Twelve months ago, John MacCrone’s Mull Rally ended with his car on fire after a 90mph crash in which his co-driver, Andy Mort, died. Last Sunday, the 27-year-old from Dervaig returned home to tackle the rally on the island’s high-speed tarmac roads and sealed an emotional victory.

“This was difficult,” MacCrone said. “What happened last year is something which has affected my life a lot, and in little ways you don’t think about sometimes. I just knew I had to be here to do it.

“At the back of my mind, all the time, is what happened last year. When you’re rallying you’re not thinking about stuff like that, but it’s always there. This is something that’s happened which will never go away, and in many ways it’s surreal.

It’s still something you think, ‘did that really happen? Was that real life?’

“To come back for the first time, a year after what happened, to win the rally is an absolute dream come true. It’s the absolute best thing that could have happened to me.”

For MacCrone, the moment might be seen as the end of one phase of his life, and the start of another. But it is a life which will, forever,

carry the memory of his friend, Andy.

It is difficult to even imagine the maelstrom of thoughts, images, memories and fears which must have tumbled around MacCrone’s mind in the build-up to the start of the rally in Tobermory on the Friday night. But as he sat next to Uddingston’s Stuart Loudon — the co-driver with whom he won the Mull Rally in 2013 — in their 2016 Ford Fiesta R5, MacCrone’s only goal was to win.

Sitting on the start line, in control of a high-powered rally car capable of reaching more than 100mph on narrow, single-track roads, and in autumn darkness with driving rain turning the surface even more treacherous, is not the time to allow self doubts or reflections of previous life-changing moments to rear their heads. And MacCrone was focused right from the start, setting the fastest time through the opening 6.77-mile stage at Mishnish Lochs. It was a lead he was never to concede, eventually winning – after 18 special stages, 160 miles and a nail-biting finale – by 10 seconds, ahead of old rival and nine-time winner Calum Duffy.

After rolling his Tunnocks-liveried Fiesta R5 to a halt in Tobermory and receiving confirmation of his win, the dam of pent-up emotion, stored

privately for a year, burst through.

Head in his hands, still sat in the car with Loudon, MacCrone finally allowed the tears to flow. Outside, the crowd of family, friends, supporters

and rival competitors stood back and allowed him the moment, all too aware of the significant catharsis taking place in front of them.

“It was one of those things we just had to have between ourselves,” Loudon said. “The good thing was, everyone knew what was going on, and what John had come through. There was a huge amount of respect from everybody who gave us the time, and didn’t automatically pull the doors open. We have to thank everybody for that. It really was a fantastic and very special moment.”

MacCrone’s road back to Mull started when he committed to take part in this year’s Scottish Rally Championship, with co-driver Rhianon Gelsomino. His performances improved throughout the season, culminating with a win in the Grampian Stages. But few have realised how big the challenge was.

“A lot of people tipped us to go well in the Scottish Championship, but I knew it was going to be a struggle to come back and go fast straight away,” MacCrone admitted. “My bottle on some of the fast sections has definitely … last year happened on a fast section … and to come back and drive fast, in the fast sections was a massive challenge.

“I took a massive knock to my confidence. You wonder about your pacenotes, about the car, about your tyres. You wonder if everything’s

going to work OK. Then you start wondering, what if this happens?

“So we had to build that up over the year. It all came together for Mull, and that feels to me like the best place for it all to have made sense.”

This is because support from family, friends and fellow Muileachs has been pivotal to MacCrone’s journey of recovery.

“The support from Mull has been incredible. My family and my friends have had to put up with a lot from me. I’m probably not the most straight-

forward person in the world. I can be quite complicated at times, but everybody stood by me and supported me 100 per cent.

“Even all the competitors wished me well, and it feels quite special, to have managed to do what we’ve done. I don’t feel I’m alone in enjoying this success. It feels like a widespread thing, so I’m obviously very, very happy.”