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The World According to Jaggy - Oct 5, 2009 McRae Musings Coltness Car Club were hoping for an easier time at this year’s event, and for a wee while after last year’s wonderful tribute to their former member and world champion, it did indeed look as though last weekend’s event would be ‘back to normal’. And yes, it was the final round of the Hankook Scottish Rally Championship, and yes, there was a heckuva battle in prospect for the national title, but once again, events overtook ‘The Bears’. They all knew that the Colin McRae Vision Charity would be prominent at this year’s event. The charity is still in fund-raising mode (as opposed to fund-dispersal mode), and to generate more funds those behind the effort have produced a wide range of gifts and collectables which are being sold at events throughout the country. So the McRae Vision retail unit was at Perth. And then they asked The Bears if Corgi could launch its new ‘McRae Collection’ at the rally. Aye, no problem. Then Codemasters asked if they could do something with the new computer driving game, Dirt 2. And then Codemasters asked if Ken Block could come back to the rally. He was going to be in the country at the time anyway and had enjoyed the crack so much last year. And then Jim Bamber asked if he could launch his own tribute to the McRaes, a new book featuring many of the cartoons he drew over the years, first when Jim was on the UK world stage and later when Colin and Alister were in the woods. And then Digby asked if he could launch the new Brick & Steel Honda Challenge at the event. Shooot, before you know it, it wasn’t just a rally, it was a major production all over again. Pulling all this together were Campbell Roy and Andy Kelly and when they realised just how big things were getting, they asked Micro-Cam if they could bring over their TV truck for the ‘outdoor’ events on Friday night! And they weren’t finished yet. To help Corgi Models make the right impact they staged a wee bit of a ‘special surprise’ on the Friday night. From 5.30 pm outside the Nelson Stand at Perth Racecourse on the tarmac apron there were a series of films and rally clips shown on the big screen, interspersed with activities and interviews before everyone decamped inside for a rally forum just after 8.00 pm. There were two real highlights on the evening. Ken Block provided a short but highly spectacular tyre-smoking demo in his 500 hp Subaru to the delight of the cheering and whooping fans. As for the guy himself, he is an absolute star and a genuine nice guy. He stood outside all night signing autographs and posing for pictures with his fans, and then stood inside for more. Always smiling and always courteous. Really, what a genyooinely nice bloke, an excellent example for some of our own home-grown stars to follow! In fact, a great ambassador for his sport and for rallying in general. The other big treat was the autotesting demo. To help launch the McRae Collection, Corgi had conspired with the Vision Charity to construct a replica of Colin’s very first competition car, the wee orange and white Mini. It was exactly like Colin’s car and exactly like the 1:43rd model which has launched the range. They had also asked Gordon Clendinning to drive it and demonstrate it. Naturally, Gordon excelled and put on a tremendous display. And you know something, when that cheeky wee Mini poked its nose outside the Corgi marquee and drove on to the tarmac the crowd fell silent. For a few brief moments it was all just a wee bit eerie and quiet, then Gordon blasted and screeched round the tarmac, handbrake turns, reverse flicks, precision, pace and perfection all the way, and he was cheered all the way too. Marvellous. Absobloodylutely marvellous. After Ken (note the use of Mr Block’s first name here – he and I are great buddies now!) and Gordon had done their stuff we went inside for a Forum. Unfortunately, Mark Higgins was stuck at Edinburgh Airport, so the show went on with the late arriving new International Rally Champion Kris Meeke, Ken Block, Tony Jardine and of course the man himself, Jim McRae (I have always called him Jim, it was the English who started calling him Jimmy) and it was hosted by that helluva nice big chap, John Fife. The club tried something new as well with a centrally mounted stage and the audience gathered around, and I reckon it worked pretty well, but it was the stars who made it. And everyone eventually trooped off homewards or pubwards well after 9.00 pm. Ken Block even stayed behind to present the prizes for the Dirt 2 demo. Codemasters had set up a simulator in the corner with Ken and Kris setting times for the fans to beat. But who was quickest between those two? It was Kris by 3 tenths of a second, and only one fan managed to beat their time. So they are not just good in a car those guys, they’re pretty quick on the screen too. Unfortunately the fans were denied a sight of Ken Block on the stages this year. On Thursday afternoon, the sport’s governing body decided that Ken could not use either of his cars (he had the ‘gymkhana’ car and the ‘jump’ car as he calls them with him) because neither is homologated in this country. He had intended to use his own rally car Subaru but he had cowped it some 3 weeks before coming over here so it wasn’t rebuilt, otherwise it would not have been a problem. Initially it had been intended to run him as Course Car, but the MSA pulled the plug. That was the first blow, note the use of the word ‘blow’ here, because there was more to come. On Saturday, the winds got up, and on some of the higher stages, trees were blown over, at one point blocking Kindrogan which caused delays as it was dragged clear before the rally could pass. And that was on top of an earlier delay caused when Fraser Wilson and Steven Broll crashed in the first test at Craigvinean. Initially it looked bad and the guys had to be cut out of the car, but they were both released from hospital later that evening after a through service and inspection, so that was the good news. The other big disappointment was that the crowds were denied the chance to see Kris Meeke in the Peugeot. The car had an engine problem on the second stage and the Kronos team were homeward bound almost before the car had warmed up. That was a great pity, but I bet it was something of a relief too – suppose it had done that on next month’s Rally Scotland? At least Jim McRae, David Higgins and Hugh Hunter gave the crowds something to cheer. Jim was running Course Car with his beautifully restored Ford Sierra Cosworth, Mark Higgins was in the original ex-Carlos Sainz Impreza (sister car to Colin’s world title winning machine) and Hugh was driving one of Colin’s 2001 Ford Focus World Rally Cars. Fortunately, the weather stayed kind, although blustery with passing light showers and culminated with that fascinating battle to determine who would win the title of Scottish Rally Champion 2009. Going into the rally, David Bogie was in the best points position ahead of Mike Faulkner and confirmed Group N Champ Euan Thorburn. Mike did what he had to do and although he finished third behind Higgins and Hugh Hunter, he was top SRC points scorer, but Bogie did what he had to do too, he finished a nail-biting ninth, just enough by the narrowest of margins to clinch the title at the last gasp. And the BBC were there to capture the action. Look out for their Championship review on BBC2, I think on the last Sunday of October – so keep your eyes on the schedules for that one. As usual, The Bears held their after rally awards upstairs in the Nelson Stand, and it may just have been me, but I detected a rather sombre note after it was all over. Last year there was a feeling of elation at the conclusion of that wonderful tribute, this year there was just a sense that someone was missing – the man who gave the event it’s name. * * * * * |