2007 Tunnock Tour of Mull

[strcnova]

Hi there.

Been a bit quiet recently as i ahve been working away on the car getting it ready for this years Tour of Mull.
Its reguarded as one of the hardest clubmans events in Britain with over 150miles of competitive stages with 2/3 rds of the event run in the DARK!!!!
After last years disapointment of being put on the reserves list and not getting a run, i am glad to say we have a run!!!! :):):)

Two years ago i did it in a Vauxhall Nova GTE and from a start no of 159 we finished 51st overall and 9th in class and 1st in STRC class.

This year we are seeded approximantly 147 out of 160 so we are up slightly but we have lots of new toys under the hood so we aim to finish a lot higher!! eg top 40 if we can, but as with this event a lot of things can happen.

There is the usual load of Vauxhalls and a good amount of Novas too.

Listed below i the entry list and i will keep you up to date with prep for the event and how we got on.

Mark( Speedy) Runciman and Mark ( Haggis ) Gilmour Vauxhall Nova GTE.

/www.2300club.org/index.php?option=com_facileforms&Itemid=59 (http://www.pngclub.com/www.2300club.org/index.php?option=com_facileforms&Itemid=59)

[Lee]

I hope youve sorted your camera out for this one :)

ook forward to footage if you have.

[matthew172]

i usually go every year, best rally ever but i cant make it this year unfortunately

[tom_beverley]

Well done and probably more importantly good luck! Would be good to see some footage!

[bump]

Link needs editing and requires registering

[strcnova]

Yes camera is deffo going in!! might fit a second one facing back to see how hard the two of will be working in the car!! What do you think??
The other will be face forward as normal.

Will try and get entry list to work or guide you to some where you can look.

Yes Matt it is the best rally in the world! lol

[strcnova]

Hi all well things are getting very busy trying to get the car ready.
Haggis and i have pulled a few late one but haggis has just done an all nighter as in not left the lock up since 11am yesterday and is still there!!! GULP

I owe him big style to get this ready. Car has had its new engine fitted and sounds so sweet on the the twin 40's. So many things are changed and being improved on the car i am not sure i will even recognise it!!! lol

Trying to get some photos up of the build and the engine run onto here when we get time but hard going. Hope to have the car on the road by sunday but the car is sitt on axle stands with no dash, no, no seats, no front suspension or drive shafts and a whole load ofother things!!.

Why the hell do we put our selfs through this????
I will tell when i am on the start line of Mishnish Locks:thumb: :thumb:

[greg1.4]

i would have been going over to watch..my uncle just sold his rally car so i doubt i will be going over this year..

really good event though!

Greg

[strcnova]

Well thats me back and boy are we knackered and SORE!!;)

To say things were lastminiute.com was an understatement. The car was still being buit and stickered up the night before we were due to leave. Haggis had pulled some major hours on the car to get it ready including two 36hrs shifts and did not finish at the lock up till 5am the morning we were leaving. The car had had a major kick up the ass and face lift. but the engine was still not running quite to plan having misfire and sluttering through the rev range so we dicided to nick various jets from carbs and take them up the road to sort the problem.

The run up to Mull is always a good one and as usual it pissed down in East Kilbride and started to clear as the car was loaded on to the trailer and procceded to start being glorious sunshine as we headed to Oban for the ferry. Accomodation was in Salen and was a nice wee chalet which was first class.(now rebooked for next year). Once we had unloaded the car and all the gear we headed out for a good few hours recce over the stages. this finished about 11pm when the pub called for a well earned pint.!!;)

Haggis spent most of wed getting the car finished and getting the car to run a lot better and the car was starting to show its true potential. More recce followed well into the night eg about 2am in the morning. Thurs was again more work on the car and more recce, also some the service boys were arriving late afternoon. So everything was starting to fall into place or it looked like it.

Friday is scruitineering so the car had to be finished and the last bits stickers were due to be applied as were were due to be seen at 3pm. Thankfully noise check and scruitineering went with out any problems. Thank God.:)

We were due to the start ramp at 10.18pm!! so a few nervous hours were passed till then.

Stage 1 Mishnish Lochs. Oh **** here goes! The car was totally new to me so the stage was spent learning the car and a time of 8.34 was posted. Not good but we made through the first stage unscathed.

Stage 2 Hill rd/ Loch Tuath was canceled

Stage 3 Adrtun 1 was a very shart 2 mile stage with a very slippy last 1/2 mile but came through ok.

Stage 4 Ardtun 2 i pushed harder so much so that we caught the the car in front who started 30 sec in front only to spin the car on the much 15 sec later and dropped about 20 secs. not good.

Stage 5 Loch Scridan is very fast windy start and that gets tighter as the stage goes on with some big jumps too. Car going well and i was getting to know it better so starting to push it harder but was noticing a bit of a flat spot in forth gear but not to bad.

Stage 6 Gribun runs along the coast with big drops to the sea with a very fast section then drops down to water level past the rock and then follow the round coast to the finish again with nasty blind crests and jumps. Again we were happy to put it the time and come out with out a scratch.

Stage 7 Calgary has every thing in it. Fast and slow, tight and flowing to hairpinsto flat out over brigdes and jumps. Its a real nerve tester and if you can place the car well you can set a good time where others back off. Still going well with no major problems and climbing the leaderboard well.

Stage 8 Mishnish Lochs 2 reverse of earlier on. Oops. haggis dropped the ball here and told me just before the start line that he forgot the note for this stage!!!!:mad: Oh well do the stage blind and see how we do?? well how about a 8.11 almost 30 sec quicker in the other direction with no notes!!!lol lol
Finished the leg 72nd overall from a start no of 147.

continued on next reply

[strcnova]

Saturday afternoon.

Stage 9 Loch Tuath again is a real mixture in it. It was nice to remave the light pod and see everything about me except what was lit up by the lights. this stage we pushed again to see what the car could do in total dryness and with the brand new Hancook tyres we hand bought for the rally the were proving to be a wise investment, as the car was running on rails with these tyres.

Stage 10 Calgary 1 was a shorter version of last nights run in the opposite direction twice. First time through i was bcking off and lifting when i shouldn't but also seeint a lot of cars of so was making sure i did not join them. This stage has the notorious Steps jumps which is a series of whacking great big jumps that always attracts the spectators and again was maybe a bit causious.

Stage 11 Calgary 2 a boy did i go for it. Haggis notice i was on it right from the word go, with no lifts or braking prevoiusly. the egine was screaming its little heart out in 2 and 3 gears reving right round to 7000+ rpm like it was water off a ducks back. And those jumps? wel i took them flat in 3rd at 7000rpm and no lifts and the in car of is brill! and we caught the car in front about a mile after that!!:) :)

Stage 12 Mishnish Lochs again. This time we had the notes for it and we knew we had to beet thetime we set last night of 8.11. 6.5 miles later we set a time of 7.34, 26 sec faster than the night before and a min faster that the other direction. Well happy.

Stage 13 Gribun Another good run over this stage so much so that Barry Renwick in a Subaru WRC Impreza only took 1 sec out of us and he was running right behind me, (granted he was here to learn the place)

Stage 14 Loch Scridan again was just keep the pace going and not make any mistakes which we did. finishing the leg 60th overall. Stages 13 and 14 times i compared it to when i did it 2 yrs ago in a Nova Gte. 40 sec and 28 sec quicker is quite some improvement by any means.

Saturday night.

Stage 15 Loch Tuath/Calgary (the long one 22.5 miles!!) it got canceled due to one of the top runners going off pretty badly and being take to hospital for check ups, Both were ok. and by this time it had started to rain.

Stage 16 Mishnish Lochs It was wet and rainning so no quick times here but also notice the car handling badly. We had the tyres cut to intermedite but still no use. Into service and the anti roll bar changed to a softer one to allow the car to roll more and get the grip down.

Stage 17 Loch Scridan Was a cacious run as ineeded to learn the car again as it was rolling more but getting use to it getting the grip. Not a brilliant time but still going. Haggis was still right there with the pace notes too, as we only had two stages to go to the finish.

Stage 18 Gribun Now use to the car i was pushing harder again and Haggis uped the pace with delivering the notes. All was going well to untill he started to get to quick when i asked him to slow down a bit. With this change in pace of delivery about 1/2 mile down the road Haggis was late on a call r3 over crest! Oh ****!! car jumped but put two wheels onto the grass and that was it. We became passengers at that point as the car went sliding along the grass straight into a sea ditch!!! Thump!!! Bent crossmember, holed rad, bent wings, bent right chassis leg, wheels pushed up into inner arches. Game over:cry:. 2 miles from the end off the stage andone more stage to go too. Both of us bitterly disapointed to get so far and miss the finish. We were up to 54th overall and 8th in class and we know were still climbing too. Nevermind we will be back for next year and the rebuild has begun.:thumb: :thumb:

Photos and incar to come.

[Lee]

Cant wait for the vids, you tell a cracking story too lol. Top work guys!

[vaughanmc]

Seen your Nova at Kames before mate

Fairly shifts anyway :)

Be good to see some videos - When will you be at Kames again?

[strcnova]

The rebuild

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7395/novarebuild001yc1.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7918/novarebuild002ah1.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3818/novarebuild004sm1.jpg
Now the engine
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5306/novarebuild006ag1.jpg
engine in
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/3014/novarebuild016nj7.jpg

To the car being on the trailer
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4361/09102007019lq9.jpg
to be totally finished.
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9152/12102007030dn3.jpg
other views
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2503/12102007027it6.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5107/13102007032ua4.jpg

hope you like??

In car soon. Lost count how many times i have watched the jumps now!lol

[strcnova]

Need to fix car now but will be out for begining of next year.

It Shifts even quicker now!!!

Plus if images are to big please feel free to adjust size. oops.

[Lee]

Plus if images are to big please feel free to adjust size. oops.

We cant lol. You have to do it in Imageshack yourself.

[strcnova]

Not sure how to??
Looked at imageshack to see how to resize but does not tell you except when up loading not already uploaded.

[strcnova]

Should also say that the car was taken from that empty shell photo to the Start line in just al little over 2 weeks!!!
Cheers Haggis.