Pat and Jonathan Toulmin had thought of everything, and even organised good weather for their trial. So conditions were ideal when Falcons David Thompson led the entry, in class order, away from the start. Unfortunately this didn’t include David Alderson’s Troll. No sooner had he fixed the clutch he blew on the Exeter, than there were major problems with the front suspension and the bits to fix it didn’t arrive in time. The thorough Toulmin organisation had started the class eight’s at one minute intervals, but spaced the lower orders two minutes apart so they wouldn’t get in each others way too much when they got stuck! Jonathan must have been reading the “hanging back” debate over on the Web Community, because he instituted penalties for slipping too far back down the field.
Classical Gas Web Community member Tony Branson’s dramas started before the off, when he had had minor problems with his lights at scruitineering. But it was good to see that Sally Bolam had recovered from the cuts to her face that she sustained when their Marlin dived into the bushes on the Exeter’s Normans Hump.
Farlow has been the Clee’s first section in recent years, but there were problems with the neighbours this year so Jonathan substituted the woods at Starvecrow. These were very muddy and several competitors, including Mike Hayward and Robin Howard, had problems getting to and from the sections. It wasn’t David Thompson or Maureen Chattle’s favourite place either, as they both failed in the lower reaches of the section and the following special test as well.
Starvecrow was followed by a long 20-mile road run to Allez Oop, a hill first used in 1938 and described in detail in C. A. N. May’s book “Wheelspin”. These days the hill is surfaced with shale so there was a fair amount of grip and Jonathan spiced things up with a re-start for the yellows and reds.
Mike Hayward got off the re-start OK, but with a slipping clutch and massive clouds of white smoke, so much that he was concerned the engine was on fire! At the summit Mike found a fair amount of oil all over the engine, so stopped to clean it up and adjust the clutch before the next section.
There was a diff check just before the next section called Stanbatch which was a long easy section, much loved by the VSCC. A bunch of marshal’s leapt out from behind the hedge with a trolley jack and proceeded to check the diff in the middle of a single-track road.
Adstone was approached down a steep muddy rutted track that would have been a good challenge for the class 8 boys if used uphill. There was a rocky ford at the bottom, which was the downfall of Robin Howard, as he hit something nasty in the middle causing the front brakes to lock on and even the Land Rover had problems in dragging the Dutton Sierra out of the section.
This was followed by a long blast up Ratlinghope and Jonathan continued to delight by finding a brand new hill he called Gatten’s Gamble. This long section stated with a steepish bank before the gradient eased off. It didn’t get any easier though, as the surface changed from rocks to mud and the ruts got pretty fearsome as well. This was certainly not one for the faint hearted, as you would stop if you eased off, as Neil Bray found out when he punctured. Mike Hayward had tyre problems as well, but kept his trotter down and came out of the top OK. There were a couple of notable class eight failures here as both Mike Pearson (Dellow Replica) and Bill Foreshew (GVS) ground to a halt on the final grassy bank.
The traditional Clee sections of Harton Wood and Hungerford didn’t trouble the scorer too much, although it was pretty difficult to get out of the latter because of some very deep ruts. Peter Thompson had come all the way from Essex in his Opel Kadett and must have thought it was never going to get back there when he well and truly grounded out. The route card suggested straddling the right hand track, but this wasn’t practical as the car just slipped back in the ruts again. Finally Peter managed to back out, lightened his load by jettisoning his passenger and charged the obstacle at full speed to get out.
Longville was nice and simple for the lower orders, but the yellows and reds had restarts actually on the steep ramp onto the main road. This was a gathering point for spectators, who included web community participants Kevin Barnes and Falcons Dave Nash and Alan Bellamy. This was Anthony Young’s downfall as he dropped his only mark of the day. If he hadn’t he would have been the overall winner as he had by far the best time on the special tests. Mind you he wasn’t the only one as very few class eights got away cleanly, and even Dudley Sterry dropped a three. Notable class eight cleans were Adrian Dommett and Stuart Harrold, both retaining their clean sheets. David Thompson was also successful in his Buggy, a small consolation for all the marks he had dropped at Starvecrow first thing in the morning.
The Railway Special Test was a funny affair. To get a good time you had too crawl up a steep hill very slowly by slipping the clutch. Until you got half way when you blasted the rest. Yes was an interesting variation but not popular amongst those who liked to take care of their clutch! This was where Paul Bartleman won the event. He was one of three drivers to still have clean sheets and his time here was light years ahead of Adrian and Stuarts.
The trial was drawing a close now. The leading contenders are growing wise to the hairpin at Ippkins Rock and it didn’t influence the result. It still catches out the unary though including ace class seven man Roger Bricknell.
Just as the trial started with a muddy section through the woods so it finished, this time with Hillside, located within the Boyne Estate, just a mile or so from the finish. The principle class eight contenders and Paul Bartleman all went clear so it had no effect on the overall result. None of the Falcons got up but like everyone else I spoke to they enjoyed the event enormously. It was imaginative, with the challenge judged to perfection as the results show. Jonathan and Pat must be congratulated for finding those new sections and devising such a beautifully scenic route. They have run The Clee for four years now, during which thy have listened and improved their trial. Long may this excellent event continue under their stewardship.
| Overall | Paul Bartleman | Escort Estate | 0 |
| 1 and 2 | Terry Coventry | Citroen AX | 14 |
| 3 and 5 | Ian Moss | Escort | 7 |
| 4 | Richard Peck | Beetle | 8 |
| 6 | Nigel Allen | Beetle | 3 |
| 7 | Tim Lakin | Marlin | 4 |
| 8 | Adrian Dommett | Special | 0 |
| 0 | David Lucas | Buckler | 4 |
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