Rally Report- Tour Of Mull 2008

Historically, the RAFMSA has been represented in strength on the Tour Of Mull Rally. The event, which takes place every October on the Isle Of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, started life as road rally in the heyday of road rallying, when a group of rally characters from Lancashire realised the potential of the islands unimproved twisty, narrow and bumpy tarmac roads as a venue for some very demanding rallying. The island roads form a very simple pattern and offer little in the way of route-finding challenges, but much in the way of driving skill and pace-note usage. For many years it ran, in all but name, as a road-race over two nights, with the intervening daylight allowing a leg of forest special stages. In order for it to be run safely and competitively, daylight use of the public roads was never an option. However, night time traffic on Mull was very sparse and knowing the event was running, the locals avoided driving altogether on rally nights. As such, it was a unique event combining the two main branches of rallying. The Tour attracted a loyal entry of crews who were keen to face the challenge and it became part of the Motoring News national road rally championship, always having an oversubscribed entry. In time, as rallying rules changed, it became impossible to run it as a competitive event due to the banning of the popular “Targa” timing system, which allowed an event to artificially raise the required average speed over selected portions of a rally route while still remaining within the legally required overall pedestrian average speed for the whole event. However, so keen were the organisers for the event to survive that every option was explored until they took the decision to follow the example of Ireland and the Isle of Man, where closed-public-road stage rallying was well established. The legal hoops were expensive and time-consuming, but eventually the necessary Act Of Parliament was passed to allow the event to run as a full stage rally. The Tour was back!

The forest stages were replaced by daylight tarmac stages and in its new format the event ran as a 3 leg tarmac stage event. In this somewhat emasculated format ( competitive mileage is perhaps half what it was in the eighties) it survives and thrives, still offering a style of rallying not found anywhere else in the UK and with it a very special atmosphere for competitors, officials and spectators alike. With some justification the event promotes itself as “The Best Rally In The World”

Back in the seventies and eighties, the Tour Of Mull offered a unique opportunity for the RAFMSA to bring on new rally talent within the Service. It was an event which was perhaps too daunting for the novice rally competitor to contemplate, but the club saw it as a cost-effective way to invest a large part of its annual grant and give a leg-up to novices to a higher level of competition. In the days when military pay was not what it is today and there were large numbers of young service personnel with an interest in grassroots motorsport, here was an opportunity to take a team of mixed experience to a demanding and relatively expensive event. The experienced crews had the chance to refine their skills and challenge for results, whilst having the opportunity and obligation to pass on their skills in car preparation, driving and co-driving to the next generation. The team aspect of rallying was then, as now, very pertinent to the military environment and ethos. Success in rallying is very much down to the trust and interdependence between driver and navigator, who in turn are dependant on an effective and committed service crew to ensure the car survives to finish the rally.

Over the years things have changed; there are far fewer young servicemen now who have the time and commitment to take up the sport, there are now commercial rally schools and there are more doors open for the individual to progress within the sport, albeit at financial cost. Indeed the sport has become much more expensive in almost all respects, from preparation costs to entry fees. In those days safety was approached with pragmatism and common sense; all that was needed in terms of mandatory safety equipment was an approved rollcage, a laminated windscreen and an approved helmet. Cars have become only slightly faster over the years, but now also need homologated seats, overalls and fire extinguishers in addition to many minor safety modifications. The cost of preparing a car for stage rallying can now easily exceed the initial cost of the car. The days when a used Nomex flying suit and a set of harnesses made up by your local friendly Safety Equipment fitters were the mark of the better-equipped competitor are long gone. There is now even the threat of compulsory HANS devices for rallying. While these may enhance crew survivability, the cost of these devices is exorbitant for what is, essentially, a lump of plastic and a couple of straps. The main beneficiaries would seem to be the equipment manufacturers and it is difficult not to assume a rather cosy relationship between the makers of such equipment and those who make the rules, supposedly on behalf of the competitors.

2008 marked perhaps the lowest level of RAFMSA involvement in the Tour Of Mull since the club first adopted the event in the seventies. At one point zero involvement was a distinct possibility, but I received a late invitation to co-drive, which I readily accepted, thus ensuring an RAFMSA presence in the event. The invitation came from Peter Lumsden, a friend who has half-shares in a Peugot 106 Rallye Enduro car. The other shareholder, who should have been co-driving, was unable to compete due to family commitments and I was apparently number one reserve. The car was built from a standard road car to Enduro specification; this allows minimal performance modifications (engines, gearboxes etc must be standard) but mandates all the stage rally safety features. This car was perhaps a good example of a car in which the safety equipment cost more than the car itself. With a standard 99bhp 1300cc engine, we were not expecting a class win; indeed we are quite confident it was the least powerful car in the event. We did hope however, that with several Tours between us ( usually in SAABs, but in my case I now realise that it was my third attempt at the event in a French hatchback- a worrying statistic for someone who has little time for French cars!), we could produce an honourable performance and achieve a solid finish. The car was completed the day we left for Scotland; an event as long as the Tour Of Mull is probably not the ideal choice for a new car’s first event. Tyres had been the subject of some discussion and Peter had finally settled on a set of shiny new Toyo sticky road/trackday tyres, which he reasoned might not be the best tyres for any given conditions, but would work reasonably well in all conditions, from frost to hail to monsoon to dry: conditions which can all regularly be experienced on a single stage on Mull! Fitted with what was supposedly proper tarmac rally suspension by a professional car builder, the car looked the part. However, we were fortunate to meet a very experienced and enthusiastic preparer of rally Peugots at scrutineering, who seemed a little sceptical about our suspension settings. At his invitation we took the car to him for some ‘tweeks’ It came back looking rather different with several inches more rear suspension travel on tap, as well as some geometry changes to the front end. We’ll never know how it would have behaved on its original settings but we have a strong suspicion it would have launched us into the scenery after the first serious jump! As it was, it behaved impeccably over the bumps and jumps and inspired increasing confidence through the rally.

We arrived on the Tuesday before the event, so had three days to refine the pacenotes and make final preparations. No matter how complete the pacenotes are (Peter’s set was the distillation of around 5 previous Tours ), there are always refinements to be made. Furthermore, I’d only read pacenotes once before, so needed some practice to have any hope of delivering them in any sort of an effective way. Mull notes can be very complicated due to the intricate nature of the roads and trying to get all the words out at the time the driver needs to hear them is no easy task at rally speeds.

Accommodation was in Tobermory ( aka Balamory!) at the Army Cadet Force Drill Hall, which the RAFMSA has been very fortunate to be able to hire for many years. Centrally located in Tobermory, it has been a superb facility for MSA rally teams in the past. With its own car park and space to sleep several teams (albeit on camp beds in training rooms or, luxuriously, in the small arms pipe range) it has saved teams hundreds of pounds in B&B charges, whilst bringing the team together in near field conditions and promoting team spirit and mutual assistance, one of the aims of taking a team in the first place.

This year we were rather spoilt, with only Peter and myself and our service crew; the thoroughly capable and dependable pairing of Cpl Pete Jones (Red Arrows Ops) and his wife Linda. The four of us had room to spare in the hall, without having to swap snores!

Sadly, this may have been the final year that the RAFMSA will have the use of this facility; the Army Cadet Force on Mull is currently dormant and there are plans to turn the hall into a youth club. Perhaps it’s not too late for other sports associations to make some investment in it’s upkeep and establish it as an adventure training facility for all the wonderful activities which Mull offers; diving, sailing, walking, sea canoeing, climbing, mountain-biking, wildlife watching, etc.

And so to the rally! Scrutineering on Friday afternoon produced no problems; the car had been nicely put together with all the right bits and it sailed through. After the unexpected but welcome assistance with the suspension, it was just a case of waiting for our start time. Running at 151 out of 160 entries, we would be starting two and a half hours after the leading entry of 12 times winner Neil Mackinnon in his Subaru Impreza WRC. Stage one was a long stage combining the fastest and slowest sections of the route; the flat-out blast up Glen Aros through the village of Dervaig and the narrow, high and gravel-strewn hill road to Torloisk. Things started well enough with the car performing faultlessly, Peter settling into an impressive pace and the pacenotes apparently delivered with the desired rhythm. But after about 7 miles Peter reported he had a puncture. There was really no option but to stop and change it, which we achieved reasonably promptly, but we lost perhaps three minutes altogether. So we finished SS1 plumb last. From here on it would be a catch-up game; not easy with 99bhp! The rest of the first night was quite uneventful. We slipped into a good rhythm and gradually picked off a few cars. Attrition was fairly typical for Mull, with various cars buried in the scenery. Some go off in obvious places, which can be put down to pacenote mistakes, late calls or over-enthusiasm, while other incidents are less easy to understand. The crew competing in an Audi TT, an unusual choice for a rally car, took our award for the most unlikely parking position, putting it well off into the rocks on the shores of Loch Scridain! Peter and Linda were ready for us in Service at Craignure, but apart from a spanner check, some fuel and a fresh spare wheel, there wasn’t much to do. The second half of the night was uneventful and we finished the leg with an unmarked car, looking forward to Leg Two.

Leg Two was a daylight blast around selected shortened stages (the needs of everyday island life and spectator access preventing use of the full night stages) and the little Peugot ran very well. Daylight seems to encourage a little more bravado amongst some of the competitors and sure enough we lost a few more during the afternoon. The main side effect of these accidents was to progressively delay the late runners, so that we were running nearly into darkness by the time we finished the last stage, leaving little rest time before the final Saturday night leg. A problem at the end of the leg with the radiator thermostatic switch was solved by wiring the fan permanently ’ON,’ to prevent any chance of overheating during the Saturday night leg.

Saturday night started quite well and we were pleased to be swapping times with another 106 which was fitted with a 160bhp 16-valve 1600 motor. Peter was really pedalling rather well! A spell of heavy showers showed up the shortcomings of our tyres however, and we had a couple of rather unconvincing stages in very wet conditions before service. Service this time was therefore devoted to re-energising the driver, the car still running very well. With only three stages to go to the finish, the bumpy but short Loch Scridain, the infamous Gribun Rocks, where on stormy nights waves break over the road and the long final stage, a reverse running of the opening stage, Peter set off thoroughly re-invigorated. The first two stages were our best of the event, confidence restored and the car spending frighteningly long periods at full throttle. More places were picked up and we looked set for a very respectable result. But the fat lady hadn’t yet picked up her songbook. As we waited at the start of the final stage we realised that lights were dimming and the gauges showing abnormal indications: the alternator had stopped charging, but without illuminating the warning lamp. Our only choice was to run with minimal lighting and hope we could get to the end of the stage. Over the hill road and into the glen we were looking like survivors, but as the fuel pressure fell, the engine stalled as we moved over to let a faster car by and we rolled to a halt with a completely dead battery. Only 6 miles from the end and we were out of the event. Amazingly, after around twenty minutes the battery recovered enough for us to restart and we did eventually arrive at the finish ramp under Peugot power, but too late to record a finish. So, although we appeared on the results in 86th and last place, the letters OTL denied us the indignity of being classified as last finisher. We joined the other 75 cars in the non-finishers list. Without the disastrous first and last stages we would have earned a very satisfying place, but hey; that’s rallying! The Peugot had proved itself, despite the electrical gremlin, and it really needs to get out and do some Enduro events where it will be competing with similarly powered cars.

It only remains to say thank you to our First-Class service crew, without whom we couldn’t have competed, to the Tour Of Mull for being “The Best Rally In The World”, and to the ACF for the use of their fine facilities in Tobermory. Bring on the 2010 Tour Of Mull!