What will people remember about the 2010 Hankook Merrick? Well it was one tough old bugger of a rally – particularly the second last stage which put paid to a lot of people’s hopes. But the most outstanding memory for everybody will be the welcome that the good folk of Wigtown extended to the event. We no doubt caused an element of chaos and excitement to their normally quiet and peaceful Saturday morning lives -market etc. But a very healthy and appreciative crowd gathered around to hear the dulcet tones (yes I said dulcet) of Jim McDowall on the mike at the start and  finish. Having little kids swarm around the cars for autographs as they queued up for the finish brings extra joy to the hearts of any rally crew.

But top bit of hospitality must go to the lady running the Bistro in the Wigtown House Hotel. On Friday night one of our 205 crews had left it a bit late to book accommodation and there was “no room at the inn “ anywhere in Wigtown so they were going to rough it in the back of vans etc. – all 8 of them!! But when the lady in the Bistro heard this after they had all eaten there on Friday night, she gave them the keys to her house in Newton Stewart and told them to sleep there for the night!!! When we spoke to her on Saturday night when we were enjoying a meal there after the prize giving, she did admit to having the thought go through her mind after she had done it - “What have I done??” But Nick Thorne and team were perfect guests and did not take liberties.

We lost 2 of our 18 Ecosse Challenge entries before the start. Graeme Sherry had to pull his entry when a critical customer order came into his business and Mark McCulloch rolled up in a 1400 Nova!!!

Everybody had prepared for the first 19  mile stage in their own way and we did not suffer the carnage that was possible. Everybody admitted that it had been pretty tough going. But we only lost one car – the most unfortunate man in our Championship for 2009 and 2010 – Graeme Schoneville, partnered by Craig Chapman. They got a front wheel puncture about 3 miles from the end and Graeme decided to soldier on. But the vibration through the front of the car soon went for one of the front suspension arms and stripped the threads off  the bolt holding one ball joint in. So the whole thing fell apart and the crew had to abandon all hope of getting to first service. But a new bottom arm saw the car ready to go again and they went out and did the Trophy Rally over the last 2 stages. More despair and despondency for the Schoneville team.

But whilst we did get all but one of our cars out of SS1, several were in the “walking wounded” category. Some worse than others.

Euan Duncan was nervous at the start – well so would you if you had spent almost 2 full months in the garage repairing the Honda, interspersed by visits to do a bit of praying in front of the bank manager!! But they did slowly start to get back up to speed but only to encounter a rather solid bit of a tree right across the road and they had to take to the green stuff. Just imagine what was flashing through Euan’s mind. But they were still going.

First Honda to hit trouble was Grant Inglis who discovered quickly that the LSD in the standard Civic R Type box he was running did not have the same characteristics of the plated Kazz diff he had used. The car tended to run wide, grab and pull you in. This finally caught Grant out and after a bit if scrabbling along a big ditch the nose finally dug in and sucked them in. It took a lot of spectator manpower to get them back on the road.

Ruary McLeod discovered that his Honda was getting up to the silly tricks it had been doing on the Speyside – cutting out and losing all power. At first service, they refuelled the car with the 99 octane they had in the service van and the problem went away. The high revving VTEC engine did not like regular petrol station unleaded. So Ruary was well back and in the clutches of Billy Davidson.

But Billy was having his own problems. The car had been in and out of the “specialists” after the Speyside to try and sort out the stopping and starting problems that have plagued them since the start of the year. The team did find some faulty sensors and that was thought to have solved the problem.  Billy only got back from holiday in Spain on the Thursday and did not drive the car until the Friday night. First thing he noticed was that there was no VTEC. And that is something you notice in a big way. The engine just revved up to 6000 and gave up. They tried everything to solve the problem but no luck. So they crossed the startline on Saturday morning with a very “shopping” Honda Civic.

And the remaining Civic of Duncan Campbell was not having any luck either. Duncan dragged his car into first service with both back suspension struts snapped at the bottom. So it was effectively on the bumpstops!! They thought that was that, but not while “Bunny” Hunter is about. We had Ross Hunter’s very tidy Civic sat beside our van with big For Sale signs on it. And our peace was shattered when Bunny came running down with a handful of spanners and Duncan’s service crew arrived dragging a trolley jack. They all pounced on Ross’s car – which was being viewed by a prospective buyer at the time – and removed the rear suspension to fit to Duncan’s car. And so Duncan was sent away to stage 2 while Ross’s car sat forlornly on it’s bumpstops. But that is the spirit in the Championship.

So, in that first stage, not one Civic survived without some sort of drama!!!

It was similar in the 205 camp. A couple of punctures, slowing a couple of competitors down. Alex Pirie got a rear puncture about 4 miles form the end and continued. There was not a lot of the standard Peugeot “pepperpot” left at the end. 

A few got through the first stage in reasonable shape – Steven Smith, Graeme Smith (despite catching a struggling Jordan Black), David Brown, Nick Thorne and Sarah Hunter.  But others had some big drama.

Sean Robson’s rear beam was broken and the team planned to replace it at second service. Temporary repairs were carried out for ss2 and 3.

Jordan Black lost his nice new exhaust about 2 miles from the start and Stuart Loudon had to bawl to be heard.

And Frazer Smith had an off about halfway through stage 1 that rearranged the front of the 205 by bending one chassis leg and meaning that very few of the suspension and steering parts pointed in the direction Mr Peugeot intended them. But they were still going.

Ding, ding, seconds out for round 2 - stage 2 and 3. Not too bad this time. Everybody got back to service 2 apart from Sarah Hunter who went off in stage 3. Even the “walking wounded” including Frazer Smith and Sean Robson got back – but how, nobody knows.

Steven Smith/Russell Fair and Sean Robson/Iain Robson seemed to be glued together  (7 seconds apart in Sean’s favour) and holding station behind a flying Garry Pearson.

But there was feverish activity in the Robson camp as they replaced the rear suspension.

Jordan Black was losing a lot of power and they discovered a blocked engine breather tube. This was “fettled” and the wee silver 205 was back on song.

Things seemed to have settled into a rhythm in the Civic camp but there were worried looks in the Duncan team. The rebuilt car was holding up well but problems had arisen with one of the rear hubs which had split and the wheel was running out of line. Not a lot they could do apart from cross their fingers. 

Grant Inglis was now quicker but would struggle to make up for the max on ss1 but Ruary McLeod was starting to close in on Euan Duncan.

Stage 4 was the killer for a lot of people. A chunk of the stage used bits of ss1  route. This was very rough with large boulders in the road to catch the unwary. Once again punctures played a part but the “walking wounded” just could not cope. We lost the second placed 205 – Sean Robson – with front suspension problems when the bottom balljoint pulled out.  Frazer Smith’s bent 205 cried enough. We also said goodbye to Big Bruv Graeme Smith, who had been having a pretty strong run  into 3rd place, when the alternator packed in and left them stranded. David Brown and Kirstie Marshall's rally ended early when they hit one of the broken bits of mountain that was littering the road and it twisted the sump guard into the petrol tank bursting it.

And in the Civics, it was Duncan Campbell’s turn for a non finish when he went off in ss4. They caught a car and were running in the dust when Duncan turned in a wee bit too early for a corner and left the road. Needs a wing and a door.

Euan Duncan was relieved and very surprised to arrive back in Wigtown as Civic class winner. The rear hub had broken up completely and the wheel was “waggling” about all over the place and to add to their woes, they had lost 3rd gear for the last 2 stages. Ruary McLeod kept the pressure on over the last 2 stages but a puncture in the last stage kept him behind Euan at the end.

So, we lost half our 205 runners and 2 Civics. Bad enough, but it could have been a lot worse. But there will now be some feverish garage activity to fix the battle scars before the McRae on 25th October.

The results keep both the 205 and Civic classes wide open with the positions at the top unchanged. Alex Pirie leads the Autumn Cup from Nick Thorne.

But I cannot finish without talking about Garry Pearson (oh, and “veteran” Tom Hynd.) Garry’s performance was absolutely magnificent. As good as any we have seen in the life of the Ecosse Challenge, and as far as I can remember, at 24th overall,  the highest placed 205 we have ever had on an SRC event. (Second was Robbie Dale back in 2003) We wondered if we could see another John MacCrone so soon. Well, I am going to stick my head above the parapet (along with Andrew Wood!!!) and say, “Yes we have – Pearson the Younger”. Ain’t life grand!!!