Minehead Motor Club attracted a good four wheel entry for this years Exmoor Clouds Trial, although the motorcycle entry was a little disapointing.
Clerk of the Course Paul Merson presented a formidable challenge to Class Eight with restarts on almost every section. Even so Tom Jones came close to the win but had too give best to the ever dependable Matt Facey in the family E30 BMW.
Duncan Stephens was third overall in his UVA Fugitive and Dave Haizelden fourth with his familiar Reliant Scimitar SS1.
Andrew Leahy was best Solo and Martin Keswick best Outfit.
Chilly Bridge
Northmoor
The first hill was to decide the trial. After a muddy approach to a sharp left hander there was a straight run for the lower classes with a restart for all the others except Class Eight. The specials had to deviate off track onto loose material where they had to restart. This proved a tough challenge but six of the 18 strong class succeeded. Tom Jones was not one of them, picking up four marks which would later prove decisive.
Ski Slope
A glorious long blast for the lower classes Ski Slope has a muddy restart for Class Eight. This wasn’t a problem for the leading contenders but the hill proved problematical for the lower classes, especially if your name was Facey and you were driving a BMW. Both Matt (class 3) and Ian (class 5) went clean and they were joined by Paul Watson driving Simon Oates familiar green Liege in Class 7.
Periton Hill
Considered the Exmoor Clouds signature section Periton Hill has been extended recently. It’s certainly a tough section and none of the cars went clean. Tom Jones was one of a handful of class eights who got to the two. In the other classes four was the best score. The Outfits didn’t do any better but a number of Solos went clean.
Water Run
Aville
Vinegar Hill
Cars without a lot of ground clearance had a battle with the ruts on Vinegar Hill, other than that it didn’t take many scalps.
Churchtown
While the lower classes had a straight run Class Eight had a difficult restart on the steep muddy bank immediately after the ninety right. Even without restart the bank proved difficult for the lower classes and only Matt Facey and Ryan Tonkin (Class 4 Beetle) got to the higher reaches of the hill before spinning out in the mud. Dave Foreshew (Dingo), Duncan Stephens (UVA Fugitive) and Tom Jones (Ford Snipe Special) were the only restarts to get away but even they floundered on the upper reaches. Tom Jones got the furthest but stopped at the one.
Links:-
- Exmoor Clouds on the Classic Trials FB Group
- More Exmoor Clouds on Facebook
- Full Provisional Results
- InCar and OnBike Videos
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