This document became available on 30th September as per the timetable listed on the front page of the Mull Rally website.

1. Only pre registered marshals will be issued with their goodie bag at sign on.
2. Non registered marshals may get a goodie bag at the organisers discretion if there are any left over.
3. Expenses will be paid at a flat rate to all car drivers who produce a ferry receipt at sign on. Cheques will be sent out after the rally.
4. Those crews working at scrutineering on Friday will be dealt with separately as they cannot attend the main sign on.
5. Please fill in the registration form on the rally Website ( www.mullrally.com) and follow the instructions for return
6. Further information will be sent out nearer the time as to where and when you will be asked to Marshal.
7. If you have any question please contact me via email. tula@globalnet.co.uk FAO Martin Rowley, Chief Marshal.

I look forward to seeing you all in October.
Regards
Martin Rowley
Chief Marshal

Sign on times this year Friday 14th 11am till 1.30pm

At Rugby Clubhouse, Garmony, Isle of Mull

This content is also available as a .pdf file if you should wish to print a copy – click here

Not long to go now and entries are looking good with over 110 entered and a few still to come in, so it’s all systems go.

The Marshals Manning List is nearing completion and will be ready to send out to you all very soon. I intend sending you all an email with the manning list attached and a list of where I have located you. Most of you registered as a team of marshals so the email will go to the main address (driver) so please pass on to the rest of your team.

Where possible I have located you where you requested, but it hasn’t always been possible. If you have a major problem with your position then let me know as soon as you can and I will try to accommodate your request.

Signing on has CHANGED LOCATION – from Garmony Rugby Club to just outside of Tobermory. There are a number of reasons for this, one being work on the club house is unfinished and secondly, there were a lot of requests for it to be nearer to Tobermory, we apologise to all of you who are staying down the south of the Island.

The new location is Mull Theatre

Friday 14th October from 11.30am till 1.30pm

The theatre is located appox 1 mile south of Tobermory on the main road to Salen and will be arrowed.

There is a large car park within the grounds of the theatre, but please park sensibly as there will be a lot of coming and going of vehicles and people walking about.

Finally may I take this opportunity to thank you for registering as a Marshal and supporting this year’s Tunnock’s Mull Rally. We all hope you have an enjoyable and safe rally and look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones on the Island during rally week.

From the Chief Marshal and Team

See you in three weeks

This content is also available as a .pdf file if you should wish to print a copy – click here

Well time is now marching on and the entries closed but more still coming in . We are at 110 and counting, so the event is now beyond it’s break even point, so it’s all systems go.

The comms plan is almost ready to send out to you together with a few other documents we hope you will find useful.

This year we hope that you will all find you are in the areas you wish or have asked to be placed and again we have placed you on the same stage for each of the 3 legs to simplify the distribution of car checking lights and Red Flag Boards.

This year they will be numbered and signed in and out as we lost a considerable number of lights last year. Please be aware if your light is not signed back in on Sunday you will be charged for it.

“A” System radios and car checker radios will again be distributed at sign on. Return of equipment and where will be notified in a later bulletin

Sign on this year has had to be moved nearer to Tobermory for 2 reasons.

1. The rugby club is under reconstruction and the planners made sure it wouldn’t be ready in time!!
2. Many requests for it to be moved nearer to Tobermory. We do apologise to all of you staying down the south end of the Island as it is a long way to come just to collect your final details and goodie bag.

The NEW Location is Mull Theatre

Friday the 14th – Time 11.30am till 1.30pm

The Theatre is located approx 1 mile south of Tobermory on the main road to Salen and will be arrowed.

Please be very careful if you have to park on the main road verge as it is a dangerously fast stretch of road. DO NOT PARK ON THE ROAD ITSELF. Thank you

Finally can we just say in advance thank you for registering and volunteering to support Mull Rally. We hope you enjoy the experience and look forward to meeting old friends and new on the Island during rally week

See you all very soon on Mull

From the Communications Team

This content is also available as a .pdf file if you should wish to print a copy – click here

Acknowledgements

The following Muileachs and those closely associated with the island for
their tolerance, enthusiasm and cooperation : -

This content is also available as a .pdf file if you should wish to print a copy, as Bulletin1.pdf

Late entries are still arriving for the event which is great – the more the merrier!.  However, as the week before the rally is a very busy one for all concerned, if anybody is planning on submitting an entry, please make sure that both entry form and payment are with me no later than midnight on Friday 7th October.  No entry will be accepted after this date.

If you are concerned your car may not be ready, or there is some other reason for delaying an entry, then please ring or email me to discuss.

Regards
Tula Rowley
Entries Secretary

Tel: 01680 300326

Email: tula.rowley@mullrally.com

This document became available at 10:00 on 12th August as per the timetable listed on the front page of the Mull Rally website.

This document became available at 11:00 on 20th July as per the timetable listed on the front page of the Mull Rally website.

MullMurmurs – Chapter 8

Provisional Leaderboard after 16 of 16 Stages

1 Calum Duffy/Iain Duffy (Ford Escort MkII)                                   2h 06m 13s

2 Paul MacKinnon/Ewan MacGillivray (Subaru Impreza)                     2h 07m 43s

3 Dougi Hall/Alistair Wylie (Mitsubishi Lancer)                                  2h 20m 32s

4 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort MkII)                           2h 11m 56s

5 Willie Bonniwell/Allan MacDougall (Subaru Impreza)                      2h 12m 12s

6 Tristan Pye/Andrew Falconer (Subaru Impreza)                          2h 16m 12s

7 Wayne Sisson/Daniel Stone (Mitsubishi Lancer)                           2h 17m 46s

8 John Swinscoe/Paula Swinscoe (Mitsubishi Lancer)                      2h 19m 11s

9 Steve Cressey/Sam Collis (Subaru Impreza)                                2h 20m 10s

10 Billy Bird/Plug Pulleyn (Vauxhall Chevette)                                2h 20m20s Class C Winner

21 Ian Chadwick/  (Peugeot 106)                                              2h 27m 00s Class B Winner

22 Mark Constantine/Andrew Constantine (Vauxhall Corsa)            2h 27m 11s Class A Winner

Lords of the Miles

To those of our visitors wondering where the term ‘Lords of the Miles’ came from, perhaps a word of explanation is needed. The original ‘Lords of the Isles’ were the first kings of Scotland almost 1,000 years ago, and I suppose I was just getting carried away with the sheer majesty of Mull and the speed and spectacle of those magnificent men and glorious gals in their fleeting machines. And to the newcomers to Mull from amongst these visitors, I have another word of knowledge to impart. The weather is always like this over here! Honest it is, would I fib to you?

And what a weekend this was for the 41st Tunnock’s Mull Rally being run by a brand new team. The weather was as benign as the competition was fierce, but as in any sport, there can be only one winner. Last year’s winner had the Number 1 on the door panel, and that was the position that Calum and Iain finished on this year’s historic event. But it wasn’t easy. Paul MacKinnon and Ewan MacGillivray snatched an early lead and hung on to it tenaciously like a wee dug wi’ a burst ba’.

Even when the gearbox broke and a standard unit had to be fitted, MacKinnon kept his head, but a puncture in Calgary and a failed centre diff dropped him into Calum’s clutches. His fate was sealed on The Long One when he slid off the road within sight of the start and buckled a wheel. He dropped over a minute to the leader and you don’t do that to a man like Calum the Comet. He wasn’t without his troubles either, a blocked fuel filter on Friday night had caused a misfire but he was back on song on the Saturday afternoon daylight stages. He also dropped the gearing for the final night’s push, changing g the drop gears to give himself better acceleration at the expense of top speed. After that there was no stopping him.

And yet he couldn’t give up, MacKinnon was still on full re-heat, the Subaru harrying the tail of the Escort. One mistake and that lead would have gone. The pace was relentless, it was also quite lunatic. In this sport, the win is never assured till the car crosses the finish line. Calum could not relax until he could smell the Tunnock’s pies at the rally finish in Tobermory. Over that final 12 mile mad dash up the Hill Road and wild plunge down Glen Bellart, they both beat the Bogey (11m 10s) and blootered the previous record.

At the finish Calum paid tribute to Paul’s persistence: “That’s the hardest we’ve ever been pushed. The commitment levels were phenomenal and despite the dry weather, conditions were changeable, especially the new tarmac which offered different levels of grip depending on whether it was night or daylight.” It was an opinion shared by co-driving brother Iain: “It’s the fastest he’s ever driven. We say it every year ‘the pace can’t get any hotter’ and yet it does, and it did again this year.”

Paul was naturally disappointed: “I couldn’t have done much more. We had some good stages and some bad ones. In Calgary I think we hit the same rock Calum did. He got away with it we got a puncture. That’s rallying.”

The competition was just as fierce behind them. Dougi Hall initially held third place but James MacGillivray was persistently on his pace and on Saturday afternoon edged ahead going into the final night section when Dougi had two punctures: “My own fault,” he said. James then punctured on the long one and Dougi was there to capitalise, snatching third place with 3 stages to go. He still didn’t let up, but neither did James and they went at it like two wasps in a bottle.

John Cope failed to re-start on Saturday due to engine problems, so Willie Bonniwell moved up into fifth place after a slow start. The Dad-to-be has missed a few rallies this year so professed to being  a mite rusty at the start. Tristan Pye scored a solid sixth in the GrpN Impreza ahead of Wayne Sisson on his third visit to the island while John Swinscoe was delighted to finish: “That’s given me my confidence back after the shunts we’ve had,” he said at the finish. Steve Cressey moved up to 9th place after a hectic close-fought dice with namesake (and no relation|) John Cressey who punctured on The Long One and then the jack seized! Rounding off the top ten was Billy Bird in that stunning looking Chevette with wheels the size of windmills winning the 2 litre class in the process. Ian Chadwick was dead chuffed with his 1600cc class win adding that to previous 1400cc class wins while the tiddler class this year was dominated by Mark Constantine.

But those were the lucky ones. Daniel Harper plunged off the road on the 4th test when first “I ran out of road, then ran out of talent” and Tony Bardy was on the case till the Nissan hit mechanical problems with one stage to go. Hugh Hunter shattered a wheel, John MacCrone parked up on the very first stage and Eddie O’Donnell had alternator failure. John Morrison had over-fuelling problems, Stuart Egglestone had an ignition fault and then the clutch broke and Reay MacKay was getting quite used to the big Subaru before it spat out its dummy after final service. Cameron MacLean broke the Escort, Bruce Edwards cracked the Darrian’s sump, Jimmy Christie was cruelly robbed of a finish on the final stage when the head gasket failed and Steven Ronaldson had two separate driveshaft failures – and no more spares!

There were two accidents during the weekend, one on the rally and the other avoiding a deer before the start of the final Leg. As we write this, two crew members remain in hospital for observation and we wish them well. Scottish rallying has had a tough time over the past couple of weeks but it has highlighted the sheer professionalism of the ‘amateur’ Rally Rescue and Paramedic crews who look after our sport. We hope we never need you, but are only too glad to have you. Our thanks to all of you who do such sterling and dedicated work.

Our thanks too, to the brand new team who took over the running of this year’s 41st Tunnock’s Mull Rally. I won’t highlight any individuals because this was a team effort supported by the local Cooncillors and the Polis, who had an extra busy night, and to all the local folks and businesses who rallied round to ensure that the ‘best rally in the world’ lived up to its name and reputation. And in keeping with one of my own traditions, a special thanks to the man whose vision and tenacity led to the creation of this annual motor sports extravaganza in the first place. Thanks Brian.

If I was asked to sum up this year’s event, oddly enough, I could do it in one word:

Supercaramelisticallyextremelytastilydelicious

In other words our grateful thanks also to Saint Tunnock’s of Biscuitry, the purveyors of the bestest biscuits in the business and the most succulent pies. And how do I know this? I had two pies last night, one from each tray – purely in the interests of assessing the standards of quality you understand.

That’s yer lot for this year,

Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Tobermory Bay, Sunday, 12 Noon.

( Note: MullMurmurs also available online at: www.mullrally.com  or  www.scotmaps.co.uk )

MullMurmurs – Chapter 7

Top Times after 11 (of 16 Stages)

1 Calum Duffy 1hr 18m 43s

2 Paul MacKinnon     1hr 18m 51s

3 James MacGillivray 1hr 20m 44s

4 Dougi Hall 1hr 20m 53s

5 John Cope 1hr 21m 32s

6 Willie Bonniwell 1hr 22m 19s

7 Tristan Pye 1hr 24m 46s

8 Wayne Sisson 1hr 25m 48s

9 John Cressey 1hr 26m 24s

10 Steve Cressey 1hr 26m 37s

12 Iain Ogg MacKenzie Leading Class C

24 Ian Chadwick Leading Class B

27 Mark Constantine Leading Class A

If the sun shines on the righteous then the Mull Car Club stalwarts must be among ‘the chosen ones’. If you had told me prior to the rally that we would have had sunshine and pavement cafe temperatures I would have taken your wine gums and Sanatogen away from you. Or maybe it’s sunstroke. Whatever, lets enjoy this sun-blessed caramelicious 41st Tunnock’s Mull Rally.

Calum Duffy continues to lead the rally but can’t relax for a moment because MacKinnon the Younger is like Tam O’Shanter’s witch – hanging on to his tail! It’s the same in third place where James MacGillivray is just doing enough to stay ahead of Dougi Hall, but I’m a tad sad at the moment. Young Iain Ogg MacKenzie has dropped out of the top ten in his Fiesta – but only because the auld men in the faster cars can see where they are going in daylight!

Speaking of auld men, John Cressey had a ‘big moment’ in Scridain: “I was showboating to the boy,” he said referring to his co-driving son Martin. It kind of makes you wonder who the more adult member of the crew is!

Tony Bardy had a lucky escape too. He had just ‘yumped’ through the Flying Finish at Scridain and snapped a shaft on landing but it was downhill to the Stop line and he coasted all the way and got his time! Jammy sod, eh?

And here’s a tale that would bring a tear to a glass eye. Tony MacKintosh from Colby on the Isle of Man had long wanted to do Mull, and this year was his chance, so over he came. After the very first stage, he was back on the road to home! The Corsa had developed a bad fuel problem filling the car with fumes and making the crew ill. They couldn’t fix it, and that was the end of that. Rallying, eh? It will break your heart quicker than your bank balance.

And here’s a tale to warm your heart. One of the girls in the Results team is celebrating her 32nd wedding anniversary today. Hearty congratulations to Catherine and Miles, and what a wonderfully romantic way to spend such an occasion here on this golden isle – working in the bleedin’ Rally HQ sweatbox!

And now there is just one Leg left. To be run during the hours of darkness. A time when monsters and ghouls stalk the glens. You’ll hear them roaring in the hills tonight but don’t believe the locals trying to tell you its only the stags and the rutting season. Nope, they are just trying to be kind to you, it really will be scary out there tonight.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ONE AND ALL – When you are out watching tonight, can you all please ensure that you take your litter home. This is a plea from the organisers to all spectators, failure to do so could jeopardise the future of the rally!

That’s yer lot for now,

Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, Salen Hotel, Saturday, 6.00 pm.

( Note: MullMurmurs also available online at: www.mullrally.com  or  www.scotmaps.co.uk )