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Roger Teagle had the lowest car score but the overall award went to Dave Haizelden on Index.
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Nick dropped two marks on the first section at the new Frys Bottom location. It was a close thing though as he was chased home by no less than five competitors on three marks. Aaron Haizelden taking the second overall on test times.
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As competitors gathered at the start it was clear that with all the rain during the previous week this years Allen was going to be a muddy trial.
After leaving The Bull at Hindon the early morning Classic Lanes of Tog Hill, Bitton Lane and Big Uplands saw only a handful of competitors loose marks. A big change from the past when Big Uplands was a real terror, but the resurfacing gas changed all that.
It was Guys Hill that started to see significant marks lost, with a common restart on polished stones for Classes 4, 6, 7 and 8. The hill was as slippery as usual and wasn’t that friendly to around half of the non-restarters. Many of the Class 8’s struggled and it was the tricklers that seemed to do best. In Class Seven Dudley Sterry, Duncan Stephens and Mal Allen were the only clears. The Beetles did well, even the lower powered ones in Class four where Craig Allen and Anthony Young were successful.
Travers
Ubley Wood lay just up the track. There weren’t as many sections here this year as Pete Hart and his team had found the Fry’s Bottom Complex to add to the afternoons challenge. With all the wet weather they were very muddy and reduced clean sheets down to a handful, spread across the classes.
Ubley Woods 1 was a new one, right by the fence with the lane with a tight 90 turn into it. This was a clean/fail section and proved straightforward for all but a few.
With Tris White failing to get away from the Class Eight only restart on the sub-divided Ubley Wood 2 there was only Nick Farmer left on zero in Class Eight so overall could go to one of the lower classes.
Tony Young wasn’t going to win though, retiring when his Beetle transmission failed. There were a few others who didn’t get to the lunch halt as Daniel Bowden (BMW), Chris Maries (Suzuki GV2000) and Peter Mountain (Dellow Mk1) were all out of the event.
Burledge
After Burledge came the new Frys Bottom complex where the event was decided. All were subdivided with restarts for Yellow and Red on two of the three sections. There was a lot of mud under the trees and the sections either didn’t go out of the top or if they did very few got that far. This caused some delays at the second section which deteriorated during the day.
Nick Farmer dropped his only marks of the event on the first of the three sections, failing at the two as did Dudley Sterry (MG J2) and Aaron Haizelden (Reliant Scimitar). These were now the only three left with clean sheets. This didn’t last as Aaron and Dudley both lost one mark on Frys Bottom 2. Nick went clear here and for the remainder of the event to point another overall win.
John Walker
Returning through the water at the foot of the section competitors found Little Uplands cancelled for fear of a tree blowing down in the very high winds. That just left the glorious run up John Walker in the dusk. It did’t have any impact on the results but was glorious fun.
So ended another Allen Trial, enjoyed by all.
| Class | Driver/Car | Marks |
| Overall | Nick Farmer (VW Fugitive) | 2 |
| 1 | David Haizelden (VW Golf) | 3 |
| 2 | Bill Bennett (MG J2) | 8 |
| 3 | Matt Facey (BMW 316) | 4 |
| 4 | Craig Allen (VW Beetle) | 3 |
| 5 | Aaron Haizelden (Reliant Scimitar) | 3 |
| 6 | Andrew Rippon (VW Beetle) | 8 |
| 7 | Dudley Sterry (MG J2) | 3 |
| 8 | Tris White (Troll) | 9 |
We had possibly my worst day for a VERY long time. Guys always defeats us, Dave Haizelden recons its because I don’t carry enough weight. But this year we were struggling before we even reached the line.
Took the wrong line on Travers despite thinking about the right line even as we approached the restart. The first Ubey Wood section was a new one, right by the fence with the lane with a tight 90 turn into it. We understeered into the fence, reversed off and went up. For some reason, Stuart Harrold didn’t notice our reverse and gave us a clear!
I don’t think I let the tyres down enough on Burledge, familiarity breeding contempt here.
The new sections at Frys Bottom were a great addition to the event, I don’t know if the first one went out, but I don’t think so. A short sharp blast, starting with a 90 left off the track with a bumpy lip to stop you from getting the power on too early.
FB2 caused some delays as climbers had to return down the bottom part of the section. Much mud amongst tree roots caused some problems and a nasty camber at the top had many sliding off into a tree – hence the plethora of ones. FB3 was faily simple, wih Josh Moss in charge. If it hadn’t been so wet, I don’t thonk it would have troubled anyone. It too didn’t go out so we had to queue at the top to go back down in groups – most un Allen like.
We were finally given the boot, when the car stopped just above the landing on John-Walker with total electrical failure. Couldn’t work out what it was in the wet and dark so scrounged a lift back to the start to get the Pick-Up and went home in disgrace.
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
Time Penalties affect Results
Putting the issue of time penalties to one side this was a well organised trial, a fitting end to Tim’s Whellock and Keeling’s spell as Exeter Trial organisers. The weather was quite nice and the sections kind, apart from Simms that is, which restricted the number of Premier Awards.
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As competitors converged on Haynes Museum after the night run few knew of the incident on the A303 affecting John Wilton’s Trojan. Sadly Johns passenger was very poorly after the accident and at at the time of writing no more news is available.
Continue reading “Exeter 2015”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.
Gentle Introduction
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
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
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
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
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
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
Classical Gas 