You have stumbled on a delightful box of tricks, Classic Trials & other perverse stuff from Michael Leete. MCC ACTC and other trials. VW Beetles, Dellows, Marlins, or even Suzuki X90's
Duncan Welch makes it two in a row with a clean sheet.
Brian Colman ran Duncan very close though, also getting a clean sheet in his Dutton Phaeton, victory going to Duncan’s Austin Healey SS on Special Test Times.
Going into the final three sections in Binghams Wood Don Stringer (Austin 7), Steve Potter (Trojan Utility), Simon Robson (Liege), Martin Allen (Racecorp) and Jim Mountain (Dellow Mk1) were also clean. However, all but Jim failed to climb the notorious “Verduns Bank” on Beetle Drive and then Jim couldn’t get the Dellow away from the “Class 8 Stopper” restart on the last hill.
March Hare Winner Duncan Welch looks worried on Binghams Warren, knowing the “impossible” class eight restart is just around the corner.. (Picture by Dave Cook).
The crews lined up at Watling Street Cafe, just off junction nine of the M1, on 11th March. There were only two non-starters from the 43 entries (coincidently the same number as a NASCAR field) so 41 cars took the start after passing through the scrutiny of John and June Blakeley and Steve Willis.
The first section, with sponsor Murray MacDonald in charge, was in superb condition after the recent spell of wet weather, which had made it challenging for a first section, even in the absence of a restart. Almost everyone made it, except the lower slung class 0 cars of Ben Hardcastle (Skoda Favorit) and James McMurray (MG Midget) who struggled with the ruts at the top.
With Reg Taylor and Geoff Jackson in charge everyone behaved themselves and cleaned this short little section.
Once again the challenge of Water Tower was the muddy ruts at the bottom which were avoided by most people and again everyone went clean.
The first Special Test was nice and simple Start on Line A, go through Line B without stopping and finish astride Line C. Why can’t they all be like that? Mike Pearson (Dellow Mk2 Rep) and Brian Colman (Dutton Phaeton) were joint fastest with 11.24 seconds.
The observed section started up the stony track before, going down, through the upper gate and sharp right to follow the fence. At the top it was wise to stop and back down the first bit as Colin Sumner found when his Beetle tilted dangerously sideways. It didn’t claim many scalps but Ian Nute, Ivan Sharrock and Ben Hardcastle all succumbed to lack of grip on the grassy surface.
The club were very lucky with the weather. Edlesborough is very sensitive to the rain. Easy when its dry, totally impossible when its wet. For the March Hare it was just right. Both sections were very artificial in nature but were well marked with tape. The first started at the bottom of the hill and wound its way through the bomb hole before trip though the roller coasters at the back of the hill.
The bombhole proved a problem for the lower classes, the gradient and a bit of mud making grip a premium. In class two neither Kevin Coplestone (Singer) nor Ivan Sharrock (HRG) could get through but both the Tojans sailed up and went on to clean the section and Steve Potter got through the next one as well. In class three only John Groves was clean and in four Nigel Jones failed. Also in four the Roller Coaster proved to much for Aaron Homewoods Skoda which broke a drive shaft and Aaron had to retire. Yellows and reds had a restart in the roller coaster, this stopped a couple, including Mark Worsfold who dropped two, without which he would have won class eight.
The second section at Edlesborough used one of the established routes through the bushes with a restart for all except 0 and 2 at the end. Again most of the entry were clean although both the Suzuki X90’s stopped on the first bit. The re-start wasn’t friendly to rear engined cars and neither Nigel Jones nor Colin Sumner could get away.
The Herts VW Club were in charge of two very different sections. Section seven started with a very muddy climb through the trees before a tight hairpin and descent to a sandy restart for classes three to eight and a steep climb to exit the section. The restart wasn’t to prove much of a problem, but the earlier muddy part was, for those who didn’t give it enough welly, or had limited ground clearance. Those who failed here gave Burl Solmons some work to do with his recovery Land Rover.
Section Eight had to be re-routed because of a fallen tree. It was a nice long journey around the sandpit with different restarts for the various classes. Unfortunately it wasn’t marked very well, causing a problem for some who wrong routed. Sections like this need a fair degree of taping and I am sure Falcon will learn the lesson for next year. The restart for the higher classes meant the end of some clean sheets and Ted Holloway (Enigma Special), Nicholas Cross, Julian Lack and Roger Dudely (Marlins) and the Lieges of Stephen Kenny, Richard Irvine and Mark Endley all dropped six here.
After another straightforward special test came the deceptively difficult section, where the restart on the steep grassy bank was problematical for quite a few of the lower classes.
Although nobody realised it at the time this Special Test was to decide the winner between the two sheets as Duncan Welsh was three seconds faster than Brain Colman. Unfortunately former March Hare organiser John Parsons didn’t make it to Ivinghoe in his type 4 engined buggy. The engine had been loosing a lot of oil and finally nipped up so John had to retire.
A previously un-trialled section, on land owned by Mike Young, builder of the Racecorp driven in the event by Martin Allen. Mike has been taking a trialling sabbatical recently but expect him back on the hills in a Marlin soon.
The section was a long blast on grass, following the hedgerow. Well not so much of a blast for seven and eight who had a deviation and a restart. The hill was in prime condition, very sticky near the summit but well on if you got the throttle control right.
Ian Davis was in charge here and had laid out a restart on the Right Hand Bend. The ruts on this lane made it a bit marginal for Class 0 and both Ben Hardcastle and James McMurray had problems with ground clearance and failed. James was to do well to reach the finish in his MG Midget as it was on three cylinders for part of the event, diagnosed as a crack in the distributor cap, right by one of the contacts.
Neither Suzuki got away from the restart and neither did Ross Nuten who was really struggling with fuel starvation with his Dellow Mk2.
The first section in the Binghams complex contained the notorious “Verduns bank”, which only Duncan Welch climbed last year. The lower part wasn’t to bad (it had been eased the day before because of the wet conditions). However, above the cross track it was very sticky. The lower classes had a clean run at it, but none succeeded. Seven and Eight were denied a clean run as they had a restart in the goo. It looked impossible, but it wasn’t, as Duncan, Jim Mountain and Brian Colman all came out of the top. Supermen indeed as this was supposed to be the stopper of the event!
The lower classes had a clear run, with an easier route for Class 0 and only Ian Nute in the Suzuki X90 had problems in the mid reaches where Mike Pearson had cleared the fallen tree the week before.
Seven and Eight had the infamous restart on the tree route where positioning was everything and caught out 50% of the seven and eights.
The final section in the Binghams complex and the final section of the event was all about a very tight left hander. Most could go straight through, but not class eight who had to restart right on the bend itself. Even without the restart it wasn’t so easy for the lower classes and in two to six only Steve Potter succeeded. He cleaned this one last year as well. How long before we have a Trojan winning The March Hare?
Three in class seven were successful Brian Colman, Simon Robson and Martin Allen. Unfortunately Simon and Martin had previously failed Verduns Bank, but his success here earned Brian a clean sheet. The class eight restart was supposed to be a stopper, but neither Mark Worsfold nor Duncan Welch had read the script, got away and around the hairpin. This gave Duncan a clean sheet to tie with Brian Colman on the hills and win the event on Special Test times.
The finish was at The Bull in Redbourn High Street where Margaret Lawson soon worked out the results confirming that the popular Duncan Welch was the overall winner for the second year running.
March Hare Trophy
Duncan Welch (Austin Healey SS))
0
Best Falcon
Simon Robson (Liege)
6
Best Novice
Ben Hardcastle (Skoda Favorit)
80
Class Winners
0
Don Stringer (Austin 7)
6
2
Steve Potter (Trojan Utility)
6
3
John Groves (Escort)
28
4
Anthony Young (VW Beetle)
12*
7
Brian Colman (Dutton Phaeton)
0
8
Jim Mountain (Dellow Mk1)
6
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Chris Clarke has driven in several March Hares. This year he won Class One and kindly agreed to write a report on his trial
Is it my imagination, or are Classic trials starting earlier than they did last year? Anyway, we had to leave Bristol at the ungodly hour of 5:00am in order to reach the start on time. At this point it was snowing heavily and as we climbed through the Cotswolds, it got thicker and started to settle on the road, making both driving and the prospect of changing to the “trials” wheels & tyres when we arrived distinctly interesting. However by the time we passed Oxford it had stopped and we were able to complete our pre-event swap in dry and relatively warm conditions. As always the truck stop provided an excellent breakfast and we set of at 08:36 well fortified for the rigours ahead.
The first couple of sections could be tricky, with some deep ruts and in these circumstances, I think the FWD cars have an advantage because they tend to go where the wheels are pointing – although this still depends on the driver pointing them the right way in the first place. Anyway, we got through them without much drama and proceeded to the first special test.
This looked completely straightforward on paper, but such are classic trials that someone had chosen to liven it up by placing “gate B” at the top of a steep grassy slope, at about the altitude of an Everest base camp. However we were encouraged by Martin Halliday’s very tidy and successful drive in the Fiat Panda and set off full of hope only to run out of grunt about ¾ of the way up the slope. It would have been possible to take the corner at the bottom faster and maybe that would have done the trick, or maybe the slope of the hill would have carried you to far from the correct course to succeed, or maybe……
Two sections had been set out at Eddlesborough, the first being an interesting series of ups & downs, with a tight corner between each. Regular readers of these articles will recall that last year we lost an argument with a tree here, so we felt we were justified in being prudent, but of course we eventually lost momentum and stopped frustratingly short of clearing the last steep climb.
This year the organisers had assembled the Brickhills trials construction set slightly differently. The first section seemed to go on for ever but never got tight enough to seriously trouble the Golf, or the navigator, unlike the second, where we go to the top of one rise; became totally disoriented and by the time we had worked out the correct route managed to demolish a marker. Unfortunately, we started the post section analysis before we had got through the gully after the finish, made a complete hash of it and nearly buried the car at the bottom.
We like to support local vendors and my only criticism of the final instructions (and this concerns food, so is serious) was that it was not clear enough that there would be refreshments available at the lunch stop. Unaware of this, we had made our own arrangements, and despite the inviting cooking smells, we knew that to return home with our better halves lovingly crafted sandwiches uneaten was asking for trouble, so we had to miss out on that one.
The special test at Ivinghoe was the scene of a classic farce last year as we recorded what must be the “longest test time whilst avoiding a fail” on record. This year we were forewarned, as the car in front passed “line B” and then spun round and nearly through the hedge. This bought a memorable understatement from the marshal that it was “a bit tricky over there”. Onto the section where we had the pleasure of watching the Trojans attempt it, they are wonderful vehicles from a different age. We were pleased to get as far as we did on the steep bit at the start of the section, but again stopped frustratingly close to the summit.
The last three sections were in the same wooded area used at the end of last years event and my crib sheet noted that, on that occasion, we were successful on both. I don’t know whether keeping records of this sort can invoke the “Murray Walker” factor but this year was a completely different story. On the first, we slipped sideways at one point and were trapped by a small but deadly tree root. The second was better, but, continuing the day’s pattern, we lost control and demolished the very last marker. It’s always been my belief that, if you re going to fail, it’s best to do so in a spectacular and memorable fashion, and the last section provided a good example as we chose to hit a tree right in front of the photographer. My apologies to the official who had chosen to stand in a perfectly sensible location that no-one could reasonably threaten, but even with a lower ratio gearbox, it’s hard to keep the Golf’s momentum without seriously theatrical arm twirling and eventually we just ran out of room.
Our thanks to the officials and marshals, who worked very hard throughout the day (some seemed to be in three places at once and most had to reassemble some route markers damaged by car no 3) and had again put in a lot of effort to create the instructions, negotiate the use of land and all the 1001 other things that must be done for an event of this sort. Once again the March Hare provided an enjoyable and varied days classic trialling.
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Twenty Four Crews lined up at The Watling Street Café, just of Junction nine of the M1, on 13th March. There had been 27 entries James Diffey had broken his glorious Bresica Bugatti and two of the Lieges non-started including Stephen Kenny who had a bad boot of flu and didn’t relish the long journey down from Lancashire.
It was dry again this year so there was plenty of grip. The challenge was the rutted area at the top where the lower slung cars needed to be cautious in the interest of their under sides. Ted Holloway was the only failure when he got his rear engined Mini Special sideways and wedged across the track.
No problems here and everyone went clean.
Once again the challenge of Water Tower was the muddy ruts at the bottom which were avoided by most people and again everyone went clean.
Next came a special test at Kensworth. Duncan Welch set fastest time. This was to be very important at the end of the trial as it was to decide the event.
Dry conditions meant the sections could use the full extent of Edlesborough which is not possible when it is wet. The first section explored the ups and downs through the trees at the back of the hummock with a tricky restart for classes 7 and 8. This caught out both Fred Gregory and Roger Dudley who were to battle for 2nd in class 7 all day.
The second section utilised the steep bank at the far end before going up one of the tracks through the trees, back down again before a restart and going on through the trees. The Front Wheel Drives and the Trojans had problems with the bank at the start. Thomas Aldrian stormed up in his little Austin 7 and most of the others made it OK as well, vindicating the organisers decision to re-use this route after many years. In the Class 7 battle Fred Gregory got away from the restart, but Roger Dudley failed and so did Richard Irvine in his newly completed Liege.
John Parsons had problems setting out the Brickhill sections as the ground was still cut up from the 4 x 4 boys. Both were easily on for most of the entry provided they didn’t understeer off on the tight sandy turns.
The early numbers were able to watch the action by the later numbers as this was also the lunch break. Unfortunately there were a couple of retirements here. Christopher Jones didn’t continue with his Wolesley Hornet and Keith Pettit retired with clutch problems.
Ivinghoe setup the leadership race for the second part of the trial as a number of clean sheets went by the wayside and only Jim Mountain (Dellow Mk1), John Groves (Escort) and Thomas Aldrian (Austin Seven) remained on zero. The section was preceded by a special test and Jim Mountain presented his credentials for a win by setting the fastest time both on this one and for the two together so if he remained clean the win would be his.
Unfortunately Clerk of the Course Arnold Lane had to call off the new Ostrich Hill as the Ostrich’s were on heat! Nearby the established Hawridge Lane was there to trap the unwary. Ted Holloway failed the restart and so did roger Dudley, dropping him behind Keith Oakes and Fred Gregory in the Class 7 battle.
The lower reaches of Beetle Drive followed the route of last years Falcon’s Folly, on reaching the cross track though it continued up into the trees up a new bank discovered by Verdun Webley during the January working party and cleared with his chain saw by Mike Pearson. The bank itself was covered with leaf-mould and 7’s and 8’s had a restart just before to slow them down. Car after car failed the bank and it looked impossible until Duncan Welch came along and stormed up. This put him in an equal lead of the trial as Jim Mountain, John Groves and Thomas Aldrian all failed here.
The second section in Binghams Wood was changed only slightly from last year, complete with a tricky 7 and 8 restart on a tree root. Higher up there was a new deviation for 3 to 8 and they also had another restart right up at the summit. It was the restart on the tree root that was to prove difficult. The four leaders all succeeded and so did a delighted Fred Gregory, Peter Crawford, Roger Dudley and Keith Oakes. For the others it was curses, tyre smoke and a deeper hole for next year!
The lower reaches of the final section started by going up the bank that it went down last year. Crossing the track it then wound up a new track, created with Mike Pearson’s chain saw, sharp left and then exited alongside a disused compound. The left hander was very tight and there was an “impossible” restart here for class 8.
The left hander proved a real challenge. It was possible though and was cleaned by a varied selection of cars, starting with Steve Potter’s Trojan then Roger Dudley, Keith Oakes and Thomas Aldrian. John Groves failed to get round so there were now three cars tying for the lead on six. Along came Jim Mountain who like all the preceding class 8’s couldn’t get away from the restart. So it looked as if overall victory would go to an Austin Seven. The problem was that Duncan Welch hadn’t read the script, stopped on the line and just pulled away, turned the corner and went on to clean the hill.
This stunning performance put him in a joint lead of the trial with Thomas Aldrian on 6 marks, so it would be down to the special tests.
Back at the A5 truck stop the computerised results showed that Duncan was fasted on the special tests and won overall. Jim Mountain won class 8 for the second year. Keith Oakes won class 7, with Roger Dudley just pipping Fred Gregory for second place.
Looking Back
This was a very exciting March Hare with tremendous drama during the second half and the result decided on the last hill. Particular mention must go to Verdun Webley who assembled more than 50 marshals on the day; To Mike Pearson who worked very hard to create the new sections in Binghams Wood only to be to ill to participate on the day; To The local Herts VW Club who provided a marshalling team at Brickhill. Thanks guys.
Overall Winner
Duncan Welch (Austin Healey SS))
6
Best Falcon
Roger Dudley (Marlin)
Class Winners
0
Martin Halliday (Fiat Panda)
29
1
Chris Clarke (VW Golf)
32
2
Thomas Aldrian (Austin 7)
6
3
John Groves (Escort)
17
5
Peter Manning (MG Midget)
18
7
Keith Oakes (Dutton Phaeton)
12
8
Jim Mountain (Dellow Mk 1)
12
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Keith Pettit put in the best performance on The March Hare, winning National B. Last years winner Ian Davis was second and Ross Nuten best in Clubsport.
Keith Pettit eases his venerable Frogeye Sprite between the banks of Norton Street Lane on his way to best overall performance on Murray’s March Hare
There were 42 crews entered but the flu bug struck and 36 crewsgathered at The Watling Street Café, just of Junction nine of the M1, on 13th March.
With dry conditions, no restart, and an absence of loose stones, Norton Street Lane was cleaned by everyone except John Wilton who retired his venerable Trojan with a seized engine. John had rebuilt the two stroke motor after it was down on power on The Exeter and reckoned he hadn’t honed the bores sufficiently. The only other cars to hit trouble were some of the lower slung FWD cars who strayed into the deep rut on the left hand side and scrapped their bottoms in the process.
It wasn’t so long ago that this section was totally impassable. Then along came the council’s road gang and now it’s probably smoother than the nearby M1! It’s so smooth that it’s not competitive as an observed section so it was run as a regularity again under the eager eye of sponsor Murray MacDonald. It involved driving an un-known distance in a known time. This defeated most people but it was a condition of using the track that outright speed would not be a factor.
Last years PR problems had been overcome and Cress Beds and water Tower were on the agenda again. Arnold Lane and Mike Pearson’s road mending was still in place at the top and only Pete Crawford had problems when he stalled his Marlin changing from 1st to 2nd.
The challenge at Water Tower was the muddy ruts at the bottom which were avoided by most people apart from David Symons in his Citroen AX and Alun Lewis in his Yellow Marlin. Alun created the biggest bow wave of the day, drowning out the Marlin and giving the recovery crew some exercise!
Next up should have been Half Moon Lane but it had to be cancelled when the County Council decided to close it for resurfacing. Unfortunately this is likely to emasculate it for the next few years just like Whitehall Lane.
Dry conditions meant the sections at Edlesborough were not as difficult as usual but a tricky restart on the first ones for the sevens and eights stopped much of the entry, including classic trials debutant Roger Dudley in his newly rebuilt Marlin.
There was an extra section at Brickhill to compensate for the loss of Half Moon Lane. The local Land Rover Club had been using the venue and the ruts up the sandy gully were very deep, causing problems for some of the lower slung cars including Cliff Morrell in the ex- Barrie Parker Citroen AX. Cliff had given the sump guard a good clout in the Pepperstock ford, loosening some bolts.
The steep bank at the start proved to much for more than half the entry. Having survived that the restart was to prove to much for some and Harry Butcher, Clive Booth, Paul Weston and Colin Sumner all lost their clean sheets here.
Fellow Liege driver Stephen Kenny also failed and was struggling without reverse gear in the replacement box fitted after breaking the transmission on The Northern Trial. Stephen had come all the way down from Rochdale to take part having made his trials debut in last years March Hare.
Arnold Lane and Andy Clarke had spiced things up a little by bringing some water up from the wet patch at the bottom to add some action to the restart. The slippery conditions necessitated a delicate right foot to stop wheelspin settling in.
Fred Gregory got away very smoothly, Reg Taylor failed and Simon Groves smoked his way off the line, just inching forward until he suddenly found some grip. Ted Holloway stopped, then stalled to the accompaniment of some choice four letter words! Chris Wall lost his clean sheet here when he was judged to have run back six inches or more.
Then both Kevin Alexander and Stephen Kenny sat on the line with wheels spinning and failed to get away.
The route traversed Hill Farm as usual but not as an observed section this year. The final two sections took place on private land in a wood near Potten End. The first was an artificial journey through the trees, marked out with tape. The second started amongst the trees before picking up a long, straight track with a restart for the sevens and eights.
Falcon had thought this last hill would be a real stopper but in the try conditions that was not the case. Stewart Ikin was the only non-restarter to fail in his very standard Fiat Panda. Everyone else attacked the steep bit at some speed for successful climbs.
Life was a bit tougher for the re-starters with the line on the steepest part of the gradient where there was a handy tree root, although with care this could be avoided by going well to the left. The root took its toll of notable class eights Harry Butcher and Rob Wells. In class seven it was a magnet for Marlin, catching out Alun Lewis, Peter Crawford, Roger Dudley, the Westfield of David Kirby and Ted Holloway in his very special Mini.
Back at the A5 truck stop Dot Parsons and Francis Webley soon produced the results and the trophies were presented. There were seven clean sheets so the regularity and special tests came into play. This was shame but was an almost inevitable consequence of the dry conditions.
There had been no more retirements after the unfortunate John Wilton. With the simultaneous National B and Clubsport events there were plenty of wards to go round and Roger and Christina Dudley were particularly delighted to be awarded best Falcon.
Looking Back
It was shame to loose Half Moon Lane and the dry conditions made the sections on public roads much easier than anyone would have liked. However, the restart on Hawridge Lane was certainly a challenge for many and things seemed to be Ok with the landowner in the woods at Potten End which bodes well for the future.
Particular mention must go to Verdun Webley who assembled more than 50 marshals on the day. The local Herts VW Club took care of Brickhill which meant they had to go to the trouble of re-arranging one of their own events scheduled for the same day. Thanks guys.
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Roger Dudley took part in his first Classic Trial in his Marlin, passengered by daughter Christina.
Roger and Christina at the foot of Norton Street Lane
My first impressions of how the day was going to go were not great! Having to wake up at 6.30am to leave at 7.00am and being transported down to Markyate in an open top car in the freezing cold – let’s say I wasn’t impressed!!
This year was the first time both me and my dad had competed in the March Hare using our own car and also the first time using the car!! My dad had always wanted a Marlin and when one came up he just had to have it – I suppose its better than the Dutton, but I would still prefer a Ferrari!!
When we got to the café at Markyate, we went straight to scrutineering, which we passed, thank goodness! Our time to set off was 9.25, so we had a bite to eat and took a few pictures of the car before it got hammered and then spoke to a few people. Before we knew it, it was our time to go! I was quite excited about what the task was, even though my map reading skills are very bad! I must admit I thought we would get a lost a couple of times, although it was good to see that other people got lost in the same places, so it wasn’t just us!! It was quite fun watching all the people staring at you as you go past; I bet they were thinking that we must be mad!!
My favourite hill of the day has to be the Edlesborough Hill, second section; the reason – we got up it!! My worst hill has to be section 10 at Ivinghoe; dad completely mucked it up going at it from the wrong angle! We ended up coming down faster than we went up!! Nevertheless, we were still happy to have the car in one piece!!
We would like to mention a big thanks to all the marshals, as without their support the March Hare would not be able to take place – and I sure know what it feels like to be standing in the freezing cold! At least it wasn’t snowing like last year! We would also like to say thanks to the drivers for giving us tips on how not to get lost, and how to climb a hill! Roll on next year – maybe we will do a bit better (and dad might have got the car sorted by then!)
Christina Dudley
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
After our disastrous showing in the 2004 Allen trial (someone has to come last) it was obvious that the Golf was suffering a severe lack of traction. With mods over the winter to improve weight distribution and a new set of tyres to replace the previous motley assortment, we set off early full of hope for the event ahead. This would also be the first event we had done before, so we would be able to discuss the perils of old “diff mangler” or “slippery precipice” knowledgeably rather than being constantly surprised by what the organisers were throwing at us.
In fact my recollection of the first section, Nortonstreet lane was so hazy that we might have been doing it for the first time, nonetheless we completed it successfully, as we did the next 3. At Eddlesborough hill the element of surprise was our undoing, as I was so disorientated by the series of dips at the top of the section that I proceeded to miss the next corner and loose an argument with a tree. This necessitated some impromptu body repairs but we were able to continue. On section 6 we made good progress, but the 1300cc engine just couldn’t pull the Golf up the last steep part. The very dry conditions, plus the mods had exchanged a problem of lack of grip with one of lack of grunt. A quick search of the field failed to reveal any spare 1800cc engines lying about, so we limited ourselves to some panel beating and carried on.
It would be impossible to anticipate anything at Brickhill, as it is effectively a PCT Mecanno kit, where the organisers can assemble a variety of steep bits to make an infinite number of routes. We could perhaps have done better on the first section (7) had we taken the corner before the last steep bit a bit wider, but again the little engine was really struggling. On section 9 (which was a bit familiar) we go to the end, but I was concerned that we had taken the wrong route and this was borne out by the scorecard. By this time we had been on the road for some time and it was noticeable that as each crew arrived at the rest halt, they immediately broke out the sandwiches.
At the Ivinghoe special test, the difference in temperament between driver and navigator and the still unfixed reverse gear (refer to last years article) was our undoing. Despite good advice my “gung-ho” approach took over as soon as the flag dropped. This lead to a “discussion” as to whether we had crossed line ‘A’, followed by gear selection and handbrake problems, leading to a time that must surely be a record for this test. At least it provided some amusement for the waiting crews. The section (10), I could clearly remember the from last year and avoided the bit that stopped us before, but again lack of power was our undoing, however, I see that a Fiat 500 made it so perhaps I’m being a bit hasty.
This was followed by a section from last year, (Hawridge lane), but run in the opposite direction, another fiendish trick. My navigator is convinced that it would be possible to get stuck on your side in the deep ‘V’ shaped groove in the track, but I prefer not to think about it.
To finish; 2 new sections in another wood, with a more cautious approach, as the navigators view was prevailing by now, so we avoided the trees and climbed the last steep bit with just the right balance between traction and power, very satisfying.
At the finish, apart from the prospect of another Saturdays panel beating on the damaged wing we were a little disappointed with how things had gone especially the lack of power and more importantly skill. We were therefore very surprised to find that we had been awarded the Clubsport class 1 award, a good end to what had been a very enjoyable day. Setting aside the technicalities, what I had remembered from 2004 was the friendly atmosphere, good organisation and enjoyable driving and the same was true for 2005. Thank-you to all the organisers and officials for an excellent event.
Chris Clarke
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
In the early 60’s Ron Warren published a booklet about Falcon Motor Club. Recently I managed to obtain a copy. It provides a fascinating insight into how different things were in those days.
1. The Beginning
1948 cannot be considered as a good year for motoring, lean days because petrol was still rationed as an aftermath of the second World War, but Motor Sport was making a slow come-back even if the cars were mostly of 10 years or more in age. A new car was indeed rare, but enthusiasts were meeting and talking motor sport, and it was from the talk of cars round a bar that the Falcon Motor Club was formed in 1948.
It was not long before the six founder members were joined by others and within a year the club was recognised by the R.A.C. and registered to promote competitions. To gain experience members would go and marshal for other clubs and the number of our events was very limited. When a kindly farmer would allow the use of a field, members would pay sixpence a time to have ago at a few simple driving tests.
In the Autumn of 1949 a closed trial was held and the major award was the President’s Cup, our first trophy presented to the Club by Mr. J. Frye who became the first President. To have achieved so much in such a short time was due to the inspiration of David Chiles the Competition Secretary (he was one of the six founders) who was supported by his wife Edna, who was the Secretary, and such stalwarts as the Tucker-Peake brothers, Herbert and John, Jeff Bradford, Cliff Smith, John Mosely, Ralph Smart, Bill Avery, etc., and the full support of all the members.
At this time motoring sport in Hertfordshire centred on just three clubs, Herts County were in the middle and Berkhampstead in the west were both pre-war clubs, whilst Falcon in the east were the youngsters of the trio, but such was the Falcon determination to get on, when Berkhampstead suggested we should have a sprint meeting at Tewin Water, a course which they used, this idea was not turned down.
At first, it seemed impossible because we had no equipment and no money. A special meeting was held and it was agreed to carry on and have a sprint meeting in June, 1950. The members were so keen they pledged an extra subscription in case of any financial loss.
Tewin Water was a private driveway used by farm vehicles and crossed by cattle, so fences would be needed to keep the cattle out and make car parks. With no equipment we had to borrow rope and posts, etc., and members dived into tool sheds for brushes, shovels and hammers and everyone pitched in including wives and girl friends.
2. The First Guy Fawkes
Needless to say with the spirit that existed the extra sub was not needed. The key to the club’s success can be summed up in one word – organisation. Whatever the event, the aim was always to have sound organisation, and the reward is our present fine reputation as good organisers.
That summer of 1950 saw the end of petrol rationing so road events could now be held and in the Autumn the Club took another step forward by making the trial a closed invitation event. (Today’s status is restricted). This trial was held on November 5th so naturally it was called the Guy Fawkes Trial. I remember this day so well because of the sunshine, it was glorious, so nice, in fact, that to make the re-start line better on Tatmore End a small water trailer was towed up just above the line and the contents were then released. Who said nice types!
With the route taking in parts of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire it meant diving in the tool sheds again and on Sunday afternoons in late October members turned out armed with all kinds of clippers, axes, etc., to cut down the summer growth of brambles, nettles and such like along those parts of the route known as unmade roads.
No one minded the work, in fact, they were happy days because everyone turned out to help. In 1951 the programme was enlarged a little and amongst the events held was another sprint meeting at Tewin Water on Whit Monday, but by this time the Landowner had the idea he was on a good thing and started holding out his hand. The condition of the road was not very good. and at the end of the year the property changed hands. The new Landowner had been told of the revenue to be had by letting Motor Clubs have a speed event on Bank Holidays (we had been liaising with Berko and Herts County) so with the road in poor condition and lacking the funds to carry out the necessary repairs. we had to cancel our sprint in 1952.
Other events were developed and gradually our programme was getting larger. In Coronation Year on a scorching hot Whit Monday we had a sprint at Hundson. Closed invitation driving tests were also held there, but being a disused airfield the runways were deteriorating rapidly and parts were being broken up to reclaim farm land, so we had to move our speed meetings to Tempsford.. Although we were the first club to go there, other clubs soon followed, so did local driving instructors and the motor cycle boys, who are now referred to as coffee bar cowboys, and because of this later brigade Temsford was closed to all motor clubs after 1955.
3. Six Years On
Having passed the six-year mark, we had of course made some good friends and had had some changes in our Officers. I pipped David Chiles to the post by suggesting we have some Vice-Presidents and was very pleased to propose Jeff Bradford and Paul Sapsed as our first Vice-Presidents.
Jeff Bradford is often affectionately called the granddad of the Club. Anyone who watched our last Autocross will tell you that in spite of sixty odd summers, Jeff can still show younger members how to drive a sports car.
Paul Sapsed is remembered for his support to events and for his generosity to the club. Every motor club has its personalities and today we have our share. To start with we have four more Vice-Presidents. I have already mentioned the contribution to the club’s history of David Chiles and when he retired in 1958 he was one of three elected Vice-President. In ten years David had held office as Secretary, Competition Secretary, Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
Peter Elbra had played his part in the early years of the Club as a committee member and for two years our Secretary.
Peter Harper was by 1958 well noted for his achievements in International Rallies. To us he was also known as a former committee member and organiser of club events.
Although small in statue, Tommy Bridger has made his mark in the racing fraternity as a top notch Formula 3 driver. He also drove for Pop Moss and in recent times been successful in one of the well-known M.G.A’s of Dick Jacobs. When Tommy retired from the committee last year he was elected Vice-President No.6.
In our second President, Desmond Scannell, the club is fortunate in having another personality. For about twenty years Desmond was secretary of the British Racing Drivers Club and became known as one of the foremost organisers of motor racing in the world. Not all his motoring was connected with racing though, on two occasions he crewed with Stirling Moss and late John (Autocar) Cooper in the Monte Carlo Rally.
Very early on in this preamble I mentioned the Tucker-Peake brothers and no story could be complete without more of their contribution to the Club. From 1949 to 1953 Herbert Tucker-Peake was Chairman and since then he has been our Competition Secretary .
4. Personalities
John Tucker-Peake is now our longest serving committee member and like older brother Herbert is a first-class organiser or official. Both brothers are also committee members of the Motor Cycling Club.
Peter Allison, our present Chairman has been a steady and reliable member for a number of years now, Peter had only been on the Committee a short while, when he became Vice-Chairman and he has been Chairman since 1956.
No Club can exist on just sporting events, the social side is just as important and Bety Tucker-Peake (wife of H.T.P.) is now well-known as our Social Secretary and organiser of our Annual Dinner and Dance. The Dinner she arranges is so popular that tickets are soon sold out.
Anyone who follows motor races will know the name of Henry Taylor and we are proud that Henry’s first competitive event was as a Falcon member. Henry is still a member and is a former winner of the President’s Cup in the Guy Fawkes Trial.
One of our best Clubmen is Michael Lawrence, who is also a long serving committee member. Ever willing to give a. hand. Michael has put in some hard work for the Club. The word hard can be taken to mean just that, before our first Autocross. Michael and myself put up some 400 yards of fence so that 60 head of cattle could be moved to allow practising to start. When behind the wheel of his Lawford Special (which he built in a barn at home) Michael is a fearless driver and in 1960 had a tremendous year winning four major awards.
Derrick Fleming and Ted Dives drive their own specials in trials, whilst Allan Piggott is known as a rally expert. I must not forget Van Fortin, as a stop watch clicker or marshal, Van has been a regular for many years and is our most experienced marshal.
A study of the programme for a few events would reveal quite a number of regular names and of those I have not mentioned already names which spring to mind are Roy Robbins and his wife Ann, Reg Horsnell, Dennis Allen, Dennis Williams, John Sheldrick and many more.
If we had a cap for a backroom boy it would have to go to John Jarman, who has been one of our steady behind the scenes workers. For seven years John was treasurer and as well as making frequent and rapid journeys to the bank to halt that red line, John made our timing equipment and pas spent many hours with rolls of wire, lights and batteries getting ready for various events. He is the type of person who can be shown a trials section and you can go away knowing everything will go as planned.
5. 1961
In actual numbers Falcon is quite a small club when compared with others, but size can have its compensations and we have been able to stay a member’s club. Not being too big also means in running a fairly comprehensive programme that we have made many friends outside the club.
A valuable asset to the Club is our headquarters, The Chequers, Woolmer Green, where all members get a warm welcome from our hosts, Laurie and Kay Turness.
The programme for 1961 has 11 events, five of which are restricted and six closed. Starting with January we have the Mardleybury Rally named after the major award. The Mardleybury CUp was donated to the Club by Paul Sapsed and previous winners of this popular half-night rally race are:
1953 J. Jarman 1954 P. C. E. Harper 1955 A. Joyce 1956 D. R. J. Emmett 1957 P. D. Sapsed 1958 J. Sheldrick 1959 Mrs. A. Newland 1960 R. Winder
February is reserved for our Annual Dinner and Dance and presentation of awards, an occasion which is now very much apart of the club year, so motoring activities pass on to March when we hold a restricted trial called (you are so right) the March Hare.
This trial was first run as the Midsummer in June, 1956 and again in 1957, the major problem was in finding a course which was not overgrown, so in 1958 we moved to March to miss growing hedges, and now we have an appropriately named trophy in the Mad Hatter.
Previous winners are:
1958 N. Tyler 1959 N. Tyler 1960 M. Lawrence
In April a night rally has been held for some years and early in 1958 when organisers were being agreed on somehow a suggestion was put forth that the ladies should have a crack at a rally. The idea was taken up and so the Rally Venus came about and is now a regular fixture. Ladies the sole organisers of a rally, many a man has scoffed at the idea and many a man has entered for a laugh. Many a man has also scratched his head afterwards and grudgingly admitted that our ladies can organise a first class rally.
6. Autoscross
On the grapevine I hear they have some new ideas for this year.
Previous winners of the Venus Cup (presented by Miss Patsy Bickell) are:
1958 P. D. Sapsed 1959 P. D. Sapsed 1960 R. I. Winder
May will find us in Stevenage for our restricted Driving Tests. This event is known as the Falcontest and was first held under this name in 1959. To find a suitable venue for driving tests is a problem and this time we have a new and possibly unusual venue in the Football Ground at London Road, Stevenage. Actually, with the changes in Stevenage through the New Town this ground will cease as a football pitch at the end of the present season. However, a grass course should prove interesting and I expect competition to be keen amongst Falcon members competing for the Pictorial Cup.
1959 N. Tyler 1960 M. Lawrence and N. Tyler
Flaming June (we hope) and the permit will be closed for some friendly club driving tests which for several years have been held in a field at Woolmer Green by courtesy of Dudley and Tommy Bridger. With long summer evenings this has been a family affair with the children playing in the field while Dad gets tied up in knots and picnic parties under the trees.
1958 was quite a significant year for the Club for three reasons, the first was our tenth birthday, the second was an event run by the ladies, and number three our first Autocross. Ever since Tempsford closed we had been looking for a course not too far away to hold a speed event, but having had no luck for two years, we approached our farmer members and now hold an Autocross meeting in July. Apart from individual awards the main competition centres on club teams. Norman Tyler, who often delighted spectators with some hair raising runs in his Chandler Special presented the cup for the winning team.
Winning Cub teams are:
1958 Sporting Owner Drivers Club 1959 Cambridge 50 Car Club 1960 East Anglia Motor Club
7. Falcon Express
For several years a daytime rally was held in August or September. Being a time of the year when holidays are talked about, the competition was not too serious, the main theme being to have an event in which the family could take part. Last year the Royal Automobile Club brought in new limits on the number of road events we can hold, we had one too many so we changed the family rally into a Gymkhana, and we have one this year. A Gymkhana is good fun and the family can all take part. It is another occasion for a picnic as well, and the winner collects the Rally Cup-Presented by Ralph Smart:
1951 J. Jarman 1952 P. C. E. Harper 1953 R. Smart 1954 P. G. Elbra 1955 J. Christopher 1956 P. Angus 1957 P. D. Sapsed 1958 H. W. Tucker-Peake 1959 Mrs. B. Fleming 1960 E. Singer
September and the scene is Snetterton for the Falcon Express. Such a name makes one think of moving quickly and the original booking of Snetterton in 1959 was for a sprint.
This first booking came about after Tommy Bridger had seen the circuit managers, we were busy with our preparations when we received a smack in the eye. It transpired our date clashed with a National Hill Climb and the organisers objection to our sprint was upheld by the Royal Automobile Club. So we had a course and no event. Out of disappointment the idea was born to have driving tests with a difference. The rules say no test must exceed 200 yards in length, so with plenty of space we had tests of 199 yards. The competitors loved it and asked for more, so the Falcon Express has quickly become a regular fixture.
The major award for a Falcon member is the Duckham Trophy presented to the Club by the well-known Oil Company: Winners are:
1959 J. Sheldrick 1960 A. M. B. Piggott
October is blank this year but whilst members are taking things easy, a few of us will be burning the midnight oil in readiness for Novembers main fixture, the Guy Fawkes Trial. Very early in this story I referred to this event which is now our oldest fixture. The character underwent a major change in 1954, when a night route was first used together with the Cotswolds. Every year since then the entry has increased, reaching the 100 mark last year.
8. Guy Fawkes Develops
For me the Guy Fawkes is my favourite event, for four years I was Secretary of the Meeting and on my first run as a competitor in 1958 I was the lucky man with the only clean sheet and the President’s Cup.
Going back to early 1954 for a moment, and before the change in style in the Guy Fawkes, David Chiles had had the idea of a long event as far back as 1950, but the Committee wanted to wait a year or two before undertaking a full scale trial, so it was early in 1954 when a small party went exploring in the Cotswolds. Maps were carefully checked, and anyone who we knew who could possibly help was contacted, and so gradually a route was found, then letters were sent out to various clubs asking if they would like an invitation to such a trial. This idea appealed to other clubs, and the Guy Fawkes as we now know it was started. To be able to say that the Guy Fawkes is a ” Classic ” gives me a lot of pleasure, as it does to record that our Club although started after the War, has in the Guy Fawkes one of the only remaining links with pre. war trials.
The only other “Classics” are of course the “Exeter” and the “Lands End.” In these latter two events it must be remembered that the competitors compete against the Club, whereas in the Guy Fawkes competitors compete with one another, and we have an outright winner.
For the club the Guy Fawkes has brought us many friends. and many new members. It has also made the club known amongst motoring circles over a wide part of the country.
Trials of this nature have an atmosphere which is quite different from the average rally, time is the deciding factor in a rally. and competitors have not the time to stop for one another, but in a trial the time schedule is easier, because the observed sections decide the winner. So, the atmosphere during the event is , much more friendly, and the newcomer can be sure of some friendly advice when tackling his first observed section. A lot of firm friendships have developed from trials, and many of the regulars run together as a team. Three of us (H. Tucker-Peake, D. Fleming, and myself). who run together on M.C.C. events formed a team, and “The Falconers” are well known amongst trials folk, and when- ever we are out, the talk always turns to Falcon events. “The Falconers” are also the spearhead of the sub-committee which organises the Guy Fawkes. One of the tasks we have to do is a trip right round the route. On these occasions, Peter Allison usually joins us, not that the trip is any joyride though. The big problem is to find a new hill, and our searching has taken us many hours, when we are lucky enough, then we reckon to walk it first, to look for any snags, then if the hill is alright we have the route card to change, and a route card must be accurate, otherwise the whole entry can take the wrong road.
9. Guy Fawkes Hills
Mind you, on some of these expeditions whilst being long as regards hours, because we have to leave early in the morning, and only have time for a sandwich and an odd beer while making the most of daylight, we have had some amusing experiences. The first year we had a look at Axe, we were told,by the good people in the pub at the bottom that we would not be able to go up in a saloon car. We told them not to worry, we were used to driving up such hills. Unfortunately we got stuck, and having said we could get up, we could not go back, so we did some pushing and got up.
One year we did our route survey in a Mark VII Jaguar, and got stuck on the approach to Battlescombe, and the funny part was after a lot of pushing we found a very easy route out of the field.
Although we are always on the look-out for something new, the Guy Fawkes retains some hills which were used for pre-war trials, amongst the favourites are Postlip, which is a timed climb in the dark, Ferriscourt is a daytime timed climb, and Nailsworth Ladder is a first-class observed section, which always attracts a large crowd of spectators. Locals usually gather in large numbers on Fort I and Fort II.
As the event has grown, so the number of cups we have for the Guy Fawkes has increased. Previous winners of these cups are:
Presidents Cup :
1949 H. W. Tucker-Peake 1950 B. Brown 1951 J. C. Smith 1952 J. C. Smith 1953 J. C. Smith 1954 H. Taylor 1955 D. Price 1956 D. Price 1957 A. D. Joyce 1958 R. E. Warren 1959 D. G. Fleming 1960 M. J. Lawrence
10. The Guido Vase
Falcon Cup: Presented by Mr. and Mrs. D. Chiles.
1954 J. T. Skinner 1955 J. T. Skinner 1956 G. S. Edwards 1957 P. S. Banbury 1958 Miss D. Freeman 1959 P. Scott 1960 C. W. Ellison
Peregrine Cup: Presented by M. J. Lawrence.
1956 J. P. Davis 1957 G. A. Robins 1958 C. E. Warfield 1959 J. P. Davis 1960 G. S. Edwards
Kestrel Cup: Presented by D. G. Fleming.
1959 M. J. Lawrence 1960 M. Barker
Bouncer’s Bowl: Presented by Ron Warren.
1959 Mrs. Betty Fleming 1960 Miss Pat Masters
Another competition is now run in conjunction with the Guy Fawkes and is known as the Guido Vase. The course is not quite so difficult and the object of the Guido Vase is to give the newcomer the chance to gain experience before having a crack at the Guy Fawkes.
Previous winners of the Guido Vase, presented by Mr. and Mrs. H. Tucker-Peake are:
1957 F. A. Freeman 1958 R. H. Porter 1959 H. J. Norris 1960 W. W. Bridges
11. The Mudlark
November ends with the Zelly Cup Rally. The formula is similar to our other rallies and usually starts around 8 p.m. with the first man home by midnight, sometimes depending on the length of the route all have finished (or should have) by midnight.
Previous winners of the Zelly Cup, presented by E. M. Zelly Esq:
1953 P. G. Elbra 1554 P. G. Elhra 1955 P. C. E. Harper 1956 V. Prior 1957 P. D. Sapsed 1958 P. D. Sapsed 1959 P. D. Sapsed 1960 E. Singer
Last December saw the revival of an old event, The Mudlark. The main idea being an informal event with no time schedules, rather it is in the nature of a conducted tour of a few local trials hills with a small competition included. For the newcomer this is a wonderful] chance to have some practice before entering in a trial.
The cups listed in this summary of fixtures are by no means all we have, because we have 3 cups which are won on a points basis over the year, the year for these cups being Dinner to Dinner.
Everyone who is connected with any event either as a competitor, organiser, navigator or marshal is allocated a number of points, and committee man Ted Dives keeps a log of all these points. These Cups are as follows :
The Clubman Cup presented by Mr. H. Crowe goes to the most consistent member who has not won an award in the year.
1953 Mrs. B. Tucker-Peake, V. Fortin. P. Allison 1954 E. Dives 1955 E. Dives 1956 E. Dives 1957 R. Horsnell 1958 E. Dives 1959 R. Robbins 1960 Mr. and Mrs. H. Tucker-Peake
12. London Counties
The Angels Cup presented by Cecil Ritch.
1954 Miss J. Ritch 1955 Mrs. B. Tucker-Peake 1956 Mrs. B. Tucker-Peake 1957 Mrs. B. Tucker-Peake 1958 Miss G. Warren 1959 Mrs. B. Tucker-Peake 1960 Miss G. Warren
Joint Vice-Presidents’ Trophy presented by Jeff Bradford and Paul Sapsed.
1955 V. Fortin 1956 H. W. Tucker-Peake 1957 A. Piggott 1958 R. Horsnell 1959 D. G. Fleming 1960 R. E. Warren
Just before I started this booklet the Club was given another new trophy by North Central Wagon and Finance Co. (London) Ltd.
Quite early in this story I said we had three clubs in Hertfordshire. That was so when Falcon first started but by the mid 1950’s many new clubs had been formed including many Works Clubs.
With an eye to the future the Falcon Committee recognised the need for clubs to get together and so after the exchange of many letters and views spread over some eighteen months, I was able to call a meeting early in 1958. At a second meeting in July 1958, Falcon were one of twelve clubs who took part in the formation of the London Counties Association which now has nearly 40 member clubs. For 2 years I was Secretary of the Association and now serve on the Committee. Our Competition Secretary is Association Chairman for the third year running.
My little story may recall some pleasant memories for the club member. The newcomer may after reading these few lines realise that all motor sport organised by a club which is registered with the R.A.C. is properly organised by people who know and love their part as members of a motor club. Perhaps they would like to join us.
For the present, my tale is complete. but who knows in a few years time maybe I’ll have another story to tell from Behind the Falcon Badge.
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
My March Hare adventure started a few weeks before the event, when Michael Leete invited me to accompany him to West Yorkshire to look at a Dellow he was going to buy. Having done the deal and on the way home we talked about it’s role in Michael’s competition calendar.
He decided there and then to make the Southern Autos PCT at Brickhill the shake down event and then enter the March Hare. He asked me if I would like to be the passenger for these events. I said yes provided it was OK with the March Hare committee.
It was a little bit cold in the paddock at Brickhill and I began to wonder if I had enough clothes on. But down in the valley it was totally different as the cold wind was blowing above us. Very quickly it was our turn to attack the first section and things couldn’t have gone better, a clean and another clean on the next two hills. What a start. Those of you who were there know that half way around round two, we retired having found all the things wrong that you hoped you wouldn’t but knew you inevitably would. Worn out plug leads, points etc. etc..
Three weeks later, and the day of the March Hare. The day dawned bright and cold but without the predicted overnight frost. Our journey to the start was via the lanes of Hertfordshire rather than the main roads. Our route took us via Old Knebworth, Codicote passing a section near Nup End that was used in the March Hare of 1963, on through Wheathampsted, Harpenden to the A5 and the Truck Stop at Frias Wash.
We joined the queue for scrutineering hoping everything would be OK. It was except for a blown side light bulb. We caught up with all the gossip over a true truckers breakfast and we were ready for the off.
The route then took us back towards Stevenage via New Mill End and Peters Green to a holding control just outside Whitwell. We continued through the village to the first section Nortonstreet Lane, a relatively easy climb without the predicted ruts that were present last year.
On through St Pauls Walden and Preston to Section 2 and a regularity test at Whitehall Lane. I have to admit my education never included how many yards to a mile, only meters to a kilometre. Michael managed to work it out somehow and we went through the section in about 50 seconds.
We then continued on our way this time taking in the delights of the Luton southern bypass to arrive at Section 3, Half Moon Lane. By then it had started to rain and there was only a short queue waiting to find out how deep the mud bath would be this year. The answer, as we discovered, was not very, but the restart was a real test of the drivers skill. Michael placed the Dellow and with a little bit of wheel spin we were on our way again, with snow now falling.
Four miles further on the snow had stopped but the Marshals standing on the hill at Kensworth looked rather cold. Our attempt at the two sections laid out on the hill were not very good although I was surprised we got round the first corner on Section 4. While we were there, we witnessed the climb of the day by Ian Davis who stormed up the very slippery slope to clean Section 4 and ultimately go on to win the event overall.
The sun was out again when we arrived at Edlesbrough for three sections on the slippery hill. Our attempts matched those of the competitors in front of us. Ian Davis was again showing us all how it should be done. Lunch was taken after the third section at Edlesborough and time to catch up with the news from the other competitors.
Most of the entry was at Brickhill and the queue for the Special Test was nearly out the gate. Plenty of time then to take photos. We did alright at Brickhill, cleaning all three sections, all with restarts and all in bright warm sunshine.
Thirteen miles south and a totally new venue to me, came Ivinghoe. After the second Special Test there was another short wait until we could attempt the hill. This gave us enough time to fix the exhaust clamp which had come undone along the road from Brickhill. We were told that the restart had been taken out, so it was then a straight forward climb. Full revs were used to get us over the first steep bit of the section and then it was a long drive along the bank to the next little ridge where the restart should have been.
Continuing, the route then took us via the outskirts of Tring through Wiggington and Cholesbury to Section thirteen, Hawridge Lane, where we had quite a long wait in the lane before the section, caused by a vehicle coming the other way. I had expected some water in the bottom of the valley but there was only mud. The restart however was placed with tree roots all around and caught out a lot of drivers, ourselves included. Clive Booth was the man to show us all how to do it this time. Apparently he just stopped and then drove off the line without drama.
The route then took us back over Cholesbury common to the last section Hill Farm. to be greeted by a happy John Newberry and Ian Lawson who had thawed out from their time on the Kensworth bank. Hill Farm presented no problem and we were then heading for the finish via Berkhamsted, Water End and Flamsted. The results were posted while we had a cup of tea and the trophies presented soon afterwards. Congratulations to Ian Davis on a well deserved win and to the entire organising team including all the marshals and a “Thank you” to Michael Leete, for a very enjoyable day.
Mike Hayward.
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
The final part of Murray McDonald’s invaluable advice on trials preparation for the VW Golf was a suggestion that the March Hare would be a good shake down event for the car and crew. On the day, we arrived at the start with some trepidation, having left Bristol at an ungodly hour, completed the formalities and fortified ourselves with the food on offer in the café. The very clear instructions lead us to the start of the first section, Nortonstreet Lane. Here we got about 50 yards along the track before I remembered that the tyres were still fully pumped up – too late to do anything except keep going, hang on and hope. More by luck than judgement we made it to the end and continued to Whitehall Lane, where we were just about able to do the average speed calculations in time before setting off, relying on the Golf’s rather wobbly speedometer to complete the section without penalty. We attempted Half Moon lane with the drivers window down, big mistake, as you are only supposed to get the outside dirty, but again we made it to the end.
At John Barber 1&2 things didn’t go as well. When we arrived some cars were driving around at the top of what looked like a small mountain covered in red tape, but by the time we started it been raining for about 5 minutes and either because of this or just sheer incompetence, we got absolutely nowhere at all. Most of all, I felt that we had let down the person who had so laboriously strung out the tape, having only used the first 3% of it, and sympathy for those marshals who were standing outside in the terrible conditions. On to Eddlesborough Hill where we continued to struggle, only just making it to the start of the 2nd section. However, with the drying ground and some helpful advice from a fellow competitor we made it round the 3rd section – what a feeling of achievement!
The hot tea available at the lunch stop was very welcome and after this and the improving results from Eddlesborough we approached Brickhill with some optimism. The lack of reverse gear gate (just having the parts in the garage is not enough) was a disadvantage in the special test (that’s my excuse) and seeing the first two cars in the first section disappear into what seemed to be a bottomless pit quickly reversed the earlier optimism. However, once on the move, it was possible to squeeze between the pit and the marker post and no one was more surprised than us to find ourselves passing the last marker. On the next section I discovered that it is not a good idea to go too fast downhill, as it doesn’t carry you up the next bit, just off the section, useful experience for the last one which seemed to go up and down for ever.
At Ivinghoe I (I didn’t say we as my passenger claims he knew exactly what to do) made a complete hash of the steep bit and so missed the chance to drive about at the top of the hill, which looked quite good fun. However we succeeded on the last two sections, Hawridge lane and Hill farm, despite the road being so narrow it was difficult to get out of the car to let the tyres down. Whilst pumping them up I thought for a moment that someone was throwing small stones at me, only to realise that it had started hailing – the weather on the day was best described as variable.
Whilst driving to the finish we suffered the first serious brain fade and took a wrong turning, only to be followed by a small convoy of fellow competitors with a lot more faith in our navigation than was justified. At the finish, brains restored by more café food, we were both pleased and surprised to be awarded the novice trophy. This was the icing on what had been a thoroughly good day – friendly but challenging competition, well organised and an excellent introduction to the sport – we look forward to the next one.
Chris & Nick Clarke
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Rain, Snow, Sunshine, Falcon had it all on Murray’s March Hare. At one time it looked as if a Trojan would win in the end it was Ian Davis in his VW Buggy, but only just as Ian’s victory was decided on special test times over Elizabeth Tucker-Peake in her Peugeot 205 Gti
The Start
David Malin leading class 3 away from the start under the eye of John Parsons.
There were 40 crews entered but with Richard Dawe (Midget) and mark Rosten-Edwards (Escort) non-starting 38gathered at The Watling Street Café, just of Junction nine of the M1, on 7th March. This was John Parsons and Mike Pearson’s last event as organisers. Next year they will be handing over to a team led by Arnold Lane so they can have a go themselves.
Norton Street Lane
Byway, long straight climb on loose stones with the left hand rut getting deeper towards the summit, Classes 1&2 have a straight run through, 3 to 8 had a re-start.
March Hare winner Ian Davis at the top of Norton Street Lane
With potential PR problems the first two sections were cancelled and Joint Clerk of the Course Mike Pearson was on hand at nearby Norton Street Lane. The section was relatively easy this year, the surface has improved and the ruts were not as deep as last year and Edward Holloway was the only failure in his Sierra.
Whitehall Lane
Byway – Tree Lined Lane with a very good surface now the council have resurfaced it and removed the fallen trees
It wasn’t so long ago that this section was totally impassable. Then along came the council’s road gang and now it’s probably smoother than the nearby M1! It’s so smooth that it’s not competitive as an observed section so it was run as a regularity under the eager eye of sponsor Murray MacDonald. It took a bit of mental gymnastics to work out what was required but fortunately most managed it and it didn’t affect the major awards!
Half Moon Lane
Byway – Starts with deep, muddy water. After this there was a tricky chicane with a restart for 7 & 8. The section continued through a series of bends and some quite deep ruts. Most of the marshals were from The Watling Club.
Elizabeth Tucker-Peake came near to an overall win.Geoff Hodge in his RDT. One of the four Reg Taylor built cars that took part in The March Hare.
As the entry made its way west again the rain started which was to liven things up on the grassy sections at Kensworth and Ivinghoe.
There were no problems at Half Moon Lane for the lower classes but Dave Nash had laid out a tricky restart immediately after the water for 7 and 8. A chicane forced cars to the left so that it was very difficult to get going with the wheels straight. This stopped five of the class 7’s and Ed Nikel in class 8. Fred Gregory had to retire here when a loose exhaust finally parted company with the car leaving Fred and Pete Stafford to spectate at Edlesbrough on the way home.
John Barber 1 & 2
Two sections marked out on private land at Kensworth with Ian Lawson and Alan Davis in charge.
Ian Lawson sees Clive Booth away from the startLast years winner Andy Curtis had a day long battle with Ian Davis.
The rain really livened up conditions at the two Kensworth sections, especially for the later numbers. It wasn’t that easy for the early numbers though so credit to John Wilton who cleaned both of them in his Trojan, the only person to do so. Steve Potter got up the first hill in his Trojan as did Andrew Burt and Elizabeth Tucker-Peake in class one. Peter Manning, Keith Pettit and Peter Thompson and Ian Davis were the only other competitors to reach the summit here.
In Peter’s case his success put him in the lead of class three which he was to maintain throughout the day.
Edlesborough Hill
Three sections on Private Land – The first started in the field, going through the gate and through the trees before diverting into the bomb hole with a re-start for 7 and 8. The other two were on the top of the hill using well proven routes through the bushes.
Simon Barton in his MarlinRoss Nuten was one of the few later numbers to clean an Edlesborough sectuion.
The weather was still helping to toughen up the sections and there was even a little snow before competitors arrived at Edlesborough. This made conditions really slippery on the hills notorious surface where all grip seems to completely disappear at the slightest sight of moisture!
The result was that nobody cleaned either of the first two sections. The third one was possible though and the Trojans and all the class ones except John Rowland made the most of their early numbers to get cleans while there was still some grass on the surface. In class three Simon Groves was fighting back and his clean bought him within five marks of Peter Thompson.
In Class Five Peter Manning had fallen behind Keith Pettit in the regularity on section two but honours were restored with a clean here, enough for a class win at the end of the day.
Brickhill
Three sections on Private Land. The first was a trip through the trees followed by a steep climb just after a corner on deep sand with a re-start for 7 & 8. This was followed by a tricky trip up the bracken. The third section went up the sandy gully where the ruts were quite deep, followed by a steep gradient with a re-start for 7 & 8
Steve and Phil Potter in one of the two magnificent Trojan’sClass 3 winner Peter Thompson rolling his body on the Brickhill Special testMichael Leete and Mike Hayward in Michael’s recently acquired Dellow Mk1Matt Robson before failing the two restarts that were to drop him out of contention in Class Seven.
There was a lunch beak after the Edlesborough sections to give the marshals time to reposition themselves for the afternoon sections. These commenced at Brickhill with Herts VW Club in charge. Things commenced with a special test, which was to give Ian Davis his event win when he was more than four seconds quicker than Elizabeth Tucker-Peake.
Peter Morley was struggling with the engine of his ex- Fred Gregory Dutton Melos. It looked like fuel starvation and a faulty fuel pump was suspected before peter realised the tank was dry! The rain had stopped now and the sandy surface that characterises Brickhill soon dried out giving everyone the opportunity to have a fair crack at the hills.
In class Seven Matt Robson and Jim Bounden both failed the restart on hill 10 which gave Keith Oakes the Class Seven lead.
Ivinghoe
Special test and Section on Private land, the section was all about a steep bank at the start after the restart was cancelled.
Ian Davis heading towards victory at Ivinghoe.
The weather was getting brighter by the time competitors tackled the second special test at Ivinghoe. Eliazabeth Tucker-Peake clawed back a little time but not enough for Ian Davis to loose his lead. The fastest time here was set by Keith Pettit, just a fraction quicker than Andrew Burt in his Subaru Justy.
The following observed section started with a very steep grassy bank followed by a relatively flat track before the final tricky rise with a restart to catch the unwary. This had to be cancelled after the fist few cars, as there was a danger of those who couldn’t restart slipping sideways down the hill.
Even so Ivinghoe caught out quite a few competitors, including the Trojan of John Wilton, but not enough for him to loose the lead in class two. Surprisingly the bank at the start, which was a lot steeper than it looked, caught out a number of the class 7’s who failed to tackle it with sufficient speed.
Hawridge Lane
County Road – used the other way to last year with a tricky restart on tree roots for the higher classes.
The penultimate section wasn’t to difficult without a restart, although it was necessary to carry a bit of momentum over the tree roots which caught out Ted Holloway and the experienced Reg Taylor in class three and Simon Benoy in his Imp.
For the re-starters in the higher classes positioning was everything and there were plenty of tree roots to catch the unwary. Andy Clarke was in charge here and sponsor Murray MacDonald was on hand to watch the action. Murray reported how the shorter wheel base cars had the most difficulty as getting the front wheels just over the line still bought the rear ones into the “root zone”. All credit then to the Buggy’s of Ian Davis and Andy Curtis and to Clive Booth for getting away OK.
Hill Farm
County Road – Tree Lined Track that had been used on the March Hare back in the 50’s
The last section wasn’t a problem and everyone cleaned it OK, a nice way to end the day.
The Finish
From left to right – Hazel MacDonald (sponsor), John Parsons (Joint Clerk-of-the-course), Ian Davis (The Winner!), Dave Nash.(Secretary of the Meeting).
Back at the A5 truck stop Dot Parsons and Francis Webley soon produced the results and Ian Davis was presented with his trophy. It was a close thing and decided on special test one where Ian was six seconds faster than Elizabeth Tucker-Peake.
Class three was decided by Peter Thompson as Simon Groves could not claw back the 11 lost on John Barber 1. Keith Pettit won the Spridget battle in class five. Colin Sumner had a good run in his Morgan but was another to suffer on John Barber 1, dropping him out of contention.
In Class Seven there was a day long battle between Keith Oakes (Dutton Phaeton) and Jim Bounden (Marlin). This was decided in Keith’s favour only after Jim failed the restart on the second Brickhill section while Keith stormed to the summit.
Ian Davis had established an early dominance in class 8 after he was the only competitor to clean John Barber 1, a climb that will never be forgotten by those of us to witness it! This section was also to decide the class win when Andy Curtis got to the ten marker while Clive Booth lost twelve. Andy held onto these two marks all day to win the class.
Looking Back
First to say that it was fantastic that the battle for overall victory took place between two of Classic Triallings’s oldest and well known families. Ian being a third generation of the Davis family and Elizabeth’s father-in-law was of course John T-P.
Marlins were the most popular car with five taking part. There were also five Dellow’s and derivatives there-off with three of them bearing the handiwork of Reg Taylor. Reg himself was driving his RDT Anglia so Reg takes the car builder award. His partner in crime Geoff Jackson was marshalling at Edlesborough with Christine running the control.
In conclusion it was another excellent March Hare Trial. These events take a tremendous amount of organisation but judging by the happy smiles of the competitors at the finish it was all worthwhile.
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
Please help spread the word and share this on your Social Media:
Classical Gas 