classictrials

Edinburgh Class 0 Report

My Edinburgh Trial
By Ken Green

I competed in Class “O” in my 1955 Ford Popular and have the following observations

The early sections were very wet and several people got stuck on the way out of Wigber Low well after the end of the section on the almost flat escape road. Richard Andrews had a puncture in his Dellow here, dawn, and the later sections dried out

The section at Black Harry was cancelled due to lack of marshalls and a extra section tacked on to the special test at Moneystones to make up the numbers

The way in to Litton was very wet and slippery, several passengers were leading the cars down the entrance track leaning on the cars to keep them on the track – its a long drop if you were to go off the edge !!!

The Class “O” Litton caused many failures, most had trouble reaching the start line but there were some good climbs . Reg Taylor in his new Ford KA managed to get off the start line was very unlucky to wheel spin to a halt further up the hill. Mike Furse in Reg’s old Anglia did not make it. But Richard Andrews in the big engined Dellow, Jonathan Laver in a very nicely prepared Mazda MR6. Vic Lockley in the MGB and my Ford Pop did.

There was a delay at Deep Rake when a Morris Minor got stuck where the section was rocky, Calton was fast drying out when we got to it and caused no real problems. Great Hucklow was however very rough and and the Pop got thrown around on the rock steps that had appeared, caused no doubt by the torential rain of the last few days prior to the trial.

There were some overnight showers but they cleared towards dawn. The later parts of the trial were a real joy with dry sections, beautiful scenery and bright sunshine. We finished on time and were back home in daylight We waited around at the finish for about an hour but very few cars were coming in, I suspect there was a big delay some where, however on the way back home down the A515 we saw a steady stream heading for the later sections.

Ken Green / Tim Cradock and PKV 434

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JP’s Edinburgh

OS2	Haven Hill	On time, no delay/problem. Clean
OS3	Clough Wood	On time, long delay (1.30mins) Marshals had no contact with section end. Deep rutted but plenty of grip. Clean.
OS4	Deep Rake	Nearly back on time. Section no problem. Clean.
ST1	Deep Rake	First chance to try out improvement to engine performance. Felt great. 11.6 secs.
OS5	Litton Slack	Arrived on schedule. Longest delay (2 hours) Fails were not being returned down side of section and so next car not on start line till section was clear. Spectating/observing, it appeared that the best climbs were by trickling off start without wheels spinning up to the restart box, just in with all four wheels, get traction then give it everything you’ve got trying to keep in the tracks. I got bounced onto the grass but managed to power it back onto the track right up to the top bend where I arrived sideways on, grabbed 2nd and floored it. Flew out of the top. Found later reason for erratic ascent was due to a punctured rear n/s tyre. Clean.
OS7	Calton	No problem. On route to Bull I’th Thorn fell foul of homosexual Marlin reversing onto my bonnet-not too much damage I think.
	Bull I’th Thorn	2 hrs 27 mins late.
OS8	Haydale	Ruts after start. Deeper and rougher than last year. Restart lower and not so slippery. Clean .
OS9	Haggside	Arrived 1hr 30 behind schedule. Queuing out to road. A competitor lost ignition just after starting the section. Usual bumpy, kinder restart position, no problem. Clean.
OS10	Bamford	Only 2 cars waiting at start. It can’t get much rougher, dry, bags of grip. This year restart almost at end of section on the level. First time clean in six years.
OS11	Great Hucklow	In 1980 Laurie Knight, Tom Goggin and I led a working party to make the deviation for classes 7 and 8 with no re-start.In all the years since I have never managed to clean it. This time I just put my front wheels in the restart box, tried to trickle out, no good, floored it. Dot bounced her socks off and out we went. Villagers in Gt Hucklow must have heard me shout over the engine noise.
OS12	King Sterndale	Now only 1hr 30 behind schedule. No problem.
OS13	Rakes Head	Still 1hr 30 behind. Jonathon Toulmin running start. No problem.
OS14	Excelsior	This is the section I had been dreading after last year. It had been so rough and slippery I couldn’t even get to the restart. Pleasant surprise, it’s not the same section as previous year. Restart on bend, bit slippery, ease off throttle wheels bite and we clean it.
SS2	Moneystones	Little cautious on muddy track, didn’t want to throw a gold away by overrunning the astride lines. OK.
Finish	Bull I’th Thorn	5.28PM. lhr 10mins behind schedule. Claim Gold

Chris Clarkes Edinburgh

Edinburgh Trial – Take Two
By Chris Clarke

Once again, circumstances had rather restricted the planned transformation of the VW, but we had been able to improve the tyre pumping arrangements (my work colleagues are convinced that this is the main competitive element of Classic trialling) and had decided to use smaller wheels to reduce the gear ratio.

On the day, the arrangements at the start worked as smoothly as usual and we were soon on our way, making good time until just before the first section at Haven Hill where we were following a small group of cars and suddenly realised that we had covered more than the specified mileage to the turn off. By the time we had sorted ourselves out we had lost about 10 minutes which was a large slice of the time between us and the last competitor. Anyway the section itself was not a problem and we continued to Clough Wood where there was a long queue, giving us a chance to break out the coffee and biscuits. Again no problems on this or the following Deep Rake, where we showed an improved grasp of the essentials of the sport by remembering to close the tailgate before arriving at the start line.

Last year we nearly slid off the slippery track at the start of Litton Slack so took it very steadily on the approach and still nearly slid off it again. Whether it’s some combination of camber and the surface; or a force field left behind by visitors from another planet, you cannot be too careful crossing that field. It’s a pleasant place for a wait, though, with a bit of sunshine, more coffee and a chance to watch the action below; with a real treat for Golf drivers as Dave Haizeldean stormed the section. Then it was our turn and, just like last year, it started to rain, but fortunately only a passing shower so we made it to the start line without serious embarrassment (unlike last year) but only about 50 yards up the section, not that good, but 50 yards more than our first attempt so we were not too disappointed.

Beyond Carlton was the breakfast stop, and we were now very late, so that it was more like lunch and in fact closed about 2 minutes after we were served, which could have been our first major problem. At Haydale, feeling well fed and perhaps rather complacent we failed to heed the various warning signs including the erratic progress of other competitors across the first part of the section, set off with the tyres too low (worrying about getting going at the restart, which wasn’t a problem at all) and suffered a puncture, loosing more time as we fixed it.

At Haggside we were excused the restart which nearly destroyed the clutch last year but the section was very rough and the drivers side wheel was badly damaged by the time we reached the top. On the way down we met a lot of walkers who were very friendly, some of the younger ones seemed impressed by the car, or do they have a better grasp of irony nowadays than we did?

Onto Bamford Clough where again we made more progress than last year and really enjoyed the “cliffhanger” feel of the climb, but still did not get to the top of the first part and put some more dents in the same front wheel. At this point some strains began to show as the navigator accused me of “not looking after your wheel” which had suffered all the damage, in contrast to the passengers which still looked pretty tidy. It was the rough bit at the top of the restart area at Great Hucklow which finished my wheel completely; leaving it almost square. Of course that wasn’t the end of it as the escape route here also contains a couple of wheel smashing rocks on the navigators side which, of course, he remembered and directed me around.

Up on the road we were debating the best thing to do with the remaining one good wheel when we were passed by the course closing car. At this point it seemed too difficult to sort out the wheels, do the remaining sections, make it to the club supper (we were still a bit shaken by how close we had come to missing brunch) and get home the next day and so we wimped out and retired at that point. We were both disappointed to have failed to complete the Edinburgh for the second time and returned to our Hotel in rather a gloomy mood. However there was still the supper and after a couple of beers, a bottle of wine and some good company our enthusiasm for Classic Trialling (or at least dissecting it afterwards over a drink) had returned and we were able to think more about doing it better. In particular; paying more attention to the route instructions and improving our puncture repair capabilities.

Once again a big thank-you to the organisers and all those who stood out in the weather for a lot longer than they had expected to see us through (or back down) the sections.

Edinburgh Trial

Tough for Triples

It was a good Edinburgh Trial. Nice weather, wonderful views and some good sections. It wasn’t all plain sailing though. Litton was at its magnificent best, changing minute by minute with the weather.

There was some criticism of roughness, especially Great Hucklow which was a real car breaker and Nicola Wainwright and Bill Rosten lost their triples there.

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The weather was mild and didn’t present any problems for the run from Tamworth Services up to Derbyshire. Haven Hill passed without incident, but the same couldn’t be said for Clough Wood where there were long delays because of radio problems and the marshals were only letting cars go every two minutes. The section was wet and a bit rough but didn’t trouble the scorer a great deal.

Ed Nikel was having electrical problems with his Buggy. Neil Bray and Dave Nash stopped to help and Ed only finally got away when they ran a feed direct from the battery to the coil. Neither Dave or Neil’s cars were running right either, but were cured by changing the coil on the MGeetle and tightening up the manifold nuts on Primrose. That wasn’t the end of the problems though, as Neil also found a hole in the exhaust, which had to be bodged up to enable him to continue.

Deep Rake was next, with no problems for the main trial. The same couldn’t be said for Litton Slack, which was just up the road. The higher classes had a restart and there were A boards beyond. It was very damp when the first Motorcycle competitors arrived, just after 5.30. The hill was quite difficult and the bikes really struggled for the first hour, only two of the first ten going clear. It got easier as time went on but at the hint of rain the challenge soon returned.

The first cars arrived at Litton around 8.45 and immediately found problems. Alistair Queen (Skoda), Mac Taylor and Ian Ramsay (Marlins) all failing. It wasn’t until Brian Partridge came along in his Cannon and Stuart Harrold in his Troll that the marshals saw their first clean. Like most of the early runners in class seven Keith and Claire Oakes didn’t succeed. It wasn’t until triple contender Andrew Martin (with Simon Groves in the hot seat) came along that a “seven” went up. Fellow triple hunter Clive Kalber was also clean, proving it was possible to climb the old hill in class three. Sitting in the queue Bill Rosten was wondering if it was possible for a class 4 to make it. In front of him Pete Barr made a great effort to get to the A boards but Bill went one better and came out the top of the section, although he didn’t change into second like Colin Perryman in his smart BMW! Just behind Neil Bray coaxed Primrose to the summit after an amazing re-start.

Both Nick Wollett and Mike Pearson got to the top in their Dellows. Mike must have pinched a tube as he had a slow puncture for the rest of the day. John Parsons had a successful climb as well and so did Nicola Wainwright (Beetle), David Haizelden (Golf) and Paul Bartleman (Troll), so all three were still on for a triple. The section was quite dry by the time it closed in the late morning and most cars were able to get up, quite a change from earlier!

Again, there were delays a Litton, and at times car competitors stretched back almost to the road. This time the problem was with Class 0 who tackled a different hill but used the same approach track. Unfortunately many of the Class 0’s had problems getting off the line, delaying proceedings not only for their class but also the main trial who were stacked up behind and couldn’t get down to their section.

Calton, breakfast, Haydale and Haggside came before the challenge of Bamford. It looked quite rough, but it was more a roller coaster before the steps than big holes and there was plenty of grip. The Red and Yellow categories had a restart right near the summit but failures from those that arrived here were limited to the odd bod who forgot to use their handbrake and a few who didn’t read their route card and stopped at the A boards just before. John Sawle was one who had handbrake trouble, which was a shame, as his supercharged Liege sounded really nice. Now he has more power John is able to solve the Liege tyre problem by running taxi tyres on 16-inch rims. Amongst the other Liege’s only Steve Kenny and Mark Worsfeld were running the newly permitted 15 inch rims. Mark was in class eight anyway because of his Fiat 1200 engine.

The problems at Bamford were down before the seat, on the steepest bit, and on the start itself, which was situated on the left hand bend and was quite slippery. Peter Thompson (Opel Manta), Dave Nash (MGeetle) and Myke Pocock were amongst those failed on the lower reaches. Northern Trial organiser Myke had had problems with his Skoda on the way to the start, but it was running fine now. Maureen Chattle and Ross Nuten didn’t attack the bottom part with enough verve and failed. Earlier they had also failed Litton when a bolt securing the distributor fell out.

Great Hucklow was next and was truly horrible. Peter Manning described the rocks as Dragon’s Teeth. It was very, very rough, especially for the later runners. There was very little solid material between the rocks and huge holes developed. It was hard to decide who was worse off. The higher classes who had to find a place to restart amongst the boulders or the lower classes that were allowed to go straight through and hit them at whatever speed they choose! Mike Pearson thought it was the most difficult hill of the trial. He stopped in the lower half of the box and managed to spin his way to the top and a Gold! Neil Bray broke his diff here, which was inconvenient, but not as heartbreaking as for Bill Rosten and Nicola Wainwright, both of whose Triple hopes sunk into the huge holes. Their only hope was that none in class four would come out the top, but there is always at least one and Arron Homewood succeeded in his Skoda Estelle. The other four wheeled Triple contenders all went clean with only a couple of sections to go!

Jim Mountain, driving Peter’s Dellow Mk1, was doing very well until Great Hucklow when the engine died after the restart. They discovered the problem was a loose King lead which must have caused the stalling, then made contact enough to start the engine again. They got a puncture there as well. The lead finally dropped off on the corner on the road before the tea halt. The engine went much better after the offending lead was put back firmly in its hole! After a nice run up King Sterndale, competitors had a break for tea and cakes at Hollinsclough Village Hall before Rakes Head, which dives left just up the road. There was a restart for the higher classes to catch the unwary but most succeeded OK.

There were a few anxious people on the approach to Excelsior, where there would be a restart on polished stones on the final bend. Quite a few failed to get away but all the remaining triple contenders were successful. Including David Haizelden who lost his here last year. This was the last section for the main trial. Only the Moneystones special test coming before the finish.

The Club supper was a nice end to the day. Competitors especially appreciated a working PA, the first time many had actually heard the presidential speech. Delivered in an appropriate fashion by Ron Butcher. Can the equipment be transported to Exeter in January!

Holland in a Ford Model C

Michael goes on the Ford Y & C Model Registers Tour of Holland

In addition to his Trialling and Racing exploits Neil Bray is also a fan of pre-war Fords and has restored both a 1935 Model C and a 1937 Model Y. Neil like to give these cars a good annual work out on the Ford Y and C Registers Annual adventure, which in 2006 was a tour of Holland. Even Neil can’t drive two cars at once and I was thrilled when he asked me to join him and drive the C.

Friday 2 June 2006

Neil came picked me up in the evening to take me round to his place to collect the C. I had only driven it once before when we took the cars to The Enfield Pageant. The wandering steering was familiar to me, just like my Dellow, but the low powered engine and three speed box were all new experiences (my Dellow is a trials car with a Kent engine, Rocket Box and Escort axle).

Saturday 3 June 2006

Off at 5.30 to meet Neil at Baldock Services at 06.00. I was very concerned the C would start. It needed full choke, no throttle and all 6 volts burst strain to turn the little engine over. It took a couple of goes but away we went. Down to Harwich on the A120, with very little traffic to bother us we had time to have breakfast in a transport cafe just outside the port. Even then we were in the queue for the Stenna Discovery in good time. Stenna call it a HSS (High Speed Ship). Its a Catamaran with four gas turbines powering water jets for propulsion. A mere three and a half hours later we were driving off in the company of a dozen or more cars from the register.

Not to many problems with driving on the right and we soon got used to acknowledging the waves of the bystanders. The line got broken up when we came to the first set of traffic lights and it didn’t take long for us to get separated from Neil. We weren’t too badly off as I had printed directions to the hotel from the Internet. Neil had been depending on his Tom-Tom which had gone on the blink, so he was trying to stay on the bumper of the car in front.

All of this meant we were at the hotel in Voorschoten first. Other cars arrived in dribs and drabs but no Neil. A quick phone call revealed he was broken down in a Motorway Tunnel with no hard shoulder and finally arrived on a tow rope behind an 8hp Y. In the hotel car park it soon became obvious that the Y’s 12v Luminition had gone on the blink and had to be replaced with a conventional distributor.

Sunday 4 June 2006

Off at 08.30 for our first full day. Back to the Hook of Holland for a guided tour of The Atlantic Wall Museum, all about the defence system built by the Germans to keep us out during the 2nd World War. Then a boat trip around the canals of the Westland and a tour of a modern commercial greenhouse.

We were off in convoy at 8.30 but only got a few hundred yards up the road when Neil pulled off as the Y was not running properly. Adjustments to the points and timing with help from John and Jim ot things running properly and we were away. We had a brush with the law on the way, being urged on by a motorcycle policeman as we weren’t going fast enough on the motorway. Our hosts at the museum did us proud and I think our cars parked outside attracted a lot of attention for their museum.

In the afternoon it was off in a suitably old restored boat to tour a commercial greenhouse where they grew and packed tomatoes for supermarkets all over Europe.

Back at the hotel we checked the cars over and noticed the C’s fan belt wasn’t very tight. Further investigation revealed that the dynamo pulley was loose and about to burst through the radiator. Tightening the nut did no good and we discovered that the centre hole in the aluminium pulley had enlarged and the movement had damaged the shaft as well. Graham Miles kindly donated his spare dynamo but it had a different fixing. The only solution was to take the old and new units apart and build Grahams parts into Neil’s case. With Grahams help this was accomplished just in time for dinner.

Monday 5 June 2006

We had a long drive south today, down to the delta region to see the sea defences on the artificial island of Neeltje Jans. We didn’t start to well as we followed our part of the convoy led by John and Jim the wrong way up A4. We regrouped at the ferry across the entrance to Rotterdam harbour and it was here the problems with starting the Model C when it was hot began. We finally got it going using maximum choke but it popped and banged as it kangarooed up the road for a mile or so before it cleared its throat. Neil felt it was down on compression on one cylinder, but that didn’t account for the hot starting problem. The battery charge cut out was also playing up, the points sometimes stuck together necessitating a quick pit stop to flick them open.

Neeltje Jans was very windy but it was interesting to see the tremendous effort the Dutch have to make to keep their feet dry. The original idea had been to provide a permanent barrage to keep the sea out. However, this would have meant the water in the Delta would have changed from salt water to fresh water, changing the ecology. So the barrage at Neeltje Jans is only closed when the sea reaches a certain level.

There was a lot more traffic on the way back to the hotel with some long delays where we kept the engine running, keeping a careful eye on the water temperature. We had to switch it off on the ferry though and this time it wouldn’t start until Jim and John bump started it for us.

Back at the hotel Neil changed the points, condenser and plugs and we hoped it would be better tomorrow. First there was an early dinner before a trip in a wonderful old bus to a private museum in Schipluiden belonging to Mr van Vliet. It was mostly commercial vehicles but there were some cars and bikes as well, including a Beetle police car and a Karman Ghia.

Tuesday 6 June 2006

We checked out of our hotel as we were to spend the next two nights near Volendam. The Model C started fine in the morning, although getting it going from cold had never been a problem. Our Dutch hosts had arranged a private visit to the Ford Museum at Hillegom. This private venture is the largest collection of pre-war Fords in the world. All the exhibits were American, ranging from a 1896 Quadricycle to Bonne and Clyde style V8’s. We had a wonderfully entertaining guide and it was a thoroughly entertaining time. There was one European interloper, an Eifel, tucked away in a back room. It was available for sale and Jim and Graham had a good look at it, returning a week later to clinch the deal.

The C was running very well, or so we thought. But the engine had to be switched off for the ferry to Westzaan and absolutely refused to restart. We had plenty of help and, after an hour of swapping bits and pieces leant to us from other drivers, we found the problem was the coil. Once it was changed away we went. Although it was clear we had little compression on one of the cylinders starting was no longer a problem. One of the Dutch Model Y’s was having problems as well, with all sorts of horrible noises coming from the transmission. It was diagnosed as the UJ on the back of the gear box and a team led by Neil fell upon the poor little car to change it in the hotel car park. As the model Y has a torque tube this involves partially removing and pulling back the back axle so it wasn’t a quick job. It was done just before dinner, but a test run revealed the problem lied elsewhere, so then car went home on a truck the next day.

Wednesday 7 June 2006

Wednesday was boring. We went by bus to Amsterdam so the cars didn’t break down! While some of the group indulged in a cultural tour of the museums Neil and I concentrated on enjoying the cafe culture and Red Light district!

When we got back to the hotel we visited a sort of farm shop next door where we tagged along with a Spanish Tour group to see Cheese and Clog making, after which we bought some of each! We enjoyed our last dinner with the group, during which I said I hoped to join them again next year, perhaps in a car of my own!

Thursday 8 June 2006

After breakfast we waved the group, away. They were off to see the gardens at Appeltern and the National War and Resistance Museum before going home on Saturday. We made for the Hook of Holland as we had to collect Neil’s Capri from Manchester then next day, ready for racing at Lydden on Saturday.

Apart from un-sticking the battery regulator a few times the C behaved, although its increasing lack of compression made it down on power. We got a bit lost a few times but managed to find the Westzaanferry again and diverted by the Zandvoort racing circuit. Later we got totally lost in The Hague and finally stumbled across signs to The Hook of Holland purely by accident, arriving at the Ferry terminal about an hour and a half early. We were parked right up against the berth and got a marvellous view of the Stemma HSS Discovery approaching and berthing.

We had the buffet dinner on the boat and arrived home about ten in the evening. No rest for the wicked though as it was 4am start to Manchester in the morning. But that’s another storey!

Ilkley 2006

Robin Preedy won The Ilkley trial on 21st May. Falcon’s Keith and Claire Oakes won Class Seven.

Drought, what Drought!
By Claire Oakes

2006_ilkley_results Download

Dave Cooks Photos

Off we go at 3am to Yorkshire for the Ilkley Classic Trial. We had just got off the M1, to take the ring road round Leeds, when the Dutton started to splutter, then stall. We thought it might be the carburettor, as it plays up in very cold conditions, but this couldn’t be the case as it was a DRY and warm night. I never knew how many roundabouts and traffic lights there were as we did a kangaroo hop to get round Leeds.

We coughed and wheezed and limped into Ilkley Rugger Club. The marshal who directed us where to park said “there’s water coming from your car, no, hang on, its petrol”! It was pumping out like a cut artery, and I’d been puffing on ciggies for the last ten miles!! Keith set to and dismantled the carburettor as he thought the float was sticking. (While I had another cig in the clubhouse to clam myself at thought of being blown up). Ian Cairns arrived to say he was lucky to be a starter too. His Marlin Roadster hydraulic clutch pipe broke, on the Friday, fluid everywhere.

Our kick off time was 09.05. The sun had been out since dawn and it continued to shine until just before the lunch break. Then it rained & rained & rained. On the tulip route card two sections, 3 and 4, had been deleted due to the rotten weather of the past week at Browns Wood and the crossing over Dob Park Splash.

Sections 1 & 2 Carr Side, we approached the start line sideward like a crab, as did the other trialers. This was the format of the day, a second trial getting to the start lines! Cricket scores end of the day of 155 for Reg Salway VW Golf was not alone with 21 other cars collecting triple points, we toted up 96. The star for the cars was best overall Robin Preedy VW Scorpion with 27. How did he do it? Well-done Robin.

This is the only trial apart from the MCC. “Big Three” where we see bikes. Ian Thompson (Beta Alpa) got nil points, what a man. We had to laugh when Graham Makepiece (Honda XR) said he was annoyed with himself for dropping six on Wilson’s Wood. He should have had a look at the book Keith purchased the club; entitled “So this is Yorkshire” by Janet E. Kitchens. A compulsive read crammed full of photographs of bikes and some cars from 1910 to 1939. Men had to men and women tough as nails to endure the elements and conditions of harder trialing than today. They just got on with it and land owners joined in. No DEFA, Health & Safety, PC. The only “street cred” these lads needed to look cool was, Brylcream hair slicked back parted on top, carbolic soap and to finish the manliness was a Woodbine sticking out of the corner of their mouth. Not the pasty sickly faced tattooed baseball caps hoodies of today trying to pass themselves off as humans.

Can`t write what these trialers got up to in the “days of yore” as I might be breaking copyright, but every steep hill or water they could find they drove up it or through it and there’s plenty of both on “Bar Tat”. No 4×4, or tractor to pull you out, but a horse or a dozen or so men. I will let you know that for solo bikers, by 1927 the penalty for zigzagging was six and wobbling or swerving badly five! Sorry, I`m digressing, back to 2006. Sections 5/6/7 Sword Point 1, 2&3. We got as far as 12 on one, told to reverse into a gateway as this was now the new start line, opposite to the gate entrance for section 2, to have a longer run up to the section (across the tarmac public road) which we did a bit better and wow got to 10. At Sword Point 3 we sat and watched Bill Foreshew, Golden Valley Special MK II, get to the eight. Keith didn’t think he could do any better, but hey, the Dutton found grip and flew up to the one! We were towed out onto a very narrow track, but still had to do a 6-point manoeuvre to clear the bank opposite, the track for it is only the depth of a car on the “T” section ends exit. Good place for spectators as all three are within a few hundred yards.

Sections 8 & 9 Fewston 1 / 2 Our first clear on one. We straddled a tree root on 2 for eight points.

Section 10 Peels Wood As we slowed to turn into the gate a voice shouted from a group of bikers “Do you want a passenger?” “What’s up, I said to the rider, has your passenger thrown there Teddy out of the pram?” “No, he replied, I have!” “OK, I’ll swap”, but Keith drove on into the field before his wife made more of a fool of herself. Classes “A” & eight diverted on this hill, others went straight up this year, and we reached the one, and were dragged out to exit the hill.

Section 11 Hey Slack next to the lunch halt on Pock Stone Moor we got as far as the three. It started to rain at the break, ever the optimists we didn’t put the roof on, but after a hour or so we had to relent to the elements as the wet stuff was now coming down like stair rods and Keith’s glasses were beginning to rust.

Section 12 Wilson’s Wood we arrived at post eleven and the Dutton sat posing on a large hump of mud for Dave Cook the photographer while we thought which was best way to reverse out.

Sections 13/14 Brimham Lodge, the marshal told us drivers had trouble getting to the eleven. We said we would try to do better; we did, just made it to the twelve! The timed test on section 14 last year was to go slow, yes, you’ve guessed it, this year you had to go as fast as you can through the sea of mud.

Sections 15/16 Incline 1&2 at Bruce House Farm, David Child Ford Pop was up to his oxters in mud and was towed to the start line! Guess what, he got to the twelve. We surprised ourselves with five. Incline 2 was cancelled.

Section 17 Watergate, Colin Perryman was pleased with his BMW 2002 as it cleared the hill. He told us this hill was used for “Scrap Heap Challenge” and none of the vehicles climb it in the T.V. programme. We got to broom handle eight.

Section 18 Cock Hill Mine, with the rain, now mist swirling around, bounced back with a dream restart and shot up the hill. When we arrived at Sections 19/20/21 Strid Wood the last 3 sections were also cancelled. So, straight to the finish for a early free meal, lovely food and warm hospitality from the organisers and helpers, but the accolade goes to the course setters on the wet day before and the marshals who stayed cheerful in such miserable conditions. The Ilkley is a delightful event and not damaging to vehicles. The only gripe from some of the competitors was the 12/ 15 psi limits. Personally I think it should have been 10 psi or, with the adverse conditions free tyre pressure, except for Robin Preedy who should have been 30 psi, only kidding Robin. We stayed at the Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley, very nice place and recommend it.

We travelled south on the A1 & because of the heavy rain. Went wrong at a roundabout and inadvertently was now driving south on the M1. Grief, it was a nightmare like driving in a car wash! Spray every where, with side screens off, water was coming in by the buckets onto our laps, buttock clenching experience, exit to get back to “A” roads. With motorways road works, why can’t pipe be laid to move water round the country where it is needed in droughts? Or as a friend text me with this question, isn’t it a good job we have a drought, where else would we store the water?

Cars
Overall Winner	Robin Preedy (VW Scorpion)	27
Class Winners
1	Nigel Sykes (Mini Moke)	89
2	Richard Parker (Austin Seven)	94
3	Colin Perryman (BMW 2002)	106
5	Paul Clay (Austin 7/Ford Special)	130
6	Richard Peck (VW Beetle)	120
7	Keith Oakes (Dutton Phaeton)	96
8	Boyd Webster (Ford Special)	74
Bikes
Overall Winner	Ian Thompson (Beta Alp)	0
Class Winners
A	Graham Makepiece (Hona XR)	6
C	Malcom Brown (Triumph T110)	41
Combination	John Hind (Triumph 7T)	18

Dellow Win on Bovey Down

Mountain is King of the Mountain

By Claire Oakes

*Winning driver Peter Mountain with his winners trophy on the bonnet of his Mk1 Dellow.*

2006_bovey_down_results Download

27 competitors fought their way on the seven sections which included Normans Hump, Clinton, and do not laugh Hilary and Monica. It was not the first two lustrous names that took their toll, but some of the minor sections. With fine weather, hills were very dry. Two circuits in the morning and afternoon there was time to do four more hills, which gave a total of 25 climbs and one special test.

The last hill of the day was Clinton. Normally on the Exeter Trial where the section ends, it’s a sharp right onto a flat track to exit the wood. Bovey Trail event tacked on an extra piece to make Clinton even longer. This higher part, which is a steep twisty rocky track, all day we used this track to drive down to get to the bottom of other hills, which of course with 27 cars descending all day, with hand/foot brake/ anchor and grappling hooks to slow us up, it loosened a few rocks. We joined the rest of the platoon who punctured during the day.

This was trivia compared to Eric Smith yellow Marlin, diff or gear box broke on the very first hill of the day. Steve Vincent’s Austin Special drive shaft went ping, but managed to re pair and completed the days trailing. Andrew Shepperd Bugrat retired. The headache of the day literally was Tim Whellock (brain child of the Bovey Trial) and his passenger hit a tree stump, both head butted and shattered the UVA Fugitive windscreen, ouch!

This was on a section which should be named “Hairy Scary”. It takes you off track into a narrow taped chicane around fir trees, trying to miss stumps on the off side. Back onto the track for a restart, then just for a joke immediately left back into another fir tree chicane with stumps now on the near side.

Other winners were: Class 1 Paul Allaway Vauxhall Astra GTE with 53 points Class 3 Nick Farmer BMW 318 nil points Class 4 Youngster Emma Robilliard VW Beetle nil points Class 7 Peter Hart Marlin 8 points, which he collected on the very last hill. I believe he stopped in the wrong place for the restart Class 8 with zero points is the other youngster Ryan Tonkin VW Buggy, had heartbreaking bad luck at being just one second slower than the overall winner off the Busted Diff Trophy to be king of the mountain.

As an event still in its infancy it was well organised, well marshalled with superb catering. Simon Groves with his Ford Escort and Andrew Martin with his Dutton Melos would have been kids in a sweet shop at this event, as would many others. Do try and get next year to this event. I wanted to see Bovey Down sections in the daylight, as I only go hurtling up Norman & Clinton at night in the Exeter Trial.

We made it a mini holiday travelling 200 miles and stayed Sat/Sunday night at the excellent Yeoman’s Acre Hotel, 3 miles down the road in Colyford. It was lovely to finish the day with a short drive back to the Yeoman’s Hotel to lie on the bed drinking a nice cup of char, watching the Ebdon and Dot snooker final and seeing Leicester Tigers beating Sale. Yes, it was a perfect weekend.

Kyrle 2006

Ross wins at Ross

By Claire Oakes

Kyrle winner Ross Norman in the Deere Special

2006_kyrle_results Download

Dave Cooks Photos

Ross Norman in his Deere Special wins the Kryle Trophy at the Ross & District Motor Club. With only 4 points lost on Ropers and the other sections were clears.

The trial set in the beautiful Forest of Dean, fine drizzle continued till the sun shone in the afternoon. Sun was too late for the later competitors and penalty points were soon racked up. As the sections turned into a mud of whipped cream The Kryle is like doing Riverton, Crackington, Tillerton, Simms and Litton Slack over & over. You certainly get your monies worth on this trial.

Retired was Dave Shurbsole with a cylinder head gasket blown, Sticker Martin shock absorbers broke, Carl Talbot suspension. Others were Steve Louks, Rick Neale and Derek Tyler. Andrew Brown who was having trouble with his Marlin on the Lands End withdrew the weekend before, must have been very disappointed not to compete.

Simon Groves had a rear puncture at Goldsmith Wood, but John Parsons could triple that here, as he had three nails in his front tyre! Ian Davis did well for the Falcon club as won the T.C. Longford Trophy. Keith Oakes & his Mrs. were there to make the numbers up & had a brilliant day out.

Well run & marshalled & the ladies at the finish prepared a delightful meal.

Claire’s Lands End

Claire and Keith Oakes took part in the Lands End in their Duttom Phaeton. Here is Claire’s report

Dry, warm and starless night made it perfect driving across the moors, no fog, thank God. The fun started for us at Michaelwood Services, when Keith found that a hose had disconnected itself from the heater, water every where. I bet Ted Holloway wished that was all that happened to him, instead of his Mini Enigma Spl falling apart a stones throw from Popham.

Felons Oak Smiles here, as I’m sure the restart has shrunk with the Vim in the wash. It was small last year but now it`s shrivelled from my big bloomers to the size of my daughters G- string. No chance of putting whole car in, perhaps it was a train buff setting out double O gauge lines.

Beggars Roost Cars were queued from the entrance to the section back to the Garage. Ed Nickel there as a spectator now as his dynamo packed up on his VW Buggy

A marshal said restart was higher up to try and stop 7 & 8s. News filtered down in the wait to go as far right as possible in the box. Thank you to that man who told us. As we approached the box I could see thick churned mud on the left. I shouted at Keith “go right” he did and we got away fine, just missing an over hanging branch.

Riverton Smiles left my face here, not the wait; we had that last year, but the second year of sitting behind a car, which doesn’t switch the engine OFF. Last year it was a VW, this year an orange Marlin. I have read that males unconsciously touch their bits

I think this lad was so high on testosterones by his constant vroom, vroom, the nearer we got to the section the more vrooms we had. Next year I will have a loofah ready to soak in quick drying cement to push up any offender’s exhaust pipe. Yes, I know I could have got off my butt and asked him to cease, but that would have meant getting my boots dirty! Neither navigator nor he has read the route card fully which states NO NOISE, but there again I didn’t realize how much noise I make until I saw myself on video shouting encouragement to the Dutton when driving up a section! Thank you for getting that off my chest, onto;

Roundswell Control. Carbon monoxide washed away by a nice hot cup of tea supplied by our son Allan who was marshalling at the control. Happy bunny again.

Crackington. Waiting at the ford at the foot of the hill we watched class 7 Andrew Browns Marlin fade & die on the climb, but a quick switch back on, he did a slick re start and he pulled away like a dream to complete the section.

Wilsey Down. Bravo to the person/s who thought of having a gazebo for the control point at Hallworthy Market top car park. This saved squeezing passed each other as control used to be just inside the café entrance

Hoskin. We nearly got to the red restart. I do feel that yellow restart being so low down the section the Dutton doesn’t have enough time to wind up from section begins.

Bishops Wood. Our favourite hill, I think not. This hill we have never got away from the restart. We flew pass the “A” boards over the plateau track and like a swatted fly splat into the glutinous mud in the box. Keith tried to get his back wheels as high as he could but the mud held us tight. I’m sure in the past years grass was there in the box?

Blue Hills 1 Smoking wheels, but got away

Blue Hills 2. Clean pair of heels.

Finished a great trial staying in Cornwall until Tuesday, as we celebrated our daughters birthday on Easter Monday at the Cross roads Lodge, who looked after us very well during our stay there.

Chris Clarke’s Lands End

Last year Chris drove in Class 0, This time he tackled the main event.

The Land End seen from a competitors viewpoint. Regular correspondent Chris Clarke reports.

Following our timekeeping problems on the Edinburgh, we decided that tyre deflating & pumping was the biggest cause of delay and made some improvements to speed up the process as far as possible, helped by useful advice on the Classical Gas message board. More importantly, we had taken advantage of the Allen, Clee Hills & March Hare events to fine tune the coffee & biscuits routine with the rigour usually associated with GP tyre changes, so even in extreme circumstances we wouldn’t miss this vital ritual. As things turned out, both these preparations proved very useful.

Having left Michaelwood via the unofficial exit (the rebel in me enjoys this bit) we proceeded by the “great circle” route to North Petherton, completed the formalities, and tried the omelette & chips at the truck stop (recommended). Then it was off to Felons Oak and Stoney Street, which we completed without too much difficulty (at least compared with what followed). I don’t know if it’s deliberate, but all Classic trials seem to start with a couple of “warm up” sections like this, a very good idea we think and hopefully any organisers reading this agree, otherwise I expect a nasty surprise the next time.

The night driving across Exmoor is one of the best and most distinctive parts of this event. Although we know the area well from holidays in the area, it takes on a completely different atmosphere, with the arrival (and refreshments) at the Culborne Inn one of the high points. Tempered by the thought that you’re still less than a quarter of the way through; and ordering a double Scotch probably wouldn’t go down too well at that point.

The next section, Beggars Roost, is part of Colin’s folklore as both his father (in the 1937 event), and more recently his brother, have attempted it. The weight of family honour was resting on his shoulders as we approached, while I was just concerned that we had been told to read the failure instructions before starting. As it was we were pleased to clean the section, but not before some nervous moments in the area of the restart box. Before anyone asks why we, in class one, worry about the restart area, I must record that we very much appreciate not having to deliberately stop there and long may this dispensation continue. The flip side is that it usually consists of either a jumble of razor sharp boulders, a mirror smooth sheet of rock or a bottomless mud pit, and to get maximum advantage from the concession you seem to have to drive as fast as possible through it – quite exciting.

The build up at Beggars was nothing compared with Riverton, where we had to wait for some time. This would not be so bad, as there was time for a chat or a nap, but explanations for the delay kept filtering back – cars stuck in impossible positions, marshals having to stop them falling over precipices, crews running out of oxygen at the section ends board, etc. Finally, it was our turn and we have to say, this is the best section we have ever attempted, the length, sharp corners, straight bits to build up speed and the feeling of satisfaction when we (very unexpectedly) arrived at the top. After that there had to be a let-down and sure enough we just ran out of grip some way up Cutcliffe Lane. We were also still very late and not sure how near to the end of the field, so we had to press on through Sutcombe, Darracot & Crackington. It was satisfying to see so many people spectating and the cheers and encouragement are much appreciated, especially as we clawed our way through the muddy restart area at Darracot. However, the worst moment of this part was at Widemouth Bay, where I ambled into the car park in second gear and nearly got stuck in the sand – could have been very embarrassing.

Lack of grip (or the skill to find it) was the problem again at Hoskins, if the spectator’s encouragement was all it took we would have continued into earth orbit at the top, as it was we stopped just short of the restart, possibly weighed down by the excellent lunch we had just eaten at the Wilsey Down Hotel. Grip was not a problem at Bishop’s Wood where the plan was to build up speed on the straight lower section and across the track, so as to clear the two ramps; and thence to the finish. As it was the straight was longer than I remembered, so the speed was very high, the view of VW bonnet as we cleared the first ramp was not very helpful as to steering and the track slopes a fair bit so we hit the next ramp too far left and just slid out of contention, straight through all the carefully placed restart markers – sorry.

Finally Blue Hills, where we prepared by finishing the last of our refreshments at Perranporth. Last year we disappointed the spectators by taking the class 0 soft option of the old hill, but this year there was no avoiding the main event. As you descent to the start, the view of the hill opposite with ant like cars bumping over the ruts is pretty daunting, but we were encouraged by getting round the first part (Blue Hills 1), although looking at Michaels pictures there was a lot less margin than we thought at the time.

For the second part we got started well, but the car lost speed over the bumps, the little engine just couldn’t drag it any further and we stalled before the corner. Maybe a bit more skill with the clutch would have got it going again or maybe we just need a bigger engine, but there’s always next year and having spectated here for some years, just to arrive at the top as competitors (even with some help from the friendly winch) was very satisfying.

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