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Rally Report - Tuesday 23 February 2010 Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally, Saturday 20th February Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Snow This year’s Snowman was abominable. When 123 crews emerged from the warmth of bedrooms in homes, hotels and guesthouses in Inverness on Saturday morning, they were greeted with a temperature of minus 9 degrees. Breath hung in the air like spooky wraiths and tears turned to icicles on cheeks. It was cold enough to freeze the warlocks off a cauldron. Bad enough, but out there on the stages and in the shadows it was minus 14. Worst fears were confirmed. At Signing-On the night before, the talk was about tyres and possible thaws. On this basis there would be no thaw. Ground temperature was lower than it was last year. In other words, the early crews would have the best of a bad lot with conditions worsening for those further down the running order. Welcome to the 2010 Arnold Clark Thistle Hotel Snowman Rally and the opening round of the 2010 Hankook Scottish Rally Championship! SS1 – Meall Mor, 7.55 miles. Snow. There were several inches of snow in the first test at Meall Mor where Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick scored their first of five fastest times (8m 27s) on the five stage event. In fact they caught Reay MacKay at the final hairpin. Twenty three seconds behind them were Alick Kerr and Neil Shanks (8m 50s), the only two crews under 9 minutes for the 7.5 mile test and both using Pirelli snow tyres. Third quickest were Davie Hughes and Bruce Harper on 9m 08s. Just two seconds behind them were 4WD newcomers Warren Fairbairn/Derek Miller and Dougal Brown/Allan Matheson sharing 9m 10s. It was Warren’s second run out in his Lancer and Dougal’s first time out in the Subaru. And rounding off the top six (9m 14s) was sporadic rallyist John MacKenzie with Ian MacDonald in a Metro 6R4 which had been rebuilt over the winter by one Andy Horne Esq. As John said after it’s suspension rebuild and engine set-up: “It’s back to being a proper Metro again.” Speaking of Andy Horne, he was definitely on the pace but an overshoot at the downhill hairpin cost him time: “I was braking 200 yards before the corner, and it still wasn’t enough!” Sixth quickest were Jim Carty and Ian Fraser (9m 16s), but don’t let these times fool you – every one of them had their moments in there! SS2 – Millbuie, 6.36 miles. Hard packed snow/ice. If Meall Mor had snow and grip, Millbuie didn’t. The stage surface had a durable crusting of ice, harder than any Sheffield steel. Nor could the sun get at it for the trees. The front runners had no grip, those who followed had less. Every set of wheels which sped and spun over the surface burnished it a little more for the next one to follow. Despite sliding straight on at a corner, Armstrong’s margin this time (7m 19s) was 8 seconds over Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy (7m 27s). Jock said: “No tyres would do for that surface,” while Faulkner was guilty of spinning again as he did on the first test. Last year’s Snowman winner Reay MacKay was third quickest (7m 35s) and saw 120 on the speedo! He didn’t want to think about whether that was speed – or wheelspin. Fourth fastest were Rory Young and Allan Cathers (7m 49s) from Fairbairn (7m 52s) and Andy Horne and Jim Howie (7m 53s), but taking no further interest in proceedings was Wayne Sissons. He was heading to the pub while the Lancer was stuck in a snowbank, the first of 16 cars to plunge off the road at the same point! Luckier was Alick Kerr, he was just a shade off the pace after two spins but still going and Barry Groundwater summed it up best: “There were a few arse twitching moments in there!” Shaun Sinclair was shaking his head: “I spun on every corner I think, and at one point had to shunt backwards and forwards to get round and get going again.” It was the same for Malloch Nicoll but he spun at slow speed: “in front of millions of spectators,” he said, “and I had to go back up the track to get round and then go past them all again – at 15 mph!” After a good run on the first stage, Dougal Brown hit trouble on the second when the Subaru bounced out of the rutted tracks and slid off. David Wilson lost time too when he spun into a snowbank and stuffed the exhaust with snow, so that hampered progress till it melted. Davie Hughes was off twice, Dale Robertson got a puncture, John Morrison spun and got stuck, Walter Henderson caught the car in front and Martin Craik was having trouble with the centre diff. First time out in the Subaru, Mark McCulloch got caught and pulled over to let the other car through, which then slipped sideways and clattered the passenger door, but Mark was OK about it. In those conditions, it was just one of those things. The worst incident befell Fraser and Abi Louden. When they went off another car appeared on the scene before they could get out and landed on top of them. Fortunately, both were OK. A local farmer was in station at the corner in one those large Manitou wheel loader thingies and he had already pulled out 30 cars before Louden appeared, but the guy on his tail was just too close for the farmer to get him out before the crunch happened. SS3 – Torr Achilty, 12.51 miles. Snow, ice and gravel. Torr Achilty was the only stage which had any real gravel showing through, but for those running snow and ice tyres, caution needed to be exercised over the gravelly bit, as they are not built to cope with chuckies and stanes. A heckuva lot of crews found that out the hard way! It was Armstrong again (15m 41s) by 18 seconds from Kerr (15m 59s), the only two drivers to beat 16 minutes for the 12.5 mile test. Dale Robertson and Paul McGuire were third quickest (16m 06s) from Brown (16m 15s), Faulkner (16m 17s), Walter Henderson/Jim Kinlcoh (16m 18s) and MacKenzie (16m 24s). The mixed conditions accounted for a number of crews in here including Malloch Nicoll, stranded when he shattered a wheel, Jim Carty who punctured and went off and Donnie MacDonald burst his oil cooler when he too slid off. One of the luckiest drivers was surely John MacKenzie. Already well inside the top ten, the Metro driver slid into a snowbank, smacked a wing and broke a headlight, but bounced back on to the road! Jim Carty wasn’t quite so lucky. He did the same, but didn’t bounce back on to the road! He was stuck. Amongst the unluckiest were Rory Young and David Wilson. They both got two punctures in here and were not alone, many folk got one including Bruce McCombie and quite a few got two. Craig McMiken lost time when the car cut out mid stage. It was a trick that his Lancer accomplished a few times last year, but Craig thought he had fixed it! SS4 – Strathrory, 11.88 miles. Ice. As if conditions weren’t bad enough already, then came Strathrory, the worst stage of the day by all accounts. The Highland Car Club team had actually shortened it, but not by enough as events turned out. Despite removing much of the downhill finish, what was left still polished like glass - topped with chip fat! After 18 cars the stage had to be stopped and cancelled when Douglas Brydon and David O’Brien went off - hard. David was taken by ambulance to Raigmore Hospital but fortunately released with a clean bill of health after checks. Before that, Armstrong (12m 54s) was the only driver under 13 minutes ahead of Kerr (13m 14s) who had actually slid off the road at the Flying Finish on the ice and determined then that since discretion was the better part of valour he would take it easy on the final test and conserve his place. Also off at the Finish was Faulkner (13m 34s) but he was still third quickest from Henderson (13m 43s), Horne (13m 52s) and Young with another puncture (13m 59s) before ‘notional’ times were credited to the rest of the field. Both Sinclair and Hughes were also off at that final section, but Brydon fared worst. Robertson lost over 4 minutes in the test when he punctured a front tyre which then damaged the wiring loom as the casing broke up, but he actually benefitted from the notional time. Bruce McCombie caught a car but there was nowhere to get past. He wasn’t annoyed at the driver; “It wasn’t his fault, there was nowhere to pull over. Just one of those things.” And Reay MacKay was sporting a big grin after it: “I arrived at a Left 7 – pointing the wrong way!” SS5 – Scotsburn, 6.91 miles. Snow and ice. Which left Scotsburn, and yet another hazard. The setting winter sun was striking the ice encrusted road with all the subtlety of a welder’s torch. Through the glare Armstrong clinched a dazzling display with his fifth fastest time (6m 50s), a sub-7 minute pass over the 6 mile test ahead of Faulkner (7m 09s) and Andy Horne (7m 24s). Fourth quickest was Young (7m 29s), even with two more punctured tyres, from MacKay and Kerr (7m 30s), and Bruce McCombie/Michael Coutts sharing 7m 34s with a simply scintillating run from Malcolm Buchanan/Ian Nicoll in the MkII. Sadly, Dougal Brown’s good run was ruined when the Subaru headbutted a snowbank and damaged the radiator but he did manage to salvage 12th place overall. On course for his best result ever, Kerr backed off on the final test just to be sure of the runner-up position ahead of Faulkner, who was ready to write off this event as a ‘dropped score’ even before it started, and Rory Young who came out the stage with two punctures – that made a total of five for the day – but still finished 4th. Also scoring the best result of his career was fifth placed John MacKenzie while Andy Horne’s sixth place was hugely popular with everyone after a disastrous 2009. There was no doubting the winner though, Jock Armstrong was in a class of his own in those conditions, but I really don’t think he fancies any more of the same for the Border next month! ** The Classes Jim Aitken was the sole runner and winner in the new 1000cc class with his Nissan Micra. He finished 66th overall, no’ bad for a standard wee road car! Kenny Munro and his Corsa took Class 2 from Mike Rae in the MG. Fraser Wilson finished 3rd with a new-ish engine after his Galloway Hills blow-up and Stephen Fraser was fourth in the Mini after a branch swiped off the windscreen wipers - and took the skooshers with them! Niall Inglis won Class 3 despite sliding off on the final stage. It was a lucky escape as the Nova was sliding towards a banking, but just managed to slither to a stop before crushing the radiator. Steven Smith was second and first Peug 205, but his highlight was passing a 4WD Lancer at a hairpin and getting a cheer from the crowds. Garry Pearson was third and Jamie Watson fourth on his first event despite being well off the road in SS4. With no spectators around, it took them a while to get out and get going again. Blair McCulloch was lucky to finish. He was right off the road in ditch in SS2 for 6 mins. Martin Scott had an incident on every stage, starting with coil failure on SS1 and finished the test on 3 cyls, he was off in SS2, and off again in SS3 this time bending a strut. At least he got round. Stewart Davidson in the Proton won Class 4 from the Corsa of Alasdair S Graham although fourth placed Bill Davidson (Stewart’s Dad) would have won the class was it not for a time penalty! Stewart had bought 6 snow tyres, but Dad pinched his two spares for the day. But can you imagine the Davidson household if the ‘ol’ man’ had beaten the boy? Gordon Grant was third but reckoned a last minute change to Bridgestone M&S made the difference. Graeme Schoneville’s Honda lost 10 mins in a ditch in SS3 and Willie Lawrie was also off in SS3, but spects pushed the wee Colt back on and he topped his day catching a Subaru in SS5. Euan MacKay was fifth despite a front puncture in SS3, Ross Hunter was sixth despite losing 5 minutes on the second last corner of SS2 where he smacked the Honda’s nose on a banking but it was more cosmetic than mechanical, and Gordon MacKay was just relieved to have finished his first gravel event, he had only done Crail before. Neil Morrison won Class 5 in his Talbot Sunbeam but reckoned he should fit grab handles to the rear to help the spects push him when he gets stuck on the ice while Donald MacEachan was second. Andrew Morrison’s Historic Escort clinched Class 6 ahead of Tony Thompson’s Vauxhall Chevette which got a puncture in SS3 but he enjoyed the day’s challenge. Allan Smith’s second rally in his Ford Focus was topped with a win in Class 7 even with a spin on the last stage. Peter Stewart was second in the Fiesta, but had a good first hand account of how slippy conditions were: “We sat on the start line and watched three cars ahead of us start the stage, and they all spun off at the first corner. So we knew what to expect. And what did we do? We spun off at the first corner!” It was just as bad for Colin Smith in the Civic, he had to get a push start off the line at SS2. The Honda was going nowhere on the ice. His best stage was the first one, where he caught two cars in the snow and managed to get past one of them. “Awesome stage,” he said. It wasn’t a day for MkII’s but Malcolm Buchanan won Class 8 and a hard fought 16th overall in his Escort ahead of Colin Hay who spent the day trading times with Alex Grant. In another MkII, Eddie O’Donnell won Class 9 but he reckoned it was all about survival rather than glory! Duncan McGregor reached the finish in second place but Capri looked a bit second hand. “I Just touched the brakes at one point and it shot across the road and bashed the front end,” said Duncan. Jock Armstrong also won the Group N Class 10 from Rory Young after a total of five punctures during the day, while Craig McMiken carried on from last year’s impressive outings with third in class despite losing half a minute when the Lancer cut out on him mid stage 3. Newcomer Shaun Sinclair was on a snowy voyage of discovery so was pleased with fourth ahead of Dale Robertson and Colin Gemmell who reckoned all his pre-event testing was a waste of time - because he had done it in the dry. Nigel Feeney got a 4 minute penalty at the re-fuelling zone due to a mix up and had 65 psi in the tyres for the first two stages! David Newall’s first rally was topped with a bang in the final stage when he went straight on at a R7 and clobbered a bank, but it was cosmetic, and he was delighted to finish. Scott Murray was the only Group A finisher when Steven Campbell got stuck in the last stage. Gavin Chalmers simply ran out of time after he had to take the disc pads out the rear brakes to stop them jamming on. He lost half an hour doing that but still managed to reach the Inverness finish. The Open Class was won by Alick Kerr from Faulkner, MacKenzie, Horne and MacKay. Martin Craik pulled out with diff failure, Gordon Murray slid off in the third test and Steven Ronaldson was going well in the Metro till he fell foul of the gravelly bit in Torr Achilty. Walter Henderson was sixth ahead of Bruce McCombie with a puncture, David Hughes and young Dougal Brown. Tommy MacKay was off 4 times in SS2 and Donald Campbell arrived at first service with a bashed Subaru nose. The car in front had spun off and then reversed out as Donald approached but he couldn’t stop on the ice. At least it was a slow speed impact. Fraser McNicol’s rally almost ended on the first stage when he got buried in a snowbank but hardy spects pushed him out and Lee Hastings reckons this was his best result ever. He finished 12th in class and 20th overall: “In these condtions, that’s just like a win,” he said. Brian Stephen got two front punctures in final stage and David Ross passed a car and then got hit from behind when the they guy regained the road and couldn’t stop for the next corner. And it was good to see Alan Doncaster back out. He had a big ‘straight-on’ in SS2 and a puncture in SS3 but finished 14th in class. Final Top Ten: 1 Jock Armstrong/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 51m 11s Note - Full results at: www.flyingfinish.co.uk **** |