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Rally Report - Tuesday 1 June 2010 Jim Clark Reivers Rally, Sunday 29th May Maychanical Mayhem It’s May. It’s spring. The flowers are bursting out all over. Whether it was May madness or just the sheer exuberance of the ever changing seasons in this country, but the rallyistas certainly lived up to the ‘bursting out’ business in Berwickshire. They were bursting through hedges, bursting through fields and bursting through a few others things as well, all in the pursuit of glory on this year’s Jim Clark Reivers Rally. Fortunately there was very little blood spilt and everyone went home happy, or at least those who finished went home happy. Some went home facing long hours of reparation and ruination in the garage! Not so David Bogie and Kevin Rae. They came, they conquered, they triumphed. They won last Sunday’s Jim Clark Reivers Rally at a canter, but it wasn’t as easy as it looks on paper. In second place were Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton having more success than they did the previous day. This time the TEG Sport Subaru didn’t miss a beat but there was little the team could do against Bogie’s brilliance and the McGeehan Ford Focus WRC out in front. Jock Armstrong and Christine Sanderson got their Hankook title hopes back on course in the Impreza with third while Paul Benn and Richard Cooke were fourth in another Focus WRC. But my personal ‘drive of the rally’ finished fifth, David Wilson and David Robson. Survival was an achievement, fifth was a miracle! Changeable conditions didn’t help matters either. Either the professional weather forecasters got the weather right but the timing wrong, or the timing right but the weather wrong depends on whether you were sunning yourself on Saturday or sheltering under a battered umbrella on Sunday. Whatever, weather dominated the chatter on Sunday and that meant it dominated tyre talk too. Put it this way, no-one made the right call all the time during the day. Some got it right at times and others didn’t, hence the fitting of full wets in the dry and slicks in standing water. It started wet, got wetter and then in the afternoon it started to dry and by the end it was glorious. In other words, typical Scottish spring/summer weather! SS1 – Bothwell 1, 6.80 mls, wet with standing water. Bogie was the only driver under 6 minutes (5m 54.4s) for the 6.8 mile opener at Bothwell, and he reckoned was being cautious: “Even with full wets there were places where there was grip and places where there was none,” said Bogie, “we had a couple of overshoots at places where we thought it was flat – and it wasn’t!” Some 10 seconds adrift (6m 04.2s) was Thorburn and he had 10 seconds in hand over Paul MacKinnon/Ewen MacGillivray (6m 14.1s) but putting a smile on everyone’s face was the MkII of Steve Bannister/Louise Sutherland (6m 15.7s), now that was something in those conditions. Fifth quickest were Armstrong (6m 17.2s) from Dale Robertson/Paul McGuire (6m 20.8s) and just ahead of a disconsolate Andy Fenwick: “The car was working so well yesterday. I was leading the National at one point. And now, nothing. It’s undriveable. I don’t know what’s up.” SS2 – Moon and Star 1, 8.60 mls, wet with standing water. It was Bogie again in the second (7m 02.4s) but by only a second from Thorburn (7m 03.5s), although it could so easily have gone the other way as Thorburn had a bit of second thoughts about his pace: “At one point near the end of that stage I looked at the speedo, it was showing 148 mph – I backed off a bit!” Bogie too had hit a snag. The Launch Control wasn’t working on the Focus and it had stalled on the start line so that caused a bit of a kerfuffle getting it fired up again and on the move. Third quickest was Brydon (7m 14.8s), again just a second up on Armstrong (7m15.1s), with MacKinnon apparently enjoying the ‘Mull monsoon’ type weather (7m 21.3s) until he encountered Alick Kerr. The Hankook points leader had broken a driveshaft on the startline and was trying to get through as best he could to reach service. Fortunately, he spotted the approaching Muilleach, and pulled over, but then MacKinnon overcooked the next junction and had a bit of a ‘straight-on’ and more valuable seconds were lost. Rounding off the top half dozen were Andy Fenwick/Lee Tindall had wrestled the reluctant Subaru around in 7m 25.1s, but were still unhappy with the car’s handling. Meanwhile, Shaun Sinclair was losing his brakes. He had to top up the fluid reservoir and reckons they used the wrong stuff which was not compatible so a full flush was called for at service. Wayne Sisson caught a car in the first stage and then caught Alick Kerr struggling with three wheel drive but was resigned to the fact ‘that’s rallying’. Dale Robertson had the front diff failed and was also worried about a misfire while the Rintouls had lost the use of their clutch failed so were having to try and save it just for starts and drive as best they could on the stages without it. Rory Young had a wee off for some 200/300 metres on the grass, but since he’s a farmer he would have felt quite at home. Dougal Brown was off too, but sadly his rally ended against a telegraph pole. And if the 4WD mob were having hard time think about those with only half the traction, Steve Bannister was heroic in the wet. Even so he dropped 10 seconds with a ‘straight on’ at a cottage and punctured a tyre. SS3 – Bothwell 2, 6.80 mls, wet with standing water. It was Bogie (6m 10.5s) from MacKinnon (6m 10.6s) in Bothwell, and if you’re wondering why I was including tenths of seconds in the fastest time brackets, then this is why! Fenwick still wasn’t happy but after softening up the Subaru he got a little bit more out of the car (6m 16.2s) but things still weren’t right. Also getting on the pace a wee bit more was Armstrong (6m 20.4s) while Dale Robertson was having a storming run (6m 21.2s). Shaun Sinclair and Chris Hamill popped in a quickie (6m 22.7s) but so too did David ‘The Whirlwind’ Wilson and Dave Robson (6m 22.9s), but where was Thorburn? The red Subaru appeared some 40 odd seconds down on Bogie with a tattered rear tyre: “There were stones in the road, and I couldn’t miss them,” said a remarkably sanguine Thorburn. The same stones caught out Mike Faulkner too when the Lancer appeared with a tattered front: “Coming through the Flying Finish at 120 mph with a flat front was fun,” he said – with a grimace! Douglas Bryden spun and bent a rear tie bar while Mark McCulloch also spun, but with his forest brakes and suspension he said: “The wetter the better suits me against all these more powerful cars.” SS4 – Moon and Star 2, 8.60 mls, wet with standing water. It was Bogie again before lunch (7m 11.0s) from Thorburn (7m 13.8s), the two f them building up quite a cushion on the pursuit. Leading the charge was Benn (7m 32.0s) this time from Armstrong (7m 33.9s) whose turn it now was to have a puncture this time. Fenwick’s Subaru was handling a bit better but was lacking punch out of the corners, even so, a 7m 35.1s kept him in the hunt while Mark McCulloch/Craig Wallace, first time on tarmac in the Subaru were revelling in the wet conditions (7m 35.5s). The pace was fierce, but if ever a sport had more than its fair share of despair and disappointment, it’s rallying. Picture the utter dejection on young Paul MacKinnon’s face at the end of SS4. He was 40 seconds off the pace with two punctures in the Subaru – and only one spare in the boot! Eventually he managed to borrow a spare wheel that fitted from another crew but by the time he got to service he was out of it. Barry Renwick’s first run out in the Hyundai ended after this one with no diff pressure, Doug Bryden was off again, this time breaking the suspension on the other side of the car, and Wayne Sisson was still catching cars. Rory Young was in bother again too, another off and a broken driveshaft, Dale Robertson spun and Rintoul spun too, but only once, even though he was on full slcks! As for Bannister, he was all crossed up everywhere: “Trouble is, it don’t come back as quick when it’s on the grass!” Keith Robathan was trying too and admitted to a “big sideways, but as long as you can catch it you’re alright”, while Frank Kelly was trying to be competitive and be gentle as the Escort’s clutch was slipping. Gentle? Frank Kelly? That’s like asking a kid to take it easy with a free pass to an ice cream factory. SS5 – Blackadder 1, 10.30 mls, still wet. Bogie’s pace was relentless despite the Launch Control problem (9m 35.5s): “I stalled it again on that last one, but it was fine here. The clutch is like a switch, it’s either on or off, and it’s tricky getting it off the line.” Thorburn was second (9m 57.0s), but only two seconds behind him was Armstrong (9m 59.2s). Fourth quickest (10m 02.0s), and still on its forest suspension and brakes, was the Lancer of David Wilson. Over the first few stages, Davey Robson had been trying to control the whirlwind in the right hand seat till he realised that the driver was actually in control of the car and not the other way about! It wasn’t tidy progress but it was effective given the limitations of the car’s set-up. Four seconds behind was Wayne Sisson (10m 06.3s), now on a mission given his earlier indiscretion, and intent on bagging some Hankook points before close of play. Paul Benn was fifth (10m 08.6s): “It’s not my car, it’s Michael O’Brien’s and I look after it for him, so I daren’t get too excited.” John and Jim Rintoul made up the top six (10m 10.5s) just quietly pegging away at the top ten times and moving up the order. Andy Fenwick was in more bother, this time with a big off which resulted in a rock being jammed under the car as he dragged it back on to the road. Two miles into the test, Mike Faulkner hit a pothole on the inside and got a bad vibration, claiming: “I had ‘white finger’ by the finish of the stage.” Wayne Sisson was in more bother too. He had an off at a Sq Left which initially looked soft, but there was a huge tree in the middle of it and it gave the driver’s side a hefty whack and took the glass out. Shaun Sinclair was trying too, and went through the chicane sideways – scattering the marshals, but when David Hughes went off, he stayed off. So too did Billy McClelland when the Lancer climbed a banking and Jeff McNeil’s rally ended in a ditch. As for Bannister: “ I’m just so-oo lucky to be here. I had a big moment which went on for some time. It was a 100 mph left/right kink. She just went. Somehow we kept it going and on the road.” Graham Willock got a fright of a different kind when he saw his brother in law, Fred Davidson’s Lancer upside down in here, but the crew were OK. SS6 – Fogo 1, 7.70 mls, wet. The sun was starting to poke through the murk as the cars headed towards Fogo where Bogie again set the mark (6m 33.4s) from Thorburn (6m 59.1s) and although some distance from Bogie he was unable to relax because both Benn (6m 59.8s) and Armstrong were on the oil (7m 00.7s) while Sisson’s 7m 00.4s was equally impressive but no real threat to the front runners. Getting amongst the fastest times for the first time were Ian Paterson and Doug Redpath (7m 02.6s): “I’ve stopped fannying aboot,” claimed Paterson, “I did a ‘full fanny’ in the first stage this morning and a ‘half fanny’ in the next one, then another ‘full fanny’ in the third, but I’m behaving myself noo!” The Rintouls were in the groove now too (7m 04.1s) as they moved up the leaderboard. Andy Fenwick’s run finally ended in here, with no boost in the turbo while Andy Horne had three big spins with the DAM but there was no physical contact. David Wilson was in a field, but got in and out unscathed, and Douglas Bryden went a bit better. He was in two fields and one garden, while Ian Paterson clipped a bridge parapet and lost the rear bumper. Bob Grant failed to make the final two stages pulling out after this one with a transmission fault. In the 2WD battle Robathan’s assault took a battering when the Escort headbutted a chicane bale and damaged the radiator which had to be fixed at service. SS7 – Blackadder 2 , 10.30 mls, dry. It was dry now, but it made little difference to Bogie’s progress (9m 08.3s), considerably quicker than the pursuit led by Armstrong (9m 41.3s) and Benn (9m 42.2s) now feeling a bit braver in the dry in his borrowed car! Thorburn was a sensible fourth quickest (9m 43.2s) still secure in the runner-up position overall but there was some concern: “I was losing boost pressure, in fact I was just waiting for Jock to come by, but he didn’t”. And having battled his way into the top ten, Sinclair was on the ball too (9m 44.8s) but less than a second adrift was Wilson, although not looking quite so wild now that it had dried up. Ian Paterson admitted to an overshoot, but later admitted he was waving to the wife at the time as Claire was out spectating with the boy! SS8 – Fogo 2 , 7.70 mls, dry. It was in the bag, but Bogie had been here before and knows only too well how cruel this sport and fate can be. But there were no problems this time, the Focus didn’t miss a beat as it stopped the clocks on 6m 21.5s, nearly 10 seconds clear of Paul Benn on 6m 30.2s Also, with the runner-up position in the bag, Thorburn was happy with third fastest (6m 32.1s) while Armstrong was equally content with fourth (6m 33.9s) knowing that Thorburn is not registered in this year’s Scottish Championship. Others were still trying, and trying damn hard. When the weather eased Keith Robathan/Neil Ewing thought that Bannister was catchable, and a blistering run (6m 37.2s) over the final stage clinched the top 2WD award. It was also the fifth quickest time on the stage ahead of the day’s ‘hardest trier’ Wilson (6m 38.9s). Bogie’s win has put his title hopes back on track, but Andy Horne’s 17th place means that a DAM Metro now leads the Hankook Scottish series at the halfway point on 89 points from David Bogie on 88, Jock Armstrong 86, and Alick Kerr who has dropped back to 4th with 79, from Mike Faulkner on 75. Results: **** |