Rapier Man Beaumont Wins Mull Targa Rally

Sunbeam beats modern machinery, MacKay wins time trial

- John Fife

While the Mull stage rally – lost this year due to insurance issues – demands the upmost seriousness and concentration to compete, the Mull Car Club’s replacement events, the Mull Targa (Saturday) and Time Trial (Sunday) provided a somewhat more laidback feel.

As the organisers said beforehand, this two-day motor sporting competition was to be regarded in the ‘The Spirit of ’88’, a reference to the two barren years between the end of Selective road rallying and the first Road Closure Act in 1990.

There were also a number of regular ‘Big Mull’ competitors taking part as a token of their support for the island and the organising club, but not necessarily in a competitive frame of mind. For instance, Keith Robathan had swapped his faster Ford Escort Mk2 mount for an elderly BMW 316i commenting: “I bought that for less than the price of two forest tyres for my Escort.”