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 The 38th running of the 2300 clubs Tour of Mull saw Neil MacKinnon lead 150 crews around the 155 miles of closed road stages around the Isle of Mull on the west coat of Scotland.
The tight and twisty roads of Mull have gained have gained the reputation over the years for providing competing crews with more challenges per mile that any other event, if endless crests and corners, attempted in both the night and day in changeable weather appeals to you then there is no other place to be in mid October.
The first night service saw Neil MacKinnon and new co-driver Daniel Barritt resume their usual position in the lead of the event followed by Mull regular John Cope and Robert Fagg in there Impreza WRC tied in second with another MacKinnon. Paul MacKinnon Neil's son powered his GpN N10 Impreza to an impressive position.
 Previous Mull winner Calum Duffy and Iain Duffy in their new John Reid powered MkII Escort followed in fourth reporting problems with tyre choice and alternator issues which would spell the end of his event before the night was through.
Problems also forced Paul MacKinnon out of the top ten by the end of the night stages, 2 punctures on the Calgary Bay stage dropped Paul to 15th. This allowed Dougi Hall and Andy Richardson in their Evo 8 into the top three 54s behind the leader Neil MacKinnon.
Other top runners that struggled through the night included Eddie O'Donnell who crashed out on stage seven and Irish hero Denis Biggerstaff who had gearbox problems.
Positions after Leg One
1 Neil MacKinnon/Daniel Barritt (Subaru Impreza WRC) 54 Minutes 35 Seconds
2 Dougi Hall/Andy Richardson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 55m 29s
3 John Cope/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza WRC) 55m 58s
4 Paul Kirtley/Jim Kitson (Subaru Impreza) 56m 34s
5 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (BMW MINI Cooper S) 56m 51s
6 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 57m 03s
7 John Swinscoe/Paula Swinscoe (Mitsubishi Lancer) 57m 32s
8 Tristan Pye/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 58m 09s
9 Tony Bardy/Reg Smith (Hyundai Accent WRC) 58m 41s
10 John Cressey/Stan Quirk (BMW MINI Cooper S) 59m 30s
 The six daylight stages on Saturday brought more dramas for the surviving crews, with a few hours to ready the cars for the second leg of the event Neil MacKinnon was looking to secure a winning gap between his McKinstry run Impreza WRC and those chasing hard at his heals.
With the top three holding station the chasing crews fell in to order after the retirements from the night before. James MacGillivray and Ian Fraser in their immaculate 2.3 Escort moved up in to fourth with Daniel Harper and Chris Campbell just under a minute behind peddling their MINI Cooper S to an amazing fifth place.
Positions after Leg Two
1 Neil MacKinnon/Daniel Barritt (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1hr 32m 20s
2 Dougi Hall/Andy Richardson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) 1.34.16
3 John Cope/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1.34.43
4 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 1.36.49
5 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (BMW MINI Cooper S) 1.37.34
6 Paul Kirtley/Jim Kitson (Subaru Impreza) 1.37.38
7 Tristan Pye/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 1.38.02
8 John Cressey/Stan Quirk (BMW MINI Cooper S) 1.39.55
9 Willie Bonniwell/Kevin Rae (Subaru Impreza) 1.40.19
10 David Miller/Andrew Bailey (Subaru Impreza) 1.40.20
 As the dark closed in again on Mull the crews prepared for the last 5 stages of this years event. The first of these stages is the daunting 21 mile Loch Tuath and Calgary Bay, with a history sealing the winners and losers of the event. This year was no different!
Paul Kirtley and Jim Kitson's Impreza WRC left the road at speed destroying the front end of his Subaru and Dougi Hall's rally and second place came to an end before the end of the stage. Although shaken both crews suffered no more that dented pride.
So did all these dramas allow Neil MacKinnon to cruise to his 12th win on the Tour of Mull?
Not a chance!! Waiting at the start of the Mishnish Lochs stage the Imprezas bonnet was up and a worried looking MacKinnon was desperately hoping the cooling problems he had encountered would not end his rally.
With the Subaru limping in safe mode you would have thought that the chasing Cope would have the event in the bag? But this is no ordinary rally and MacKinnon's knowledge of the Island roads kept enough of a gap between them leaving John Cope to second place and James MacGillivray in the final podium position.
 Final Positions
1 Neil MacKinnon/Daniel Barritt (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2hr 26m 50s
2 John Cope/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza WRC) 2h 29m 11s
3 James MacGillivray/Ian Fraser (Ford Escort Mk2) 2h 31m 29s
4 Daniel Harper/Chris Campbell (BMW MINI Cooper S) 2h 31m 56s
5 Tristan Pye/Kirsty Riddick (Subaru Impreza) 2h 33m 07s
6 Willie Bonniwell/Kevin Rae (Subaru Impreza) 2h 35m 26s
7 John Cressey/Stan Quirk (BMW MINI Cooper S) 2h 35m 40s
8 David Miller/Andrew Bailey (Subaru Impreza) 2h 38m 01s
9 John Rintoul/Jim Rintoul (Mitsubishi Lancer) 2h 39m 21s
10 Tim Stell/Mike Yates (Subaru Impreza) 2h 39m 46s
Class Winners
13 Tugs Sherrington/Sam Bould (Ford Escort MkII) 2h 40m 18s - 1st Class C
14 Kris Hall/Ella Flynn (Peugeot 205 GTI) 2h 40m 29s - 1st Class B
16 Stuart McQueen/Neil Shanks (Mitsubishi Lancer ) 2h 40m 59s - 1st Group N
29 Ewen MacGillivray/Andrew Falconer (Vauxhall Nova) 2h 46m 23s - 1st Class A
So after three days, 155 competitive miles, countless problems the 2007 Tour of Mull is over, don't worry if you did not make it this year as there is only 359 days until next years event!
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