s) was good enough for fifth fastest, but out in front was a fiercely determined Faulkner (6m 54s). He had earlier made a pact with Peter, they had a real chance of victory on this event and they were going for it. There was no intention to do the Jim Clark (no budget!) so there was nothing to lose. Faulkner’s time was 4 seconds faster than Girvan (6m 58s) but more importantly, he took 6 back from Bogie (7m 00s) who tied with Groundwater on third quickest. Armstrong’s 7m 09s was good enough to keep him ahead of MacKenzie with MacKay (7m 14s) bringing up the rear of the top half dozen times. As for Donnie MacDonald, his run came to an abrupt end on the startline. The transfer box broke and he had to be pushed out of the way while John Rintoul got half way through the stage before the head gasket finally gave out. Charlie Jarrett burst a wheel in here and Steven Lockhart clipped a rock and punctured 2 miles from the end. SS6 – Durris 2, 5.75 mls, Dry - for early runners! Going into the final stage at Durris, Faulkner had cut Bogie’s lead back to 5 seconds. Ahead lay 5.75 miles of forest road, most of which had been used earlier in the first visit and which was pretty cut up in places. Tactics? It was shit or bust for Faulkner. Afterwards, Faulkner said: “For the first three miles I’ve never driven a car so fast – but for the last three, I’ve never driven so slowly.” The reason for that was, halfway through, he encountered a crowd of spectators pushing Bogie back out of the trees. “It was my own fault, can’t blame anyone but myself,” said Bogie later, “if I had been in a Group A car I might have got away with it, but the Group N car was on the limit. It had nothing more to give.” Apparently, the car had slid wide on one of the cut-up corners and Bogie just caught the outside edge of the bend with a front wheel. It sucked the car in and cost him over 3 minutes. Game over. It still gave Faulkner a fright though: “We nearly caught the tail of David’s car as we drove past,” said Faulkner, “but the spectators were desperate to get him back on the road and I don’t think they heard us coming.” He couldn’t have slowed up that much, his time (6m 01s) was still fastest, but by only a second (6m 02s) from an on-form Groundwater. Girvan was third quickest (6m 03s) from Armstrong (6m 11s) and that man MacKenzie (6m 14s) holding off Carty (6m 16s) again. The biggest problem in the final stage of the day appeared to be brain fade. Douglas Gilbert spun at the hairpin and just narrowly avoided shooting off down a banking while Gordon Murray was at it again, hitting both front and rear end, but getting away with it this time. Shaun Sincalir managed to hang on to 10th place despite a spin on the very last corner trying to hold off Crawford and Bannister. Mike Grant slid off after a L8 into R9, but as he selected reverse, the gearbox went bang and he had to wait for spectators to rescue him and lost a lot of time. Charlie Jarrett was in the wars again, this time sliding off and bursting the exhaust while luck was with Stuart Walker. When the road turned greasy in a heavy shower of rain, he took off over a banking and disappeared into the trees but managed to regain the road by keeping his foot in! But Faulkner and Foy’s first ever rally win has given them a problem: “Peter and I weren’t going to do the Jim Clark, because of a lack of budget – but we’ll have to find the money somehow now!” ** The Classes Garry and Tracey Louise Muir were Class1 winners in Garry’s Ford Ka on his forest rally debut but the only other Class 1 runner, Stephen Murray retired the wee Peugeot with electrical problems. Craig Rutherford and Derek Forsyth won Class 2 in their Nova from Fraser Wilson who was struggling with no 1st gear in his Nova. Mike Rae was a distant third, but then the MG had spent a few minutes in a Fetteresso ditch! Willie and Laura Stuart were Class 3 winners in their recently completed Talbot Sunbeam. As on its tarmac debut, the car ran out of brakes during the day, but they just managed to hold off the Peugeot 205 of young John MacCrone by five seconds who had spent the day nursing the car round with a broken exhaust manifold, a small in-cab fire and then knocked the tank guard off on the final stage. Garry Pearson was third after spectators were needed to pull him out of a Fetteresso ditch and Malcolm Robertson fourth with a reluctant gearbox which was getting worse as the day progressed. Fifth in class was Colin Smith, but a misfire plagued progress while Steven Smith (no relation) spun on S6 and whipped the exhaust off. Dougal Brown failed to finish after a big spin on stage 2 which buckled a rim and punctured tyre, but it was the clutch that later forced his retirement. Graeme Schoneville was another non-finisher, but not before he got up to some high jinks in stage 2. Despite Stuart shouting ‘slow down’ at him, he approached a bridge too quick and got one rear wheel over the parapet – like a wee dug at a lamp-post - but skited along the edge on the tank guard! Then he put it off for good in the last stage. Ross Chalmers was off in S2, but improved in S3 where he only had a spin and had a puncture on the final test. He was actually more concerned about his wet bum His camel-style drinks bag strapped to the rear of his seat was leaking all day! Duncan Campbell left his sumpguard in S3 while Jordan Black was lucky just to get out of S3 after a ‘wall of death’ act round the corner on the final bend. Scott Erskine spun in S6 and broke a stub pin in the back axle and Niall Inglis got a puncture on the final stage but at least his disappearing clutch held out till the finish. Sean Robson had fitted a new engine and gearbox after water pump and head gasket failure at Charterhall so the Peugeot was back on form in Aberdeen while David Crozier disappeared into the trees on S3 and fractured his brake lines. Scott Erskine was sick as a parrot when the Peugeot slid off on stage 3. The car was undamaged, but all the petrol had slopped to one side and the fuel pump wouldn’t pick it up – so there they stayed till the closing car came! At least they fared better than Malcolm Milne, he rolled the Astra. Bruce McCombie and Michael Coutts were easy winners in Class 4 and their Ford Puma was also 19th overall at the finish. There was just the once hiccup. At the previous day press event, the Puma broke a shock absorber and one of the lad’s was dispatched overnight down to Chris Birkbeck’s place in ‘Heartbeat’ country to get a new one. But the real surprise was he actually bought a pair and not just a replacement for the bust one! Second in class was Mark McCulloch, better pleased with his day’s pace in the Corsa after moving up from the Ecosse 205 Challenge. There was just one wee niggle though, and that was with leaky driveshaft boots. He was lucky though. On the final stage, he cut a corner just a shade too enthusiastically and took the co-driver’s mirror off on a tree. Third in class was Alasdair Graham, beaming from ear to ear. “I’ve replaced all the suspension since the Border and it feels like a real rally car now, and I was thinking that it was me that was shit!” he exclaimed. Stewart Davidson might have been expected to challenge for the class but the Proton sheared its wheel studs and Sean Will pitched his Corsa off a bridge in the first test. Ruary MacLeod was lucky to finish his second rally. After a charmed debut on the border Counties, everything went wrong on the Granite. He finished the rally with only 2nd gear left and the exhaust fell off too. As for Ian Bendall, he had just bought a new race suit – and he wisnae going to get it dirty for anything! Euan MacKay was looking a bit happier at the finish. Iain ‘Maxi’ Grubb had set the car up before the rally and he was well chuffed with it finishing 5th in class. Not so was Scott Grant. He lost 3rd gear in S2 and 5th in S3, then buckled a wheel while Gordon Grant broke a driveshaft in the first stage of the day. Euan Duncan and Jake Dickie were lucky to win Class 5 after a spin in the first stage and a misfire in the Peugeot developed over the closing stages while Neil Morrison was second despite bursting his Sunbeam’s radiator. Jonathan Smith finished, but was way off the pace with a bent rear axle courtesy of the Border Counties and he broke a driveshaft on the first stage and had to run through the second as well before he could get it fixed. Andrew Smith failed to make an impression on the class after breaking a driveshaft in the first stage too. The Class 6 winning Triumph Dolomite Sprint of Ken and Gordon Wood was 28th overall at the finish on what they called: “a typical Granite – stoory and sweaty!” and despite an uncharacteristic spin in Drumtochty. Keeping it in the family, Douglas Wood was second in a recently completed sister car to his Dad’s Dolomite Sprint on its debut. Mind you, he was lucky. He left his mark in a Fetteresso ditch for over 300 yards! Stevie Brown and Ronnie Roughhead might have made it into the top twenty in their Class 7 winning Ford Fiesta ST had it not been for a puncture on the second stage leaving John McClory to score second in his Honda Civic after both Neil Coalter and James Robertson retired their Fiesta STs. Class 8 featured the best bun fight of the day. Although Calum MacKenzie was top 2WD runner, John Crawford might have narrowed the gap had it not been for a puncture on the second stage. Steve Bannister was only two seconds adrift of Crawford at the finish and was cursing himself for it. He too had suffered a puncture on the second test, but had been ahead of JC, till he stalled the car on stage four! Frank Kelly was on the case too till he punctured, buckled a wheel and burst a brake pipe on the final stage, but stayed ahead of Malcolm Buchanan. Young Alasdair Graham was sixth after an enforced tidy run. Enforced? He daren’t get a puncture, his Dad won’t buy him a new jack! So when he did get a puncture on the final stage he was lucky, he only had two miles to go. Andrew Ritchie was 7th in class but he was lucky too. Just after leaving the start ramp they turned on to the first roundabout on the main road and the passenger door swung open blowing the Roadbook out onto the road. Andrew had to drive round again while Gordon got out and waited for a gap in the traffic before he could get it back – complete with tyre marks! Fraser Gellan was another enduring a tidy run. His Uncle Willie (Stuart) had loaned him his pristine MkII. He got two punctures in the first half and had to stop and change the second one, then the clutch cable snapped, so he was well out of it by the finish. At least he fared better than former Scottish Champ Michael Horne was out after three stages. He was determined to finish after his silly ‘off’ on the first stage of the Border Counties, but the engine decided otherwise in Glenfarquhar. ** Brick & Steel 205 Ecosse Challenge Euan Duncan and Jake Dickie won the 1.9 section despite a misfiring engine and Jonathan Smith was unable to mount a challenge courtesy of a bent rear axle. Things were altogether more volatile in the 1.6 class where John and Peter MacCrone emerged victorious after a day long struggle with Graeme Schoneville and Garry Pearson. Unfortunately the Schoneville Peugeot encountered a tree with its grille and radiator while in the class lead when Graeme slid off on the final stage. And just like rally winner Faulkner, MacCrone couldn’t believe his luck. He had spent the day nursing the car round with a succession of breakages only to drive by Schoneville with 3 miles to go. ** Final Results: 1 Mike Faulkner/Peter Foy (Mitsubishi EVO 9) 42m 00s Note: Full results at: www.flyingfinish.co.uk **** |