January 2009: The Epiblogue

Reflections on the event.

Firstly, thanks for those of you who have followed the blog, I hope it gave a feeling for the event - we were aiming for the atmosphere rather than the facts which can be found at the 2300club.org site.

Secondly, much detail has been added - more photos and videos - map references of the locations etc., so it may be worth a review, if you want to see more. Thanks to Simon Turner from the Davey Motors team for his contributions.

We were thinking of Donegal for 2009 or possibly 2010 (given economic conditions and the Euro exchange rate), but even that will have to be going some to equal or come close to Mull. Having been to Mull twice before (BK - before kids) I was concerned that the benefit of hindsight and nostalgia might have meant that the 2008 event would've turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. No need to worry, it was as great an event as ever. Atmosphere, action, giant killing performances (step up Mr Hall in 2008!), record breaking times, changes to the roads, friendliness of the islanders and the rally folk all equalling or bettering any other motorsport event I've been to. So you can compare it with Lombard RAC/Rally GB, Manx International Rally, MotoGP, Goodwood Festival of Speed (this one is a close second!), various kart meetings, Rallycross, Grasstracking, many road rallies which include the Motoring News championship, Rally Ireland, Rally Turkey etc.

Most importantly, thanks to those who didn't get to go to Mull - my wife and children. That they are OK with allowing to indulge in taking my time consuming car away to an event they'd all like to go to is just brilliant. If only Mull was in the school holidays. But then maybe it would become too popular and loose its charm.

So all the best to the 2300 Club, and long may they succeed in delivering "the best rally in the World".