11-13 October 2024
Due to a fatality on SS7 today, the decision has been taken by both the organisers of the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally and Police Scotland to abandon the event.
A further update will be made once more information becomes available.
Dervaig’s Calum Duffy ended the opening Leg of the 46th running of the Beatson’s Mull Rally by sending out a dominant message in the evening’s final stage, the 19.92-miler at Calgary Bay/Glen Aros.
The eight-time winner — who won the opening stage by 6s from Daniel Harper — finished 14s quicker than the Mini driver from Barley to establish a healthy overall lead of 51s.
Fastest in four of the evening’s five stages behind the wheel of his new Subaru Impreza, Duffy was imperious as he conquered the tricky, changeable conditions as rain swept across the Inner Hebridean island.
Behind the leading duo, Dervaig’s John MacCrone — driving a Subaru Impreza for the first time — continued to increase his pace. The 2013 winner, who dropped 26s on the opening stage when the extra headlight pod failed to work, finished the first test — the 6.77-miler at Mishnish Lochs 1 —in 14th, having dropped 26s to Duffy.
But the young Scot grew in confidence as the evening progressed, eventually setting fastest time in the day’s third stage, the 4.63-mile test at Loch Kinloch.
It was at testing evening for the two drivers who finished on the podium alongside Duffy last year. Tristan Pye (Bishop Auckland), second 12 months ago, struggled with power steering issues all evening in his Impreza, eventually finishing ninth, 4:04s off the lead.
Cope meanwhile could only manage one place better. The Bury driver struggled to establish a settled rhythm and starts his today’s second Leg in his Impreza in eighth, 2s ahead of Pye.
Two seconds is also the gap between the Mitsubishi Evo VI of Settle’s Jonathan Mounsey in fourth, and fifth-placed Paul MacKinnon. The former winner, driving Duffy’s ex-Ford Escort MkII, is 68s ahead of fellow Tobermory resident Lewis Gallager’s Impreza.
The most notable retirees on the opening leg were Ireland’s Derek McGeehan whose Mini WRC was forced out with injector problems, and five-times British champ Jimmy McRae. The 71-year-old veteran was forced to retire his Vauxhall Firenza when its engine seized on SS2.
The action restarts later today with the first of the day’s 13 stages: the 2.62-miler at Ardtun, which starts at 12.08pm. The third and final leg gets underway at 9.53pm, before the finish ceremony in Tobermory at 1.20am on Sunday morning.
1. Calum Duffy 50mins 26secs;
2. Daniel Harper +51s;
3. John MacCrone +1.26s;
4. Jonathan Mounsey +2.14s;
5. Paul MacKinnon +2.16s;
6. Lewis Gallager +3.22;
7. Richard Cook +3.27s;
8. John Cope +4.02s;
9. Tristan Pye +4.04s;
10. Tony Bardy +4.17.
Car 1: Calum Duffy: Really, really wet in the final stage. And we were on full soft slicks. An absolute downpour at the end: there was a lot of water flowing over the road and it was tough. If we’d been in the Escort, we’d have been in the hedgerow. But we’ll need to continue this pace tomorrow to stay ahead of Daniel (Harper) and John (MacCrone).
Car 2: John MacCrone: The last three stages today have been a lot better, but i think we dropped a lot of time to Calum in there. It was torrential rain, and the wipers struggled to keep up. But overall, I’m happy with where we are. The main thing for me is time in the car, and we’re getting quicker. But Calum’s good: he’s used to leading from the front and is able to cope with the pressure. Our opening night hasn’t been ideal, but we’re getting quicker as get used to the car.
Car 4 — John Cope: SS5 was an absolute disaster for me. I didn’t carry any speed: just feel I must be getting old, and my eyes are struggling to cope with the dark. It’s disappointing: it just didn’t come to us tonight. If it’s dry tomorrow, we’ll mount a push..
Car 6 — Paul Mackinnon: It’s definitely not the weather for this car: we had so much wheelspin because the rear tyres couldn’t shift the water quick enough. Hopefully it’ll be better tomorrow. We haven’t quite got the set-up right: it’s a bit too bouncy. We just need to sort it for tomorrow. But I’ve no excuses. I always wanted to drive a car like this: I just need to adapt my driving style.
Car 7 — Daniel Harper: This evening’s been a bit like the weather: changeable. It’s been difficult to find grip, and I’ve had no rhythm. At least I think we had the right tyres — intermediates — so I’m relatively happy with where we are.
Car 8 — Tony Bardy: We’ve had a few small, wee issues, but it was the right decision to switch from the NIssan to the Ford Focus. We don’t have any one big problem, but we do have a big vibration: I hope it’s a driveshaft, because we have a spare one. If it’s the gearbox: we don’t have a spare.
Car 11 — Richard Cook: We were hit with a load of torrential rain, and we were aquaplaning all over the place. It was tricky, but we’re happy: it’s been a cracking night!
Car 12 — Jonathan Mounsey: We’ve just pushed this old car as fast as she’ll go: it was like a missile coming down through the Glen. Honestly, it was awesome. I wait 12 months to come to Mull and unload a year’s stress … an I just did that in this stage. Tomorrow we’ll have more of the same: flat-out!
Car 3 — Tristan Pye: It’s not been very good today: hampered by power steering problems. Thankfully though we got it repaired for the start of SS5. I need to know where we stand before we decide what we’ll do tomorrow.
Car 18 — Lewis Gallager: That last stage was perfect. Flat out tomorrow.
Car 14 — Nigel Worswick: We’ve survived, but we’ve virtually no front brakes. and we need to change the set-up of the suspension. But the front brakes are so poor
Car 20 — Alan Gardiner: We’ve been careful in the wet because we’ve been on slicks. But it’s better to be cautious and make sure we’re here tomorrow.
Photographs copyright of 
Last year’s Mull Rally winner, Dervaig’s Calum Duffy, tells Jim McGill his reasons for switching from his beloved Ford Escort to a new Subaru Impreza, and why he’s gunning for win number nine, and hopefully a bit of redemption.
Photograph by LindsayPhotoSport.
Jim McGill: What was your thinking in making the decision to switch from the Escort to the Subaru?
Calum Duffy: I’d been competing with the Escort for more than 20 years and it had got to the stage where I couldn’t develop it any further. I’m not going to say I was bored with it, but using it every year it had got too repetitive.
We got to the stage where we were either going to stop, or we were going to have to change. We didn’t want to stop: so we made the change.
We decided to go for the GpA Subaru: it’s a real driver’s car, and that was always important to me. We could have gone for a World Rally Car, but we’d rather be in a real driver’s car.
What the car’s background?
It’s a genuine Prodrive Allstars 555 car. Kenny McKinstry had it for a while. The car has actually done Mull three times.
What are its main plus points, and are there any negatives?
I really can’t make any comparisons until I get it out on a stage that I know, but it’s definitely not as fast in a straight line as the Escort.
But it’s got better brakes, better suspension and it delivers more traction. Latterly with the Escort we were going through so many tyres simply because of the power it was putting down: we couldn’t get a tyre to last at the back of it.
The fact I knew the stages so well, I was pushing the car so hard I was actually over-driving it.
I’d love to be able to out at the end of the Mishnish Loch stage and say “that’s as good as it’s going to get”, because I’ve never been able to do that in 20 years’ of rallying.
Given the fact this will be your first time with the Subaru on Mull, does that influence your approach?
Not, not really: I’ll still just go flat-out basically. It’s Mull. I know it’s a long rally, but you can’t afford to drop any time on any of the stages. I think I’ll just attack it and go as hard as I possibly can.
Who do you see as your main rivals this year?
John MacCrone will be a serious threat. Having won here a couple of years ago, he’s back this year in a Subaru.
Tristan Pye, second last year, will be one to watch.
There’s four or five there that could win it. Another’s Tony Bardy in the Ford Focus; and of course, Tapio Laukkanen. It’ll be interesting to see how he copes with the demands of Mull.
Do you think it’ll be a bit of a culture shock for Laukkanen?
Yeh, I think it will be. He’s obviously done the British Rally Championship before and won it, but I don’t think there’s anything out there that comperes to Mull, especially the night stages. I’d be very surprised if he came and was blisteringly quick straight off the bat. Very few people are able to do that.
Last question: what would it mean to win number nine?
It would be something special for us to win it in a four-wheel drive car. We weren’t sure we’d made the right decision because the WRC cars are definitely faster than the Escort. A lot of people have been asking us ‘what have you done’ going for the GpA Subaru? They think we’ve taken a step backwards.
So for use to win the rally, and beat the times of the Escort would be a huge statement that we’ve made the right decision. It would be a bit of redemption.
The peaceful tranquility of the serene surroundings of Mull will, for the 46th time, be shattered by the piercing, demonic wailing of some of the fastest rally cars in the UK when the Mull Rally roars into action on Friday, October 9. And for the first time, the world famous three-day rally (Oct 9-11) on the Inner Hebridean island welcomes Beatson’s Building Supplies as the title sponsor.
A total of 150 crews from across the UK will tackle the 18 stages and 160-miles of high-speed action on the closed-off public roads normally used by islanders, tourists and farmers.
At the head of the field, there are a number of drivers who will battle for overall victory and podium places in the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally, supported by EventScotland, a team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
Calum (right) and Iain Duffy celebrate winning Mull Rally 2014
Seeded No1, last year’s winner Calum Duffy, has ditched his all-conquering Ford Escort MkII and replaced it with a four-wheel drive GpA Subaru Impreza. But it won’t be the first time the car has tackled Mull.
“It’s a genuine Prodrive Allstars 555 car,” the eight-time Mull Rally winner from Dervaig explained. “Kenny McKinstry had it for a while, and the car has actually done Mull three times.”
And while some people have questioned Duffy’s decision, some saying it’s “a backwards step”, the Mullean is confident it’ll prove to have been the right decision.
“I’d been competing with the Escort for more than 20 years and it had got to the stage where I couldn’t develop it any further,” Duffy, co-driven by his brother Iain, continued.
“I’m not going to say I was bored with it, but using it every year, it had got too repetitive.
“We’d got to the stage where we were either going to stop, or we were going to have to change. We didn’t want to stop: so we made the change.
“I really can’t make any comparisons until I get it out on a stage that I know, but it’s definitely not as fast in a straight line as the Escort. But it has better brakes, better suspension and it delivers more traction.
“I’d love to be able to come out at the end of the Mishnish Lochs stage and say, ‘that’s as good as it’s going to get’, because I’ve never been able to do that in 20 years’ of rallying.”
But will the change of car alter his approach to the rally?
“Not, not really,” he smiled. “I’ll still just go flat-out basically. It’s Mull. I know it’s a long rally, but you can’t afford to drop any time on any of the stages. I’ll just attack it and go as hard as I possibly can.”
Tristan Pye in Mull Rally action 2014
Twelve months ago, Tristan Pye admitted to being “proud as Punch” when he powered his Impreza home in second place. But the Bishop Auckland driver is playing down his chances this year.
“Last year’s result was fantastic, but I’m not allowing myself to get too excited this year,” Pye, who will be co-driven by Invernessian Andrew Falconer, admitted.
“A lot of things have got to fall into place for a result like last year’s to happen, including problems for some other drivers, which of course none of us want.
“Getting into the top three this year will be tough, because there’s a lot of stiff competition. Being realistic, I think it’s very unlikely I’ll win, but I’ll give it a heck of a go.”
Pye, who plans to focus on delivering a good, strong, clean run through the opening leg on the Friday evening before “going for it” on the Saturday, has already starting building a “lightweight Subaru” which he will use on Mull in 2016.
Third last year, Bury’s John Cope returns with his Subaru, delighted that he’s finally got to the bottom — he hopes — of a four-year problem that has plagued his car.
“We’ve had a lot of diff and gearbox problems, and I hope the latest software tweak we’ve introduced will finally get rid of those gremlins,” Cope, co-driven by Blackburn’s Clive Molyneux, explained.
“The problems have plagued us off and on for the last four years, so in some ways it’ll be like having a new car for this year’s Mull Rally.”
James MacGillivray in Mull Rally action 2014
Last year, James MacGillivray had appeared to be the man to beat, clocking fastest times on five of the opening six stages. The Salen driver’s charge though slid to a halt when he went off in his Subaru Impreza on stage 11 at Penmore.
This year he returns — having bought the Subaru Impreza he hired to use last year — and admits he’s feeling more upbeat than 12 months ago.
“We’re making a few wee changes to the car, but the most important is we’re switching to a sequential gearbox,” MacGillivray explained.
“I’ve found that when you don’t get a lot of time in the car, maybe doing one or two rallies in the year, it’s much easier to jump in a car with a sequential gearbox. It’s far easier than having to get used to the idiosyncrasies of a manual.
“Although I haven’t been in the car for a year, I feel I know it; I know what the car’s capable of, and if I can drive the car to what it’s capable of, then I’ll be reasonably confident we can mix it with the top guys again.
“I’ll certainly be far more upbeat starting the rally this year than I was 12 months ago.”
Elsewhere, the entry list just oozes class, speed, precision, determination and experience.
The field includes some of the fastest Tarmac rally drivers around, who annually flock to test themselves on the dauntingly demanding high-speed test that is the Mull Rally.
Richmond’s Tony Bardy returns to action in his Ford Focus, and 12 months after being forced to retire his MkI Ford Escort with fuel-feed problems, Jimmy McRae returns to Mull.
The five-times British rally champ, now 71, will be partnered by his longtime co-driver Ian Grindrod, but this time the duo will drive a Vauxhall Firenza.
“It was such a disappointment to be forced to retire last year, the first time I’d competed on Mull for 40 years,” the veteran rally ace said. “So Ian and I have decided to come back with the Vauxhall and give it another blast.”
Ireland’s Derek McGeehan will cross the Irish Sea to tackle the event in his unique, right-hand drive MINI World Rally Car — it’s the only right-hander in the world — while 17-year-old Ally Currie from Tobermory will return to tackle the event for the second time in his Peugeot 106.
One of the highlights of the event is a change from tradition. Crews will tackle ‘The Long One’ as the first stage of the Saturday night, and in reverse direction from the last few years. The 21.89 miles starts at Dervaig, and heads round Calgary Bay before the fast finish at Torloisk.
The other major change is the finish of the rally’s final stage which will, for this year, be at Tobermory when the Glen Aros and Mishnish Lochs stages are combined to make a 15-mile last test.
Calum Duffy in Mull Rally action 2014
“I think that once again we’ve managed to put together a thrilling and exciting event, not just for the crews who are competing, but also the spectators,” Iain Campbell, Clerk of the Course for the event, explained.
“Of course, none of the weekend’s motorsport activity would be possible without the continued support of the residents of the island.
“They put up with the invasion that arrives during the second week of October every year, and the closure of their roads, with good spirit and a proper Highland welcome.
“Safety, as always, is paramount, and we have worked closely with Police Scotland to ensure the Beatson’s Mull Rally is as safe as possible for the crew and the spectators.”
Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland, said: “We are delighted to once again be supporting the Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally. The event will provide a wonderful weekend of action and excitement for spectators. Scotland is the perfect stage for motorsport events, and in the Mull Rally we have a thrilling spectacle, set against the stunning backdrop of the island.”
Jim McGill
Images courtesy of:
EventScotland: EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events, EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news, visit www.EventScotland.org. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews. EventScotland a team in the VisitScotland Events Directorate — the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland.
Various outlets around the island will have the event programme for sale from Tuesday 6th October. The locations will be highlighted through the rally website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Within the glossy magazine there will be: previews, entry list, overall leg maps and road closure times, interviews with Beatson’s; MSA Safety Delegate, Nicky Moffitt; WRC Live presenter, Colin Clark; Mikko Hirvonen about why he wants to compete on Mull and just why, when you spend your job following rallying around the world, Autosport/Motorsport News Rallies Editor, David Evans is spending a busman’s holiday on Mull to see the rally.