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Mull Murmur 8- published on the island, during the event by Jaggy Bunnet MULLMURMURS, Chapter 8 Provisional leaderboard
after SS17 (of 20) 1 Harper/Campbell (Mitsubishi Lancer) 2 Hr 04 mins 51 secs Daniel Harper still leads
after 17 out of 20 stages of this 33rd Philips Tour of Mull Rally but
the gap between him and Neil MacKinnon is reducing. It’s down to 17 seconds
but what a duel. Harper was faster over SS16 and MacKinnon faster over SS17 so
there is very little between them at present. It’s dryish and cold out there
on the dark roads of Mull this October night but the competition is white hot.
As for MacKinnon, he says: “I’m starting to get the hang of this thing now!”
Duffy is still third, but in addition to a non-existent clutch, the seat
collapsed under him at Calgary and he had to wedge himself up with his elbows!
Behind him, John Cope is a worried man. The oil pressure took a dive over
Mishnish and he’s not sure what’s wrong. Ian Colman was almost caught by
Billy Bird in the long one: “I don’t like that stage and don’t usually go
well on it so it wasn’t unexpected,” said Colman. John Swinscoe is on a
charge and is putting both Bird and Colman under threat and in fact has now
overtaken Bird for sixth and has his sights set on the Colman Nissan. But it’s
now Mark Durham’s turn to strike trouble. A rear wheel bearing on the Corsa
Kit has collapsed and that puts his 8th place in severe doubt. John
Baird is up to ninth: “I had a big heroic moment in there, with Stan shouting
at me ‘keep it in, keep it in’, he also took time to remind me that there
was more grip on the black stuff than the green!” Brian Cameron lost all his
lights at the start of the long one and it looks as though John Cressey is out,
the Astra on its side in Mishnish. Also out is Willie Bonniwell with a blown
engine. He caught and passed Tim Stell in the long one and Tim couldn’t see
through the black oil cloud for the next 5 miles before it cleared! According to
Theo Bengry: “Another 5 days of this and I’ll get the hang of this.” Doug
Weir’s still going despite putting the Nova in the water at Dervaig
- again! The reason for Martin Healer’s retirement was engine failure.
After Friday night the engine was pumping oil into the water! … Jim McDowall
was working late in MacKay’s Garage, the water pump failed this afternoon
prompting a change in the Lotus engined Avenger. And finally, the reason behind
Chris Paton’s ‘brand new’ Nova was not simply a rush of blood to his
wallet, apparently (allegedly?) it was a 25th wedding anniversary
present. According to wife Mary he’s taking it easy because he doesn’t want
to bend it or mark the bright red paintwork. This is Chris’ 32nd
Philips Tour and co-driver Dave Cabena’s 33rd. Yer auld pal, Jaggy Bunnet, The top of Tobermory, Saturday,
11:00 pm. |
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