post

Surveys

spectators

Following the event we issued three online surveys to gain some feedback on the 2014 Tunnock’s Mull Rally. Thank you to everyone who kindly responded to these questionnaires. The spectator ones were quite short, whilst the competitor one requested more detailed feedback on certain sections of the event.
We thought you might like to see some of the results from each questionnaire:

Spectators:
53% travel to Mull by the Oban-Craignure sailing.
68% stay between three to five nights on the island.
70% spend between £200 to £700 whilst visiting the rally.
59% are a group of four, whilst 16% are in a group of over 10.
Over one third buy Tunnock’s products over 12 times a year.
70% stated that any purchasing decision would be influenced by a sponsor of the Mull Rally.
88% travelled over 200 miles to come and watch the rally, of that 36% travelled over 300 miles.
89% WILL visit Mull out with the rally to see the island at another time of the year.

Virtual Spectators:
52% followed the event through Facebook.
46% listened to the iRally live radio coverage.
56% watched the webcam footage of SS12.
94% felt that the build up to the rally kept them informed through Facebook, Twitter and the website. Comments being; it generated excitement, brilliant and informative.
77% stated that any purchasing decision would be influenced by a sponsor of the Mull Rally.
41% buy Tunnock’s products over 12 times a year
79% want to come and spectate in 2015.
94% were UK residents but there were followers from all round mainland Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Dubai and Nigeria as some examples.

Competitors:
One third were first time competitors to Mull Rally.
42% had competed on the event more than 7 times.
52% cross to the island by Lochaline.
70% use Self-Catering for accommodation during the rally.
79% stay for at least 5 nights or more.
Only 16% used the Rally2 Regulations to complete this tough event.
84% used the Mull Rally Facebook and/or Twitter accounts during the build up to the rally. Comments; one of the best for events that I’ve seen, Fantastic, up to date and informative, Very good coverage, top marks, Fantastic promotion of the event via social media.
33% came in a party of 10 people of more.
43% had a group of between 5 to 8 people.
63% spent between £700 to over £1500 during rally week. This does not include competing rally expenses.
36% travelled between 300-400 miles to compete on the rally.
61% of those who took part in Shakedown felt that it was of value.
95% used mullrally.org before the rally for information. Comment: great website, I think it is up there with world events in terms of content. Not so easy to navigate on tablets or smart phones.
59% visited the island before the event.
86% stated that any purchasing decision would be influenced by a sponsor of the Mull Rally.
38% buy Tunnock’s products over 12 times a year

Answers to common competitor responses:
We are really grateful for the comments we received back from the competitors with regard to the rally. Especially to those who said nice things about the organisation, route and marshals (blush). We wanted to take the opportunity to answer some of the common responses so that we could either explain why we do things this way, or look for more feedback for changes:

Ardtun: The common response was that it was a long way to go for not a lot of mileage; it is expensive for the competitor to go that far, with fuel costs etc. Why not run it twice or lengthen another stage to save going there?
The rally was known as the Tour of Mull and the Mull Rally Guardians get a lot of support throughout the year from the people from the Ross of Mull. Running in the daylight to the configuration we do it is not possible to run at 30 second starts and to merge the field into a second run through Ardtunas we have done in the dark. Whilst we did not investigate the Fountain Head stage fully it is unlikely that we would have been permission to close the main Fionnphort road for 5 hours during the day.
As for distance, the complete round trip to Ardtun from the Scridain stage is only 22.89 miles. Now that would be a comparatively short road section on just about any other rally. It is just that on Mull every other stage is VERY close to the next one.

Why did you end the Saturday afternoon in Salen and not in Dervaig?
As organisers we try to involve all areas of the island. Hence this year having starts in Tobermory and Craignure for a change and to have one of the Legs finish in Salen. Also it was felt that the congestion in Dervaig could have been an issue during the period when the stages were still live.
There was more road mileage this year than in 2013 that is not what we want.
Since the Clerk of the Course took on the role in 2012 he has been looking for new routes or permutations to keep the rally fresh. Hence some new layouts this year that had never been run before. In total there were only 8.73 more road miles this year than last.

Regroups
The regroups are necessary from an organisational point of view to close up gaps in the field from retirements or delays. By having these as regroups and not service time it keeps the sporting element fair for everyone. You could allocate a maximum of 50 minutes service time but a minimum of 30 minutes and what would most likely happen is that the top section of the field would get the maximum service time and those at the tail end the minimum. This keeps it fair.
On Friday night we did have to play around with these times as we had a 1hr 12 minute gap in the field following the crash of Stevie Brown. So for SS4 & SS5 we had to put additional course cars through to inform the spectators that the stage was about to restart, extend the regroup for the leading cars from 10 minutes to 20 and then service for them from 30 mins to an hour so that we could close the gap as much as possible. The remaining gap was then closed up at the stage start.

Why was the start/stop line of Gribun Rocks/Knock moved?
Following site visits by the MSA Observer and our 000 crew it was deemed that spectator access to the big jump was not as safe as it could be. Whilst there is access to close to this area through the fields there is no way past the big rock without walking on the stage. This was deemed unsafe and the decision was made to move the controls from here to allow safer access for spectators.

Why finish in Dervaig, Tobermory would be better.
60% of the competitors who responded felt that the atmosphere in Dervaig made it the right place for the finish of the rally. The thinking behind having the finish in Dervaig, right at the last Stop Line is that we already have spectators there, it captures the emotions as the crews finish the 23 mile stage and there may be some drama that happens in that test.
We appreciate that it does not necessarily work for competitors as there is nowhere to park where you can then stop for a blether with the other crews. This finish is very much for the spectator.
It is our thoughts that by moving it to Tobermory, for example there would be no atmosphere and no crowd. It would, though allow the competitors to congregate, to collect results and to catch up with each other, something to consider for the future.

In direct response to some individual questions:
Run a Trophy Rally
The main reasoning for not running the Trophy Rally and for introducing Rally2 is on the grounds of safety. The main field may take over an hour to pass a spectator location and the speed of the cars diminishes as the field goes by. You then have 10 minute break and for example, the next car through could be Calum Duffy. The increase in speed is enormous and it is a shock to the spectator who has become accustomed to the slower pace of the previous cars and whose viewing location may have moved.
By accommodating everyone in the main field it also keeps the length of the convoy more controlled for looking after the road opening times.

Get us a group deal from Caledonian MacBrayne
We would love to be able to get such an offer to the competitors. We started discussions with Caledonian MacBrayne back in March of this year. It was only the week before the rally that we got confirmation from them of the level of support that they were able to give us. As a public funded body it is difficult for CalMac to support events in the way that they may wish to and we are grateful for the sponsorship we did receive.

People spectating from our group couldn’t get access to an entry list.
The entry list was available for download from the website but was also in the event programme that was on sale around the island.

Could you run some daylight stages earlier on the Friday, have a halt and then start again later in the evening?
There is nothing in the Mull Rally Act that would prevent us from doing this but you do have to consider the island residents in the route planning. By closing off roads around 15.00 that road is then shut till 20.00 and we have to consider that people have to get home from work, boats etc. It is also likely that if we did try such a thing we would end up being tied up in knots with roads not being open for a long enough period to be able to shut them again.

Event paperwork: we need it further in advance, we need the road book in advance and we need to know what the chicanes are going to look like:
The route was one the website from 29th March 2014 as a Google Earth file, where Street View could be used to locate control exactly. There were also PDF maps of the full route available at that time. The Road Book is sent by e-mail to every competitor two weeks before the event showing all road sections and stages, including chicane diagrams and locations. The event regulations, issued in August also highlight the service locations and emergency service locations.

post

DUFFY WINS MULL RALLY WHILE MacCRONE SUFFERS DISAPPOINTMENT

Twelve months after his rally ended prematurely on the fourth stage of the Friday night, when he slid backwards into a ditch, Calum Duffy sealed his eighth Tunnock’s Mull Rally victory.
But the Dervaig ace, piloting his Ford Escort MkII, and co-driven by brother Iain, endured a few nervous minutes of uncertainty after he took the flying finish at the end of the final stage, the 22-mile aptly-named Long One.
2014 winners
“I really thought we’d blown it,” Duffy, who started the final test with a 2min 23sec advantage over the Subaru Impreza of nearest rival Tristan Pye, admitted.
“I really felt I’d had a rubbish final stage. My rear tyres had gone completely by the time we still had the final six miles to do.
“The car’s been great all weekend, and to win 12 months after we went out so early last year makes this win all the sweeter.”
While Duffy clocked 22mins 19secs for the final test, Pye shaved a whopping 25s off the Mullean’s time and eventually finished 1m 58s away from his first Mull win.
The Bishop Auckland driver though was delighted with his result, and overall performance.
“I know it’s an old cliche, but I’m over the moon,” he beamed. “It’s been a lot of hard work all weekend, but to finish second behind Calum is an achievement: I’m feeling pretty proud, to be honest.”
There was disappointment though for the large and expectant crowd which had gathered at Dervaig to watch the finish, hoping to see their local heroes bag another 1-2.
But while Duffy won, last year’s winner John MacCrone suffered the cruellest of disappointments.
Starting the final test in his Tunnocks and Castrol-liveried Ford Fiesta R200 in third, just 39s behind Pye, the Dervaig ace was determined to ease himself into second.
But midway through the test, his car suffered a broken driveshaft and he was forced to park-up at the side of the road.
“Gutted, to be honest,” a clearly disappointed MacCrone, co-driven by Larkhall’s Stuart Loudon, admitted afterwards. “Would we have caught Tristan? I don’t know, but we were certainly on it through the opening section of the stage.
“I finished second here behind Calum two years ago, and won last year, so it would definitely have been brilliant to have been on the podium again. But it wasn’t to be.”
There was disappointment too for longtime leader James MacGillivray. The Salen driver — fastest on five of the opening six stages, and who led for much of the rally — was forced out when he went off in his Subaru Impreza on stage 11 at Penmore.
And with the Escort MkII of Ellon’s Doug Weir — who started the final stage in a comfortable fourth — going off on the final stage, Bury’s John Cope found himself in third.
“I’m amazed,” the Subaru Impreza driver admitted. “I didn’t think I’d get anywhere near the podium, but a couple of the guys who started ahead of me suffered misfortune, and I’ve been in the right place to capitalise on it. I feel sorry for them, but I’ll happily take the podium place.”
And while veteran Jimmy McRae was forced to retire his MkI Escort with recurring fuel-feed problems, Tobermory’s Fergus Barlow clinched seventh place overall, and the coveted two-wheel drive Class win.
“Class win, and seventh overall? If someone had suggested that before the start of the rally I’d have laughed: and I’d then have bitten their hand off,” he said. “I’m so, so pleased with this result. It’s been fantastic.”

SS20 DRIVERS QUOTES AND OVERALL STANDINGS:
Car 2, Duffy: “Feel very relieved, to be honest. It’s a shame about what happened to John, because I know he was going to push for second. But I really felt I’d had a rubbish final stage. My rear tyres had gone completely by the time we still had the final six miles to do. The car’s been great all weekend, and to win 12 months after we went out so early last year makes this win all the sweeter.”

Car 11, Pye: “I know it’s an old cliche, but I’m over the moon. It’s been a lot of hard work all weekend, but to finish second behind Calum is an achievement: I’m feeling pretty proud, to be honest.”

Car 6, Cope: “I’m amazed. I didn’t think I’d get anywhere near the podium, but a couple of the guys who started ahead of me suffered misfortune, and I’ve been in the right place to capitalise on it. Feel sorry for them, but I’ll happily take the podium place.”

Car 25, Bird: “Fifth overall is brilliant: I’m really pleased. The conditions in the final stage were testing, but once we got in and going, everything was fine.”

Car 82, Barlow: “Class win, and seventh overall? If someone had suggested that before the start of the rally I’d have laughed: and I’d then have bitten their hand off. I’m so, so pleased with this result. It’s been fantastic.”

45th Tunnock’s Mull Rally — Result (Final):
1. Calum Duffy (Dervaig) / Iain Duffy (Dervaig) Ford Escort MkII 2hrs 28mins 32secs;
2. Tristan Pye (Bishop Auckland) / Andrew Falconer (Inverness) Subaru Impreza +1mins 58secs;
3. John Cope (Bury) / Clive Molyneux (Blackburn) Subaru Impreza WRC +10:05;
4. Richard Cook (Lamplugh) / Edwin Cook (Lamplugh) Subaru Impreza +11:10;
5. Billy Bird (York) / Plug Pulleyn (York) Vauxhall Chevette +11:18;
6. Shaun Sinclair (Connel) / Chris Hamill (Oban) Mitsubishi Evo VIII +11:24;
7. Fergus Barlow (Tobermory) / Alastair MacCrone (Dervaig) Ford Fiesta R2 +12:07;
8. Chris Haigh (Helperby / Sally Peacock (Helperby) Ford Escort +13:16;
9. Ian Chadwick (Cork) / Johnnie Bould (Glasgow) Skoda Fabia F2 +13:40;
10. John Rintoul (Leven) / Nick Rintoul (Leven) Hyundai Accent WRC +13:56.

post

Closing Car

road closed

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:
REMEMBER THE ROAD IS CLOSED…

When the UK government issued the road closure order to enable the Tour of Mull — as it was then — to take place, it was a first for motorsport. It has also brought about a new way of spectating on stages as effectively it is an offence to even walk on the road when it is closed for the purposes of the rally.
As organisers we have a five-hour window on each section of road that we have closed for the rally. The first hour is used for set-up and to ensure safety for everyone. This leaves us with four hours to get the hundred-odd cars through the stage. This may mean that the last car enters the special stage long before the road opening time is due.
In previous years the next official car through after the last competitor was always the road opener. Now we have a Sweeper car who follow the last competing car through the stage, then the stage medical team may travel through the stage, then lastly the Road Opening car will travel the route. The vehicle will be a very large, very red American pick-up with RED beacons.
THERE IS TO BE NO MOVEMENT ON THE ROAD UNTIL THIS VEHICLE PASSES.
This means that no spectating car or spectators can move from their location until the Road Opener passes their location. This would be in contravention of the Road Closure Act. Even if a stage is temporalily stopped we will be doing our utmost to get it started again. If spectators move during this stoppage, we will be unable to restart the stage on safety grounds
PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.

red pickup

A large, red, American pick-up – not necessarily THE large, red, American pick-up.

post

McRae name returns to tackle Mull Rally

Jimmy McRae

The most famous name in Scottish rallying will return to the Tunnock’s Mull Rally this weekend. Jimmy McRae will tackle the three-day event on the Inner Hebridean island for the first time in 40 years.
And the 70-year-old, five-times British rally champ will drive his Ford Escort MkI which has been lying in his Lanarkshire garage gathering dust over the past few years.
This is the 45th annual running of the Mull Rally and McRae is looking forward to testing himself on the closed-off public roads which form the 150-mile, three-day test on October 10-12.
And why is he returning? Partly to celebrate it’s 40 years since he started rallying; and partly because Aussie-based son, former British champ Alister, spotted his dad’s Escort in the garage.
“I always meant to return to do Mull, because we had such a fantastic time when we did it in ’74,” McRae explained.
“The decision to return this year came after we’d had a few drinks when I was celebrating my 70th birthday last October. Alister had made a surprise visit, and he was looking at the car in the garage and asked, ‘when are you going to get that out again?’
“We thought, seeing as it’s 40 years since I last did Mull, in a MkI Escort, I’d dust her down, get her ready for action and head off to do Mull again.
“So Alister went off and phoned my old co-driver Ian Grindrod to see if he was free and wanted to do the rally. And here we are: all set to go.”
And of course, it’s Grindrod who is responsible for being the first man to label the Mull Rally as “the best rally in the world”: a sentiment very few would choose to contradict.
McRae and Grindrod of course, are a tried and tested double-act, winning three British Rally Championships together: McRae, of course, also bagged another two titles.
And life’s come a long way since McRae managed to talk his way into the ’74 Mull Rally.
“In 1974, Mull was part of the Scottish Championship,” he continued. “Originally I wasn’t going to do it, because I’d just started rallying, but one of the guys — Alan Arneil from Hamilton who had an entry — crashed his car the week before the event, and I asked the organisers if I could have his entry slot.
“Thankfully, even though the rally was fully subscribed, they said ‘aye, aye’, just come along and do the event.
“I went over, did the rally and finished eighth overall, first in class, in a Lotus-engined twin-carb MkI Escort.”
But he almost never even got off the start line.
“We actually had to borrow some tyres and wheels to do the rally,” McRae laughed. “Jim Peat had a 1600 Cortina, and we jacked his car up, put my knobblies on it and took his wheels and road tyres. Headed off to Mull and did the rally. Aye, those were the days.”
This year, once again he’ll drive a MkI Escort, but McRae’s is a full Historic-spec version fitted with a 2.0-litre BDA engine and a five-speed ZF gearbox.
Has he set himself any targets?
“Honestly? I’ve got no idea,” he admitted. “I’m looking forward to sitting in the car again with Ian. We’ll go and have a bit of fun.
“Having only done it the once, it’s a very specialised event now. A lot of the guys who do it every year will know exactly where they’re going: they’ll know all the bumps and dips and cambers.
“It would though be nice to win the Historics: but I don’t even know who else is competing in the Class. If some of the local guys do it, then we can forget about winning: we’ll have no chance.”
There’s no denying McRae’s MkI Escort will get huge support from the thousands of spectators who will watch the three-day rally. And for anyone thinking he’s just coming to make up the numbers, and have a quiet tootle round the island, they should think again. Just check out his performance on the Isle of Man last month.
“Aye, well I guess it went ok,” McRae admitted, in his usual, understated way. “We finished second in the post-Historics and fifth overall in the Historics. In the overall rally, we finished 10th. Not bad for an old man in an old Vauxhall.”

post

Police Presence

2001 Police course car

Police Scotland will have an increased presence on the island for the weekend of the rally as well as rally week. Having started discussions for 2014 back in December there is close support for the event and the work that goes into the rally happening as well how it affects the local community. Mull Rally organisers are extremely grateful for this working relationship.

Police Anglia

From this weekend there will be an unmarked Police car on the island as well as other traffic cars. This is very much a preventative matter, not one of detection. Over the last two years only one competitor has been stopped by the Police for speeding and it would be fantastic to see that that statistic is not added to this year.

Police RS200

But the competitors are only one part of the equation. If you are over servicing, officiating, supporting or spectating remember the road conditions, remember the inclement weather and drive and behave accordingly. Let us all hope that officers over for the weekend have the most boring, quiet weekend ever. We can definitely have an influence in that.

Police stopping RS500