Author: classictrials

Peter Mountain – Cars I Have Owned

This piece was conceived about a year ago, when I first saw Peter Mountain’s Morgan. I had often admired his well-prepared Skoda and knew he was re-building a Dellow, but when I saw that Morgan I just had to know more about car and driver.

Peter Mountain
Peter on Crackington in his Morgan in the 1990 Lands End
Peter Mountain splashing his way through the ford at the foot of Bareleg in his Skoda on the 1994 Edinburgh.

Peter’s first car was a 1937 Austin Ten, which he bought for the proverbial fifteen quid. It was a horrible thing, in terrible condition. Foot flat on the floor it would reach fifty but the reality was you actually daren’t drive it over forty, it was so un-stable! An Armstrong Siddeley Lanchester was next. It had a Wilson pre-selector gear box, the same as was used in the ERA’s. It had six cylinder’s and hydraulic tappets but like the Austin Ten it didn’t last very long and followed it to the local scrap yard. Then came a series of Escorts and an ex Evening Standard Minivan before the Morgan arrived.

Peter acquired XMY 238 in 1968, after seeing an ad in the Exchange and Mart. He was running around in the Minivan and had planed to use the Morgan as his regular road car. However, although the car looked nice it was quite evil. It had lived a hard life, everything was worn out, to the extent that Peter had to change the engine the next day. Once this was done Peter used it regularly for a year or two, driving it on the road and competing in trials and sprint’s, before acquiring a company car, whereupon XMY 238 disappeared into the garage for a quick two week chassis change! The old one had become rather rusty, a common fate for the early cars, as the steel used for the chassis was pretty appalling and they didn’t last very long. A brand spanking new frame was obtained from Malvern Link for the princely sum of £65. Just one small thing, the two weeks expanded rather, into an eleven year re-build!

As you can imagine, the car has had many alterations and modifications over the years. It now has cycle type front wings (acquired from the same source as Dudley Sterry’s), disc brakes, a modified TR4 engine, radial tyres,15 inch wheels and numerous chassis modifications. Some of these changes offend the purest members of the Morgan club, but they were quite normal modifications in the late sixties and early seventies, around the time that Plus Four production ceased. However, they do mean that this old car is quite fast on the road and is well able to hold it’s own in modern traffic.

Peter got into trials when he drove by Milk Hall Farm on the way home from a Veteran Car run a couple of years before. He saw something interesting was going on and went in to have a look. He got chatting to Mike Furse, who talked him into doing an MCC trial, and the rest is history! Peter used the Morgan in PCT’s, Classic’s and Sprints for several years, before and after the re-build. In the early 90’s he did all three of the MCC events one year. But the hill’s were getting rougher and he was concerned about the way the underside was getting knocked about. Peter particularly remembers the ruts on Waterloo. Smash, smash, smash. The cross member is still banana shaped after the experience! The problem is that the suspension movement is so limited.

The car is raised an inch and a half at the front and two inches at the back, but it has so much overhang at the back that the tail is still extremely vulnerable. The final straw came when the diff and the gearbox broke on Bamford. The diff wasn’t to much of a problem but the Morgan uses the same Moss gearbox as an XK120. Bits are very hard to find and are very expensive when  you do locate them. Peter managed to find another box but it had a high bottom gear that was not suitable for trials. This prompted him to decide that the Classic’s were now to rough for such an old lady and he bought a Skoda.

The Morgan still comes out for selected PCT’s and the occasional autotest when it is driven with great verve! Future plans for the car include hill climbs and Peter rather fancies the Manx Classic. However XMY 238 will need another engine, as the present one is now very tired .

Before we leave Morgans it’s interesting to hear that Peter was responsible for introducing Rob Wells, the well-known Morgan racer and London dealer, to trialling. They went to the same school so they go back a long way. Peter has team managed the Morgan team at some of the long distance relay races, including the 24 hour event at Snetterton which they won, only to be disqualified afterwards. Rob and Peter have shared quite a few motorsport experiences, including driving a Beetle on the Lands End. Then they shared a left hand drive Plus 4 for a couple of years. This was a Fiat engined car that they built up from a pile of bits.

There have been two Skoda’s. The first was an  Orange one, acquired in 1993 and used by James as a road car. It was then turned into a trials machine, but was totally gutless with it’s standard engine. They got hold of a rally prepared motor and de-tuned it a bit but the cam is still a bit hairy. Later the mechanical’s were moved into another shell that forms the basis of the current car. The gearbox has broken a couple of times but otherwise Peter reckons it’s pretty robust. Over the time he has had the Skoda he has developed the it considerably. He’s removed the anti-roll bar to give a bit more suspension movement at the front and there are some hush-hush tweaks at the swing axle end back end. Recently the car engine has been de-tuned even more in search of more torque. It’s fitted with a 40 DCOE Weber that now has quite small chokes to make it more tractable.

Peter has had his Dellow for about two years. He doesn’t know much about the history of this particular car. It’s a Mk 1 chassis, no 35, and was already fitted with a brand new 1600 Crossflow. Theoretically it was practically ready to run but Peter wasn’t happy with a lot of the workmanship and decided to give it a compete re-build. According to the MCC programs it was last trialled in 1986. It was also used in speed events, for the purpose of which it had the main cross tube cut out, so the engine could be set lower in the frame. So the first thing Peter did was to replace it, as the chassis was a bit flexible to say the least!

Peter has had his Dellow for about two years. He doesn’t know much about the history of this particular car. It’s a Mk 1 chassis, no 35, and was already fitted with a brand new 1600 Crossflow. Theoretically it was practically ready to run but Peter wasn’t happy with a lot of the workmanship and decided to give it a compete re-build. According to the MCC programs it was last trialled in 1986. It was also used in speed events, for the purpose of which it had the main cross tube cut out, so the engine could be set lower in the frame. So the first thing Peter did was to replace it, as the chassis was a bit flexible to say the least!

Full Chat – Peter autotesting XMY at a Falcon autotest at Upper Caldecote in the summer of 1998
Taking good care of the old car on the 1989 Testing Trial
Peter sprinting XMY 238 at Curborough in 1988

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Derek Fleming’s Primrose

Our birthday run re-united original “Falconer” team member Derek Fleming with his old trials car Primrose. Derek and his fellow team members, Tucker and Ron Warren were a very successful combination, winning the MCC team award on several occasions.

“Trials Specials” were very much all round machines. Like most drivers Derek used to go autocrossing in the summer.

THE STORY OF PRIMROSE IS QUITE FASCINATING. Back in the 60’s Derek was in the motor trade when Tucker talked him into competing in the Lands End with a brand new Minx. A look underneath afterwards showed Derek how unsuitable this particular car was for trialling! The poor old petrol tank and underside were looking decidedly second-hand after their battering on the Cornish rocks.

Derek on Simms in 1954. He was awarded a second.

While looking at the damage to the Minx Derek found out a pal had smashed up his XK 120. He acquired the wreck, but the only usable bit was the bonnet. Derek had often talked about building a trials special but had never actually got round to starting it. Then one day he came back from lunch to find his mechanics had propped up the XK bonnet and laid out four wheels and an axle round it, and that’s how Primrose started. It isn’t just the bonnet that makes the old car so distinctive. Derek also built her with independent front suspension which was very unusual at the time.

The parts came from a Standard 10. Primrose is very well made. The wings are beautifully finished with rolled wired edges. The rear lights are another nice feature. When Derek finished the car the chassis stuck out from the body a bit so he wanted to set the rear lights back. The delectable looking housings are in fact cut down oil filter canister cylinders! Another nice touch is the rear number plate. It looks frightfully low and vulnerable. Until you realise it is hinged, rising out of harms way when the ruts come along.

In between the Hillman and Primrose Derek campaigned a two seater Ford. Seen here on Darracott in 1956

How did the car get its name? Originally Derek entered it as a Ford special. Having built the car in his spare time his wife had been left on her own a lot. They were looking forward to spending time together on the events, but when the first one came along his wife wasn’t at all thrilled. It was a cold Lands End, and the car didn’t have a heater yet. But when the day dawned and they were going down all those narrow Cornish lanes all the Primroses were out in the hedges. The Secretary of the event, Jack Davis must have heard them talking about it because although Derek entered the next event as a “Ford Special” the Secretary put “Primrose” on the entry list and the name stuck.

When Derek was building the car people often asked him what colour he was going to paint it. Something exciting like British Racing Green? No “nothing gaudy” said Derek “just plain old yellow and black” So when he finished it he had to paint it yellow and black. Derek is delighted that Primrose is still active, so many other specials were left to languish under a tree and rust away. Although Derek still owns her Primrose has been on loan to Neil Bray for many years. Neil fitted a modern cross flow engine and a roll bar, using the old car on the classics for many years before going class four with a Skoda on some events to avoid the re-starts!

Primrose under construction
In action on Stretes in 1960

The barbecue after the run gave Derek and Ron Warren the opportunity to reminisce about their competition career. Derek won the Guy Fawkes in Primrose one year and also the Badderely on the Lands End a number of times.

The Falconers after Tucker had started to campaign an Anglia Estate while the “Tucker-MG” was re-built. In fact he never drove his special again. In the centre is Ron Warren with his Dellow

Ron remembers when you had to register as a triple contender. Ron got three first class awards one year but no triple because he hadn’t registered. Reggie Marrions was Club Captain and stood no nonsense, rules are rules. Then Ron recalled one Exeter when the engine of his Dellow cried enough and he took it to a local garage. The mechanics fell on the car and quickly removed the engine. They had to fit a new piston and four exchange con-rods. Ron missed a section by about ten minutes but went on to do the rest of the trial.

Tucker looking on while Derek is presented with the Vice-Presidents trophy.

Ron and Derek talked about another Falcon members special “The Lawford”. This was a real fly-weight that challenged Derek in Primrose on one Guy Fawkes. It was built by Mike Lawrence and “Lawford” came from “The Lawrence-Ford Special”. They were both clean on the sections but Derek was quicker on the special tests. He reckoned it was all down to his gear ratios Mike had a box from and “eight” while Derek’s was from a “ten”. It was super to see car and builder reunited again. Derek certainly enjoyed himself. Who knows we may yet see him on another Lands End.

These days Primrose is looked after by Neil Bray. Here pictured taking good care of the old car!
Derek checking Primrose out at tea on the run.

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Manx Trial

Clive Booth and John Allsop fixing a pucture.
  • Best Overall (0 points) Roger Bricknell (Vincent MPH)
  • Class 0 (19) John Quenby (MG TC)
  • 1 (11) Terry Coventry (Citroen AX)
  • 2 (0) Barry Clarke (Austin Grotty Chummy)
  • 3 (0) Paul Bartleman (Ford Escort)
  • 4 (0) Richard Peck (VW Beetle)
  • 6 (5) John Sargeant (VW Beetle)
  • 7 (5) Bob Saunders (Imp)
  • 8 (0) Brian Cope (The Peugeot Shuttle)
1998_manx_results_routeDownload

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Kyrle win for Adrian Dommett

Five Falcons took part in the Ross clubs end of term frolic in the Forest of Dean. It had been raining heavily during the week and the hills were in prime condition. It was mainly sunny on the day, but there were a few showers. These made the running order important and affected the results quite a bit, catching David Alderson while he was waiting for Water Works, and he couldn’t get up the bank on to the main track. If he had David would have been the overall winner. However, we had the consolation of a well-earned class win by Neil Bray, after numerous punctures.

Neil Bray stuffs his Skoda into Simon Robsons wall on Deep Dean 2

Neil Bray’s first challenge was to get his Skoda through scruitineering and with John West in charge this was no mean feat! It’s John who advised Dave Nash that the Skeetle was a class eight, even though it complies with the rules for seven and there are some far more extreme motors in the class. (Yes I know this is supposed to be an event report, but your favourite column has to keep it’s reputation for controversy and have a little stir now and again. Perhaps we could have some letters on the subject!)

   Once we were underway there was a long road run to the first group of hills, starting with Burnbrae, which had a diversion for blue and white. Even so it was no walk over and Murray MacDoanld couldn’ t negotiate the slippery hairpin. Simon Robson got round OK and cleaned the hill, his celebrations echoing through the trees! Neil made it, as did Frank Burton’s Skoda, but Giles Greenslade’s was the only successful Beetle.

   Andrews Alley was a few hundred yards up the track. This steep and muddy horror defeated most of the  lower classes but was cleaned by the competitive six, seven and eight’s. The dreaded Jill was next on the route card. Fortunately for mere mortals logging operations had made it inaccessible, to be replaced by a milder affair called Jackson. This wasn’t a pussycat though, long, muddy and rutted, you really needed to keep the power hard on, there wasn’t any fear of going off course, the ruts saw to that! Simon ran out of puff and grip by the four but the other Falcons cleaned it OK.

   Then it was across the road to a special test marshalled by Simon Harris, who has competed on some of our PCT’s in a Golf GTi. Pludds was next, a steep rocky slope that defeated Murray and Neil. Simon made up for his Jackson’s debacle with a clean and so did Michael, despite a re-start, from which Mike Hayward bounced the Beetle away in fine style.

   The next group of sections lay at the end of a couple of miles of well-made forest road. It was easy to imagine Colin McRae blasting down here in a glorious four wheel drift. Dream it had to be as the spoil sport organisers had imposed a 15 mph speed limit! Neither Snompers nor Tomlin Splash troubled any of the Falcons, although Simon was docked six on the latter, presumably because he stopped! It’s now down to our Mr Robson to convince the organisers that he ground to a halt after the section ends board. If he does he will take the second in class award away from Matthew Sharratt.

   The half way halt at Wenchford picnic area saw some frantic work to put a new tube in one of Michael Leete’s tyres, punctured on the second special test. It was left to Neil to complete the job and as a result the pair left the stop near the back of the field. They were to drop further behind when one of Neils tubeless tyres left the rim on the slippery track up to Cuddleigh Bank and the bag jack kept slipping out from under the Skoda. The section itself was pretty horrific, very steep and slippery and only climbed by a couple of competitors, including our own David Alderson. David then proceeded to make the only successful climb of Lambswell to lead the trial. This was a really difficult ascent through the trees. It was very muddy and rutted but unfortunately not that steep at the bottom, allowing cars to build up a fair bit of speed. The problem was that there were some frightful bumps about half way up. They threw a couple of the faster motors out of the ruts and into the trees, including Murray MacDonald, to the detriment of the Beetles bodywork.

   By now the later numbers were seeing some rain and this caused a major problem at Water Works as it made the lower part pretty impossible. It trapped David Alderson, he couldn’t get up the first bank, dropping twelve, which cost him the trial. Lane End came next, appropriately named as is at the end of a long muddy lane. The route card said that the hill had reverted to the original three-hairpin climb on ruts and rocks. This was academic for many competitors as the first corner was very tight and muddy and they under-steered straight on into the trees. David got round OK, and went on to clean the hill, but the rest of the Falcons failed at the twelve and Neil Bray picked up another puncture in the process. The inflatable jack got another fit of the sulks, so Michael Leete’s trolley jack was pressed into service again. By the time things were sorted out the other competitors had gone by and the two Falcon crews were running last on the road.

   There was a sizeable delay at High Garlic and this gave Neil and Marc the opportunity to put tubes into the two dead tubeless tyres. The hill is another long, straight climb through the trees, with some nice deep ruts to keep you on the straight and narrow. Last year Murray had problems at the start and his Beetle slipped sideways to fail before the proper hill began. He did a bit better this year, but couldn’t make the summit and had to reverse down. The other Falcons did better and scored cleans.

   Deep Dean’s one and two provided the finale. “Two” is the one with the hairpin at the end with Simon Robson’s wall ready to trap the unwary. The hairpin was pretty slippery and it was hard to stop the car under-steering in the mud. It was possible to get round as David and Murray proved. Neil gave the Skoda everything as usual but to no avail. The front wheels skated over the mire and Neil and Marc powered the Czech wonder into Robsons wall. Then it was back to Ross on Wye to sign off and head for home. An enjoyable event, pretty well organised, tough but not as fearsome as its reputation. Congratulations to Neil Bray on winning class four and commiseration’s to David Alderson on the win slipping away at Water Works. But as David himself says, class eight is very competitive and I am sure Adrian Dommett thoroughly deserved his victory.

  • Kyrle Trophy (6 marks lost) – Adrian Dommett (Ford 100E s/c) 
  • Classes 1 + 2 (53) – David Haizelden (VW Golf GTi)
  • 3 (41) – Paul Bartleman (Escort Estate)
  • 4 + 5 (52) – Neil Bray (Skoda)
  • 6 (17) – Nigel Allen (VW Beetle)
  • 7 (11) – Roger Bricknell (Vincent MPH)
  • 8 (11) – Mick Workman (Golden Valley Special)
1998_kyrle_results_routeDownload

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11 April 1998 – Lands End Trial

There was a high rate of Falcon attrition on the Lands End, with nearly half of us non-starting or retiring. Those who made it to the end thought it was an enjoyable event. A little tougher than the last few years, with some rugged road conditions over Exmoor to add to the challenge.At this stage all the results are not to hand, but it looks as if Neil Bray, Peter Mountain and Geoff Jackson were best Falcons with Silvers.

Neil Bray about to assult Crackington in front of his Falcon clubmates who were marshalling the hill. The yellow Beetle behind looks familiar!
Simon Robson on Bluehills 1
drowning out on Trescowe Lane 
The editor of your favourite column on the prom at the Penzance Special Test

The weather was pretty rough in the week preceding the event, with heavy rain and floods in the Midlands. The West country escaped lightly but the weather forecast threatened snow, and they were right! The bad weather meant that David Alderson couldn’t join the Falcon marshalling team on Crackington, as the river Ouse was threatening to break its banks at Olney. However, we had a strong presence on the hill, adding to Falcons reputation in the trials world.

    Mike and Sheila Furse were first car on the road, starting from Exeter as did Reg Taylor and Bill Rule who planned to make a week of it. Brian Alexander was our other Exeter Starter, but had to retire on the run-in to Sparkford. Brian had fitted a new gearbox since the Exe Valley and had changed the rear oil seal on the engine as a precaution. By the time he got to Taunton on the run-in the oil light was on, the Fiat had busily pumped its life-blood through the new seal, which was either faulty or the wrong size. Brian topped up with oil but, after using two gallons in five miles, had to retire for the fifth event in a row!

    Stuart and Andrew Cairney were non-starters as they couldn’t get their new carburettor set-up finished in time. Ian Davis didn’t start. Neither did Alan Bellamy in the Brasilia after a carburettor fire on the way to the start. Chris Bonnett had fitted new front wheel bearings during the week. However, by the time he got to Popham they were making quite. After soliciting a second opinion from Geoff Jackson he decided to give the event a go.

    The merging control was at the Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford, where there was time for a coffee and browse around the bookshop. Later Falcons were greeted by Mike Pearson and Verdun Webley, who called in on their way down to Crackington to wish them luck . Simon Robson was unlucky in his quest to find a book on Tempest gearboxes, but was seen leaving with a Haynes manual for a Reliant Kitten under his arm.

    The Jolly Diner caf‚ was the venue for a late supper or early breakfast, depending on your view. Michael/Mike and Simon/Matt arrived in convoy with Neil/Marc. After scruitineering the first two crews went into the caf‚ waited twenty minutes for their meal, ate it, and still no sign of Neil. He was still in the scruitineering bay discussing Skoda’s with Alan Foster! 
Finally he arrived, the contest still undecided after ten rounds!

    Finally it was off into the night to tackle Sugg Lane and Felons Oak. Sugg Lane didn’t present any difficulty despite the usual re-start. But Felons Oak was to prove to much for Tom Goggins diff and it wilted under the strain. Tom just happened to find one amongst his spares in the boot and fixed it, but was to late to carry-on. However, he did go on down to Newquay for the week-end. Stoney Street was not to difficult, but Beggars was to catch a few, including Chris Bonnett and Michael Leete who couldn’t get his Beetle off the re-start, despite his super-low diff.

    Then it was up onto Exmoor to battle through the snow. Mike Furse was trailblazing for the cars and was quite horrified to see some of the tracks from the preceding motorcycles leading into the ditches and hedges that lined the road. Fortunately the riders all seemed to have survived to fight another day. The difficult conditions were a blessing in one way. It’s a fifty mile road section from Beggars to Sutcombe, the longest run on the trial, and normally it’s a battle to stay awake at this time of the morning. No opportunity to loose concentration and nod off this time! Sutcombe was easy enough but the weather was foul and most competitors pressed on rather than stop and socialise over a cup of tea served from one of the back doors up in the village.

    The route then followed the traditional path to Darracott, down the track to what is normally the Hobbs Choice Special Test, but not this year, it was just a geeen lane. There had been warnings of the track being very rough but it was like a motorway compared to the  ACTC trials in Devon! There were no delays at Darracott this time. The last two years have seen massive delays while competitors with broken transmissions have been dragged out. Last year it was Brian Alexander, the year before Simon Robson! The hill itself was pretty straightforward this year, with no particular problems on the restart. It seemed the rain had washed all the mud away.

    If Daracott was easy Cutliffe Lane certainly wasn’t. It was smooth enough but it was pretty slippery and grip was at a premium. Mike Furse and Jonathan Baggott were the first cars, having swapped the “lead” job back an forth so far. Mike gave it everything, but ran out of grip around three quarters of the way up. This was the storey for most of the entry. There were exceptions. Several of the West Country Escorts climbed out the top, including Bricknell Junior in his 1300cc Escort and David Heale with 5psi in the rears of his Estate, with no tubes or bolts. According to David tubes are horrible things, they just get all pinched up! I must confess I’m a bit sketchy about how Reg, Geoff and Clive got on but I believe Geoff got out the top OK. Our Skoda trio all lost their clean sheets here. Peter Mountain in particular had given his Czech wonder no mercy and his passenger, Morgan exponent John Timms, was quite amazed how it stood up to the punishment.

    The Bude Special Test was another one of these car park affairs that you reached after dodging the kamikaze Saturday shoppers. The weather was still awful, so the marshals didn’t exactly have to fight off hordes of spectators, fighting to get the autographs of their Lands End hero’s. This one rated a definite thumbs down. Come back Hobbs Choice, all is forgiven. If Bude was a bore that couldn’t be said for Crackington. Falcon’s approached the famous hill with trepidation, after all they were going to have to strut their stuff in front of their clubmates. It looked easy enough at the bottom, but then it always does. As we know the challenge comes further up when you hit the “doctored” section. Mike Furse came first. The bikes all had problems and he was now running about an hour and a quarter behind schedule. Mike nudged the Racecorp into the re-start box, stopped and let the clutch out. To no avail, the mean green machine took exception to being asked to drive into the morass, and coughed to a stop. By the time Reg came along things were easier, as there were some wheel-tracks through the clagg and he got through OK, and so did Geoff Jackson.

    Peter Mountain gave his Skoda everything but it ran out of grunt and came to a stop. By the time the “New Falconers” came along it had started to rain and believe it or not the hill became easier (according to our marshals). The other two Skoda’s got through OK. Neil with plenty to spare and Simon with a struggle. Michael Leete and Dave Nash both had re-starts. They got away OK but neither built-up enough speed and needed the help of Pete Stafford’s winch to gain the summit. Classes’ one and two had been spared the exertions of Crackington. It didn’t make much difference to Chris Bonnett as his Peugeots wheel bearings finally cried enough at the top of Trewold and he had to retire.

    After Treworld came the obligatory hours wait at the St Kitts concentration camp. I know it’s been said before but does anyone know a colder, more miserable and god forsaken place? Then it was down the A30 to Cardingham Woods for Hoskins, a steep muddy forest track with a doctored section higher up. The Yellows and Reds also had a re-start to spice things up. Mike and Sheila Furse were still path-finding at the head of the field. Their Racecorp was running really well and the only time they opened the bonnet was to give the electric’s a squirt of WD40 before the Treworld ford. They still fell foul of Hoskins and were the first Falcon to register a fail. So did all the rest, bar two notable exceptions. Peter Mountain and Neil Bray. Well-done Skoda boys, no, you didn’t have a re-start but it was still an achievement.

    Then it was another A30 run to reach Bluehills. “One” looked a bit different. The stones on the step back to the road were clear of  mud and very polished and it looked as if the track had been narrowed, or was this an illusion. Falcon competitors had to perform in front of their clubmates again. Mike, Arnold and Verdun had driven down from Crackington and were joined by Martin Shepherd, Stuart and Andrew Cairney and Mike Clarke who were out spectating. Mike Furse and Michael Leete both had problems with “One”. Mike nearly hit the bank and only just got round. Michael went too far to the left and hit a rock, to the detriment of the bodywork. Then he didn’t turn until far too late and couldn’t get round the corner.

    “Two” wasn’t to difficult this year and to the best of my knowledge all the surviving Falcon’s cleaned it OK. The real Bluehills hero’s were definitely the spectators. It was very cold at the top. A viscous wind was blowing a mixture of gravel and hail off the sea and it was extremely unpleasant. So after a few words to spectating Falcons it was off again, to Flambards or Trungle Mill, depending on your class. Trungle Mill didn’t present any problems to the blues and yellows, but Flambards was a different story for the yellows and reds and we had several failures. It rises straight from the road and there wasn’t much space to sort out the tyres at the bottom. Unfortunately the start was on a steep gradient and it was very difficult to build up the necessary speed on the polished stones.

    The final observed section was Robsons Folly. This used to be known as Trescowe Lane but after Simon drowned out in the ford for the second year the marshals have renamed the hill! The others made it OK. However, most people agree that this wind through the trees, without any appreciable gradient, has no place on the Lands End. The trial finished on the promenade at Penzance with a special test. Then it was just a case of a meal and a welcome bed before the drive home the next day. Yes a tough Lands End but a very enjoyable one. Commiseration’s to our non-starters and retirements. Well done to Geoff Jackson, Peter Mountain and Neil Bray who look like getting Silvers.

Peter Mountain rounding the top bend on Bluehills 2

CRACKINGTON CAPERS

    We had another strong team of marshals on the Lands End, providing most of the man (and woman) power on Crackington. Andrea Lane was taking care of radio communications at the holding control. Fred and Arnold were observing on the hill while Pete, Mike and Verdun were on the winch. Pete had the dirtiest and most tiring job, dragging the cable down through nine inches of clay and kneeling down to connect it up to the towing hook. Verdun was higher up doing the un-hooking while Mike was directing the winch man who was un-sighted.

CONTINUED CRACKINGTON CAPERS

    Our team arrived on the hill before six, greeted by evidence of fresh doctoring. Several loads of wet clay had been dumped on the upper reaches. It had been smoothed over, but was still up to a foot deep in places. The course opening Frontera got stuck and Chief Official Ian Bates even thought of calling the section off, but compromised by moving the re-start down the hill and cancelling it for car classes one and two.

    Our Falconers enjoyed themselves, despite Mike Pearson having a stiff shoulder and Arnold Lane suffering a nasty nose bleed. Many of the Bikers were real maniacs, charging the clag but nearly all coming to a sticky end. Amongst the cars Pete Stafford thought the Escorts were tremendous, their hot motors screaming as they powered through. The super star was naturally Super Dud, seemingly gliding over the top of the crud on his 20 inch wheels with the blower howling. Dennis (our hero) Greenslade made it to the top in fine style, but retired soon after with around 20 degrees of negative camber on one of his wheels.

    Out team definitely had the best hill with lots of action. Nearly all the bikes failed and so did sixty of the cars. They parted tired but happy after nearly ten hours toil. Fred and Pete went home and were in the pub by eight! Mike, Verdun, Andrea and Arnold went to watch the fun at Bluehills and stayed overnight at Newquay.

Arnold Lane chatting to Neil Bray at Bluehills. Arnold had spent most of the day marshalling on Crackington with Andrea and the rest of the Falcon team.
1998_lands_end_resultsDownload

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Exe Valley Trial 1998

Overall victory went to Dudley Sterry in his venerable MG J2. Murray MacDonald won his class on a wet and exciting, Exe Valley. Brian Alexander had the misfortune to break his gearbox on the last section.

Falcons and Fiats awaiting the Death Destruction Derby. Sorry! Exe Valley Trial.
Super Mac on Drayford 2. One of only two hills he didn’t clean.
Michael Warnes and Paul Burberry climbing one of the Exe Valleys smoother Hills in their RLT Husky. (Thanks for the pic Mike)
  • Best Overall Dudley Sterry MG J2 – 5
  • Class
  • 1 David Hazelden (Golf) – 16
  • 3 David Heale (Escort) – 11
  • 4 Murray MacDonald (VW 1302) – 9
  • 5 Dennis Greenslade (Reliant) – 20
  • 6 Gary Browning (VW Beetle) – 24
  • 7 Roger Bricknell (Vincent) – 6
  • 8 Adrian Dommet (100E Special) – 7
1998_exe_valley_results_routeDownload

It was a was an early start, and a long drive down the M5, for Murray and Hazel MacDonald and Michael Leete/Mike Hayward in their VW Beetles, to the start at the Halfway House Inn near Cullompton in Devon. It wasn’t so far for the third Falcon, as Fiat enthusiast Brian Alexander only lives a few miles up the road.

    Brian’s wasn’t the only Fiat taking part. Alongside him there were two more Fiat 850’s, not a coincidence though. One was Brian’s spare car, the other the one he used at Brickhill, and still in PCT trim. Brian had lent the car to a neighbour for the day, in thanks for helping out with preparation of his Fiat fleet. The third Fiat also had an Alexander connection as Brian was its previous owner. 

    Just down the road from the start was an hours delay at the start of Section three. Yes I did say section three, as the first two were cancelled. It was to be one of those mornings. There was another hours delay at second hill and then it was on for a near two hour wait at sections five and six which were then cancelled while Nigel Allen’s passenger was helicoptered out with a suspected broken leg! So, it was gone two o’clock when the Falcon trio got to the third observed section which was number seven! There had been problems though. Murray had punctured getting out of the cancelled section and Brian was struggling with his Fiats gear selection.

    Sections seven and eight were pegged out in a slimy wood. The first one was easy enough for Murray and Brian but as Michael is in class six he had an alternative route through a deep water filled hole, followed by a steep muddy bank which he couldn’t negotiate. The following section twisted around though the trees, then darted up a steep bank. Murray did very well here and got up to the four, taking the class lead in front of Giles (son of our hero) Greenslade.

    The next section wasn’t really a hill it was a River! From the start all you could see was a marshal standing on the opposite bank and pointing up-stream. It started out OK, but it wasn’t long before the water actually got into Murray’s car so that tells you how deep it was! After 50 yards we re back on dry land. All the Falcons and Brian’s collection of Fiats made it OK but a few competitors didn’t, and ground to a halt with wet bottom’s. Great stuff.

    Westacott was originally to have been a special test but was changed to an observed section at the last moment. It wasn’t difficult and the whole entry cleaned it. This was followed by Iron Mill, another muddy track with deep ruts, and a re-start which caught out quite a few cars. These included Brian, who was now getting very concerned about his gearbox, although the rest of the Italian collection was doing just fine.

    Kennels was entirely different, a muddy wind through the trees with a tricky re-start. Michael and Brian didn’t get much beyond the first corner but Murray showed the way. He got of the re-start OK but not much further and dropped five. Along came Giles Greenslade who got to the four, putting him level with Murray again.

    Bidgood Lane turned out to be the hill they call Port Lane on the Exmoor Clouds. This is a really fantastic section. It starts in the village and looks innocuous. Once you get going it soon changes character, getting steeper, muddier and more rutted. It’s very, very long and it takes a fair old time to get to the  top and even longer to reverse back down again! All the class eight’s cleaned it, and so did Murray and Giles. Michael nearly made it but didn’t attack the last step with sufficient momentum and ground to a halt. He was very disappointed but didn’t feel so bad when the results showed that our hero himself had also failed at the two marker.

    The final observed section was called Doddiscombe. There’s a bridge over a stream just after the start. The blues and whites were allowed to use it but the others, including Michael, had to go through the stream and up the bank the other side. The early number and the super-heroes didn’t have to much of a problem, but it wasn’t so easy for mere mortals running at the back of the field. Michael and Mike looked at the obstacle was some trepidation but decided to give it a go. Down the steep slope went the Beetle. Into the stream, then boot it and try to get all the yellow perils 50 bhp into action. Up the other side it shot. It slowed, Mike bounced, the wheels span, the Beetle clawed its way up, it was just going to make it. No, it stopped, keep the power on, bounce, sway, anything, everything. It was to no avail. The car had slipped sideways and dug its way into some soft soil up to its axles, so deep it was only just possible to open the door.

    Crew and Marshals tried everything to extricate the car to no avail. They couldn’t push it out forwards and it wouldn’t go out backwards either. After ten minutes or so it was still stuck and the official in charge of the hill came down to see what was up. It was Tim Wheelock! He rapidly sized up the situation and departed. Presumably to fetch a JCB so he could bury car and driver! No, he soon returned with extra help and the Beetle was eased back into the stream to do a 3 point turn. After some persuasion it was then coaxed back out the way it came. Michael was very grateful and henceforth Tim Wheelock will be called “a very nice man” in this column!

    That was nearly it. Just a funny regularity section to end the day. But it wasn’t very funny for Brian as his Fiats transmission finally called enough. Murray, Giles and Matthew Sharratt had equal scores on the hills and the regularity section but Murray and Hazel got the class with a fast tome in the special test. Then it was off for the long drive home. The Beds and Herts crews getting back around mid-night. Definitely an adventure.

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Ian Davis won Falcons Mini Classic

an Davis put in the best performance on the Mini Classic at Edlesborough on 8 March. Ian was one of three drivers still clean when the rain came down. This made conditions so bad that the event was cut back to only two rounds. The result being decided on the special test times.

We had two Racecorp LA’s taking part. Including this one driven by Martin and Henry Allen
Ian Davis jumped at the chance to drive in Falcons Mini Classic at Edlesborough
Peter Mountain showing us a clean pair of heels on the re-start

ohn Parsons and Mike Pearson chose Edlesborough for their mini-classic, only two weeks after the same team had run the RAC/BTRDA qualifier at Brickhill. The event was to some extent experimental, the idea being to create a “Classic” trial feel to a single venue trial, escaping all the complications of insurance and route authorisation. They were rewarded with an entry of 27, including quite a few cars we had not seen before.

Ian Davis bought along his VW Buggy. Yes, this is the same Ian Davis that was featured in Classical Gas a few months ago. Martin and Henry Allen were sharing a familiar car, the Mike Young built Racecorp, the brother to the Steve Boakes constructed car now owned by Mike Furse. I think Mike must have been instrumental in the next two entries. Keith and Margaret Oakes in their Buckler and Gary and Lucy Booth in their Buckler Mk 6. It was also nice to see Keith Pettit in his Austin A35 with 1275’s of BMC engine under the lid.

Quite a few of the cars were to be double driven, casing a problem if you were not able to see the sections in advance. This was solved by making the cars normal driver run first. The theory being that the “guest” had the handicap of an unfamiliar vehicle. The first section started in the field, twisting through the gate before going up the nearest path through the trees. Simon Robson was the first car, attacking the hill in his usual style, despite a having a very heavy cold. Simon got half way up before slipping back into the trees to the detriment of one of the rear door panels. This caused JP to re-route the section, giving Simon another run. It was still tricky and only eight cars went clean.

Hill two was not too difficult if you could follow the route, which was confusing, despite Mark Chilver’s efforts on point duty. It was nice of Mark to marshal while Sharon passengerd Robin Howard in his familiar Marlin. It was here that Sharon and Mark rolled their Imp while reversing down a hill a few years ago.

The next section gave us a taste of re-starts. Placed in different positions according to the class. By now the dew had gone and there was plenty of grip, although the line had been cunningly positioned and could catch the unwary. Then it was back down the hill to the start of the marathon hill four, twisting its way through the wood at the bottom before going up the gully and descending into the trees for a final assault on one of the steep banks. This was a nice section, not difficult, just fun to drive.

Finally came a special test where Chris Bonnett’s Peugeot expired when some of the front suspension came adrift, causing the drive shaft to pull out. Chris retired but was able to get the car mobile so he could drive it home.

At the end of the first round there were three clean sheets. Ian Davis in the Buggy, Fred Gregory with his Dutton Melos, sporting a new engine since its outing on the Cotswold Clouds and Henry Allen in the Racecorp. There were quite a few clean sheets on the second round, especially as we now knew where to go on hill two.

During lunch JP and Mike Pearson changed the hills ready for a planned three rounds in the afternoon. It was not to be, as no sooner had we started than the rain came down, making conditions so hairy that John had to bring proceedings to a premature halt. The special test times were used to resolve things between the three clean sheets. Overall honours going to Ian Davis. Fred Gregory, Murray MacDonald and Tom Goggin won their classes and Henry Allen came second in the well-supported class seven.

It was a shame about the rain but that’s always a risk, especially at Edlesborough. Lets hope the club perseveres and develops the concept.

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Torbay win for Dudley Sterry

by Hazel MacDonald and Stuart Cairney

Stuart Cairney flys round the bottom corner so he can get a run at Simms

We had three Falcon crews at the Finlake Holiday complex near Chudleigh on 1st March for the start of this years Torbay. With two runs up Simms on the agenda it had lot’s of promise, and what an event it tuned out to be! Starting with a special test a few yards from the start. This consisted of a short blast along a straight bumpy track, followed by about 200 yards on tarmac, which included a couple of sharp turns. It was here that Murray MacDonald put down his marker, recording fastest overall time. Beating some Escort drivers who were indulging in some exuberant sideways motoring (and were risking exclusion if they went on the grass)! It was an amazing special test, more of a special stage really.

    The first observed section was Simms. At this point it was Simms 2 Murray 2 for the Mac’s, but afterwards it was Simms 2 Murray 3. The others weren’t so fortunate. Brain Alexander got a two, while Stuart Cairney took a bad line and ground to a halt below the three marker.

    From here it was on to Lower Dean. The lower part of this hill looks a bit like a moonscape with lots of bumps, all out of phase. Then there are some horrendous gullies near the top, after the class 6-8 restart. Brian retired after this hill, which caught a few people out. Baddaford Lane followed, but was not too bad this year, only class 8 had a restart, but nearly half the 16 motorcycles scored a 6 here.

    The next hill was scheduled to be Middle Rocombe, which is the hill that the ‘men’ tackle on the Exeter, whilst the girls in their tin tops fail the restart on Slippery Sam!! However, a last minute re-route denied competitors a look at what Fred Gregory calls ‘The hill from hell’ and they went straight to Higher Rocombe (Slippery Sam). In the daylight he restart, which was in the usual place, was starting to look well cut up. No Falcon fails today and Stuart even found the tight right hand slot afterwards! Higher Shells followed, just a mile down the road and was cleaned by most. From here it was back to Finlake for another special test and the lunch halt. Murray was clean and leading the class at this point with Stuart on three.

    After lunch came Finlake sections 7, 8 and 9. You drove up the hill a few yards and pulled into a lay by affair. On the marshals’ instructions competitors tackled the first hill, quickly followed by the second and then a third, through heavily rutted clay. It was 6,000 all the way for the Mac’s and JAZ powered it’s way through. Not so for Stuart who was swallowed up by an enormous crater on “three” and had to be towed out, but with aces like Paul Bartlemann stuck as well he didn’t feel to bad! Hero of the Day award must go to the guy who had the job of getting down in the mud to attach the tow rope – he was absolutely covered in it!

    There were some ambiguities in the route card now and the next road section saw groups of cars parked at road junctions, having a conference to decide the correct route, with a lengthy detour up the dual carriageway and back for those who got it wrong. Eventually everyone found Northwood, which was no problem with all the Falcons clear. However, section 10, Pitt Farm (Waterless Lane) was a problem for a lot of people. Stuart’s Imp didn’t have enough ground clearance and needed a push to clear the deep muddy ruts. Murray provided excellent entertainment as he went sideways, scuffed the wing and filled the bumper with mud. 

    Tipley was next and stopped all of class 4. Stopping astride a restart line, rather than in a box, does not allow much room for manoeuvre. When, by what ever means, competitors did finally get clear of the restart there was no time to gain momentum before arriving at the class 6,7 & 8 restart. Murray kept saying “I hate that Tipley” and after a great deal of effort, especially from Hazel, they got away from the line, only to get stuck on the re-start designed for the other classes. A lot of cars wrecked tyres here, Stuart amongst them.

    Lenda Lane was the next section. It was supposed to be sub divided 12 – 0, but instead they had put a restart in a deep crater half way up, which defeated all class 3 and all but Nathan Mitchell and Giles Greenslade in class 4. Murray’s class lead going out the window at this point. If you were in an Imp the problems started before the section. Two drainage pipes had been laid across the entrance track with just enough gap in between for an Imp wheel to drop in. Stuart and Jim Scott had to throw their passenger’s out in order to increase the ground clearance!

    Then it was back to Simms, now pretty slippery, with two restart lines on the steep bit, one for classes 6&7 and one for class 8. Only Nathan and Murray went clean in class 4, Stuart managing another three. All that remained now was an 8 mile run back to Finlake and the final section, a PCT like climb of a mound. It had a slippery camber on the right. You had to keep as straight as possible, maintain speed and try not to slide across to the right. Murray floored it (I think this is the correct expression) and it worked.

    Murray came third in class behind Giles Greenslade and Nathan Mitchell who won the class. Giles got a two on each attempt at Simms and failed the Tipley re-start but managed to clean Lenda Lane. Leaving Murray with12 and those two with 10 each. First position in the class was decided on special test times and it went to Nathan Mitchell in his Skoda.

A challenging trial, tough on the cars but well organised. The overall win went to “Super Dud” who went round clean.

  • Overall Winner – Dudley Sterry (MG J2) 0
  • Class 1 & 2 – Peter Treliving (Austin Seven) 2
  • 3 – Paul Bartleman (Escort) 9
  • 4 – Nathan Mitchell (Skoda) 10
  • 5 – Dennis Greenslade (Reliant) 15
  • 6 – Gary Browning (VW) 6
  • 7 – Adrian Marfell (VW-Alfa) 0
1998_torbay_results_routeDownload

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Cotswold Clouds 1998

Six Falcon crews took part in a suburb Cotswold Clouds on 1st February. We won two awards, Murray and Hazel MacDonald won class four after a day long battle with Neil Bray and Marc Lawrence. Overall victory went to Dudley Sterry in his MG J2, pictured here on Nailsworth Ladder.

Stroud and Districts Cotswold Clouds stands alone. It is not part of any championship and there is no triple or anything linking it to other events. It’s to be enjoyed for itself and it’s over subscribed entry stands testimony to its popularity. It has some good sections in a very nice part of the country. But to me it’s the organisation that stands it apart from the rest. It has a very relaxed and informal atmosphere, but it’s very well run. The Stroud boys (and girls) certainly know how to run a trial and the list of officials reads like the top half of the ACTC championship table. It’s not just the main official’s. Nearly every hill had well-known competitors marshalling. No shortage of experience here. 

A quartet of Falcon crews gathered at the Stonehouse Little Chef for breakfast before the off. The New Falconers were joined by Clive Booth and John Allsop with Clive’s Dellow Rep. Neil Bray had a puncture on the way down so departed early in order to use the Garages bead breaker so he could fit a new tube. 

The approach to Sandfords was frosty and hard. Perhaps the soft ground at the bottom of the section would be easy to traverse. There have been years when even getting to the section was difficult. The first bit was OK, but just before the gate it got really boggy and Michael Leete had difficulty getting through. Fred’s troubles started on the line when the Dutton coughed and stalled. A turn of the key saw Fred and Pete away and they were delighted to hear the marshals had taken sympathy and given them a clear. 

Crooked Mustard was on form. None of the Falcons made it out of the top but Neil Bray got to the three to get the furthest. This is definitely one of the stiffest challenges in the trials calendar. Rushmire didn’t present any problems, despite the re-start but Fred’s Melos had fluffed badly and team Falcon descended on it with the spanners at the holding control for Axe. The points had closed up and the timing was way out. This was put right and the Melos went better, but the motor was clearly on the way out, and at times it was hard to know if the smoke came from the oil or the tyres! Axe is a nice long hill, but it’s not too difficult, and all the Falcons made successful climbs, at the cost of a puncture for Neil and Marc.

Martyn Harry and Julia Guilietti won class seven in their 2 litre Pinto engined Imp.
Falcons Clive Booth and John Allsop in their Dellow Rep on Nailsworth Ladder.

Nailsworth Ladder was next on the agenda. Six, sevens and eight’s had a restart just before the step. This made things very tricky. Fred and Pete couldn’t get the Melos away from the re-start. Michael struggled in the Beetle but Mike stepped up the bouncing and got the wheels to grip. They got over the step but didn’t have enough speed and spun to a stop just after. Clive and John struggled to get away but once they started to move they rocketed up. Our class fours didn’t have this hindrance and were able to blast straight through in front of a spectating Stuart and Andrew Cairney. They reckoned Murray hit it the step hardest, the 1302’s suspension soaking up the blow and gliding serenely over. However, Neil was the most spectacular, getting the Skoda’s rear wheels right up in the air.

Neil Bray and Marc Lawrence storming the bank on Mackhouse 1

Mackhouse two was a shock. It started as a straight muddy track with very little gradient. You had to be careful though and it caught out Simon Robson who didn’t have enough speed and got bogged down. The muddy bit went on for some time then opened out as the section followed the edge of a field before diving into a rocky gully which Fred reckoned was filled with Dinosaur eggs! After a short while the section turned right out of the gully over a rocky steep lip. It was a question of how brave you were on the last bit. It needed plenty of power. Michael didn’t give it enough welly and needed a pull from a Land Rover to get out of the section into the field above. There he saw Neil Bray changing his third wheel of the day. The drama wasn’t over as the exit road was just as exciting as the section! 

The lunch-time break was taken at the Stroud Tesco’s as usual. The club must have some influence to let us trapse into the coffee shop in our muddy boots! There was no rest for Neil, he had to flats on the back while the rest of us ate our lunch he was of in search of a tyre depot.

Fred on his Folly!

After the first special test came Fred’s Folly. A nice blast up through the trees. I wonder how the hill got it’s name? Was it because our Fred had some of his rear glass pop out when competing in his first Cloud’s in a FWD Renault? Merves Swerve was it’s usual slippery self, with differential start lines and re-starts to handicap the higher classes. And we had to perform in front of a spectating Mike Furse and Ken Green. Neil was the only Falcon to get out of the top with Murray and Simon stopping just short of the one. 

The Highwood sections were up to standard. Although they are right next to each other in the same complex they have a completely different character. The main feature of “One” is a fearsomely steep slope, dead straight, and slippery today now the ground had thawed out. “Two” doesn’t have much gradient but is muddy without a lot of bottom, so it needs a good blast. Murray, Simon and Neil were allowed a clear run at “one” but the slippery gradient defeated them all. Michael, Fred and Clive had a re-start just before the steep bit so couldn’t take a run at it. They all failed on the lower reaches so were spared the fearsome reverse back down and the omni present threat of the plunge to oblivion!

Simon Robson exiting Climperwell.

“Two” consisted of a blast through the tree to a muddy chicane with a re-start immediately afterwards. This wasn’t too difficult if you could get that far,which Michael couldn’t. Clive got to the restart but couldn’t get away and the others cleared the section OK. Climperwell is a muddy meander through the trees up a gently rising muddy track with ruts so deep you needn’t worry about steering as they act as railway lines. The excitement is provided by a restart with two huge holes for your wheels to fall into!

Fred Gregory has shares in both Castrol Oil and Colway Tyres!

Bull Banks one and two provided the finale. They are both about restarts on polished pebbles. As one of the Stroud boys said “don’t lift off!” Murray, Neil and Simon cleaned them both, Michael and Clive failed both and Fred failed one. The challenge was definitely the first section as we had to perform in front of Stuart and Andrew! That was the last of sections. It just remained to drive a few miles back to the finish at the Ragged Cot Inn at Hyde to sign off. Another great “Clouds”.

1998_cotswold_clouds_resultsDownload

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1998 Exeter Trial

We had another great Falcon turnout on the Exeter. It was an ultra-competitive event though. A combination of conditions, tough re-starts, alternative routes for the higher classes and perhaps a little hill doctoring, all combined to rob Falcons of Golds. This piece is being written before the results come out but it looks as if Neil Bray and Murray MacDonald achieved the best results with Silvers.

Clive Booth and John Allsop waiting to tackle Normans Hump in Clives’s Dellow Rep. Clive has joined Falcon for 98.
Fred Gregory and Pete Stafford cleaning Clinton in their Dutton Melos
eam Falcon rally to fix Fred’s carAfter Fingle came Wooston Steep. Classes’ one to four weren’t to bad, they could go up the easy bit. But Wooston was a real stopper for the yellows and reds. They had to go straight up the steep track that makes the North face of the Eiger look like a flat road. To make it even harder for the red’s they had a re-start as well. Fred, Michael and Alan all ran out of power and grip above the class eight re-start. This was on some horrible tree roots and defeated all our boys. This Exeter was certainly proving to be a tough one.
Matt Clarke and David Thompson marshalling on the Upper slopes of Clinton
Neil Bray and Martin Sheppard cleaning Clinton in their Skoda.

It had been raining hard in the week preceding the event and the news told of storms, floods and high winds in the West Country, to worry Exeter competitors and perhaps the marshals as well! We needn’t have worried. By Thursday it had become calmer and milder and by the weekend it was quite warm. However all the water had made the sections pretty competitive, this Exeter was to be no picnic! There were no Falcon’s starting from Bude, so it was Peter Mountain that led us away from the Cirencester start. Peter had entered his Dellow but business pressure prevented it being finished in time so his faithful maroon Skoda was drafted into service again. There was little time to do much to the car so Peter and James just checked the oil and adjusted the brakes. It was this that was to cause problems later!. Normally Peter runs the car back and forth to work for a few days before an event, just to make sure everything is working OK. He didn’t do it this time and it was only on the run out to Cirencester that he noticed the back brakes were binding. Now on a Skoda you have to remove the hubs to adjust the brakes, this needs a special puller and this was at home. Peter continued, but with the brakes rubbing badly was severely down on power.

Tom Goggin had Veronica Caspari in his Escort as usual. Tom had re-shelled his car before Christmas. The new one is very smart indeed, one of the tidiest Escorts I have seen for a long time. Colin Stevens came next, with Kevin Roberts reading the route card. Dave Nash had attended to his engine mountings and was hoping the Skeetle would stay in gear on the tough Exeter hills. Alan Bellamy had entered his ex Andy Clarke Brasilia but the car wasn’t ready so Alan used his faithful Fastback instead.

John Parsons and Mike Pearson ran together and to the best of my knowledge there was nothing different in the mechanical department, although presumably John had attended to his clunking diff since the Allen. Further down the field we should have seen Mike and Shiela Furse in their Racecorp LA. However, the Furse family were striken with flu and decided to spectate and help out rather than compete. A few cars later came a famous name from the past, although not currently a Falcon member. Adrian Tucker-Peake was driving his newly prepared Peugot. In Tucker-Peake tradition the car was four up as Adrian and Liz had bought the kids along.

There was nothing new with the Skoda’s of Neil Bray and Simon Robson, Michael Leete’s VW or Fred Gregory’s Dutton Melos. They were followed by a Dutton Sierra driven by the daughter of Motor Sports Bill Boddy. Then came Falcons only class one entry, Chris Bonnett in his Peugot Diesel. There was no David Alderson as he was busy finalising the preparations of his Beetle for the historic Monte Carlo Rally. Stuart and Andrew Cairney started from Popham in their familiar Imp, and so did Murray and Hazel MacDonald, embarking on their quest for a second consecutive triple in JAZ. The red lantern of the Falcon train was Reg Taylor and Bill Rule in Reg’s RDT special, running number 313, last car on the road.

The weather was kind on the run down to eligibility scruitineering at Chard. Pretty unexciting stuff, perhaps that’s why so many of us had problems staying awake! Then it was breakfast at Cricket St Thomas, the dinning room resplendent with it’s Christmas decorations. Now, assuming they were not really early for 1998 they were a bad omen because they should have been down by twelfth night which is the sixth of January. Unfortunately the normally excellent Cricket St Thomas breakfast was spoilt by some very stringy bacon!

It was dark for most of us when we got to Gatcombe Lane, a nice easy starter hill. I know some people think these sort of sections are a waste of time. Not me, I don’t want to fail the first hill. Then it was little more than a mile of tarmac before crossing the A 3052 at Hangmans Stone to go down into the Forest containing Normans Hump and Clinton to join the queue! The early Falcon runners waited an hour, those running later were in the line for over an hour and a half and by then it stretched out of the forest and onto the road. Normans Hump was the problem. Some say it had been doctored, others that logging operations had dragged a lot of mud onto the track. Either way it was tricky. The lower part of the section wasn’t too bad, although it is getting rougher every year. The big problem came on the steep part, after the cross track, where the class eight’s do their restart. This was very muddy and needed grip. power and momentum to get through.

It was just getting light as Peter Mountain came to the line. The section was being marshalled by some of the Cambridge boys and he was greeted at the start line by Falcon member Geoff Jackson. Peter managed to get reasonable speed as he crossed the track but with a binding brake it was not enough and he bogged down in the muddy section. Our other two Skoda’s got out of the top OK but not without drama. Neil Bray punctured and had to change a wheel and Simon could hear the first signs of diff problems, but carried on regardless. Stuart and Andrew Cairney didn’t have any car difficulties but his 915 cc’s wouldn’t pull the Imp through the clag. Classes’ six and seven had to restart on the cross track. This slowed down their charge into the mud but it didn’t prevent Alan Bellamy and Fred Gregory getting to the top. Michael Leete wasn’t so lucky, or perhaps I should say skilful, and lost grip in the muddy bit. The class eight’s had to re-start right in the middle of the muddy bit and none of the Falcons could get away. JP got to the top and found his cooling fan wasn’t working. He stopped at the bottom of Clinton to hot-wire it so he could continue.

Everyone was anxious to do well on Clinton under the eyes of their clubmate’s. With a level restart on the cross-track, instead of on the gradient it wasn’t so difficult as last year, provided you could get round the difficult corner at the bottom. There’s a sharp ninety right just after the start and you can’t see the steep gradient that comes immediately afterwards. Most of us made it OK but with front wheel drive it defeated Chris Bonnett in his Peugeot. This was certainly going to be tough trial for front wheel drives. Simon Robson provided the drama for the Falcon marshals. He got the Skoda around the corner and up to the restart. Simon let the clutch out and Arnold and Andy were greeted to a tinkling sound as the diff finally cried enough a few feet further on. Simon and Matt managed to limp out of the woods but the car wasn’t going to go much further. They weren’t the only ones. By the time Murray and Hazel arrived there were eight disabled cars waiting for recovery.

After all the carnage in the woods Waterloo and Stretes were relatively uneventful for most. Falcon interest was maintained with John York marshalling with the Woolbridge club at the top of Stretes. Then we had a long run north to the special test at Greenslinch Barton. Many competitors had problems finding the route. There had been an amendment at Cricket St Thomas but the route card still didn’t bear much resemblance to the road and there were cars going in every direction. Fortunately the route marking was correct otherwise there could have been major problems. The special test itself was a downhill blind through Grenslinches’s huge puddle (it’s more like a lake). This was great if you had a waterproof car, like a Beetle, but was a bit daunting if your electric’s were vulnerable.

Exeter services saw a lot of mechanical work. John Parsons managed to buy an override switch for his fan and fitted that. Tom and Dave both had petrol pump problems but they couldn’t do anything to fix them. Neil and Martin were planning to change the tube in their punctured tyre but were held up on the road when their petrol pump stopped working but a swift hammer blow soon fixed things. With no bead breaker and no Dave Nash Neil resorted to Michael Leete’s bit of fence post bolted to the brake drum of the Beetle. Don’t laugh, it worked!

Windout was a tarmac hill, a feature of recent Exeter’s. Marshalled by Mrs Troll (Anne Templeton) it had a liberal coating of mud to catch you if you were too complacent. Tillerton is getting rough again, with a tricky re-start on some huge rock steps for the six, seven and eight’s. This caught out Fred and Michael. The steps were probably a real shock to Chris in his relatively low slung Peugeot. He didn’t get up this one but was clearing quite a few of the hills in only his second classic trial. Fred Gregory’s Dutton Melos had started to fluff at any sort of rev’s and he, Pete Stafford and Neil stripped the carb and petrol pump at the foot of Fingle. It went better but only if Fred gave it a bit of choke. Fred continued to fiddle, finally finding the problem was the coil. It was a 9 volt unit and the Dutton was feeding it with 12 volts. When it got hot the motor missed at high revs. Fred had a spare and carried on by swapping between the two.

It was to get worse at Simms. Simon and Matt Robson had left their Skoda at Seaton and had got a lift to Simms where they met up with a spectating, flu ridden, Mike and Sheila Furse. They saw some of the early cars get up, including Dennis (our hero) Greenslade in his Reliant and Philip Mitchell in his Skoda. There was quite a lot of mud on the hill. It got harder as the day went on and by the time Peter Mountain arrived very few people were cleaning the section. Peter’s brakes were easing off but he couldn’t get the Skoda up for the second year in succession. Last year the car jumped out of gear but before that he had always cleaned Simms.

Peter was in good company as all the other Falcon’s failed, including Murray and Hazel who said goodbye to their triple. They certainly gave it a good try, giving it everything, but to no avail, although they got a good cheer from the spectators for their efforts. John Parsons was another to give the spectators good value. The smoke still lingering several cars later! The final hill was a sting in the tail for some. The route divided. One to six tackling Slippery Sam while seven and eight went to Higher Gabwell.

Chris Bonnett enjoyed Slippery Sam, cleaning the rough section to get a finish in his Peugeot. Things didn’t go very well for Stuart and Andrew. First they failed the re-start, then they missed the obscure right turn at the top and failed to find the Gabwell passage control. Neither Mike nor John faired very well on Higher Gabwell. They had a re-start and this was situated on a huge hole that defeated them. So it was on to Torquay to the finish at the Oswalds and Trecarn Hotels. A lot of members were staying there and we had a dozen or more Falcons around the dinner table to chew over the day’s events. Some people believe that some of the MCC events have been too easy recently and the MCC have been concerned about the financial burden of awarding so many triples. It doesn’t look to have a problem this year!

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