Author Archives: Barry Whenman

Carbon Positive

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Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally is open for business and looking to the future
  • Scottish island event reveals partnership with Carbon Positive Motorsport
  • Entries for the October 13-16 event open on Friday August 5 at 1930
  • Spectacular route planned for the 50th running of the Hebridean autumn classic
With the 50th running of the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally in October, the event’s history is very much in focus. An association with Carbon Positive Motorsport demonstrates, however, that the future remains front and centre for the Scottish island’s biggest sporting event of the year. 
 
With entries for Britain’s longest rally of 2022 opening on Friday August 5 (head here at 1930 to secure one of the 150 places), there’s never been a better time to join forces with the ground-breaking Carbon Positive Motorsport to offset emissions from the October 13-16 event.
 
Competitors visiting the Tobermory-based event will be invited to sign up at www.carbonpositivemotorsport.com to ensure their carbon emissions will be negated by a programme of tree planting, environmental restoration and rewilding.
 
Clerk of the course Richard Crozier said: “We’re all very aware of the climate challenges we face right now and that’s why I’m delighted to talk about our new partnership with Carbon Positive Motorsport, the world’s first dedicated carbon offsetter in motorsport.
 
“It’s great to know that Britain’s longest rally will have minimal impact on the planet in terms of carbon emissions. We will work with the team at Carbon Positive Motorsport to calculate precisely how many litres of fuel and number of tyres have been used on the event and that dictates the extent of the Carbon Reduction Units required to cover that emission footprint.”
 
The cost of £29.50 towards the costs of running the programme is included automatically in the digital entry form, although competitors can untick the box to opt-out.
 
Carbon Positive Motorsport is also offering all Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally competitors and spectators a 20% discount on their standard web shop prices, to encourage all travelling to the event to help bring a greater positive environmental impact.
Crozier added: “Naturally, we would love to see all 150 cars running those stickers in October. This is something which is very important for us all.
 
“This announcement comes at a really exciting time for the event, with entries opening on Friday. We’ve worked so hard on a route which is worthy of the 50th running of what we regard to be the world’s best event.
 
“We’ve got a 30-mile stage on Saturday night, the return of the Tobermory stage and a raft of other route revisions coming. This year’s shaping up to be an absolute golden classic – an event well worthy of a typically packed entry.”

Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally cancelled

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  • Tobermory-based event cancelled due to COVID-19 uncertainty
  • Organisers committed to returning with a bigger and – even – better 2021 event
  • News brings disappointment to crews, competitors and officials around the world

Mishnish Lochs will stay silent in October. There’ll be no Group 4 roar up the Glen and the Long One… well, it’ll be shorter than normal this time around.

The Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally – planned for October 8-11 – has been cancelled.

Clerk of the Course Andy Jardine admitted the decision was dictated by ongoing uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While preparations for the iconic Scottish island rally had been moving forward, with the team behind the sell-out event closely monitoring the Scottish Government’s ‘route out of lockdown,’ the organisers are unwilling to proceed given the possible risk of spreading the virus.

Jardine said: “It was looking good for a while. October seemed so far off and things were opening up again, but now the end of July is looming and we just can’t commit to running the rally not knowing how the situation will develop. It’s tough for the team as we put a lot of effort into developing different ways to work with the coronavirus restrictions, but it isn’t practical to cover all the eventualities and keep everybody safe.

“This year’s been unprecedented in the way we’ve seen our sport simply stopped in its tracks by this pandemic. But we have to remember that an awful lot of people have been – and continue to be – affected in the most tragic way by coronavirus.”

Mull Car Club Chairman, Fred Maclean added: “While some of the island is preparing for some sort of tourist season in the weeks ahead, there remains uncertainty and many places are not opening. Mull has remained apparently COVID-free throughout the lockdown period and there is a nervousness about what might happen when visitors return.

“This is the right decision for Mull and to ensure the rally is welcomed back in, hopefully, happier times in 2021.”

Demand for Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally remains exceptional, with competitors from across the world keeping in regular contact with the organisers in the hope of securing a place, were the 2020 event to run. Jardine’s keen, however, this enforced break is used to take a look at ways to make a great rally even better.

Jardine said: “After the event missed a couple of years due to the insurance issue, we got the overwhelming message that the Mull Rally was still a competitors’ favourite when we broke the internet as entries opened in 2019.

“This has energised the team to use this break to take a step back and think about a review of the format of the event and we’ll be getting our heads together in the next couple of months to see what can be done to freshen it up a bit.

“It goes without saying, none of our Octobers will be the same this year. We’ll all spend a bit longer watching Peter Taylor’s run through Gribun on YouTube! But the key thing – the only thing – is to stay healthy, keep the island healthy and be back, bigger and better next time.”

2020 Rally Update

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Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally update

  • Planning going ahead for the October 8-11 event
  • Organising Permit in place from Motorsport UK
  • Team pays tribute to the extraordinary efforts of key workers
  • Priority is to look after the population, businesses and island life
  • Mull Rally regulations to be released in July

The organisers of the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally will continue with the planning for this year’s Tobermory-based event.

While the current COVID-19 pandemic has put everyday life on hold, Mull Rally clerk of the course Andy Jardine remains focused on installing the foundations for the October 8-11 rally.

Jardine said: “Before we talk about rallying, I think it’s more important we put this into the context of the wider world and what’s going on right now. I’m sure everybody involved in the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally would join me in sending our heartfelt thanks, appreciation and admiration to all key workers in our communities.

“We extend our concern and sympathies to those affected by COVID-19.

“Nobody knows conclusively when the current situation will change, which is why the team will continue in its usual preparations for the rally. Right now we’re fortunate in that we can prepare the event from our desks and that’s what we’re doing.

“It is absolutely vital – and we cannot stress this enough – nobody: no prospective competitors, media, marshals, nobody travels to Mull until we have clear and precise government guidance to say we are permitted to do so.”

Deputy clerk of the course Duncan Brown has been working tirelessly through all the processes for the new closed road legislation and we recently received the Organising Permit from Motorsport UK in addition to our application being made for a Motor Race Order from Argyll & Bute Council.

Jardine continued: “We maintain a watching brief on the movement from Westminster, the Scottish Government, Argyll & Bute Council and Motorsport UK. As well as that, through the Guardians, we’re in regular contact with both the communities and the businesses on the Isle of Mull – those people remain very much at the heart of decisions taken moving forward.

“We understand the economic benefit the Mull Rally brings to the island, but we also understand the current financial situation those vital to the event – including the amazing volunteer marshals and officials, the sponsors and, of course, the competitors themselves – find themselves in or moving towards as the pandemic continues. We will, of course, remain entirely mindful of this as the weeks and months unfold.

“Our intention is to bring the best rally in the world to the world’s best island in October. But our priority is to do the right thing for the people of Mull.”

Jardine and his team continue to work to the pre-planned event timetable, with regulations for October’s Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally coming in July.

Jardine concluded: “We’ve had support from all over the world, urging us to continue with the event and the planning for the event. That’s what we’re doing. We’re going about the usual processes, but working respectfully with all relevant government agencies and councils.

“We’ll get our heads together – virtually speaking, of course – and put the rally together. In the meantime, let’s all do our bit to bring this thing to the speediest possible conclusion by staying home, staying healthy and watching Peter Taylor’s run through Gribun on YouTube. Again.”

Extra Ferries

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Calmac have made the following announcement regarding extra ferries:

Due to the Mull Rally, the following additional sailings will operate on Sunday 13th October.

Depart Oban – 07:30
Arrive Craignure – 08:20

Depart Craignure – 08:40
Arrive Oban – 09:30

Mull Full

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Less than one hour after the Beatson’s Mull Rally opened for entries, the list was full.

In fact, it only took 53 minutes to register an unprecedented 174 entries.

So overwhelming was the demand for places on Scotland’s only closed-road rally this year, the event’s mullrally.org website crashed.

The first 140 crews to register now have five days (that’s four and a bit now – the clock started ticking on Saturday morning) to pay the entry fee into the event’s very own account in Tobermory’s Clydesdale Bank.

Beatson’s Mull Rally clerk of the course Andy Jardine said: “I’m not sure what to say. Fifty-three minutes! We do all the work, get everything ready, but then at the end of the day – a couple of minutes before entries go live on the website – you inevitably think: “I wonder if anybody’ll come…”

They did. They came in their droves.

Deputy clerk of the course Iain Campbell added: “Has Coldplay ever been a sell-out in 53 minutes? Actually, if they only had 150 tickets to sell Chris [Martin] and the gang probably have.”

“But I’m not sure even Kim Kardashian has broken her website with new material as quickly as we did! It’s amazing.”

While the list of reserves for the event is already building, Jardine pointed out there’s still a chance of a run.

He added: “We’ve seen down the years that not everybody who gets an entry when they go live actually takes it up,” he said. “There will be some entries lost to broken engines, broken wallets, marriages… If the money’s not received from all 140 entries before close of play Tuesday, then we will start going down through the reserves and asking folk to join us in their place.

“This is a fantastic way for us to start the build-up for the golden anniversary of this event. We hoped we might be able to fill the entry – it took a day to fill the last one in 2016 – but this is so much more than we expected. Even though we haven’t run since 2016, it’s nice to see people haven’t forgotten us.”

*The Coldplay data might be wide of the mark