… Galloway News & Gossip …
The call of the wild. It’s 30 years since Keith Morris last competed on a rally but was tempted back out to have another crack and has acquired an Evo6 never having rallied a 4WD machine before. He finished 18th overall and at the finish said: “After the Sunbeam and the Astra, this is something else!” Similarly, Ian Milne has been tempted back into the forests some 39 years after he left them. Apparently the story goes he went south to buy a Lotus Cortina so that he and the missus could do some of these gentle Historic tours and rambles that are gaining such widespread popularity. Anyway, off he sets with pound notes in his pockets and Lotus signs in his eyes, and returned home with a forest prepped Mk2 BDA!
As mentioned in the Galloway Hills report, David Bogie was unwell on the day of the rally, but that was only half the story. He had gone to Spain in the run-up to Catalunya with two ‘friends’ who shall remain nameless, but for the sake of the story we’ll call them Murray and Martin. Martin was meeting some people before the rally with David and Murray sufficiently interested to tag along. Unfortunately, David took ill on the Friday morning when they were due to return home. The poor soul hadn’t the strength to get himself out of bed and given his condition didn’t want to be too far from the loo or a sink. The hotel room had only been booked for two nights and there was no availability on the Friday night. So the two ‘friends’ managed to book David into another hotel and left him there to come home. All alone, unwell and in Spain! Thankfully, David was sufficiently rested to make his own way to the airport on Saturday and get another flight to get himself back to Liverpool from where he was picked up by Murray ready, or unready, for Sunday’s rally.
David wasn’t the only ‘wee sick boy’ in Galloway, Simon Hay was looking distinctly under the weather too. He had been up all night with a dose of the gallopers and hadn’t slept a wink, so was knackered before the start. The only reason he made the start was because the 205 Championship was at stake. At service he was flaked out in the van while the boys fettled the Peugeot but his perseverance paid off. He won the class and the title. It’s just a good job he didn’t have two mates called Murray and Martin, eh?
Jonny Greer was lucky to make the Galloway, hence his late entry and ‘61’ start number but the Citroen had a problem with its gearbox on the Cambrian, so Jonny was keen to get it fixed and try it out ahead of Rally Wales. The parts duly arrived on Thursday afternoon so it was a mad scramble to get ready for the ferry to Scotland. Anyway, job done, and gearbox tested.
Chris Collie’s troubles on the Speyside were eventually traced to a corroded wire in the loom and the car ran perfectly in Galloway: “It took ages to find it, but a simple fix when we did!”
Tip of the week, Hamish Kinloch (widely renowned for such nuggets of wisdom) has discovered that Lidl’s aluminium cups are great for use as temporary exhaust bandages. Just cut the end off them, slit the side and they can be wrapped around exhaust pipes and jubilee clipped. And that’s not all. As coffee cups, they don’t break when you drop them. Maybe we’ll need to get Hamish to write a Rallyman’s handbook some time. It could sit beside another well used tome on the bookshelf, ‘Rally Driver’s Excuses’, and just as useful.
The new safety rules introduced earlier this year are seriously beginning to bite, just like the bleedin’ midges in Glentrool. Marshals have increased power now to manage spectators and crossing points and keep things moving, but when the midges spotted a rich variety of succulent speccies gathering in the woods, out they came in their millions. This proved entirely unfortunate for the ‘Motorsport News’ reporter and those gathered around him. Normally he would have lit up his evil pipe and blown smoke all around to help keep the wee bloodsuckers at bay, but the ever-vigilant Marshal had his eye on the chap to ensure there was ‘no smoking’ in the forest! The rotter.
And finally …
Fashion icon and trend setter? At the Galloway weekend I noticed those gallous young men about town, Ryan Weston and Calum Atkinson wearing a very fine set of tweed bunnets and really smart they looked too. Wondering if I had influenced them in any way or had inspired them to wear such desirable and fashionable garments I approached them to inquire: “Does this mean I am some kind of trendy and influential fashion guru?” Back came the instant and abrupt retort: “NAW!” I only asked.
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