October 2008
Narrow bumpy roads, blind crests, monster jumps and drops big enough for you to think about what you're going to hit before you hit it (I should know!). It can only mean one thing then, its Tunnocks Tour of Mull time.
This year's event was different for many reasons, with a new route, a new co-driver and writing notes from scratch meant we were busy on the lead up to the event. Andrew Roughead joined me co-driving on the event, flying back from doing round 12 of the World Rally Championship in Spain on the same day as arriving on Mull, dedication or what!
On the lead up to the event we spent about 16 hours over 3 days writing the notes that would cover the 150 stage mile route. The race went pretty well, although some of the tourist's driving on the single track roads often bouncing down the verges in reverse was always good for a laugh! Andrew is also in the MSA British Rally Academy, so we had worked together before, but this would mark the first time we competed together.
The opening stage down the glen is the fastest section of stage in the rally; from the start you pretty much leave the car in 5th gear until you get to Dervaig to join the Hill road. The stage was going ok, but my confidence wasn't that high as I didn't know how good the notes were and Andrew and I were still getting settled in. A big impact after a jump half way through the stage caused the car to cut out and we struggled to get it started again. We think it might have been caused by landing at a funny angle causing the fuel pump to cut out. We got going again and completed the stage, and made our way to the next stage. At the start of the second stage I started hearing a banging coming from the front suspension. This completely knocked my confidence. As the Fiesta is a group N car they have to run standard hubs, and they don't like big impacts as we found out on the Pirelli Rally when the bottom ball joint sheared from the hub putting us upside down! So with this in mind we steadily drove round the next two stages to the service.
At service the guys found nothing wrong with the front suspension, but a wrong tyre choice for a full wet over the loop of stages ending the first leg would cause us to lose time. The final stage of the night was red flagged due to a car that had been blocking the road, but was clear by the time we got there and we were given a nominal time. On reflection we weren't that committed on the first night and so lost a lot of time.
The start of the second leg would see us complete the 9 mile test one second behind Doug; I couldn't believe it if only we had kept our foot in a little bit longer! Calgary would see the first of the double run stages, we got about a mile into the stage when we met Ian Coleman in his Nissan Sunny GTIR blocking the road and waving his SOS board. Thankfully both crew members were okay, and were showing the SOS board to get us to stop to avoid crashing into their car! Second run through the stage saw us set 11th fastest time but I couldn't help but think 'what if' as we caught the car in front and probably lost a handful of seconds. This stage would also see Doug retire from the main event as the prop-shaft parted company with the car!
The Lochs has always been my downfall, and the stage time confirmed this setting 40th fastest time. The stage is a power stage, but it's also really easy to overdrive the car with long corners that tighten. The final two stages of the second leg went okay, but I started to notice the brakes maybe weren't working quite as well as they should. A torrential downpour during Loch Na Keal made things a bit interesting for a while. The final stage of the day Scridan is one of my favourites it's really fast, with some fast bumps and blind crests. We set 13th fastest time, but more importantly we beat Doug's record for that stage by four seconds (a second a mile!). I was quite pleased with the time considering we were still slowing too much for the jumps, and we braked for a corner that Doug tells me is flat out! All meaning there is still loads more time to come!
Andrew and I were working really well together, and he was able to identify when we were going 'off the boil' and slap me with a big stick! Having seen some of the in-car stuff from throughout the rally we were loosing loads of time on the jumps; I was slowing too much for fear of breaking the hubs. On hindsight the hubs are a lot stronger than I first thought - definitely something to remember for next year!
At the end of the leg we had climbed to 16th. On the road section back up to Tobermory Andrew and I discussed our plan for the final leg and we decided that because we were taking time out the guys in front of us we should push for a calendar position (top 12). On inspecting the brakes we found that the pads were down to the metal and were now banana shaped due to the heat! We didn't have any spare tarmac pads so we had to use gravel pads for the final leg, which wasn't ideal but needs must.
The longest stage of the rally at 23 miles would get the last leg into action. The stage was going well and we were catching the car in front of us until everything started to cook! The brakes were overheating so we weren't slowing down enough, causing the tyres to also overheat! I remember thinking we were loosing so much time, but I was pleased enough with 13th fastest.
The next stage was the Lochs before service and I already knew that the time we had taken out of the guys in front of us could easily be lost here, and when Andrew basically said "you need to get your finger out over this stage because we can't afford to loose too much time" I knew I had to wise up and drive with my head. We completed the stage just 7 seconds slower than 2005 event winner James McGilvary, which I was really pleased with. The trick is to wait, and there are often sections that you think "Christ we're going slow" but you can't go faster other wise you scrub the tyres, overheat them and the whole stage time is slow.
At service the guys inspected the pads and found that the material had been so hot that they were melting! Thankfully Kris Hall has a spare set of proper tarmac pads which after some bantering for a price he was kind enough to give us.
With just three stages to go we knew we would have to do everything we could to make the top twelve. Scridan was going well, until we picked up a puncture for the last half mile. It went flat instantly and I was sure we had blown any chance of doing well, however our time would have put us 8th fastest. Gribun was next up a really challenging stage. Again things were going well, we were driving neatly and not making much mistakes. A big blind jump at the end of the stage would however throw up a surprise.
We had it noted as 'keep left over jump'; when in fact we should have noted it as 'keep centre over jump'. When we landed we clipped a rock on the side of the road, it ripped the wheel apart and ripped the front left suspension out, pulling us into a fence. We spun twice, ending up facing the correct way, I re-started the car and tried driving on but the damage to the left hand corner was too sever and that was the end of our event. We were really lucky, if we had gone through the fence we would have fallen down a 2 meter drop onto some big rocks on the coast or If we had gone the other way it would have been a cliff face.
The accident actually happened when we were writing the notes as we were driving to what the notes said. Considering the 130 odd miles we had completed on the notes worked pretty well before it was a bit frustrating going off on such a well known part! It was a steep learning curve in write pace notes. For sure it was really disappointing to have gone so far and be doing quite well to throw it all away with a silly accident. Taking some positives from the event we can now go to the event next year with a good set of pace notes that we can put the finishing touches on, we have some decent mileage in the car and know we can carry more speed over the jumps safely.
A big thank you to the entire team for everything they did, especially Olive for letting us invade her house! Another special thank you to the service crew who not only kept the car running throughout the event, but also came to rescue us from the end of the stage when it all went wrong! Thanks also to Robertson and Mum for marshalling on the event!
Finally, a big thanks to Andrew who did a fantastic job throughout the whole rally, I couldn't have done it without him. He was good at telling me to get my finger out when we needed to and was able to tell me to slow down also when we needed to!
And not forgetting the sponsors who have helped us out throughout the year, Five Mile Garage, Nicolson Maps and LAD Marketing.
A big well done to Chris Booker and Nicola Anderson for finishing their first Tour of Mull, and being the only car from our team to get to the finish!
Well that's it for another year, Mull always presents a new challenge and it never gets any easier. Every year I do Mull I always learn loads, places that we need to go quicker and places we need to slow down a bit! Hopefully Andrew, me and the Fiesta will return for next year's event for a top 10 finish!
To finish, here is a story I like from Mull:
Isle of Mull local and past winner Andy Knight was driving his Nova to victory on the final stage going down the Glen. There is a section of road that has a blind crest followed by a very narrow left hand corner. Most people brake for it as it's so difficult, you literally have to be centimetre perfect. Andy however took it flat out on the limiter at 130mph. His navigator was so scared he was unable to speak when they got to the finish of the stage. Its stories like this that remind you even when you think you're going quick on these roads, chances are you could still be going a whole lot faster. This is why I love the challenge of competing on "the greatest rally in the world" so much!
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