Moonlight Rally 2011
11 Teams took part in a successful Moonlight Rally on Friday night, 11 March. The first car set off at 22.01 from Bayhead and soon found themselves heading West over the Barvas Moor and then South towards Callanish, with diversions through many of the villages en route. Road conditions were variable from dry, to snow and ice, requiring full concentration from all the competitors. The event was won by Alasdair Macleod and John Campbell in a Nissan pickup - despite a screaming diff which didn't sound like it would get another mile let alone finish!
Everyone agreed that the Rally was a great success and it looks likely that further events will be arranged in the future.
Congratulations to Alasdair Macleod/John Campbell on winning the 2011 Moonlight Rally in their Nissan,
and well done to all who finished the event in slippery road conditions.
Thanks to Scrutineer Donnie Ross, Chief Marshal Donnie Ferguson, and to all who assisted with the running of the Rally in sub-zero temperatures.
Thanks also to Calum Macleod (Macleod's Garage) & to Stornoway Bowling Club (at short notice) for the use of their premises for Scrutineering & Start/Finish.
Moonlight Rally report:
(as submitted to local Press)
Snow & Ice add to Rally challenge
Snow & Ice covered much of the route of Lewis Car Club’s Moonlight Rally held last Friday night - the slippery roads adding to the challenges faced by the eleven crews who left the startline of the Navigational event which started at 10pm from the Stornoway Bowling Club premises in Bayhead.
Clerk of the Course Murdo Graham had devised a 60 mile rally that he hoped would test the skills of Drivers and Navigators in equal measure, the route using many of the unclassified roads in Lewis, including some which are uncoloured & difficult to pick out on the OS map (often referred to as ‘whites’ in rallying)
The first section was a short 2.9 mile ‘quiet zone’ to take competitors to the outskirts of Stornoway, leading crews into a 19.4 mile section where they encountered snow and ice covered roads.
Navigational Rally organisers erect Codeboards throughout the route, which competitors have to note on their Route/Time cards - providing the proof of whether or not they have taken the correct route. A couple of tricky turns into difficult-to-spot ‘whites’ at Bragar & South Shawbost meant that many crews had missed codeboards on this first section.
Notably, Alasdair Macleod/John Campbell had only missed one of those when they arrived at the end of this section – time control two being near the Dalbeg turnoff.
Section three was a more technical 11.4 miles, incorporating twisting and turning around the Carloway district, including slotting under the Bridge, before continuing South towards Control three just North of Breasclete – but before that was Tolsta Chaolais and the deceiving ‘crossroads’ by the loch. In addition to a codeboard, this section also had a ‘caution’ board at a blind crest where a sharp left hand corner with a steep drop follows!
The final competitive section was a ‘sting-in-the-tail’ – 22.4 miles taking the competing cars through Breasclete village and onto the Pentland Road, where more snow & ice greeted the crews. After crossing the Pentland moor, crews could see the ‘city lights’ – but the finish was still many miles away as they had to negotiate a ‘hairpin right’ taking them over the Beinn a’ Bhuna road to Achmore, before again turning East towards North Lochs. The final time control was situated just north of Halfway Garage, with a 3.7 mile ‘quiet zone’ run back to the finish in Bayhead.
Angus Martin had Craig Morrison on the maps, after his intended navigator Donald Riddell was unable to take part, Martin/Morrison being the only crew to log all the codeboards correctly, but they incurred time penalties through lateness, securing 5th O/A in their Lancer Evo6, while the only all-female crew of Laura & Katy Graham had passed just two of the ten codeboards, with Craig Evans/Graham MacDonald just one better with three codes. Mark & Alex Maciver had a rather cold event when the heater of their Mini failed, but that and a slipping alternator belt didn’t stop them, claiming 2nd O/A, having missed just two codes but dropping a little time in the sections.
It was very close between the father & son and 1st O/A, just two minutes penalty separating them and winners Alasdair Macleod/John Campbell, claiming victory in their Nissan. They had missed one code early on the first competitive section, and had also dropped time during the event. Rounding off the top three places was Murdo Campbell/Derek Beaton in their Mazda.
The organisers would like to thank all the entrants, Macleod’s Garage, and Stornoway Bowling Club for the use of their premises, and all those who assisted in the running of the Rally in sub-zero temperatures.
Results as follows: