Having never competed together Kevin “Gerbil” Charles and
navigator Ross “Rosco” Williams headed to the Isle of Mull for one of Britain’s
most challenging tarmac rallies, the Tunnocks Mull Rally. Attacking the
unpredictable island roads in a Ford Fiesta ST, the challenge was made more
difficult as Ross had never competed on a rally before and Kevin had done Mull
3 times but only finishing once.
The conditions for the recce were just what the crew wanted,
perfect dry roads and the sun splitting the sky. After reccing each stage the
crew prepared for the start on Friday night. At the start in Tobermory on
Friday night the conditions were far from perfect, heavy rain had hit the
island for two days so the roads were water logged and the new tarmac that had
just been laid was lethal. On the opening stage the Mishnish Lochs Kevin and
Ross took no risks and went for a steady run, the goal to get to the end of the
leg. At service after the 2nd stage it was a surprise to be 82nd
overall from a start number of 112. A further 6 stages remained before reaching
Salen for the end of the leg but due to various delays it was well into
Saturday morning when the crew finally finished, 76th overall was a
great result given the conditions.
As daylight broke on Saturday morning the rain had eased off
a bit so it was all hands to the deck to get the car repreped for the afternoon
stages. Starting with Loch Scridain, one of the better stages for the crew,
Kevin and Ross completed the legs 4 stages with no major problems and had moved
up the leader board to 68th overall. A damaged wheel on the Mishnish
Lochs, forcing a wheel change before the last stage of the leg being the only
issue the crew had to deal with.
On to the final leg of the rally on Saturday night and the
rain had finally just about stopped and the roads had dried out enough to
provide some grip. A good run over the Knock (Gribun) and Loch Kinloch
(Scridain) stages saw the crew move up to 57th overall by Saturday
night service and heading out to the mammoth 22 mile final stage Kevin and Ross
were in good spirits. Unfortunately once the pair reached the start of the
final stage news came through the stage was stopped due to an accident which
later lead to the stage being cancelled and all competitors were routed back to
their accommodation as the rally was over. A little disappointed not to have
done the last stage Kevin and Ross were never the less really pleased with
finishing the 153 mile event 56th overall out 72 finishers. The key
to the teams success was enjoying the rally and to be there at the end.
Thanks to Charles (Team Manager), Skall (Top Mechanic) and
Phil (Oldest Man in Motorsport) for keeping the car running, the Fiesta never
missed a beat all weekend.
