Late Finish for 100th Lands End

The event attracted a big entry, which together with the conditions, led it to finish well after the sun came down.

Its Dark as later numbers attempt Blue Hills 2 watched over by marshals who had little shelter from the wind and rain (Click here for Paul Wheatleys video of his climb)

The MCC wanted to make the 100th Lands End special and their efforts were rewarded with just over 400 entries plus 3o in the Class R all tarmac event. It was a different Lands End, with the route tuned to cope with more than a hundred extra competitors compared to recent times.

The early sections proved relatively easy, but Eddys Branch Line and Blue Hills took their toll as the event drew to a close.

After being dropped for the Exeter the night runs returned for the Lands End, with most welcome trailer parking available for a modest contribution. There were the inevitable issues preventing some competitors starting. Simon Knights Dellow lost a wheel on the M3 when a rear wheel bearing failed and the half shaft pulled out. Fortunately nobody was hurt but it was a scary incident.

Bridgwater

Lands End Entry Taker Sam Lindsay was at the Bridgwater Control after the Night Run to picture some of the bikes waiting for the competitive part of the trial to start. You can find more of Sams photos at Tie Dye Photography

Felons Oak

There was no restart this year on this familiar opening section but the step was really fearsome, destroying a wheel on Jonny Smiths Kia, entered to make a video for his You Tube Channel. Matt Denny retired here, his MX5’s front suspension falling foul of the vicious step. The section was considered a bit much for Class 0 and there was a notice at Bridgwater saying it had been cancelled for the class.

Cloutsham

After passing though Minehead the route diverted from the A39 , passing the old Stoney Street section and the 1931 version of Cloutsham. A tarmac version was planned, with a restart for all but Pre 1941 cars. However, this was cancelled for operational reasons a few days before the event.

There was a Handbrake check before rejoining the A39 at Porlock, and an engine off downhill special test as a nod to the past.

Beggars Roost

John Wheeler restarts his Dellow Mk2 on Beggars Roost. One of twelve on the entry list. John was to struggle with electrical problems throughout the event but managed to finish with help from his fellow competitors. Photo by “Buffy Bart”

North Devon Motor Club, The Barbrook Filling Station and the Village Hall made competitors very welcome, as the community have done since 1922.

With cars parked all down the left hand side of the road the queue occupied the middle of the road but the police didn’t seem at all bothered as later numbers waited their turn in the breaking dawn.

There were very few car failures but the bikes were a different story, especially amongst the more capable Class B who had to restart.

Jonathan Layzell had experienced a misfire with his much trialled MGB after the Lauceston start and had to miss Beggars. He had some help to fix it later in the trial.

Barton Steep

The Lands End isn’t just about the sections. With more than 300 road miles it’s a test of endurance for man and machine. Debbie Tucker captures Stuart Palmer and Nick Boast-Smith wrapped up against the cold on the long miles between sections just after dawn. Running towards the back of the field Stuart had problems with the gear lever towards the end of the trial and was overtaken by the Course Closing Car at Eddys Branch Line

One of two tarmac sections for the main trial Barton Steep is only a few miles from Beggars Roost. There were some retirements by now including two members of the Edinburgh organising team. Clerk of the Course Mark Gregg’s Austin Seven brakes had become ineffective and he turned for home on Exmoor. Then the Edinburghs Chief Marshal David Malin’s passenger turned unwell and he retired at Barbrook. We had also lost Mike Warnes venerable Husky with brake master cylinder issues on Exmoor.

Riverton

The section was approached through the forest this year instead of under the road bridge. There was a downhill start with a muddy dip at the bottom causing even raised cars to bottom out. After that there was plenty of grip and the opportunity to choose a good line on the rough bit before the sharp left hand bend. It smoothed out after that and the section didn’t cause many problems for the four wheel brigade, even classes 7 and 8 who had a simple restart. Like on other sections it was different story for the bikes and many struggled in the mud.

Sutcombe

The village at the top of the hill is always a welcome sight. It had started to get light by the time the cars arrived with the prospect of refreshments and a welcome toilet. Except for pre 41’s all the cars had a restart but Jonny Smith drove straight through in the KIA as he was to do on the other restarts. But he did get this rather unsuitable car to the finish!

Darracott

Kim Dear’s MG PG overheated on Darracott. he let it cool down a while and managed to get out of the section under his own steam.

Wargery Wood

Out on the Hartland Peninsula this was a short sharp section with a restart followed by a very sharp right hander where its was possible to cut the corner.

Crackington

Crackington Video Playlist. Click here for menu of individual videos
Ford Model A’s are ideal for family trialling. Dave Wall had all the seats occupied in his, running in a team of three with Peter Spurr and Stuart Roach, whose familiar HRG was also on the event in the hands of James Ord-Hume. Photo by Vince Feeney. Click Here for more of Vince’s work

The old hill hadn’t been doctored to the usual extent and like the others so far was relatively benign this year.

Wilsey Down

Later numbers were running about an hour behind at the official rest halt. Many took the chance to do remedial work on their machinery and there was much evidence of punctured tyres being fixed before the last part of the trial.

Ruses Mill

A lonely marshal waiting for competitors at the start of the picturesque Ruses Mill

There was a special test in this picturesque setting of Ruses Mill, but before that there was an observed section, with a restart, to be tackled. This was the second section on tarmac for the main trial which is unusual but indicated the organisers had planned the event with a view to minimising delays with the influx of inexperienced competitors with unsuitable machinery.,

Warleggan

The section was cancelled after emergency services were called to the hill when a visitor became ill and subsequently passed away.

Eddys Branch Line

Ian Cundy’s Golf belches black smoke as it fights to get through the mud on the outside of the hairpin. The Golf won this battle but retired with a broken CV joint on Blue Hills 1. Photo is from a Liam Hartley Vidcap. Click here for Liam’s Eddys Branch line Videos

Eddys starts with a left hand hairpin bend. It’s very sharp with a tree straight ahead which caught a lot out last year when the section was used for the first time. This year there was a berm in front of the tree but that didn’t help if you ploughed straight into it!

Up until now the event had been an “easy” Lands End. However Eddys shattered the medal dreams of many solos and was to prove their most expensive section with many footing or falling off on the hairpin. For those that managed to get that far the section then climbed a muddy tree lined track before hitting a vicious bump as it emerged into the farmyard.

The Outfits and Cars fared better than the Solos but a two hour delay built up and the section was cancelled for Class 0 and a number of main trial competitors quit the queue to get to Blue Hills before dark.

Lambriggan

This was a bike only section this year.

Blue Hills 1

Umbrellas are out and hoods up as the rain starts to fall on Blue Hills as Jon Moores makes a successful climb. It soon turned into a monsoon and Blue Hills 1 was abandoned after delays when cars became stuck. Photo by Duncan Stephens. Click Here for more of Duncans Photos and Click Here and Here for more of Duncans Blue Hills Videos

There was a lot of water in the muddy horse shoe, perhaps more than fell from the sky in rain! The mud was soon carried onto the stones making them very slippery stopping most of the Solos.

When the cars came along the majority couldn’t get back onto the road under their own power and had to be extracted by the usual method of a group of officials and volunteers pulling on a rope.

Like at Eddys delays built up. Both Andrew Dams and Ian Cundy broke drive shafts on their Class 1 cars and took a lot of extracting. As dusk fell the rain was pouring down, nobody was getting out of the section, and with the rope gang exhausted the section was cancelled with the queue stretching out of sight at the top of the valley.

Blue Hills 2

It’s nice weather in the early afternoon as Glyn Roberts restarts his Honda CRF300. Photo by Sam Lindsay of Tie Dye Photography
The rain lashes down in the gathering gloom as a lonely marshal watches a competitor make their ascent. There were quite a few more cars to come and it was completely dark when the last cars finished.

The lower reaches of Blue Hills 2 had been repaired by the MCC road gang and last years fierce step had gone. The restart was on a prepared stone surface but even in the dry afternoon there was a muddy patch just before with an energetic group kicking the mud back into the wheel tracks if they dried out.

None of the Class 1 or 2 cars could get up so were granted non counting stops. There was at least one car clear in all the other classes but there were a lot of failures, even in Class Eight, so many Gold Medals and probably a few triples were lost here.

There had been talk of closing Blue Hills at 7pm but at Bridgwater it was clarified that this would not be the case and the tail end of the entry tackled the section in the dark and in torrential rain.

By the time it was all over it was too dark for the ever professional winch crew to pack up their equipment so they went home to dry out, coming back the next day to retrieve their machinery.

The Miners Arm Mithian

Only a couple of miles down the road from Blue Hills most of the wet and soggy competitors didn’t want to linger which was a shame as this is a nice place to finish the trial.

Reflecting on the 100th Lands End

The pre event fanfare did its job well and attracted the desired 400 entries, about a hundred more than last year. But the influx strained the organisation to the limit from getting the entry system to work to getting competitors through the last few sections.

Having said that the organisers had set the route and the sections to cope with the numbers, excluding potential trouble spots like Cutliffe Lane and minimising restarts during the early part of the event. However Eddys Branch Line and Bluehills were a sting in the tail and the sheer number of failures resulted in delays building up and the event finishing in the dark.

Love it or hate it the Lands End is unique in the trialling calendar and the MCC are to be applauded for their efforts in running the 100th edition.

Results:-

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