The 2009 HERO Scottish Malts Classic Reliability Trial started under damp and dreary skies from the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld near Glasgow, but the smiles on the faces of the 48 crews being piped away from the start by Greg the Scottish piper in full attire showed that spirits were certainly not dampened. The crews left the start and went straight into the first test in the car park at the rear of the hotel. Honours being shared by the Porsches of Howard Warren & Paul Tomlinson and Charles Colton & Guy Woodcock. Several other crews were snapping at their heels including the Lotus Elan of Graham Walker and Sean Toohey; just one second adrift of the leading pair.

A short practice regularity where crews would only be penalised for failing to start the section took the crews into two further regularities before a break at the Famous Grouse Distillery. The morning concluded with a visit to Edradour, the smallest distillery in Scotland, before lunch at Blair Castle. Rob and Heather Hill of Car 47 � the beautiful Pea Green Lotus - had a frustrating morning when a Scottish Water Board van stalled on a hill and started to roll towards them.   Fortunately the driver got his act together but not before the delay had cost the Hills 19 seconds on the regularity - at least they were upbeat about it when telling the story.

Lunch was followed by a test in pouring rain in the grounds of Blair Castle where an early casualty was the Wolseley Hornet Special of Graham Whitaker and Bill Currie (Car 5); the crew being forced to retire with gear box failure.

Three further regularities took the crews to The Hilton, Coylumbridge, for the end of day one. The atmosphere clearly reflected the competitors� enjoyment of the event with the poor weather not being an issue. Of the 48 cars that started the day there was only one retirement and interim results showed that the top three positions were taken by Car 25 � Howard Warren and Paul Tomlinson in the Porsche 911, Car 50 � David and Jo Roberts in the Triumph TR250 and Car 9 � Mark and Sue Godfrey in the MGTD, with 25 crews still on for a possible gold medal.

Day two started under an overcast sky and despite the day being much cooler it did stay mainly dry. Crews were soon into the first regularity of the day before the traditional journey through Speyside and a visit to the Glenlivet Distillery to collect the first of a number of souvenir miniatures being issued that day. Next came the ever popular driving test at the Glenfarclas Distillery, where the Clerk of the Course Peter Nedin made a visit to personally test the depth of the water splash, declaring it just at the right level after attempting to drench the photographer. Best performance on the test going to car 26, the Porsche of Howard Warren and Paul Tomlinson, closely followed by the little 1951 MG TD of Mark and Sue Godfrey and the Austin Healey of Steve Chick and Phil Sloper. Further distillery visits and a second regularity took crews to lunch at Huntly Castle, where Jimmy Flynn (Car 42) remarked that he had waited a year to once again taste their haggis wrapped in bacon.

Lunch saw several cars need the attention of Brit Assist, the on-event mechanics � Car 3 experienced electrical problems and car 11 requiring attention to the engine. Crew 19 Paul Lenos and Nynke Van Meers took a maximum at lunch when they were forced to carry out emergency repairs after the exhaust had dropped off.

The afternoon included three more regularities, distillery visits and a visit to Culloden. Afternoon driving tests ranged from the car park at Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Ground, the estate roads at Balnagown and Balnagall Airfield.  The last two distilleries to be visited on day two were Dalmore nestling on the banks of the Firth, and Glenmorangie, where the staff re-opened the visitors centre after normal hours just to accommodate the crews. Unfortunately the Healey of Keith Graham and Sue Hoffmann needed to call on the services of the mechanics once they had crossed the Cromarty Firth. By the time the crews had reached Tain for the overnight stop, Howard Warren and Paul Tomlinson were still in first place, but Mark and Sue Godfrey in the MG TD have moved up one place to second.

Day three started dry but a little cold with a test at the Little Ferry Kart circuit. Crews had gathered there from their various hotels in Tain for one of the most enjoyable and fun tests on the event. Several crews put in excellent performances, with Guy Woodcock (navigator of car 27, which held the best time) commenting that it must be fun in the dark � a reference to the use of Little Ferry as a night test on Le Jog.

The first of two morning regularities was followed by a passage check at Balblair Distillery, probably the most photographed distillery in Scotland.

After lunch at the Invergarry Hotel, crews undertook the first of the afternoon regularities. The second regularity taking them in glorious sunshine along the very twisty and undulating coastal route to Lochaline to catch the evening ferries to Mull. The spectacular and stunning scenery is not normally seen by many people as the route is not the most direct to the ferry terminal. The Clerk of the Course wanting to check the section arrived at the regularity start ten minutes before the first car was due to leave, only to find all the AB category cars waiting for him with the crews all standing in a line with broad grins and pointing at their watches. He did get his own back as this regularity had a sting in the tail � a timing point at the very end of the section; something the crews had not expected.   

There had been highs and lows during the day. Perhaps the most pleasing high was the rejoining of Terry Hefty and Dean Meiling from the USA in the Shelby GT350. At 10 pm the previous night they had advised the clerk of the course that problems with the car could not be overcome and they had decided to retire. They would not be continuing the following day. However, the Brit Assist mechanics once again surpassed themselves when they spotted a problem with the steering rack, which when repaired allowed the crew to continue through to the end of the event.

Amongst the crews with problems were Car 11, the XK 120 of Phillip and Yvonne Haslam with an electrical fault which left the crew having to use hand signals in place of indicators and the Austin Healey of Keith Graham and Sue Hoffmann with an incurable misfire causing them to have to cut sections of the route.

Tim Riley in Car 1 must have wondered what was going on when he noticed a pair of police motor cycle outriders in his mirrors. They positioned themselves perfectly behind each rear quarter and cruised with him until he cleared a 30 mph section. Needless to say they were able to report that the drivers were all behaving correctly.  The only retirement of the day had been car 12, the Aston Martin DB2 of Christoph Dumrath and Thomas Haberstroh, which succumbed to a broken half shaft. Unfortunately this had meant that they missed the last evening ferry to Mull but were reunited with their luggage the following morning before catching a flight home vowing to return.

Best performance at the end of day three still being held by car 26 the Porsche of Howard Warren and Paul Tomlinson, with cars 27 and 9 close behind.

According to the local marshals, day four would start with typical Mull �sunshine� � rain in between the showers. This certainly was the case when the crews started the day with a test at Duart Castle under the watchful eyes of Sir Lochlan Maclean. Although it was doubtful if any crew knew that one of the spectators was the head of the Maclean clan. The test proved to be popular with the crews, despite the occasional car overshooting both the stop line and cattle grid located just passed the finish. Best performance on the test once again going to Charles and Guy in the Porsche.

The first of two morning regularities on the narrow and twisty roads of Mull tested the crews� performance. The locals were keen to avoid hindering them but this did seem to involve pulling over into the spaces allocated to timing points.  

The second regularity took the crews to the picturesque town of Tobermoray where lunch was taken at Macgochans Bar � the fresh salmon sandwiches the size of door steps proving popular with the crews. The out control was situated in the shop of the Tobermoray Distillery visitor�s centre, where a brisk trade in ten and fifteen year old Tobermoray whisky took place before the time came for crews to leave.

The afternoon regularities made use of the classic roads of Mull normally closed for stage events, with the day ending back at the Isle of Mull Hotel before the competitors boarded the ferry for Oban. The load master commenting on the fact that he had never seen a manifesto quite like it. The Oban daily paper had carried an editorial of the event and spectators had gathered to watch the cars unload from the ferry in the evening sunshine.

The mechanics were kept busy with minor problems including rectifying the exhaust on car 19, the Austin Healey of Paul Lenos and Nynke Van Meers and keeping a check on the electrical problem that had affected car 3 since the start (the Talbot�s charging system had failed to work since day one, with the crew running an extension cable to the charger from their room at each overnight halt). Top three positions at the end of day four were Car 26 Howard Warren & Paul Tomlinson � Porsche 911, Car 27 Charles Colton & Guy Woodcock � Porsche 911SC, Car 9 Mark & Sue Godfrey � MG TD.

The crews woke to heavy rain on the final day of the reliability trial, but this did nothing to dampen their spirits as competition for the top spot was being fiercely fought over. The first of two regularities took the crews to a coffee halt at Inveraray where they were allowed to park just outside the castle, a privilege rarely given to members of the public. After coffee, crews went straight into the Inveraray test over part of the castle grounds before the Hells Glen regularity lead them into the test on Rest and be Thankful. The grins on the faces of all the crews at the finish showing how much they had enjoyed driving the historic hill climb. Honours on the first two tests of the day had gone to the Porsche of Charles and Guy. However Howard and Paul had been just one second behind them on the Rest and Be Thankful Hillclimb test

A fourth regularity took the crews to lunch at Duck Bay where competitors were greeted with glorious sunshine as the rain stopped just at the right moment, providing spectacular views over Loch Lomond.

A visit to Glengoyne (considered the most beautiful distillery in Scotland and new to the Scottish Malts rally) was followed by the final regularity of the event. A run to the finish and the final driving test at the Westerwood hotel saw the crews crossing the finish line accompanied by the sounds of the piper who had ceremoniously piped them away five days before.