Why I Come to Mull
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by Roger Whittaker, Chief Scrutineer on the 2001 Event
Scrutineering - The way I see it, or "what the hell does he
do?"
You are looking at this article and thinking, "who's he? He's been
around for some time." Yes I have!
Way back in 1969 a young, good looking, poor rally driver from Kendal entered
the Tour of Mull as part of the Castrol Motoring News Rally Championship in a
two-stroke 841cc, 3 geared Saab, and did not finish. The next year, this was
repeated with an added insult when it took Harold Morley, in a new fangled twin
cam Escort all of 2.5 minutes to pass me on selective one, Mishnish Locks. The
writing was on the wall. My options were 1. go faster (difficult), 2. buy a more
competitive car (expensive), or 3. retire (safer and cheaper). Option 3 won,
which left me on Mull in 1971 with no future.
Help was on hand - Brian Molyneux must have felt sorry for me and asked if I
could help check over the cars for scrutineering. In those days this involved
counting four wheels and an awful lot of talking to the crews, but this started
my long and happy association with the scrutineering side of motor sport, and 30
years later has resulted in me being one of the M.S.A's National A Scrutineers
and Chief Scrutineer here on Mull.
What do we do? First we check that all the cars are eligible as per the M.S.A.
rules, and conform to the may safety criteria required, as well as the technical
regulations for certain classes of car. We are also required to re-scrutinise
any vehicle involved in an accident where serious injury has occurred, and give
a full report on how the safety elements have performed to the M.S.A. Stewards.
In all the years that I have been here on Mull and witnessed some peculiar
sights, the funniest I recall was that of an Imp about to start the daylight
selective down the Glengorm road. Helmets were not obligatory then, but a number
of competitors were using them, especially those running to the rear of the
entry. Intercom systems were relatively new and expensive. How could the
navigator call out the road and be heard with helmets on? Answer: cut a 1 inch
hole in the helmet over the drivers left ear and insert a 5 foot rubber tube
with a plastic funnel inserted in the other to act as a microphone -
surprisingly it worked!
This rally must have the accolade of changing more people's lives than any
other event. It has united couples, provided honeymoons, changed homes and
businesses, altered holiday times and plans, given lifelong friendships and, in
my case, a motor sport career. Thank you to The Best Rally In The World.
P.S. I am hearing lots of "hi Rog" but not many of "what are
you having?" Cheers!
Roger Whittaker
Chief Scrutineer
