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Bill Bennett was one of three clean sheets across three different classes.
Pete Hart and his team got The Allen Trial just right again, the established team attracting a full entry and providing a great days sport. Guys Hill and the Ubley Complex proved the greatest challenge and eliminated the higher classes from the results. Bill Bennett took the win with faster test times than Nick Cleal and Keith Sanders.
Overall winner Bill Bennett didn’t have to restart on Travers but has to concentrate as he eases his immaculate MG J2 over the rocky step (Picture by Giles Greenslade)
Just up the road from the start Tog Hill provided its usual gentle introduction on a fine day for winter trialling, warm and mild but wet underfoot!
Once again Bitton Lane proved a bogey hill for sports cars. Of the eight Suzuki X90’s in Class Five only Brian Brown and Nick Deacon got off the restart without penalty. The open tops in Class Six struggled as well, neither Alan Wear (BMW Z3) or John Guy (Toyota MR2) having any more success.
Classic Sections
Chief Official Mike Jones looks on as Terry Hart smokes his way off the Travers restart (picture by Giles Greenslade)Keith Sanders shows plenty of daylight under his Reliant Scimitar SS1 on Travers on his way to third overall. (Picture by Giles Greenslade)
Guys Hill has a formidable reputation and as this year was to prove its thoroughly deserved. The slippery surface is made even more challenging by the tree roots crossing the track, oozing sap as a lubricant to spinning wheels. Classes 1,2,3 and 5 were the lucky ones, the others had to restart!
The section wasn’t that easy for the non re-starters and only David Haizelden, Nick Cleal, Bill Bennett, Mike Wall and Keith Sanders reached the summit.
Those watching reckon Tony Young made the climb of the day, successfully restarting his Class Four Beetle to go clear, a feat only achieved by Josh Moss, Ben Johnson and Carl Talbot.
The rocky track at Travers, on the way up to the Ubley Woods sections, took its toll across the classes but all the leading contenders went clear.
Muddy Sections and Blinding Sun at Ubley Woods
Mike Workman gets his GVS sideways but like most of Class Eight he had to give best to Ubley Woods Four (Photo by Giles Greenslade)Having cleaned the difficult Guys Hill with a restart Tony Young lost his clean sheet on Ubley Woods Four (Photo by Giles Greenslade)
There were four sections in the Ubley Woods complex where the mist had finally given way to a sunny day. There was a lot of mud though with some restarts for classes seven and eight.
It was the restart on Ubley Woods Four that did for the aspirations of Josh Moss and Carl Talbot, the only class eights that had remained clean to that point. It was possible to go clean though as Nick Farmer proved.
So there were only three sheets as competitors arrived at the Chew Valley lake rest halt. Nick Cleal (Peugeot 205), Bill Bennett (MG J2) and Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar). None of the remaining observed sections should be stoppers for experienced competitors so the remaining Special Test was going to be decisive. The position after the first one in Ubley was Nick 28.1, Bill 28.4 and Keith 32.0
Tubbys Torment Test at Burledge Decides the Trial
Rob Wells was one of the many Class Fives that struggled with the Burledge Restart.Andrew Rippon generates some wheelspin as he mounts the step on the Burledge restart
Although Burledge is now normally closed to motorised vehicles Pete Hart has retained its use for The Allen Trial.
Before the section came the Tubbys Torment Special Test. Although it had the usual format it needed special attention as line B was slippery and there was a nasty step. Keith Sanders was fastest of the three clean sheets on 18.7. It wasn’t quick enough to overtake Bill Bennett though. His time of 20.3 put him 0.2 seconds in front of Nick Cleal. All he had to do now was to stay clean and he would win the trial overall.
The Burledge section was just up the track where the restart was the challenge. This only impacted on class 7 where Dudley Sterry lost the win when he had clutch issues and pulled away before the flag dropped. Burledge aslo saw the demise of both the BMW’s in Class 3, both Sarah Holden and Martyn Copplestone breaking their transmissions.
More Classic Sections
Tris White ploughing through the ruts on John Walker in the gathering dusk (Picture by Calvin Talbot)Ashely Biffen about to raise the periscope as he negotiates the ford at the beginning of John Walker (Picture by Giles Greenslade)
With Big Uplands inaccessible all the classes attempted Little Uplands which didn’t present any problems. Neither did Mill Le which left only John Walker to finish the trial. This long section didn’t claim many failures but provided its usual delightful finale to another enjoyable Allen Trial.
Class
Driver/Car
Marks
Overall
Bill Bennett (MG J2)
0
1
Nick Cleal (Peugeot 205)
0
2
John Bell (MG TB)
3
3
Phillip Thomas (Ford Escort)
2
4
Tony Young (VW Beetle)
4
5
Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS1)
0
6
Andrew Rippon (VW Beetle)
4
7
Murray Montgomery Smith (Marlin)
6
8
Josh Moss (Gregory Special)
5
Added 10 December 2014
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Duncan Stephens was one of nine clean sheets across five classes.
With dry conditions it was predictable that the Allen was going to see clean sheets, but the way they were spread across the classes showed Pete Hart and his team had got the event right. Josh Moss was second overall in his Gregory Special.
Duncan Stephens not only won the trial in his Dutton Melos but was kind enough to come back down Burledge and tow a stricken vehicle to keep the trial on the move (Picture by Calvin Talbot from Cstartworks)
With the Cross House closed it meant the Allen Team had to find a new start venue, coming up with The Bull Inn at Hinton which proved a popular choice. It did confuse one or two though, who had problems finding the route to Tog Hill, but all was well and everyone cleared this nice starter hill.
Traditional Hills
Bitton Lane didn’t have tyre pressure limits for its restart on polished stones. It didn’t cause many problems apart from Class Five, where four of the seven didn’t get away. Everyone had to restart on Little Uplands which proved tough on Class One, where only Dave Haizelden (Golf) and Nick Cleal (Peugeot 205) got off the line.
As ever Guys Hill was a tough challenge for Classes Seven and Eight where they had their usual restart on a mixture of polished stones and tree roots. This left only Duncan Stephens, Andrew Rippon, Mal Allen and Murray Montgomery-Smith clean in Class Seven and Josh Moss, Dudley Sterry, Mike Chatwin, Charlie Knifton, Carl Talbot and Russell Clarke in Class Eight.
Ubley Woods Sections
After a tree rooty Travers competitors tackled four sections and a special test at Bristols Ubley Woods venue. Although muddy there was nowhere near the usual amount of clag and things flowed smoothly. The Class Eight restart on Ubley Woods Four sorted the red category out and only Josh Moss (Gregory Special) and Carl Talbot (Morris Trialsmaster) were clean going to lunch. They were joined by another eight clean sheets, including the Model T based Board Racer of David Golightly.
Burledge
There were four traditional hills after lunch, starting with Burledge. This had been closed to motorised traffic following last years event. However, Pete Hart and his team had worked a miracle and got permission for the hill to be open for the event.
The second special Test took place on the way to the section. With so many clean sheets this was going to be decisive in determining the results. Carl Talbot was fastest here and coupled with his time on the Ubley Woods test was in overall lead of the trial.
Burledge started just up the track, beginning where the old section finished before the ruts were filled in! It was all about stopping in the right place at the restart. About 25% of the entry didn’t, although it didn’t trouble the leading contenders.
Mill Lane was enjoyable but not too problematical, although David Golightly retired his wonderful car here. This was a shame as David had his clutch fail on the VSCC’s Cotswold Trial on Saturday. Undeterred he returned home to Grimsby to make a repair. An exercise that involved removing both the gearbox and back axle, returning to Bristol on Sunday morning.
Big Uplands
Only class eight had the pleasure of tackling Big Uplands as water erosion had created some deep gulleys. It was a tough one, even for the specials, and decided the result of the trial when Carl Talbot failed at the seven, putting Duncan Stephens in the lead of the trial.
John Walker
The Allen’s finale was the wonderful John Walker, tackled in the dusk for later numbers as there were a few delays extracting those unfortunate to puncture.
With all the clean sheets there were a lot of hopefuls at the finish. After the ST times were taken into account it was Duncan Stephens (Dutton Melos) who emerged the winner, followed by Josh Moss (Gregory Special) and John White (1300 Beetle). Everyone enjoyed the trial which was a credit to the effort and experience of Pete Hart and his team from the Bristol Club.
Class
Driver/Car
Marks
Overall
Duncan Stephens (Dutton Melos)
0
1
David Haizelden (Golf GTi)
0
2
Bill Bennett (MG J2)
5
3
Phillip Thomas (Ford Escort)
22
4
John White (VW Beetle)
0
5
Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS1)
0
6
Gary Browning (VW Beetle)
4
7
Andrew Rippon (VW Baja)
0
8
Josh Moss (Gregory Special)
0
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Dean Partington had the only clean sheet on a very wet Allen Trial, clinching the Wheelspin Championship in the process.
There had been a lot of rain in the preceding week, with extensive flooding in the south west. This made the Ubley Wood sections very muddy and it was here the event was decided. Dean was challenged by Dave Haizelden and Keith Sanders, both losing only two marks on the hills, although Keith also dropped marks when he incurred a fail on the special test.
Mick Workman and Tony Underhill are pictures of concentration as they tackle the mud on John Walker (Picture by Calvin Talbot from Cstartworks)
With all the flooding there was concern that the event was going to take place. However Pete Hart and his team checked things out on the Saturday and reported that, apart from the stream at the bottom of Uplands which was impassable, the route was good to go.
There were a couple of non starters but there were still nearly 60 cars lining up at the start in Doynton near J18 on the M4.
The Travers Restart sorted Class 7
After a gentle run up Tog Hill the restart on Bitton Lane was unfriendly to Class 5 and Nick Deacon was the only one of five Suzuki X90’s to get away. Guys Hill was next, perhaps the rain had washed the mud away because there were fewer failures than usual.
The Yellows and Reds had to restart on Travers. and this certainly sorted out class 7, only the Marlins of John Hammill and eventual Class winner Dave Broom getting away. The restart also accounted for around 50% of class 8.
Ubley Decides the Trial
The four sections at Ubley Wood were just up the track. unlike the other hills, which are all on green lanes, these are artificial sections marked out on the top of a grassy hill. With no stone bottom they were very slippery and a full blooded approach was required. Only Dean Partington cleaned all four. Dave Wall and Charlie Knifton did well but succumbed to the Class 8 restart on the Ubley 1 to loose their only five marks of the day. Without a restart here Sam Holmes in Class Four, Keith Sanders in Class Five, Gary Browning in Class Six and Dave Haizelden in Class One also went clear and went on to win their respective classes.
Ubley Woods 2 and 3 were difficult but cleanable but it was Ubley Woods 4 that decided the trial when Dean was the only clear.
Big Uplands was Cancelled
With Big Uplands cancelled there were only three sections after the lunch break. It should have been plain sailing for the leaders with Dean clear and Dave Haizelden and Keith Sanders on two. That wasn’t how it finished as Keith overshot a line on the Special Test which penalises you six marks on The Allen and it dropped him down the standings promoting Dave Wall to 3rd overall in his tidy K series Dellow.
John Walker was the last section, a glorious blast though the mud and ruts just as the light was failing. It wasn’t a formality for the low slung cars though and Ian Moss dropped six in an unfamiliar and very standard looking Hillman Imp. The ruts were deep and both class winning cars of Aaron Haizelden and Dave Wall ended up with deranged front suspension..
Dean wins The Allen and The Wheelspin
So ended another well run and popular Allen Trial with Dean Partington victorious for the fourth time giving him an unassailable lead in The Wheelspin Trophy.
Class
Driver/Car
Marks
Overall
Dean Partington (DP Wasp)
0
1
David Haizelden (Golf GTi)
2
2
Adrian Dommett (Wolseley Hornet)
9
3
Aaron Haizelden (Ford Escort)
12
4
Sam Holmes (VW Beetle)
5
5
Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS1)
8
6
Gary Browning (VW Beetle)
6
7
Dave Broom (Marlin)
10
8
Dave Wall (Dellow)
5
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Dean Partington won the Allen Trial with the only Clean Sheet. It was a DP Wasp one-two as Dean’s sister car was 2nd in the hands of Mike Chatwin. Mike only failed the muddy Ubley Woods Three which claimed most of the experienced drivers and potent cars.
As well as the Field Trial sections at Ubley Woods Big Uplands was also on form, ensuring that the all the classes were decided on the hills and not on Special Test Times.
It is testament to the reputation of The Allen Trial, and its organisers that it attracted 63 entries at a time when entries are significantly lower. Not just in Classic Trialling but in all forms of Motorsport. The Allen was known for being run exclusively on classic lanes. In recent years some of these have been lost and this year five of the twelve sections were at private venues.
Fine Weather
The weather was ideal, wet overnight, with a bright sunny day for the event itself. The opening section at Tog Hill, only a few hundred yards from the start, didn’t cause any problems. Not so at Bitton Lane where the restart claimed the scalps of all four of the Suzuki X90’s in class five. There were only a couple of other failures, but these included the Escort of eventual Class Three winner Dick Bolt, who would need all the horsepower of this mega machine to blast through the mud on the later sections to claw back this loss.
Big Uplands on Form
Classes 1 to 6 had their visit to Big Uplands in the morning, while 7 & 8 went straight to Guys Hill. This arrangement is to save time for the the long reverse after the inevitable long list of failures towards the top. This year didn’t disappoint and big names like David Haizelden and Dick Bolt weren’t in the select half dozen who cleaned Big Uplands. Special mention to Peter Jones who came so near in his Suzuki X90. Also too Steve Potter and John Wilton went clear in their marvellous Trojans. Class six was to be decided here as Dean Vowden got out in his Type 3 Notchback while Claire Rippon stopped at the five.
Incident at Guys
Over at Guys Hill the organisers had to help the police and local farmer to sort out a road traffic accident on the exit road. Fortunately all was well when the cars came along. There were a few who might have preferred the section was cancelled as the tree roots were on form, making life particularly difficult for the re-starters in 6, 7 & 8.
More Roots at Travers
The route headed west of Chew Valley lake for the historic Travers section where 6, 7 and 8 had another battle with a tree rooty restart, which eliminated all but Dean and Claire for Class six honours and failed many in Class Seven.
Muddy Ubley
The Ubley Woods complex lay just up the track, where three sections and a special test were laid out on the top of the hill with magnificent views of the Bristol Channel in the fine weather. The observed sections were very muddy and only Dean Partington retained his clean sheet. Simon Woodall was the only other driver to clean the three Ubley’s but had failed at Guys Hill earlier in the day. Simon was to drop further from contention when he failed the restart at Burledge. He wasn’t the only one and the section is returning to competitiveness after many years following its resurfacing.
Pete Hart and his team had put a lot of work into the Lakeside sections since last year. Unfortunately everything didn’t go too plan, with Mullholland Bank having to be cancelled after PR problems. Then Chimney had to be abandoned for 7 & 8 for safety reasons after a couple of incidents with rear engined cars becoming too light on the front end. Fortunately this didn’t affect the overall result as Dean Partington had gone clean before the closure.
Magnificent John Walker
Seven and Eight had their attempt at Big Uplands on the way to the events finale at John Walker which was as magnificent as ever. Well perhaps not so magnificent for Nick Farmer who dropped six after a puncture resulting in a tyre come off the rim.
Another Classic Allen
So ended another classic Allen Trial. Charlie Kifton was delighted to win Class 1, a rare defeat for Dave Haizelden in this class. Sam Holmes won an event long battle with Hans Viertel and Ryan Tonkin emerging class four winner with his performance on the Ubley sections. In Class 7 Mal Allen won the battle of three Marlins followed by Kevin Barnes in his newly rebuilt supercharged Liege.
Class
1
Charles Knifton (Peugeot 205)
11
2
Adrian Dommett (Wolseley Hornet)
7
3
Dick Bolt (Ford Escort)
15
4
Sam Holmes (VW Beetle)
11
5
Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS)
17
6
Dean Vowden (VW Type 3 Notchback)
24
7
Mal Allen (Marlin)
10
8
Dean Partington (DP Wasp)
0
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Victory so nearly went to Steve Potter in his Trojan
With insurmountable restarts for Classes Seven and Eight on the Ubley Woods sections it was Classes 1,2 and 3 that battled for the overall win. At one stage it looked like Steve Potter may have taken overall honours in his Trojan but that slipped away just before the lunch halt. In the end it was Nick Cleal who took the win after being faster than Bill Bennett on the Special Tests.
It was very cold, with a touch of snow on the ground, as competitors joined the queue for scruitineering. It stretched a long way down the narrow street. Not sure the locals will have enjoyed all those idling engines outside their windows when they were expecting a Sunday morning lie in! The first few sections still had a bit of ice and the rather gentle Tog Hill stopped a couple of the Front Wheel Drive cars. Alan Holly was one of these in a rather low Ford Ka, prepared for endurance rallying rather than trials. Despite the front of his car scraping the ground everywhere he carried on to finish the event. Lets hope he enjoyed himself enough to stick with the sport.
Bitton Lane was not Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive Friendly
For classes three to eight Bitton Lane is all about a restart on polished stones, sited on a left hand bend. This was definitely not class five friendly as none of the four competitors could get their cars away. It was clearly a front engine, rear wheel drive issue as 40% of Class three failed as well, including Aaron Haizelden in his Mexico liveried escort which is surely too nice to trial?
Only Trojans Clean Big Uplands
Big Uplands had an experienced team of marshals from Stroud and DMC. Classes 7 and 8 bypassed the section in the morning and would return for their attempt late in the afternoon. There were some big holes mid way up the section and these were a problem for some of the lower slung cars, including many of the Escorts. The big problem came after the ninety left corner, the momentum lost rounding this was sufficient for most to come to a halt, apart from two cars that is, Steve Potter and John Wilton in their Trojans. The ground clearance certainly helped but hats off to the skill of both drivers to coax their wonderful machines to the summit of this difficult section. A mention to the best of the rest who got to the two. Bill Bennett (MG J2), Dick Bolt (Ford Escort), Reg Salway (BMW), Brian Alexander (Suzuki X90) and Matt Facey (1976 Beetle). Also reaching the two were four competitors in Class One, Nick Cleal, Dave Haizelden, James Shallcross and Charles Knifton.
Retirements at Guys Hill
The historic Guys Hill was next. There are no corners but its polished stones and tree roots are more than enough to trap the unwary, especially with a restart for class six and higher. This was another hill that proved problematic for classes three and five although Keith Sanders (Reliant Scimitar SS1) made amends for an eight on Big Uplands to go clean. In Class 4 Michael Leete left the start with wheels spinning and paid the price, stopping at the five. The other Class 4 competitors all went clear although Colin Perryman was to go no further, retiring with unknown problems, as did Matt Facey in Class 6. The restart for the higher classes saw many of their clean sheets disappear as the old hill did its work.
Past Chew Valley Lake and bypassing Burledge the route went onto the A368 and up Cleeve Hill to Travers. The section wasn’t too much of a problem if you didn’t have to restart, but it was a different matter for those that did. Ian Davis, in his nicely rebuilt VW Buggy, lost his clean sheet here.
Steve Potter leads the Trial in his Trojan before loosing it on Ubley Woods 3
The three Ubley Woods sections were just up the track and these were to determine the result of the trial. The Yellows and Reds had to restart on Ubley Woods 1 and only Tris White (Troll) and Nick Farmer (Cannon Alfa) managed to go clear. Then, like everyone else, Tris failed the Class Eight only restart on Ubley Woods 2. This left Steve Potter in his Trojan the lead of the trial with the only clean sheet. Sadly he was to loose this on Ubley Woods 3 where he dropped three marks. It was possible to get up in a Trojan though, as John Wilton proved when it was his turn.
So, as competitors made their way back to Chew Valley Lake for the rest halt, the leaders were all on two. They were Nick Cleal and James Shallcross in their Peugeot 205’s, the omni-present Dave Haizelden in his familiar Golf, Bill Bennett (MG J2) and Dick Bolt (Escort).
Nick Cleal and Bill Bennett tie for the lead. Nick wins on Special Test Times
These five were reduced to three when neither James nor Dick could get away from the slippery restart on Burledge. Then at the first of the two sections in the Lakeside Complex Dave Haizelden didn’t get all the way out of the bomb hole and lost one mark. That left Nick Cleal and Bill Bennett in the lead on two marks and the situation remained that way till the end, victory going to Nick on Special Test Times.
Whilst this was going on the Yellows and Reds went to Big Uplands for their attempt, with Class Eight having a restart. Most of the leading contenders went clear but after Ubley Woods this didn’t impact on the final results.
Another successful Allen Trial
The trial had its traditional finish at John Walker, a wonderful blast through the mud in the gathering dusk to conclude another excellent Allen Trial. Pete and Carlie Hart, Mark Tooth and the team are to be congratulated on preserving the traditions of the Allen Trial even though they have lost many “real lanes” over the years. In particular moving the Lakeside sections to their present location has been a great improvement and are a welcome addition.
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It was a close run thing. Dean dropped all of his three marks in the Lakeside complex with his Toyota MR2 based DP Wasp. Dave Foreshew was the only driver to clean these three sections in his Ford Dingo special, but hadn’t got away from the Guys Hill restart earlier in the event so had to settle for second. Simon Woodall was third in his familiar VW Buggy.
David Bache on his way to the muddy pool on the first Lakeside section.
Pete Hart and his team ordered good trialling weather for The Allen Trial. Nice and damp but with the rain holding off until the drive home.
There were problems after the introductory Tog Hill, when a police motorcyclist closed the A439 in the village of Wick after half the entry had passed because a wide load was on its way out of Bristol. This delayed proceedings for quite a while and some competitors retraced their steps to make an off-routecard diversion to Bitton Lane. In the end everyone regained the original route, but the running order was mixed up for the rest of the trial.
There were two challenges at Bitton Lane. The restart and getting to it! From the start it looked smooth enough but after the 90 left there were deep ruts on a 90 right and this stopped a lot of cars with limited ground clearance. The restart was in the usual place, a left hand bend surfaced with polished stones. This caught out a surprising number of people, including Mike Hobbs in his Class Six Beetle and Mike Workman, Bill Foreshew and David Bache in Class Eight.
Uplands was next, approached along the normal flooded track, although the water was not as deep as a few years ago. The Yellows and Reds cruised up the resurfaced Little Uplands on a non-competitive transit. They were to have their go at Big Uplands later, the morning was for the minnows in Blue and White who were able to make their assault without having to restart. It was tough enough though, the ruts were fearsome. All the diff draggers in class three bottomed out, leaving the glory to class two who all went clean, even the low powered Austin Sevens!
Guys Hill was next, not to much of a problem for those who didn’t have to restart but the steps and tree roots awaited those that did. Few of the re-starters could get away. Dave Foreshew was one of them and dropped six, which transpired to be the only marks he would loose on the trial. If he had gone clean here Dave would have won the event! Andrew Rippon retired his VW Baja with a broken transmission, concluding that a powerful engine and grippy Matador tyres don’t mix! Michael and Colin Weeks retired their MG Midget here as well. Mainly PCT drivers they had entered The Allen to prepare for The Exeter.
Travers was another traditional Allen Trial hill with a restart for the Yellows and Reds, situated on a nasty rocky area. The non re-starters should have been able to carry enough momentum through the rocks for it to be a trouble free section. However, it wasn’t so easy for some, and three of the Austin Seven’s failed, only Emma Wall going clean in her ex Peter Trelving car. Colin Perryman (BMW 2002) and Michael Leete (VW Beetle) also failed and both should have known better! The Yellows and Reds had quite a challenging restart amongst the rocks. Mike Hobbs made up for his failure on Bitton Lane by being the only class six Beetle to get away. A Marlin was definitely the wrong car here, only Jonathan Ellwood succeeding while all the non-Marlins were successful. Most of the leading runners in class eight were OK, apart from Dave Wall, in his smart Dellow Mk1, which dropped him out of contention.
At the top of Travers competitors turned left into a muddy field for the two Ubley Woods sections and the first special test. The sections were similar, both very muddy, starting on the flat and turning 90 right up a greasy bank. Tyre pressures were free and going as low as possible was definitely the order of the day. Although decidedly out of character with the body of the trial these two sections placed a premium on driving skill and throttle control and while there were a lot of failures the leading contenders in all the classes cleared them both. The trial lost Steve Johnson here after suffering half shaft failure on his Triumph Special.
There was a rest halt beside the reservoir at Chew Valley, with hot meals available in the visitor areas cafeteria for those wanting them. Burledge was just up the road, not the same challenge now the ruts have been filled in, nerveless Simon Groves and Michael Leete both failed the restart under the eagle eye of John and June Blakeley who were marshalling here.
It was back to the mud for three sections at Lakeside. The first was a strange affair, a gentle run up a tree lined muddy bank before dipping into a watery pool with a very sharp right-hander around the trees, taking care to avoid a hidden tree stump, which a kindly Mark Hobbs was pointing out.
Up until now there had been some clean sheets but Dave Haizelden (Golf GTi), Nick Cleal (Peugeot 205), Tristan White (Class 7 Hillman Imp), Dean Partington (DP Wasp), Charlie Shopland (Shopland) and Ian Davis (VW Buggy) all lost them here, failing to get around the right hander in Mark Hobbs pool and dropping either one or two. This left only Adrian Dommett clean in his supercharged Wolseley Hornet. The other two Lakeside sections were PCT style up a muddy bank. Adrian surmounted the first one but failed to get around the bend at the bottom on the second, dropping nine and falling back to fourth overall behind Dean Partington, Dave Foreshew and Simon Woodall.
And that’s how it remained at the finish. The Yellows and Reds had their attempt at Big Uplands and the wonderful John Walker section rounding off the event in fine style but not impacting the leading positions.
Best Overall
Dean Partington (DP Wasp)
3
Class Winners
1
David Haizelden (VW Golf GTi)
10
2
Adrian Dommett (Wolesley Hornet)
9
3
Andrew Martin (Ford Escort)
12
4
Giles Greenslade (VW Beetle)
14
5
Peter Jones (Suzuki X90)
44
6
Adrian Marfell (VW Beetle)
16
7
Tristan White (Imp)
10
8
David Foreshew (Ford Dingo)
6
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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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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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Myke Pocock and Chris Veevers in Baldrick on Birch Hill
The Allen was to be my 2nd ACTC trial and my 4th in total having failed on this years Edinburgh due to mechanical failure due to poor car preparation. No use trying to blame it on anyone else as it was my fault. The plan was to have one last trial in 2004 then possibly the Kyrle next year before my friendly surgeon exercises her, I hope, not inconsiderable talents on my knackered left ankle. Due to the Edinburgh problems Baldricks new semi-independent rear end and accompanying new found ground clearance had not been blooded in serious competition so I was looking forward to a change in the handling characteristics and boy did I get it!
Er’ indoors declined my invite to occupy the left hand seat so a secret weapon in the guise of Chris Veevers was drafted in to offer knowledge and bounce. Whilst Chris had not actually competed on the Allen he and Martin Willis had spectated and video’d in 1999 as part of their research prior to the first Northern Trial. He was therefore able to offer valuable advice from that and previous competitive outings in his old Skoda and more recent Beetle. I also found Michael Leets reports on his site from previous Allens gave valuable information on some sections making tyre pressure choice a little easier. That and the comments freely given by other competitors at the section starts make it such a delight to compete.
With a one way mileage of near on 300 we had decided to travel on the Saturday, B&B overnight, compete and then travel home on the Sunday. Collecting the trailer from Chris’ and loading Baldrick gave little indication of the trauma to follow later in the day. Setting of at a little past mid-day and simply travelling through Carlisle to the M6 gave a little indication that all was not well in the handling department but it was on to the motorway and increase speed only to discover that at anything over 50 the trailer started to snake slightly. Chris then announced that I had loaded the trailer up with the car facing forward and consequently the engine was at the back. Not exactly conducive to good handling! We stopped at the next junction to re-organise. Was this going to solve the problem? Setting off back on to the motorway showed little improvement. My God, this journey at 50 was going to take some time. After a few more fishtails I was getting increasingly worried then the BIG ONE. Going down hill and a little over 50 everything happened. It must have looked spectacular as the cars in the middle and outside lane anchored up and put their hazards on. Was that just to look at the entertainment or were they worried as well? I suspect the latter. We immediately turned around, set off back home where the trailer was substituted for our club A frame then got back on to the road, some 3 hours later than planned. We decided that the combined car and trailer weight was simply too much by far for my tow vehicle. A lesson learned with, fortunately no drastic outcome.
Due to our delay we arrived in the area beyond 9pm and failed twice to find somewhere to get a meal. Ironically we finally managed to get fed and watered at The Cross House, the trial start venue and 2 minutes drive from our B&B.
Following signing on the following morning and a pretty comprehensive scrutineer we had time to chin wag and drool over some of the assembled machinery. Chris was particularly interested in the Beetle spare wheel carriers on display as his failed on the Ilkley Trial and a new one is planned. It looks like one manufactured from large section tube as fitted to Giles Greenslades new Class 6 Beetle will fit the bill.
Eleven minutes past ten saw car 72 set off for Section 1, Tog Hill where, with 18psi in the tyres, we had an easy run to the top to shake things down well for the rest of the day. There then followed a 10-mile road section to the next section. This involved passing some earlier competitors cars well covered in mud prompting an in car discussion on just what lay in store at Birch Hill. On arrival we were greeted by a queue of at least 15 cars waiting to cross the field to the start of the section. In threes they set off, some having trouble even with the ruts on the access track to the section. The return of a Marlin and Dellow down the track certainly put in question our ability to clean the section. Anyway, after a good half hour we set off and had a brief wait at the section start with time to drop the tyres to 12 before our chance. From my research I knew to keep momentum going to the right hand deviation into the field and that there was a patch of clay to negotiate. Some understatement that!!! What a cracker. We were faced with a field covered with deep tyre tracks in thick mud from previous cars and my thought was no way were we to get though THAT. However Baldrick had other ideas and we kept going, and going,……. and going but I was convinced that as it got a bit steeper we would bog down. Not a bit of it and with Chris’ instructions shouted in my ear to “Keep going Myke, we haven’t finished the section yet”, we cleared the brow of the hill and negotiated the mud lagoon in the corner of the field before the road, declining the route book request ‘to stop there and remove mud’. I don’t think so. We now had the answer to why all those cars were mud covered.
A further 7 miles or so saw us tackle Bitton Lane which eludes my memory apart from our note that it was stony and muddy with a tyre pressure of 12 this time and we made the restart OK and cleaned it. It was then on to Guys Hill which I knew slightly having seen it on the video. No restart for us Class 4’s on this one and 12 psi once again but we ran out of puff at the 3 marker after generating a good quantity of tyre smoke. Perhaps we should have kept the tyres a bit harder but it probably wouldn’t have made any difference as it was pure power that we lacked.
A further short run to the two Special Tests where 1 went OK and 2 is best forgotten about with an over run on the CC line. Now, I had decided that a quick time was not necessarily required as I wouldn’t be in line for class honours but a fail was definitely not on the agenda. However, when push comes to shove and the red mist comes down you go for it don’t you? What a difference 6 points made in the results. If my leg had been long enough I would have kicked my own backside.
The next Section was Travers Hill which we noted as a rough section with much banging from the underside and, following a clean and run out at the top of the section I detected a familiar noise from the front end. My Edinburgh this year had started and finished after the first section due to a failure of the two lower shocker mounting bolts on each side at the front end. This was due to me raising the front end by swapping the wishbones side to side and failing to re-weld the mounting nuts. This time it appears that one new weld has failed but the bolt was still captive so apart from a slight rattle battle could continue. Nevertheless I double checked the bolt at the following lunch halt but all was in good and useable nick.
After feeding and watering ourselves it was a short run to another of my top hills of the trial, Burledge. Again we had something of a wait here, cars being allowed up in threes to the start which gave us time for another chin wag, some research on how to drive the section and what pressures where advisable. There was also a rather tasty Lotus 6 parked at the bottom that got my attention. It was here that Harvey Walters came hurtling back down to the holding area and parked it on the verge with gearbox selector problems. Once again we dropped pressures to 12 and we knew that there was a ridge across the section shortly after the start needing a bit of care but after that it turned slightly right, increasing in steepness, getting narrower and narrower and the ruts deepening towards the top. Once again a terrific hill but I don’t think we could have got any better than our 4, simply running out of grunt, but how the hell does Adrian M clean that hill with 1300cc?
It was now getting towards dusk as we headed to Nanny Hurns where we passed a sad looking Class 8 parked up by the roadside having lost its offside rear wheel. Once again I had something of an idea of what to expect, or thought I did. as Chris had also videod this hill. I liked this one too but thought there was no way we would get around the bend. Baldrick, however, had other ideas and with something like a wall of death technique, the banking keeping us on line, we shot round the bend with me expecting the section to go on and on. Not so as it ended just a little further on.
By the time we got to Little Uplands headlights were needed and we had to negotiate what looked like seriously deep puddles in the lights on the track to the section start. After a short wait all I can recall were some serious bumps on this one, looking far worse than they were I suppose as the headlights cast large shadows. The last hill of the day, John Walker was also known to Chris and I know he had been looking forward to this all day. Following a brief stop in the holding control, time to drop pressures to 10 I think, we were at the start. The marshal reported that the water in the beck was not to deep so remembering Chris’ instructions to take care through the beck we set of, once clear of the water giving it some stick as instructed. After the slight deviation about half way up it seemed to get rougher and rougher, at one stage the whole of the front end lifting off and crashing down. Terrific!!! With about ¾ of the section complete we were just about celebrating our success when I suddenly lost traction. Suspecting that the gearbox had jumped out of gear I pushed the clutch peddle down and the gear-stick forward with no apparent result. Drop the clutch again and boot the throttle, but slightly suspecting that we had stopped for a brief moment, we slowly but slowly crept to the top of the section and parked on the road. Inspection revealed that we had rolled a near side rear tyre off the rim, at the time I thought due to probably having the pressures too low. The well of the wheel was polished down to bare metal with no hint of paint with the friction and spinning of the tyre Had we made it though? On Chris instructions I ran back to the marshal who, with a comment that was music to my ears, announced that “I will give you that one”. Subsequent investigations a few days later revealed the failure had been due to two adjacent cuts in the outer side wall of the tyre of about 1 and 11/2 inches caused presumably by a sharp rock.
A quick change of wheel, a short drive back to the Cross House, sign off at about 6pm then back to the tow car to set off home. We finally got home at about 12.30 after a cracking days sport. Baldrick had run a treat with the new semi-independent rear end and raised ground clearance performing as hoped for. All there is to do is fit a new tyre, weld the shocker mounting and apply a little delicate momentum to a club hammer to knock some dents out of a couple of wheels.
My thanks to Chris Veevers for acting as passenger and mobile expert and to Bristol Motor Club for a very enjoyable and well run event. Finishers certificates individualised with competitors names was a nice touch as was the short article from the organisers that accompanied the results that arrived by post a few days later.The problem is, of course, as I begin to experience all these cracking competitions I want to do them again every year. Cost and mileage will prevent that one though so it is nice to see that Ilkley Motor Club are to become members of the ACTC and to hope that their trial will become a regular fixture in the North of the country.. Wouldn’t it be nice for us northern competitors to see more new trials in this neck of the woods. Who will be next to organise one? A Scottish club perhaps?
Myke Pocock with Chris Veevers and Baldrick.
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
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