The Ilkley Club were lucky with the weather. It was a nice early summer day for the event, but wet weather during the week spiced the sections up a bit. Bill Bennett was a decisive winner, dropping only two marks after the second slippery PCT section. The higher classes had some extra challenges, including an “impossible” section at Peel’s Wood. However, even without these Bill would still have won.
The competitors all enjoyed this unique event which, incorporating a lot of grassy sections, PCT marking and stopping to have score cards marked on each section, falls somewhere between a conventional Classic and a Production Car Trial.
The grounds of Ilkley Rugby Club provided ample room for parking and formalities although one wondered if the club should have been there as the burglar alarm was in full song for quite a while!
The first two section sections were pure PCT affairs in a grassy field and any doubts if there were penalties for hitting the markers were dismissed when Nigel Jones was penalised for brushing the seven marker on the first one. This was cleanable though, with a gentle foot, and about half the entry managed this. The second section was similar in nature but a sharp right hander got the diffs working and John Rhodes was the only car to go clean. No other car got further than the six. Bill Bennett dropped nine here in his MG J2, his biggest loss as he was to drop only two more during the rest of the event.
This super little section had a restart on a sharp left hand corner. You had to get going of the start line first though and two didn’t, including Boyd Webster from the organising club who couldn’t coax his Canon away, dropping 12 marks that would hand the class award to Dean Partington at the finish.
There were quite a few unique aspects to The Ilkley and the special tests were one of them. You had to go as slowly as possible, incurring a fail for stopping. Times ranged from 6.3 seconds to the 53.9 of John Rhodes.
The two grassy PCT sections required a very delicate foot on the throttle, especially the second one where the higher classes had a more difficult alternative start, they were possible though, unless you were in a front wheel drive car! The third one was completely different in nature, a muddy, bumpy blast through the trees and there were only three cars, all in class eight got to the top.
There were a couple of retirements here, neither Richard Parker (Austin Seven) or Derek Reynolds (DAF 66) going any further.
Both of these sections severely penalised the higher classes and only three cars reached the summit of Fewston 2, these included Dudley Sterry who achieved notoriety the previous year when he nearly went sideways over the steep bank.
Any hopes anyone in classes six, seven or eight had of beating Bill Bennett were dashed here. While the lower classes had a gentle poodle up a gentle grass track the yellows and reds had a horrendous deviation down into a gulley where they had to assault a steep, slippery grass bank after which they had to make sure they kept straight while reversing down to make sure they didn’t turn over!
Looking through the results only Falcons Ed Nikel (Dellow Mk2 Replica) conquered the bank and even he dropped three.
The final section of the morning was on Moorland on top of a hill that would have been very windy had the wind been blowing. Inspection was permitted and the higher classes could see they had to fight their way through a bog before tackling a steep bank. The lower classes skipped the bog but everyone had to start by going over a steep bump where you could ground out if you weren’t careful and this is what happened to Falcon’s Nicolas Cross, Ted Holloway and Michael Leete. The club had moved their chuck wagon giving those who weren’t running late a chance to grab a bite to eat.
After the lunch break the route passed the mushroom globes at Mentwith Hill Station, complete with machine gun totting police at the gate. Wilsons Wood was off quite a busy road. The section was a grassy track, starting with a couple of sharp corners then a gentle climb. Unfortunately there was a big snag in so much as the official route deviated off the left to run through the undergrowth parallel to the track. This caught out nearly half the entry who followed the track itself.
The special test was another “go slow” affair through a puddle. The section was a nice challenge however, making excellent use of the venue and ending with a steep bank as a sting in the tail. The results show three of the FWD cars clearing the section which is surprising as most of the other cars in the lower classes failed apart from the on-form Bill Bennett.
The club had some PR problems here and some of the later runners were delayed for half and hour while the officials sorted out some irate locals. Once that drama was over there was a shallow deceptively slippery grass track between stone walls too climb. No problem if you were gentle on the throttle but if you gave it to much welly and the wheels started to spin there was no hope, as Ted Holloway, Michael Leete and a few others discovered.
Incline 2 came shortly after and was attempted only by the higher classes with quite a few making clean climbs this year.
For many Watergate was the best hill of the event, a real classic section. There was a ford at the start and it needed plenty of welly to climb the stony bank the other side. After this the track got a bit rocky and ground clearance became an issue, defeating the Skodas of Ted Holloway, Nigel Jones and Myke Pocock.
Like Wilsons Wood there was trap if you didn’t look out carefully for the markers half the cars missed the “gate” at the nine marker, including Ilkley member and well know rally driver Tony Fall who was driving a Nissan Micra and appeared to be enjoying every minute of it judged by the smile on his face.
Tony wasn’t the only one to miss the nine marker as class eight contenders Dean Partington and Dudley Sterry did the same thing. Nigel Jones ended his trial here. Nigel and David Hunt had been struggling with the clutch on their Skoda for sometime and having used up all the adjustment decided to call it a day.
Strid Wood 1 was a nice friendly little affair but Strid Wood 2 was pure PCT and required considerable agility from car and driver. It was certainly a problem for long wheel base cars and Keith Oakes and Dudley Sterry dropped marks here.
Hawpike 1 was another pure PCT section. There wasn’t much space between the markers and the marshals were watching out for the slightest touch, even penalising Bill Bennett for his only lost mark of the afternoon.
The final competitive section was a very strange affair. Another “go slow” special test on a grassy bank. The problem was that the marshals didn’t impose the “four wheels out” rule so some cars deviated a long way off route without penalty. John Rhodes had the longest time of 167 seconds but somehow incurred a six point penalty, although he was sufficiently in front of Stephen Kenny to keep his class lead.
Back at the finish their was an excellent pie and peas supper to entertain competitors while they waited for the results which showed Bill Bennett a conclusive winner. Everyone seemed to enjoy their Ilkley Trial. Its different to its southern counterparts but accept it for what it is and its a super day out, not just for the sections but the route through the Yorkshire countryside as well. It’s a nice time of year to hold the event as well as the club would have had problems with all the grassy sections in the winter.
| Best Overall | Bill Bennett (MGJ2) – Class 2 | 11 |
| Best IDMC | Boyd Webster (Cannon) – Class 8 | 36 |
| Class Winners | ||
| 1 | Nick Pullen (Nissan Micra) | 60 |
| 2 | Don Griffiths (Austin 7) | 33 |
| 3 | Nigel Hilling (Ford Pop) | 64 |
| 4 | Jim Welsh (VW Beetle) | 25 |
| 5 | John Bradshaw (Morgan 4/4) | 63 |
| 7 | John Rhodes (Dutton Phaeton) | 29 |
| 8 | Dean Partington (D. P. Wasp) | 25 |
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