Argyll Antics 2024

Argyll Stages Rally 2024: A Thrilling Challenge for the Mini Cup Crews

21st/22nd June 2024

The 3rd round of this years HRCR Mini Cup series saw crews making their way north of the border to Dunoon for the spectacular twists, turns and jumps of the double points scoring, Argyll Stages Rally, set on closed public roads around the shores of Loch Fyne, Loch Eck and Tarsan Dam.

Ten Mini crews had entered the event, the regular Mini Cup contenders this time joined by one or two local Minis.  With his car not yet repaired from the roll in Killarney, Andrew O’Hanlon had to withdraw his entry before the start, this in turn helping Shane Gamble out, as his normal co-driver was unavailable and Kevin Hogan was drafted in to fill the seat.

Organised by Mull Car Club, the event consisted of just over 70 miles of stages, with a full day recce on Thursday and 18 stages spread out over Friday night (7) and Saturday (11). A central service area in Dunoon Stadium giving good access for public to get up close to the cars.  Whilst the weather had been fine for the recce and most of Friday daytime, by the time of the 19:30 start, rain had set in, adding to the challenges of the night ahead.

The first 2 stages were short blasts around Dunoon town centre with plenty of kerbs to keep drivers on their toes in the slippy conditions.

Tough Start: Mechanical Issues and Early Retirements

Both Clive King and Ian Harrop, Shane Gamble and Kevin Hogan had tank slapping moments at the junction left at the top of the town but survived intact.  Not so fortunate were Eric Davis and Russell Joseph, Kenny Watts and Eilidh Williamson.  Eric’s 8-port Mini began misfiring on stage 1, this deteriorated further on Stage 2, the car then taken back to the service area and a suspected head gasket failure forcing the crew into an early retirement.

Meanwhile, Kenny Watts and his co-driver Eilidh Williamson were also in trouble when the clutch housing casting sheared around the clutch operating arm at MC1 on the way on the 1st stage, leaving them with no gears.  They eventually managed to find a gear and limped through SS1 & 2 before also heading back to the service area.  A new casing was located some distance away and the service crew dispatched to collect this, return and face an all-nighter getting the clutch housing replaced.

The rally then moved from the town centre stages to begin in earnest at SS3 the Tarsan Dam stage.  Craig King and Craig Hardman had been hoping to capitalise on previous good night stage performance and be in contention come the daylight.  Unfortunately this plan came to an abrupt end midway through SS3 when they failed to slow sufficiently for a very tight chicane, attacking the bale and ditch behind it, causing extensive damage to the front of the car, leading to instant retirement (but at least his dad’s spotlights weren’t damaged!).

Being in a number of championships, including the BHC, the event had attracted a high quality entry of 143 cars. The combination of challenging night stages and the slippy conditions were, however, taking their toll with numerous cars taking to the Scottish scenery on virtually every stage.  Typical of this was a tightening right hand off- camber bend with a drop on the outside at SS6, Bealach Maim.  Despite most people identifying this on their recce, the area soon began to resemble a car park with so many cars off.

Lucky to survive here were Clive King and Ian Harrop, Harvey Stevens and Lawrence Selly both having scary moments.  Harvey had swapped from 12” Nankang tyres back on to Yokohama’s, setting some great times in the process and growing in confidence with the additional grip they provided.

Challenging Night Stages: Close Calls and Setbacks

John Nicholson and co-driver Kari Bates were also having some scary moments, suffering on the night stages from intermittent total light failure! Meanwhile, Martin Melling and Neil Macdonald encountered a challenging night, having not completed a recce, they struggled with their pace notes. On the long SS7 Oyster Catcher stage along the shores of Loch Fyne, they overheated their brakes. Upon returning to service, they discovered that the handling issue they’d been battling was due to a broken ball joint. This damage required a front hub replacement, leading to more late-night work for the service crew.

After the night stages and with cars returning to service following SS7, Clive King was leading the Mini pack, followed closely by Harvey Stevens, who was having an impressive run in 2nd place. John Nicholson held 3rd, with Shane Gamble rounding out the top 4.

A Day of Recovery: Weather Clears and Minis Push Through

Saturday morning arrived with the sky clearing, everyone was hopeful for a dry and sunny day.

Eleven stages were scheduled with a return to service after 6 stages and a late afternoon ceremonial finish back at Dunoon town centre. The first of the Minis in trouble was Martin Melling and Neil Macdonald, who rolled their Mini into retirement on the 1st stage of the day, SS8 Fearnoch 2, fortunately with no injuries to either crew member.  The Mini of Kenny Watts was 1st on scene and stopped to ensure all was OK.

The stage delayed and Kenny receiving a nominal time for the stage.  He had a clear run through SS9 Fearnoch 3 but the clutch housing issues returned on SS10 Kilmodan 2 and subsequent clutch failure ensured their rally was over.

By the return to service after the 1st loop, John Nicholson had survived a heavy landing on SS12, Loch Fyne 1, with damage to the exhaust and a broken mounting that was repaired at service.

Mini Sport's sponsored driver, Clive King was finding some time on the Saturday stages and although make inroads into O/A Class 1 leader Stephen Hall and Aggie Foster in their TR4, just fell short of catching them. Harvey and Lawrence managed to survive a few scary moments but were still maintaining their good showing. Shane Gamble and Kevin Hogan were making little progress in trying to overhaul Harvey, Shane feeling that the engine was not performing at its best.

The Final Push: No Risk, Just Reward

The final loop of 5 stages saw the remaining Minis solidifying their positions, with no one taking unnecessary risks. Among the Mini Cup competitors, Clive King and Ian Harrop claimed the top spot, while Harvey Stevens and Lawrence Selly maintained their strong performance to finish in 2nd. Shane Gamble and Kevin Hogan finished with a podium position, in 3rd place.

The Exol Oil prize was shared with Class 1 overall, going to Stephen Hall on Friday and Harvey Stevens on Saturday.  Snap-On prizes also went to Harvey on Friday and Shane Gamble on Saturday.

The event overall was a great success and hats off to organisers Mull Car Club and all marshals for the way that the rally was run and managing to avoid any stage cancellations, a very difficult achievement on closed road events.  Thanks also to the general public in and around Dunoon for their tolerance and for allowing us to use their roads for our pleasure. Argyll is a very scenic area and this is reflected in the dramatic nature of the stages.

The rally was enjoyed by all of the Mini crews and although not on everyones doorstep, it’s well worth the journey.  Let’s hope we see the Mini Cup returning there next year.

Next round; Tour of Epynt - 20/21 July