Author: classictrials

Dudley Dominates Clee

Dudley Sterry wins Clee Hills Trial

On paper Dudley Sterry and Adrian Dommett were joint equal on special test times, Dudley winning the trial on Special Test times. The reality is this was very much Dudley’s trial, having to contend with much tougher sections and restarts than Adrian. Yes, I know Adrian is in Class 2, but his Wolsley Hornet is more than equal to most Class 8 machines.

Dudley and Adrian totally dominated the event, each only dropping nine, compared to the 21 of their nearest challengers David Foreshew and Ross Norman.

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The Clee Hills retained its figure of eight format for 2007. Classes 0 to 5 doing the Western loop first while 6, 7 and 8 were out East to tackling Longville, Easthope The Jenny Wind etc. The weather was cold, and there was even a little snow, but it didn’t settle and the sky was clear enough for some marvellous views across the Shropshire countryside. Perhaps the biggest problem was the absence of breakfast at The Craven Arms start venue. 

The challenge for the lower classes didn’t start until the cars arrived at the forestry complex for The Priors Holt sections, starting quite logically with Priors Holt Three and going on to Priors Holt Two and One!

Priors Holt 3 was a short, sharp chute, all about restarting just before the rock steps started. First car was Giles Greenslade, who wheezed his way to the top, the Beetle engine hovering on the point when it would cough to a stop. Terry Ball applied plenty of power and flew up, with little or no wheelspin, but all the other class 4 competitors came to a halt with spinning wheels, including Emma Robilliard who was to go on to redeem herself on Priors Holt One and win Class 4. 

Class three had problems as well, only Andrew Martin, driving Stickers Escort as the Melos hasn’t been fixed after the Exeter, going clean. Nigel Green got away from the restart and came out of the top, but incurred a fail as he had straddled the box rather than having have two of his wheels between the markers. 

Simon Groves destroyed his chances of a good result when he went up the bank just after the start of Priots Holt 1 dropping 12. Without any restarts it was all rather easy for Adrian Dommett who arrived back at The Craven Arms for the lunch break clean. 

While all that was going on Dudley Sterry and Brian Osborne were having a successful Western loop, only dropping two on Easthope 2 and five on The Jenny Wind. They had a definite advantage running an early number on Flounders Folly, the first hill, as it was covered with pine needles under the trees and when these had gone it cut up into quite a morass, making it very difficult for following cars. 

In the afternoon the Beetles in class four exploited their ground clearance, Emma Robilliard added another class win to her trophy shelf when she only dropped three on Easthope 2 when Giles dropped six. In Class 3 Andrew Martin maintained his lead for a decisive class win. Adrian Dommett dropped nine in the afternoon to win his class and equalling winner Dudley Sterry score on the hills. 

Dudley Sterry maintained his advantage in the afternoon, only dropping two on Priors Holt 1, which was only cleaned by the flyweights of Dave Foreshew and Dean Partington. 

Derek Tyler was clean in the afternoon in his class 7 Baja to take the class win (in the absence of Andrew Martin?) and classes 5 and 6 were won by Gill Hayward and Mark Tooth respectively. 

Best OverallDudley Sterry (MG J2)9
Class Winners
1David Haizelden (VW Golf GTi)29
2Adrian Dommett (Wolesley Hornet)9
3Andrew Martin (Ford Escort)23
4Emma Robilliard (VW Beetle)27
5Gillian Hayward (MGB GT)65
6Mike Hobbs (VW Beetle)17
7Derek Tyler (VW Baja)30
8David Foreshew (Dingo)21

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Claire’s Clee

Flounders Folly: We got off to a good start on our first section and demolished post 12! If spectating there is safe off road parking opposite the start entrance. 

Harton Wood: Special test done in our usual super sonic speed, steady, but sure. 

Longville: Very steep re-start boxes for three different classes. This is the only trial to date that I have rocked for what seemed an eternity. Don’t know if we stopped forward movement or not but, the snails pace we crawled to the exit was painful. This is an excellent hill to watch & good for parking at the top. 

Easthope 2: This is on a disused railway track. Heard Myke Pocock broke a shaft on his Skoda Estelle. What a shame, as the trip to get back home to Carlisle in total for the day must be at least 400 miles. We struggled up the embankment to post six. 

Easthope 1: Steven Kenny (Liege Sports), a VW. and another car had to be man handled out while we were waiting. If you hit the track wrong going up it throws the vehicle off course. Keith got it right but, not enough power to get passed peg three. Great place to bring the children and the dog. Granny would enjoy it too, as there are lovely walks with stunning views. 

Harley Bank 2: For 7&8 only, we reached stick nine. Parking is OK at the foot of the section. 

Jenny Wind: Wish we had Jenny’s wind behind us as we stopped at the eight. 

Meadowley: I sat watching competitors approach the start line; I could see two potholes with exposed roots, which were now stripped of their skin by previous cars and were now polished to a glossy veneer. As usual, my mind is a blank and I never thought to tell Keith. Our back wheels slotted snugly and tightly in said holes and there we stopped for our second 12 points. 

Across the Long Mynd now. Last year was our first entry attempting the Clee and the whole day was blanketed in fog. As we crossed the cattle grid to climb the steep narrow road, the higher we got more of the dazzling sun came into view. With squinting eyes, we also saw another trials car who was also struggling with the bright sun. This is when I looked to my left and saw the magnificent scenery that stretches for miles. This made me feel quite lyrical. Words of Wordsworth and Rupert Brooke came to mind as I bathed in this glorious vista. 

It’s a fatal mistake to take your eye off the ball and I had no idea where we were when I looked back to the road. As I hadn’t said anything to Keith, he was now playing follow my leader, as was the car behind us. By now, we all knew that we were lost. The passenger in the first car kept on apologising (who shall be nameless, as they are a lovely person) and I couldn’t stop laughing. Galahads in a Nissan Micra came to our rescue. I take it all back what I have said about to day’s youth. They led us to Ratinghope special test plus, another driver out for a Sunday drive with his family who, was taken in what our sport involved followed as well!!!!! 

Phills Folly: Next I must remember to tell Keith to deflate the tyres be fore entering the farm. With all the wet weather, the field was sodden. Keith tried to stay close as he could to a parked trailer and we join everybody by slewing across the field. This and the next section, Gattens Gamble were none to challenging. 

Allez `Oop: Good climb to the summit. Felt sorry for the two marshals at the top, with being so high up and open, there was no protection from the wind and they looked frozen. Good place also for the kids for kite flying but, not the Granny as it is far too cold. As we passed through the exit gate, I needed a call of nature. Nipped into the edge of the forest and having to strip naked from waist to knees to do the necessary (the joys of being a woman) and in the squat position I thought I was going to die from hypothermia. The wind chill factor was like knives in my derrière. Resuscitation soon kicked when I saw three Beetles approaching the gate. No, I don’t mean the insect variety but the VW’s of Messer’s. Looker, Tooth & Sargeant. My strides were soon pulled up! 

Priors Holt 3: Michael Leete and Mike Hayward were marshalling here and they looked frozen too. As we flew passed the last post and took off over a hump, we landed into a hidden dip with such a thump. The recoil threw us both hard back in our seats. 

Priors Holt 2: Can’t remember how far we climbed. Keith said we cleared. 

Priors Holt 1: Charged up to peg six. 

Round Oak: A small notice behind the start line marshal stated “car-eating trench on the left”. Last year this section was not used due to a sick horse in the next field. We finished as dead as a donkey in the trench. Something else I must remember to tell Keith next year, not to deflate the tyres but, pump them up as high as a dumper truck. Marshals were kept busy here towing out cars from the car-eating trench. At the top we saw our friend Steve Heath who, travelled from Rugby with us to spectate. At signing on he was told they were short of marshals so, he volunteered to help out. He was covered from head to foot in mud and frozen too. The only down side was, there was no hot food at the start or finish. Thomas Aldrian, who dropped out from doing the trial due to flu, decided to recuperate by being control marshal at Meadowley. Told us there is a café next to the Craven Arms. This is more to remember to tell Keith next year. 

Big thanks to the organisers and marshals who made this trial run like clock work

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Exeter 2007

Mud and Gold

The forecast predicted a wet Exeter and the weather god did not disappoint. The rain started just before dawn and continued through the morning, making many of the sections pretty slippy. Simms wasn’t as challenging as it can be and there were more than sixty clean sheets between the bikes and cars.

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There were a few notable non-starters. Both Peter Manning and Keith Pettit had medical problems and in class 0 Kevin Barnes found his Singers fuel tank leaking just before the start. There were some problems on the way to the start too. Ed Nikel had cooling problems with his Dellow and decided to remove the thermostat. Meanwhile Keith Oakes was hearing horrible noises from his rear end and was worried about the diff. 

Meerhay was first on the agenda. It only stopped three cars, including Trevor Hardcastle and Nick Wollett in Marlin and Dellow respectively, both of whom were to retire later in the event. This is a long hill and its hard to recover any time lost through delays. Later numbers experienced up to an hours wait, just as the rain was starting! 

After the very straightforward Gatcombe Lane, where even class 0 had a go, came the infamous woods at Bovey Downs. Unfortunately, Clerk of the Course Tim Whellock had to cancel Normans Hump on the eve of the trial as logging operations had made the section too much of a quagmire for the section to be used. 

Clinton waited just up the track. This is normally regarded as easier than Normans Hump, but a tricky restart for class eight caught out Ross Nuten and both the Reg Taylor and Geoff Jacksons Dellow re-creations of Ed Nikel and Mike Pearson. From the same stable Geoff Hodge got away cleanly in the RDT, after earlier dramas when the horn failed at scruitineering and the bouncer knocked off the cut-out switch on the approach to Gatcombe Lane. Clinton didn’t prove to much of a problem to the non-restarters but it stop some of the Lieges. Bill Rosten was given a fail but this was corrected later so he’s still on for a triple.

Coming out of Bovey Woods Waterloo waited just across the road, but not before Simon Groves had to fix his first puncture of the day. This is one of those hills that is easy to fail unless you get everything just right. Barrie Parker had problems getting the big Audi 80 around the tight right hander which was shame as it was his only fail of the day. John Sawle retired here with gearbox failure, the Achilles heel on a Liege. Perhaps it didn’t take to kindly to the extra power from the supercharger. 

Neither Plyford or Higher Rill claimed many scalps, but those damn Indians are cunning and laid in wait in Otterton Woods for Colin Sumner (VW) and Ross Nuten who were ambushed on the Bulverton restart. 

The breakfast stop at Exeter Services came next on the agenda. But not for Owen Ingram and Tim Williams who were still trying to extract their Class 0 V8 Marlin from the trees after the Stretes special test where it had slipped way off the road down a bank. 

Tillerton was to provide Ian Davis’s toughest moment on the trial when he had to work hard to get off the class 7 and 8 restart and the marshals gave Ross a fail here for allegedly over running the line. 

The speed Hill Climb at Fingle was enjoyed by all, but not so the battle ground that awaited for many at Wooston Steep. New charges for the traditional access track had forced Tim W to use a new approach, involving a steep and slippery descent. All competitors, including the class 0’s, even though they had a separate section, used this. It proved pretty hairy and finally Wendy Wood’s Class 0 Subaru Justy slipped over, fortunately without serious injury to the occupants. After this officials re-routed competitors down the normal exit road for blues and whites. There was two-way traffic until the approach went straight past the bank where the blues and whites emerged from their section, down the Class 0 section the wrong way to the normal starting area. 

Classes one to six had their normal deviation to the left before the steep bank. Their section wasn’t too challenging, provided you took the correct route! A number of competitors didn’t, including the experienced Michael Collins in his Golf, who tried to go straight on up the steep bit before realising his error, exactly the same mistake as two years before! Falcon’s Ross Nuten also went wrong here, turning left instead of going straight on up the bank. These two were some of several, and although the instructions in the route card were clear it wasn’t so obvious where to go when you got there, so perhaps there should be arrows in the future. 

The restart itself wasn’t difficult to get away from, the challenge was the steep bank after the deviation. The ruts were full of leaves and mud and the early numbers couldn’t find any grip. Each car went a bit further cleaning things out for those following, until finally Mike Pearson, a master at finding grip where there isn’t any, got through the difficult bit and reached the summit. It became easier and towards the end of the field, many in 7 and 8 cruised up like it was a motorway, although the Lieges with their comparatively low powered engines all failed. Had they not already retired it would have been interesting to see how John Sawle or Mark Worsfeld would have faired in their more powerful versions or Simon Robson if he had been running at the back of the field instead of towards the front. 

Simms has definitely become easier after the repair work by Roger Ugalde and his team and it didn’t claim its usual crop of failures. The biggest cheer of the day went to Steve Potter who coaxed his Trojan to the summit. It is absolutely amazing what Steve and John Wilton do in their fantastic cars. 

Only the rather rough sections at Tipley and Slippery Sam were left now. Both were easily on provided you had a suitable vehicle and took care but could still catch the unwary as Geoff Hodge discovered on Tipley when he misjudged the restart and wheel spin set in.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Allen Trial

Adrian Marfell Wins Allen Trial

Adrian was one of six drivers with a clean sheet, pipping Andrew Martin by a second on the special tests to take overall victory. Andrew looks pretty unassailable in the Wheelspin. In the Crackington Dave Haizelden’s win puts him in front of Simon Groves who could only mange fourth in class after dropping eight on Big Uplands.

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Best OverallAdrian Marfell (VW Special)0
Class Winners
1David Haizelden (VW Golf GTi)0
2Bill Bennett (MG J2)0
3Sticker Martin (Ford Escort)0
4Emma Robilliard (VW Beetle)1
5Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS1)1
6Mike Hobbs (VW Beetle)17
7Andrew Martin (Dutton Melos)0
8Adrian Marfell (VW Special)0

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Peter Mountains Allen

Peter took part in both the Mechanic’s and Allen Trial’s. Here is his report:-

MECHANICS TRIAL

Mike Young passengered for me in the Stroud and District MC’s Mechanics Trial.   Two big chaps is quite cosy in a Dellow.

I only realised on Thursday that this was a Saturday trial and not a Sunday event, so I very nearly arrived 24 hours late.

No grip in wet mud was a problem so we finished in the bottom half of the field in what was a most enjoyable trial organized very slickly.   Shame that the entry was not larger but that helped to reduce delays to the minimum.   They must have plenty of suitable bye-roads around Stroud; I was impressed that we only used one or two hills that were used in the Cotswold Clouds.

As Ted Holloway has reported we all stopped at 11am for 2 minutes silence for Armistice Day.

Mike Young puts a huge effort into bouncing Peter’s Dellow up Greenway lane in this picture by Dave Cook.

ALLEN TRIAL

Two weeks later Jim and I entered the Bristol MC’s Allen Trial.   Same story, too little grip in the mud despite a pair of new tyres, but I did get off a tricky restart at Guys Hill that Dudley Sterry did not manage, which made up a bit for my mediocre result.

At the start of the Uplands sections there were large deep puddles where many cars had to bale water out from inside when they stopped and there were a few misfiring engines as well.

Ubley Woods was a bit of a fiasco from my point of view, no grip, no steering, lots of points.   Pete Hart had to do a bit of sorting out and the two hills in the muddy steeply sloping field were divided amongst the classes, keeping the delays down to the minimum.

Dave Wall did very well in his “brand new” blue Dellow Mk 1 on 18” rear wheels; he was 4th in class 8, beating experts like Dudley Sterry and Ian Davis in the process.

I need to do some modifications before the Exeter to try to improve the grip in the mud.

Falcon members participating were Simon Groves (Escort) 4th in class 3, Keith Oakes (Dutton) 7th in class 7, and in class 8 Ian Davis 7th, Geoff Hodge (RDT) 11th, Peter Mountain (Dellow) 14th, John Parsons (Buggy) 15th and Mike Pearson (Dellow Rep) 16th. 

Peter and Jim Mountain ease the Dellow up Bug Uplands in this picture by Dave Cook.

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John Parsons Allen

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

OS2Haven HillOn time, no delay/problem. Clean
 
OS3Clough WoodOn time, long delay (1.30mins) Marshals had no contact with section end. Deep rutted but plenty of grip. Clean.
 
OS4Deep RakeNearly back on time. Section no problem. Clean.
 
ST1Deep RakeFirst chance to try out improvement to engine performance. Felt great. 11.6 secs.
 
OS5Litton SlackArrived 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.
 
OS7CaltonNo 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.
 
OS8HaydaleRuts after start. Deeper and rougher than last year. Restart lower and not so slippery. Clean
.
OS9HaggsideArrived 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.
 
OS10BamfordOnly 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.
 
OS11Great HucklowIn 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.
 
OS12King SterndaleNow only 1hr 30 behind schedule. No problem.
 
OS13Rakes HeadStill 1hr 30 behind. Jonathon Toulmin running start. No problem.
 
OS14ExcelsiorThis 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.
 
SS2MoneystonesLittle cautious on muddy track, didn’t want to throw a gold away by overrunning the astride lines. OK.
 
FinishBull I’th Thorn 5.28PM. lhr 10mins behind schedule. Claim Gold
 

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

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.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

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!

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