RACING for 150 miles on twisting, single-track roads, in the dark and in Scottish autumnal weather was “a good old boy’s adventure”, according to a county rally driver.

Stevie Irwin was one of more than 150 entrants in the Mull Rally, which took place last month.

The testing motorsport event sees drivers compete over 17 stages, spread over three days, with many of them taking place in the dark and the early hours of the morning.

Irwin, along with co-driver Neil Bye, from Burnley, finished top of Class B – cars from 1401CC to 1600CC – and 18th overall.

He told the Courier: “It is probably, without a vast amount of money, the biggest rally I will ever do.

“It is very specialist and it takes a long time to learn it, which is why this year we thought if we could crack the top 30 we would be OK and be there or thereabouts in our class.

“To crack the top 20 and win our class was way above what we thought was possible. In rallying terms, the Mull Rally is still an adventure. It is a throwback to the 1970s and it is a long, tiring run through the night.

“It is a good old boy’s adventure.”

The 44-year-old from Dunbar, who received “a very small trophy” and a mug to mark his success, started out in the sport in 2009.

Since then, he has taken part in the Mull Rally a further two times, with this year proving his best finish.

He said: “It obviously sounds like the craziest rally in the world.

“It is on the island of Mull but it is one of the biggest rallies in the world.

“The easiest way to describe it is that it is like the TT in motorbikes.

“It is the rally everyone wants to do and it is quite difficult to get an entry – it’s normally oversubscribed.

“The roads are so tight and twisty and a lot of it runs at night, which adds to it.

“Throw in the October weather up there and it is a very tricky event.”

Next up for the roofer – who drives a Nissan Minerva away from rallying – and his trusty Vauxhall Nova is a trip to Duns this weekend for the Jim Clark Rally.

Irwin, who lives on the town’s Wilson Place, spoke to the Courier from the workshop as he carried out repairs to his car.

He said: “Unfortunately, I don’t have £50,000, £60,000 or £70,000 to throw at a car.

“I just have to cut my cloth accordingly but at the end of the day it is supposed to be fun.

“A lot of people get stressed because of the investment.

“It has always been a Vauxhall Nova really because it is still quite a competitive package.They are small and light and, in terms of bang for your buck, you are not going to get much better without spending £40,000 or £50,000.

“It is a good car as long as it holds together!”

Any sponsors looking to get in touch with Irwin should contact him at stevieirwin24@gmail.com