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Rally Report - Tuesday 24th November 2009 Rally of Scotland Meeke makes History in Scotland Day 1/2 SS 1 - Scone Palace 1 , 1.53 kms As far as rallying is concerned, the opening tests on Thursday evening at Scone Palace proved very little, but it gave a lot of paying guests the chance to try out their new waterproofs and wellies. It also provided them with the idea to invest in a torch the next time they go spectating in the dark – so they can see what they are stepping into and how deep it is! SS 3 - Craigvinean 1, 17.34 kms, wet muddy gravel. Meeke was fastest through the first stage of Friday morning (11m 09.4s) but by only 2 seconds from McRae. “I had a problem with a front wheel,” said Kris, “I don’t know what it was, maybe I hit a stone, but I didn’t want to push too hard till we got it checked out.” Even so, he carried over his Thursday night lead and now led the rally by 6 seconds from Guy Wilks who had been third quickest. Best of the rest, was young Weston, and just 18 seconds slower than the S2000 cars over an 18 kilometre test. Alastair Fisher admitted to a spin over the closing and slipperiest parts of the stage although Keith Cronin was out, spotted parked up in the stage. Tony Jardine nearly joined him. The Fiesta broke a driveshaft and then slid into a bridge parapet. Then Tony got stuck pulling over to let a car past and nearly didn’t get back out. “It’s a like a mini-Safari in there,” said Tony. SS 4 - Blackcraig, 11.50 kms, wet muddy gravel. Wilks was quickest this time (6m 47.4s) with Meeke 3 seconds further back and still mindful of his front wheel problem. McRae was third quickest with Bogie the best of the bunch just 20 seconds slower than the fastest time. Still learning the Peugeot 207, Adam Gould spun on a 90 and had to 3 point turn to get going again, but reckoned he may have hit something underneath which would have to be checked at service. Fisher also smacked a log pile on a hairpin right on the co-driver’s side and bent something so he was another in need of the tender administrations of the service crew at Blair Castle. SS 5 - Errochty, 21.56 kms, wet muddy gravel. Confidence in car restored, Meeke made a bit of a ‘push’ over the twisting mountain-top roads of Errochty (13m 9.4s) taking 7 seconds out of Wilks with McRae a further 12 second back. This time it was Fisher in hot pursuit, but by only 2 seconds from Weston. Even though it was Wilks’ first time in the Skoda, Meeke was taking nothing for granted: “The water was a foot deep in places, and it was obliterating the windscreen before the wipers got a chance to clear it,” he said, “I haven’t seen conditions like this since the Azores and the Skodas were particularly quick there.” After a good start, Euan Thorburn clipped a rock in here. “I was flat out in fifth,” said Euan, “and it knackered two rims and pushed a wheel back into the arch. Everyone else hit it, but got away with it. We didn’t.” Later, he added: “We had only 20 minutes to fix it at Blair so there was still stuff to do at final service before the Saturday restart.” Both Fisher, Willie Bonniwell and young Kris Hall punctured while Bogie clipped a branch which wiped off a wiper and then got stuck in the bumper! Stuart McQueen must have hit the same branch, for he emerged from the forest with both wipers tied in a knot and couldn’t see thing. Eamonn Boland broke a driveshaft, Craig Breen slid off 2 miles from the stage finish and Malloch Nicoll was in trouble with brakes. He even had to pull over to let another car past at one point. But at least he finished the stage, Adam Gould didn’t. He stopped mid stage with suspected head gasket failure. SS 6 - Drummond Hill, 18.66 kms, wet muddy, hellishly slippery, gravel. Wilks was quickest this time (11m 41.2s) from Meeke, who grinned when he explained: “I went off in here 2 years ago on the McRae Rally, so treated it with extreme caution!” McRae was third quickest again, this time from Jonathan Greer and David Bogie, but when asked just how slippy it was, Big Al came back with what must be the best quote of the rallying year: “Grip? The only thing that had any grip in there was my arse on Recaro!” He then launched into a more graphic description of Australian co-driver Bill Hayes’ similar affliction. “If it was bad for me, it must have been worse for him – I could see the Recaro disappearing inside him! He’s Australian, you see, he’s never been in Scotland before, he’s .......” ( Editor’s Note: At this point I will have to refrain from recounting any more, because there may be children reading this. Suffice to say, there followed a much more graphic description of the muscular activity taking place inside the car with frequent use of rather Celtic flavoured adjectives – in fact, I’m going to tell his Mammy, or maybe I won’t). Offering up a more technical description of the lack of grip was Jock Armstrong: “You know something, it was that bad I don’t even know if I clicked the diffs off for Drummond Hill, but I might have mistakenly switched them back on again. It was so slippy I really couldn’t tell!” It was the same for Malloch Nicoll. He thought there was something up with his transmission because of the lack of grip. Even David Bogie reckoned conditions were worse than on the McRae last month, but added: “I can’t remember enjoying a rally as much.” One guy who didn’t make it was Nigel Feeney. Second time out in the Subaru he was half way through when the car started to lose drive, and then he heard a clunk: “I don’t know whether it’s the gearbox or a diff but it wasn’t pulling at all, so I had to back off and just get thing out of the stage.” He retired. SS 7 - Craigvinean 2, 17.34 kms, wet muddy gravel and getting dark. Meeke rounded off his day with another fastest time (11m 21.0s) by 15 seconds from McRae and Wilks with Jonathan Greer ahead of Bogie. This gave Meeke an overnight cushion of 21 seconds over the Skoda driver with McRae nearly a minute adrift. Sadly Dave Weston Jnr’s impressive run came to an abrupt end in Craigvinean, going off and going nowhere further. Willie Bonniwell finished the day with another puncture but was more concerned about losing boost pressure although a stone through the intercooler was the prime suspect. First time out in a Honda, Colin Smith finished the first day with a cracked sump. He had only driven the car for a couple of miles up the A9 on Thursday night, so finishing was the first priority, there were to be no heroics in such tricky conditions. Day 3 SS 8 - Achray 1, 16.41 kms, wet muddy gravel. It was cold, just above freezing, dry, and with a watery sun overhead as crews headed west towards the Trossachs. It was also obviously Guy Wilks who was on the Weetabix (10m 59.02s) on Saturday morning, 3 seconds quicker than Meeke through the day’s opener. McRae was another 23 seconds behind but ahead of Jonathan Greer and David Bogie. Jock Armstrong was in a ditch, but was soon back on the road while Donnie MacDonald, blew the turbo. Disappointed? Not a bit of it: “It’s the first time I’ve ever done an International and it’s only 100 miles from home – brilliant,” he said as he headed slowly off to get it changed. And Colin Smith lost the Honda’s rear bumper, but wasn’t aware of hitting anything. SS 9 - Fairy Knowe 1, 7.59 kms, wet muddy gravel. There was only 2 seconds between Meeke (5m 14.4s) and Wilks but it was in the Ulsterman’s favour as he did just enough to keep the pressure on. McRae was another 8 seconds behind but extremely complimentary about the Proton’s handling. A bit more power and he might have given the other two a fright, but progress is encouraging this early in the car’s development. Greer and Bogie were not too far behind, but disaster struck Kris Hall when the Fiesta slid off the road and was well and truly stuck. SS 10 - Loch Ard 1, 33.52 kms, wet muddy gravel. Even with a “bit of a spin” Meeke (22m 02.9s) was 9 seconds quicker than Wilks who had over half a minute on McRae over this 33 km fast blast through the huge Loch Ard complex. Bogie was well up for it though, just 11 seconds behind McRae but more importantly, 3 up on Greer with Armstrong keeping the two of them in his sights. Thorburn was in trouble again. A sodden, dirt-clogged air filter put his engine on to safety mode and he limped out the stage, troubled now also by a problem with 2nd gear. Stuart McQueen was in trouble too with a burst shock absorber which was leaking oil, but nothing terminal. SS 11 - Achray 2, 16.41 kms, wet muddy gravel. After service in Stirling, the internationals headed back to the Trossachs to take up where the national Bs left off, for a repeat run of the first three stages. It was Wilks this time (11m 13.2s) but by only a second from Meeke, with Greer displacing McRae for third fastest time. SS 12 - Fairy Knowe 2, 7.59 kms, wet muddy gravel. Wilks was keeping the pressure on (5m 18.6s) but only 7 seconds slower, Meeke was doing enough to stay on the road and stay ahead on the leaderboard. Greer was quicker again from McRae as he sought to consolidate his fourth overall position and put some space between himself and Bogie. SS 13 - Loch Ard 2, 33.52 kms, wet muddy gravel. And so to the last stage, number 13! On the basis of what happened maybe the organisers will either finish on 12 next year or have a fourteenth test! On the one hand it was lucky for Meeke, but not so lucky for Bogie. Fastest man by some margin over the final test was Jock Armstrong (23m 53.2s) and that was despite giving a trackside tree a hefty whack on the left rear door. He slid wide on a right hander, but depending on who you believe, it was either a lucky strike which kept him on the road or “superior driving skill!” Not so fortunate was David Bogie. He only had soft tyres left and in such muddy, sodden conditions, the Lancer got caught out on a right over crest. The car slid wide, clipped the edge and rolled, coming to rest beached on its belly straddling the road. The crew were OK, but there was no way past and the organisers were forced to cancel the stage and give everyone a notional time. Most disappointed was Donnie MacDonald who was all psyched up for the final stage: “I wanted a right good run at Loch Ard - then I came across Bogie, game over.” There was also a huge grin on Colin Smith’s face at the finish. Not only did he finish 14th overall, but 2nd Honda provided the manufacturer with some additional manufacturer points, and that will go down well with them! It was Meeke’s rally, but by just 20 seconds from Wilks. Jonathan Greer summed up the comments of many at the finish: “It was a completely new experience for me, I have never driven in such conditions before.” But let’s leave the last words to Kris Meeke who said at the rally finish: “Brilliant! It’s a pity that last stage was cancelled but it’s been fantastic for Peugeot and Kronos and full marks to Guy for a superb drive himself. It’s a dream come true this year for me and I hope I have shown that I am one of the best out there – it has been the best experience of my life. That car never missed a beat all year and I thank the entire team for that. For me personally, though, this victory on the first Rally of Scotland is dedicated to the guy who helped me get started in my career: Colin McRae.” NOTE: And then came the lightning bolt. Meeke’s Peugeot is under investigation by the Stewards (as of Saturday night after the rally). Results will remain provisional pending their decision. It would appear that there is a question mark hanging over the eligibility of the 207 with regard to the weight of the front cross member. Meeke’s and Paul Nagle’s title is not in doubt, only their RoS victory. **** National Report Groundwater’s Watery Win Barry Groundwater and Daniel Paterson scored the win on the National part of Rally of Scotland from Davie Hughes and Bruce Harper. Run over the first three tests on Saturday morning, the event had received a disappointing entry of only 24 cars for a fabulous run through the Trossachs. At 400 quid it looked a wee tad dear to begin with, but apparently, as the event got closer, there were deals to be done for the 57 kms, or 35 miles in real money, on offer. But the big attraction was surely the final test of the three, the 21 miler in Loch Ard. SS 8 - Achray 1, 16.41 kms, wet muddy gravel. Although the weather was relatively dry above, it was pretty damn wet underneath. The stages were muddy, slithery and bluidy slippery and when the Nationals got there, the big boys had already been through on their first run. Maybe that’s why Barry Groundwater hit a big stone and bent wheel. Fortunately, the tyre didn’t go down, but the wheel jammed the brake calliper. Even so, Groundwater scored the fastest time (12m 04.8s) and graciously admitted at service: “It was my fault, I was told not to cut – and I did!” Second quickest was Bruce McCombie (12m 05.7s) but by only a second from Groundwater with Davie Hughes (12m 30.3s) third after being slowed up when he encountered young David Wilson. The Lancer was off the road with a sorely smacked face, facing back the way it had come, with both crew members out of the car, but it took Hughes by surprise. It may have been the first stage but there was more to come. Sandy Arbuthnot’s Metro chucked the main drive belt off. With no fans, no alternator and no power steering, the Metro finished the stage with steam blowing out the back. Sandy said: “It got quite hot in there but I took it easy just to reach service.” Fraser Loudon lost a chunk of time when the centre diff failed a mile in to the first test and James Robertson spun the wee Citroen a few times but at least he emerged in one piece. Mike Grant didn’t. The Subaru finished its rally upside down in the water. Adding insult to injury, Billy Davidson arrived at the downhill scene and was unable to stop in time and gave the Subaru another clatter. The Honda was able to carry on, but the front left corner didn’t look too pretty. Maybe it was a Honda thing, but John McClory was off too, although he managed to get back on just a wee bit more quickly than Davidson. He still had trouble getting out though, but that was down to no first gear, and he was hoping there would be no more uphill starts! Despite claiming to be rusty, Gordon Murray was fourth quickest (12m 32.3s) but of more concern to him was the fact he had taken half a minute out of number 1 son Scott. SS 9 - Fairy Knowe 1, 7.59 kms, wet muddy gravel. It was Hughes in front for the next one (5m 43.2s) from Groundwater (5m 53.2s) and Murray (5m 55.5s) but of McCombie there was no sign – till he arrived in service some minutes later, with a nice big tree-trunk shaped ding in the rear door on the co-driver’s side. McCombie’s explanation was quite terse but colourful: “Big crest, big jump, didn’t quite land on the road, big slide! I thought that was it,” said Bruce, “I didn’t think it would come out, but it did. The diff locks did the job. Fortunately, it was only the rear passenger door that took the hit.” Fraser Loudon was in more trouble. The car overheated and went on to safety mode and then cut out. He had to sit and wait till it cooled down before he could start it up again and drive out. Brian Stephen got a fright when the Escort’s bonnet blew up but was more concerned about a bit of a misfire that had developed, and reckoned it had something to do with all that water out there. Douglas Brown was concerned too. He was having to keep eye on oil pressure. He had fitted a new oil pump, filter and oil since problems on last month’s McRae but the oil pressure was still tending to sag when the revs dropped. Michael Robertson in the Subaru was running out of brakes by the end of the second test but with service in Aberfoyle town centre, he wasn’t far away from sanctuary. Neil Morrison lost his intercom half way through, but after a hard landing it came back on again! And there sitting at the end of the second test after the rest of the cars had gone, looking all sorry for himself, was Brian Watson. Car parked up and he was on the phone! Mechanical? Perhaps, but there was an awful lot of mud and grass on the front left corner! SS 10 - Loch Ard 1, 33.52 kms, wet muddy gravel. Only 7 seconds separated Groundwater from Hughes in the final one, with Groundwater (24m 31.1s) getting the result from Hughes (24m 38.6s). McCombie was back on form (24m 44.1s) after his mishap with a time that puts him in good stead for next season. Brian Stephen was fourth quickest (26m 03.7s) in the Escort ahead of John ‘make my day’ McClory, fifth quickest (26m 03.8s) in the Honda – only 0.1 of a second slower than Stephen! After a good run over the first two tests, Gordon Murray’s Subaru hit trouble in the third, but just when he thought he would have to put up with weeks of slagging by Scott in the Lancer, Scott struck trouble too and they both failed to finish. I’ll bet they’ll still be arguing who was quickest over the turkey at Christmas. And David Killin finished 10th overall in the Opel Kadett beaming: “I can still remember bits of these stages from 20 years ago!” It was therefore a relieved Barry Groundwater and Daniel Paterson who took the victory after a close run battle with David Hughes and Bruce Harper, especially after their first stage troubles! Full Results on next page ... **** |