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Emma Wall was second in her Troll and Sam Holmes third in his familiar Class 4 Beetle
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Dean Vowden was second in his special and Richard Hayward third in his Class 3 Escort proving there’s still life in old Fords.
This years event was organised by a new young team who provided a mix of traditional hills and muddy wooded sections, some new to the event. It wasn’t considered a particularly rough trial but there were more than a dozen retirements amongst the 77 starters.
Ian Moss was master of the conditions in his lightweight Lypiatt Special, only picking up three in the woods on Bryans, three on Ricks Revenge and eight on the impossible Ryans Revolution which concluded the trial.
Dean Vowden put up a formidable challenge but dropped three on there deeply rutted Sandras Sink at the beginning of the trial where Ian was the only car to clean the section.
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There were ten clean sheets spread across four classes. Duncan was fastest in his Fugitive from Joe Browning in his Baja.
Stroud attracted their usual full entry for this years Cotswold Clouds which was held in unseasonable dry conditions, resulting in a number of clean sheets.
Continue reading “Duncan Stephens wins Dry Cotswold Clouds”Held in dry conditions Charlie only dropped two and the top ten were only spanned by a further four marks.
This years Mechanics Trial was earlier this year and held on a dry, sunny day. It was a low scoring, but very close battle between the leading contenders. However, unlike the Exmoor Clouds last week Class Eight dominated the leader board.
Mackhouse was back on the agenda this year, there were only a couple of failures but it was considered a bit rough by some competitors.
Dave Sargeant was out in his new VW Buggy but had the misfortue to damage the bodywork early in the trial and retired shortly afterwards when the transmission cried enough.
The trial was decided in the Catswood complex where Charlie Merson dropped his only marks of the trial on Sapseds Surprise in his Ford Special. Charlie got to the two followed by Mark Hobbs in his trial on a three.
Continue reading “Charlie Merson wins Close Mechanics”Charlie had the only clean sheet on what is now an ACTC Championship Event
Forty Four cars assembled at Froombridge Mill for the Mechanics Trial, round 11 of this years ACTC championship as clubs are now allowed two scoring rounds. There had been torrential rain overnight but this slowly cleared during the day.
Charlie Knifton came down from Derbyshire, cleaned every section and won the event in his rear engined, Subaru powered, Scorpion. Locals Joshua Moss (Cannon) and Mark Hobbs (Troll) both dropped marks in the wooded complex before Merves Swerve to complete the podium.
Continue reading “Charlie Knifton Best Mechanic”Ian Moss Conquered the Conditions to pull off a Narrow Win
Ian Moss was first overall in his familair immaculate Imp. Ian dropped nine marks, one better than Matt Facey (BMW) who in turn was was one in front of early leader Sam Holmes in his Class Four Beetle. Continue reading “Tough Cotswold Clouds”
Ryan Eamer (Cannon) was the provisional winner of a closely fought battle with Tris White (Troll), Richard Hayward (Escort) and Dave Haizelden (Reliant Scimitar)
Stroud and DMC received their usual full entry for their well established trial. The first half of the route included many traditional hills, some dating back before WW2, even if some like Crooked Mustard have changed their name in the intervening period! Continue reading “Tough Cotswold Clouds”
Dave Wall proved Dellow’s can still cut the mustard, beating Tony Underhill to win the Mechanics Trial on Special Test Times
With dry sections the leaders contested the win on the Catswood sections where the slippery Sapseds Big Surprise proved the deciding hill. Dean Partington actually cleaned this beast but fell out of contention when he was one of many to go the wrong way after the restart on Mini Hoskin.
Alf was fearsome not Delightful!
After all the recent snowy trials Stoud & DMC had arranged fine weather for The Mechanics as Sam Holmes led the field away from the well organised start in Stonehouse. Sam’s hopes of another Class 4 win were soon dashed when, like all but one competitor in the lower classes, he failed the fearsome restart on Alf’s Delight. The one who succeeded was Ian Moss in his Imp, now running on approved 13 inch wheels. Ian was to continue his form throughout the day, challenging for the overall lead and eventually finishing third overall.
About half the Class 7 & 8’s managed to get away from the restart. They didn’t include Brian Partridge who had a rear upright break on his Ridge Cannon. Aaron Haizelden retired soon after, worried about the oil pressure of his Cosworth engined Escort.
Into Catswood
After some delightful traditional sections the route entered Catswood from the top, where three observed sections and a Special Test awaited. Sapseds Big Surprise is a slippery, muddy climb between the trees. Only Dean Partington, in his DP Wasp, could clean this difficult section. Dave Wall (Dellow Mk1), Tony Underhill (Triumph Special) and Mike Chatwin (DP Wasp) all came close, but couldn’t quite make it past the one marker. Ian Moss showed his mastery of the conditions, the only car outside of Class Eight to get a two.
Climbing to the top of Catswood Mini Hoskin awaited. This had a sting in the tail, a restart followed by an immediate 90 left up a steep bank. Unfortunately this deviation wasn’t obvious too most of the entry and around 70% went straight on, dropping four marks in the process. Dean Partington was the big loser here, taking him out of contention for the overall win.
Greenway Lane
After the traditional sections at the picturesque King Charles Lane and Bulls Cross the route descended Greenway Lane to the sections on private land half way down. These didn’t have any significant impact on the results but the news is the main track has been repaired and hopefully will be back in action as a section soon 1.
The Finish
After some extended Green Laning and another Special Test there was just Bulls Bank and Viaduct to come. These passed without impacting the results and the last competitor signed off at Minchinghampton Golf Club before 5pm, where many realised their mistake by not planning to eat here as the food looked first class.
Congratulations to Dave Wall for proving a Dellow can still win a one day classic trial. It was a shame about the confusion on the route at Mini Hoskin. Lets hope it didn’t spoil too many people’s enjoyment of another well organised Stroud event.
| Class | Driver/Car | Marks |
| Overall | Dave Wall (Dellow Mk1) | 7 |
| Best Stroud | Tony Underhill (Triumph Special) | 7 |
| 1 | Dave Haizelden (Golf GTi) | 17 |
| 2 | John Bell (MG TB) | 21 |
| 3 | Mark Linforth (Ford Escort) | 22 |
| 4 | Ian Moss (Hillman Imp) | 10 |
| 5 | Nick Deacon (Suzuki X90) | 23 |
| 6 | Harry Butcher (VW Beetle) | 21 |
| 7 | Rick Neale (Dutton Melos) | 14 |
| 8 | Mike Wokman (Golden valley Special) | 11 |
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It was a Class 1 victory on The Mechanics Trial. Dave Haizelden was the overall winner, dropping 11 marks, compared to Mike Workman on 14, although in fairness Mike had a lot more restarts in Class Eight.
It was quite dry in the Cotswolds so the results were determined by some fearsome restarts, especially for the higher classes, and the tricky Catswood sections with deviations off the tracks into the trees. All but 1 & 2 also had to run with very high tyre pressures, which must have contributed to the result. Stroud & DMC also ran a Clubmans event, mostly using the same sections but without the restarts. This was won by Ian Moss in his 1937 Ford Model Y who only dropped six marks, all on the impossible Don’t Blink section in Catswood.
Stroud had just over 40 starters for their non-championship trial, run in the same area as their Cotswold Clouds but with different sections. The second section “Alf’s Delight” was not so delightful, with many of the fancied runners failing its fearsome restart. In Class eight Mike Workman was the only one to get away in his Golden Valley Special. This was bettered by Class Seven where both Mal Allen and Julian Archbold were successful, delighting Julian in his newly acquired Marlin.
The Catswood Sections were Difficult
After some sections on delightful old roads came three sections in Catswood. OS 7, called Sapseds Big Surprise, saw Dave Haizelden loose his first marks of the day, dropping five after the section deviated off into the trees. Without having to restart Dave also cleaned the next section, Mini Hoskin, the only competitor in the main trail to do so. This showed just how good this driver/car combination is as none of the other non-restarters in 1-6 got less than a six.
Dave dropped six marks on Don’t Blink, the final Catswood section, the last he was to loose for the rest of the day. Tony Underhill retired here, his Triumph Special making horrible noises, later diagnosed as a loose flywheel on his newly rebuilt engine.
Bulls Cross Claimed Some Experienced Scalps
Coming out of the woods came a a section at King Charles Lane before a restart at Bulls Cross, situated right on a nasty rock step. This claimed a few victims, including the experienced Pete Hart (Marlin) and Eric Wall (Dellow mk1). Eric was having a bad day on the restarts having failed the Grassy Wood Lane earlier in the day.
Broken Cars on the Greenway Sections
This year there wasn’t a section on Greenway Lane itself, as the track was approached from the top. Anyone wondering why soon found out as it was very, very rough after considerable water erosion and it must have been very difficult for the lower slung cars to get to the sections. They were both grassy and didn’t impact on the results although Stuart Deacon broke the diff on his Escort, changing it to finish the trial. Luke Baber wasn’t so lucky with his Peugeot, coming down Greenway Lane on a rope behind mark Hobbs Land Rover, although shown as a finisher.
Viaduct was Dry this Year
The trial finished on Viaduct as usual, the ruts not proving a challenge in the dry conditions. The event seemed to go down well with competitors. The clubmans section was well received and it was nice to see Ian and Josh Moss take that category in their Model Y.
| Class | Driver/Car | Marks |
| Overall | David Haizelden (Golf GTi) | 11 |
| Clubmans | Ian Moss (Ford Model Y) | 6 |
| 1 | Nick Cleal (Peugeot 205) | 18 |
| 2 | David Wall (Austin Seven) | 21 |
| 3 | Phil Tucker (Ford Escort Estate) | 24 |
| 4 | John White (VW Beetle) | 23 |
| 5 | Colin Biles (MG Midget) | 42 |
| 6 | Gary Browning (VW beetle) | 25 |
| 7 | Mal Allen (Marlin) | 20 |
| 8 | Mike Workman (Golden Valley Special) | 14 |
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Ian Moss had a conclusive home win on the Stroud & DMC Mechanics Trial
Ian and Josh had a near flawless run in their 1200 Imp, putting up the best performance on all the hills except Greenway Lane 3 where they failed the restart. Tony Underhill was second overall, with Jade Bray in the passenger seat, in their Triumph special. Competing in Class Eight they did have a couple of extra restarts, including a real horror on Greenway Lane 3. Special well done to Steve Potter for winning Class 2 in his Trojan.
Organisers Carl Talbot and Tim Smith had an entry of 43 assembled in the spacious surroundings of the SKF car park for the start of Stroud’s Mechanics Trial. There was one non-starter. John White had a call from his passenger at 5 am saying his injured foot had swollen during the night and couldn’t come on the event.
The First Special Test
The route headed west from the start to the first section, a special test in a very muddy field. It was an a stop astride line B, back all four wheels over, round a bollard and back to stop astride C affair. C was the same line as B so this area got a fair amount of use and it became stickier and stickier as the morning went on. There was a six mark penalty for a failure and three or four competitors found them on their score sheets.
Tyre pressures had been free on the Special Test but there were high limits for the rest of the trial. Clerk of the Course Carl Talbot was worried about getting a result and had imposed the high tyre pressures and quite a few restarts. The early sections were old roads, mostly with restarts and there were some fantastic views on offer. The first observed section, Tin Pan Alley, an old Falcon Guy Fawkes section, was a nice gentle start, with a restart for everyone apart from Class 2. Everyone went clear here but that was to change at the next section, Alf’s delight, where the majority of the entry failed to get away from the restart.
It’s All About the Restarts
Crossing a golf course, and passing the exit tracks from Crooked Mustard and Axe, Boxwell was approached via a remote track, winding down through a wood, where the section started beside a lake. It almost made you want to start painting! Once again the hill was all about the restart, situated on a 90 left at Tee. More clean sheets disappeared on this slippery rocky surface, including Beetle drivers Giles Greenslade in class four and eventual Class six winner Gary Browning.
Wood Lane was approached via Nailsworth town centre. Everyone went clear here, despite the restart but like a few sections things would have been different had it not been so dry.
Delays at Mackhouse
Later numbers were waited more than three quarters of an hour at Mackhouse. There have been many variations over the years here and competitors were relieved the section more or less straight up the exit track, rather than use the versions where you risked understeering into the trees or drove along a ditch filled with dinosaur eggs. Even so there was a twist, the route deviating off the rocky track where there was one of those restarts that were very much a feature of this years Mechanics Trial. The main track is pretty rough and very long. When there were problems they took a long time to sort. Reg Salway had the misfortune to retire his BMW here. A reversal of fortunes after his class win on the March Hare the previous week. Dave Haizelden was a notable failure here, putting James Shallcross into the lead in Class
If You Go Down to the Woods One Day….
Up until now all the sections had been on public tracks, but the character of the event changed with the five sections in Catswood. The first three were situated at the bottom of the wood and were all very similar, starting on the track and deviating up amongst the trees onto the mud. They were all sub-divided and it was here the results of the trial were pretty much decided.
The first, called Infinity and Beyond, was a real stopper and only Ian and Josh Moss (Imp) and Tony Underhill/Jade Bray (Triumph Special) got as far as the one marker.
Angela’s was cleanable and several did. However, there was a horrible tree at the bottom, just in the right place to hit if you understeered at the bottom. Several did, or backed off before they did, including James Shallcross putting Dave Haizelden back in the lead in Class One. Sapsed’s Surprise was another stopper, the leading contenders all spinning to a stop at the 4 marker.
James Gets a 12
Mini Hoskins was a long section up a forestry track, with a deviation and a restart at the top where Dave Cook was taking photographs. There were quite a few cleans here, but also some 12’s where drivers couldn’t get grip off the start. Unfortunately these included James Shallcross and Dave Haizelden went on to another win in the Astra borrowed from passenger Nick Farmer.
Don’t Blink, familiar from the Cotswold Clouds, was the final section in Catswood. This is a real horror, tight, muddy and deeply rutted, with a restart for class eight which stopped them all. Pete Hart got to the three, Ian Moss to the five and amazingly James Shallcross a zero. However, most everyone else floundered at the nine.
The track out of Catswood (the one you use to get to Merves Swerve on the Clouds) was rough and wet, it was a shame we didn’t go up it as a section! King Charles Lane was just across the way, with John Blakeley on the restart flag and being a nice man didn’t fail anyone!
Greenway Lane
Greenway Lane is a rough track which had been made into three sections. The first one was on the track, deviating off onto a grassy area which would have been a problem had it been wet. The second was a pure PCT affair in an adjacent field. It was back on the track for the final one with a wicked deviation, especially for the class eights who had a special one through a very deep hole.
The first section had a restart for classes 6 to 8. It was achievable but tricky and when Tony Underhill failed it more or less meant Ian and Josh Moss had won overall unless they made a silly mistake, which they didn’t.
Ian Fails a Restart
The third section had difficult restarts with Colin Perryman on the flag. It was difficult for classes 1 to 7. Most of the class leaders negotiated it successfully, except Ian Moss and Pete Hart. Both failed but their lead was such it didn’t affect the final result. Class eights had to negotiate a horrific hole but amazingly Dave Wall (Dellow) was the only one to pick up a penalty.
John Bell’s nice MG TD was suffering by now, earlier he had carburation problems, had a collapsed wheel in Catswood and now the exhaust was broken. Fortunately it was after the silencer so he removed the broken bit and carried on.
Bulls Bank – Inspired by Longville?
The Second Special test was at the familiar Bulls Bank. This was very much like Longville on the Clee. It was important to concentrate on getting a clean first and a time second. The trial finished with Viaduct, a blast across a rutty, muddy field and it was a shame it was so dry and competitors who stayed on to watch saw only a couple of failures.
Well done to Ian and Josh Moss for a great drive, especially in Catswood, and a deserved victory. This years Mechanics was very much a trial of three parts. Public Tracks followed by Catswood and a finale at Greenway Lane. It was a shame it was so dry, perhaps next year Stroud will arrange for a few more localised rain showers!
| Best Overall | Ian Moss (Imp) | 16 |
| Class Winners | ||
| 1 | David Haizelden (Vauxhall Astra) | 31 |
| 2 | Steve Potter (Trojan | 32 |
| 3 | Stuart Deacon (Ford Escort) | 33 |
| 4 | Giles Greenslade (VW Beetle) | 36 |
| 5 | Stuart Roach (HRG) | 34 |
| 6 | Gary Browning (VW Beetle) | 35 |
| 7 | Pete Hart (Marlin) | 27 |
| 8 | Tony Underhill (Triumph Special) | 24 |
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 