Newsletter January 2024

Posted on December 31, 2023 by admin

Greetings and Happy New Year to everyone, here we go again it’s our chance to repeat all the fun we had in 2023 and hopefully a little more added. I sometimes think we are extremely lucky to be able to enjoy our pastime in the way we do with all the freedom we enjoy, at a time when the world is in so much turmoil somehow we can carry on doing our own thing, enjoy it while we can. Mid December I and several others were out marshalling on the Camel Vale Classic trial, seemed like a good event, lots of happy faces and plenty of mud along with on/off rain showers, essential ingredients.

Many of us are putting the final preparations together for the MCC Exeter Trial on the 5^th/6^th of January, the 2cv aka Mona is about as ready as it’s going to be (apart from fitting buoyancy aids ) if the weather carries on as it has done it will be a wet one. Phil my passenger/navigator has been stocking up on travel sickness remedies, bouncing along in a 2cv can be somewhat compared to a small boat in a rough sea, he’ll love it.

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Our Chairman welcomes us to 2024

That’s a wrap for 2023, my first year as Chairman of our now 103 year old club and I would like to thank each and every one of you that has supported the club and our events in any capacity. We always need entries of course to run and similarly we need landowners, marshals, organisers so it is always a big team effort.

Our only event in December was the Ron Beer at Ashleigh. With the wet autumn conditions were tricky but with a small team of marshals it seemed to run well and all smiles at the end.

With the new year upon us the annual subscriptions become due, your membership fees go directly into helping us maintain events, equipment, our website and all the bits and pieces needed to keep us functioning. The event entry fees themselves are more the direct costs of those events (which like most things creep up year on year) such as permit fees, toilet hire, land expenses etc. Memberships are easy to renew or indeed join, on our website, it would be great if we could get plenty of early sign ups.

Our first event of 2024 will be our awards night scheduled towards the end of February. Details to be confirmed early in the new year but these have been very well supported in recent years so I’m sure will follow a similar format.

A happy new year to all and if you have any ideas or feedback on anything we do as a club we’ll be very pleased to hear from you.

Simon R
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Our travelling reporter Simon Oates brings us up to date on what he’s been up to.

*The Camel Classic*** Sunday 3rd December 2023

A cold crisp morning and a start from the Borough Arms at 9.58am, so a bit of a lie in. Nigel Cowling was wrapped up warm and raring to go as last minute wing man. It all started with Hustyn (1) which was already stopping a lot of cars due to it being wet and muddy with loose stone. Just in front on the hill was Nick and Ben Symons in their gorgeous and powerful gold Singer Chamois having trouble with fuelling problems with the engine. They’ll get it running well soon and be serious threats next years’ championship I think. As soon as we started up the hill, I knew I’d forgotten something. I eased off a little early at the summit and lost momentum and stopped on the 1. Embarrassingly we reversed down. I’d forgotten to re adjust the coil over damping (I soften them off for road use and had forgotten to tighten them for the first section) and on to the next hill, Chestnut Rise (2).

Straight up a rutted and rooted hill to the 5. No better than last year and on reversing down, stuck the exhaust tip into a tree stump that stopped us in a millisecond. Nigel jumped out, which was enough to lift the car and get us back down the hill. The two Dean’s, Partington and Vowden were the only clear cars (both Class 8). Battered, bent and dented, we moved to Mine Shaft (3a) and another blast to the top of a steep slippery bank in the trees. Jab & Left Hook (4) followed with a sneaky restart in the middle of the left hook which caught many out. A trip on the tracks down to Pump House Climb (5) where we watched several blasts up the hill until Paul Watson in his Golf powered Imp reversed with zest (lost a gear?) on to some logs and a steep precipice to a stream. Drive to the wheels was lost and beached like a whale, everyone jumped into action, stabilising the car. Strap attached to the front which was then attached to Darren Rubys’ BMW and off he tried to go with rooster tails of mud over the front of the Imp. 3 or 4 volunteers were pushing in that area, but only room for 3 to find shelter! Poor Ashley Ruby didn’t stand a chance. I’m sure it’s on video somewhere ready for £250 from “You’ve been framed”?

Once the car was cleared, we only managed a 3 on the hill. This then led on to Pheasant Pluckers Son (6) where we were met with a higher start for classes 7 and 8. Well the higher start line presented a problem as it had been set up in the dry and some of the class7 cars couldn’t even get to the start line, even when coming from below the line. All of class 7 only managed a 12. Class 8 fared slightly better as they bit through the surface and 7 (out of 22) cleared the section which shows the difference between classes 7 and 8. On through the woods to the first Observed Test 1 in the woods and a reasonable time of 15.41 seconds. Back to the roads and on towards Bodmin Station and Penkestle Woods. Under the viaduct and arrowed to Penkestle 1 (7) we managed to get to the 6, not far past the restart for class 8. How the class 8 cars cleared the restart I’ll never know, but we couldn’t get any further! Along a track to the next section, Penkestle 2 (8) where we watched Phil Thomas and “Father” attempt the start where ‘snick’ the half shaft snapped.

The car didn’t move forward, so did he attempt the section? Greg Warren (marshal) said he did, otherwise the half shaft wouldn’t have broken. Fair comment, we could argue the point, but Greg was right! A great opportunity to gain points on Phil here then. I took the start too casually as I didn’t recognise any real problems off the line. The car just sat there and eventually crept up to the 11. What a cock up. I suddenly remembered last year the restart was where the start was this year and I didn’t get off the restart, serves me right!! As we passed Phil and father, they had already got the broken half shaft out and were unpacking a new one to fit, I think they’ve done this before. On to the queue for Clinnick (9) where we failed to clear and scored a 3. Phil and father in their now running Melos plus Joe &; Gary Browning in their Baja cleared the hill in class 7. Four class 8 cars cleared the hill even with a restart – respect. Back under the viaduct towards Cardinham and in to Laneskin Woods to Where there’s a hedge (10a) with a restart and 2 points dropped. Laneskin (11) again had a restart which we successfully cleared but still dropped a point. The last one in the woods was Anthill (12) which was cleared and without a restart. We were then back on the roads to the final Observed Test 2 at Helligan. An anti-clockwise dash around some cones done without hitting any in 13.65 was ok. This then led to Helligan 1 (13) which was looking very slippery. Keeping it as straight as I could we managed a 5. On to the queue to the last section of the day Helligan Zero (14).

I heard that some of the bikes had got to the top, but cars were struggling to get up the last bank where class 8 had a restart. We gave it a go, but didn’t climb the bank and dropped 7 points. In summary, this truly was a hard trial with grip hard to come by. Several sections were blind sections which had to be reversed down which isn’t always ideal. Thoroughly enjoyed the day run by a brilliant club and fantastic marshals.

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*Simon’s Summary of 2 years of ownership of Mr Toad*** The first trial was the MCC Exeter 2022 with cross ply tyres all round and an underpowered engine that hadn’t been used in anger by me yet. It all started poorly with 5 hills failed mostly because of the engine dying on the steep hill gradients. I tried to increase tyre pressures so that the wheels slipped and the engine couldn’t lose power with limited effect. I was heard to say at Ilslington just before Simms ‘the bloody things no good and couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding’ with a few choice expletives thrown in as well.

A week after the trial I went to Mark Shillaber owner of SRD on Newport Industrial Estate and had a short session on his rolling road where he managed to extract a further 10bhp to a staggering 40bhp, 29% of what I was used to(140bhp) in Torum, my previous other car. I carried on with the same cross ply tyres to manage a 4th in Class 7 on the next trial to also find the engine power cutting out mid-section a few times. It was progress which was further continued to a 3rd in class on the next trial and the addition of radial tyres (Michelin Taxi) on the back. I was starting to understand how the car worked and next did the MCC Lands End Trial 2022 where the car kept power to the end and won a Gold Medal and class 7 win!! On a high we competed in the Torbay trial and had a few engine power cuts but still managed 2nd in class.

The Exmoor Clouds was the first winter trial where we managed to split the rear axle tube which we then held together with ratchet straps and retired to the trailer park. To this date, that was the only trial where I have had to retire because of mechanical failure! (30 trials entered). Two weeks later after drastic strengthening of the axle casing, improved internal gear structure and the addition of 175/80/15 Yokohama Geolanders, we managed another class 7 win in the MCC Edinburgh Trial.

A massive improvement in grip at the rear. The Tamar Trial followed with another class 7 win. The Camel Vale Presidents was next where I turned the car over and retired after 2 more sections (the adrenalin soon disappeared). This caused another mod to the car of the addition of a hydraulic handbrake. On to the Allen for 2nd overall and 1st in class 7 and finally in 2022, the Camel Classic with another class 7 success. Results for the 13 trials entered in 2022 were: Class 7 wins – 6. 2nd – 1, 3rd –1, 4th – 1, unclassified – 2 and retired – 2.

I decided to enter the ACTC and ASWMC championships for the first time in 2023 because of half decent results at the end of 2022. I had 4 months of chronic back pain and sciatica in my left leg which wasn’t the best way to start the year. The MCC Exeter returned another class win and my 1st Triple. Cotswold Clouds and North Devon Exmoor trial yielded two class 7 2nd s. Next was the Torbay where I lost power on a few hills, thought I hadn’t done very well, bought a supercharger for the car, only to find I was 1st class 7 and the overall winner of the trial. I was gobsmacked!! Andy Prosser drove the car in the Launceston Trial to a 2nd in class (first time he had ever driven the car).
The MCC 99th Lands End Trial again ended with another gold and class 7 win. Various people drove the car in the next 4 events with varying success but always with a big (surprised?) smile. The Minehead Exmoor Clouds yielded a 2nd overall and 2nd in class 7.

I visited the Stroud Mechanics trial in dry conditions for the first time to a 3rd in class. The MCC Edinburgh again was another gold, class win and overall win. A week later we did the Ross Kyrle Trial for the first time to another class win, getting to be a bit of a theme. The last three trials of 2023 were the Tamar, Allen and Camel Classic
where my form seemed to desert me with 2nd in class for all three. The results for the 13 trials I drove in 2023 were Class 7 wins – 5, 2nd – 7, 3rd – 1 including 2 overall trial wins, much more than I could possibly have expected. Over the two years the car has entered 30 trials, 26 driven by me. It has broken down once and not finished once but was still driven home to be straightened out, modified and ready for the next trial three weeks later. The last 5 consecutive MCC trials, the car has managed to win class 7 on all occasions, so no pressure in the Exeter on 7th January 2024!!

The car is meant to be the first road registered production car out of the factory. How different is the car to a standard Liege? I’ve raised the windscreen 2” and fitted bucket seats, added a heater that works (sort of). The rear wings have been widened to accommodate wider tyres but keeping the original profile. There’s a Suzuki 3 cylinder G10A engine, Jimny gearbox and Super Carry 5.125:1 back axle (all allowed in the class 7 regulations) instead of original Reliant Kitten parts. Standard suspension and brakes with a mixture of Protech coilovers at the front and Gaz at the rear with 15.5” x 90 lbs springs at the rear (probably need stronger). A hydraulic handbrake, 4” x 15 steel wheels are used for trialing although the original 16” Liege alloy wheels are used when not trialing for pottering around. The original alloys are so nice, I just don’t want to chip or buckle them on trials. There are classic mini wheel spacers’ front and rear to aid steering lock and keep the front and rear wheels in line with each other.

The Yokohama Geolander tyres on the back have made a big improvement to the grip and I run all radial tyres without inner tubes down to 4 psi on sections without any punctures so far (kiss of death). I have been doing this for over 3 years so far without incident. I have added 25 kg of weight between the spare wheels 4 times and not really seen a big increase in grip.

The steering isn’t as direct in my opinion with the weight added. Nothing to hide and all information available to anyone that wants it. It’s important to know your car and use it regularly and have faith in the car on sections, trusting that it will go where you want it to go and sometimes pull you out of situations that you shouldn’t be in. It’s a very direct and forgiving car often making the driver look better than they really are! It’s important to give the car a really good check over both before and after events. Will I ever add the supercharger that’s sitting in the garage to get the power above 40bhp? It’s doing well as it is, but if I put more weights in the back to improve grip, it will need more power from somewhere. Clearly the original concept and design by Peter Davis as a ‘lightweight two seater sporting and competition car for the enthusiast’ was bang on the money in my opinion.

Simon Oates.
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*The Ron Beer Sporting Trial***

Our last trial of the year was held at Ashleigh Lifton on 10th December. This trial was the last round of the ASWMC Championship but the positions had already been decided with Thomas Bricknell being the clear winner. This meant the Gloucester contingent, apart from John Cole, did not travel leaving an entry of only seven providing a friendly trial that is just about viable.

The site had been checked several times in the week leading up to the trial because of the constant rain but fortunately the drainage is good and things looked OK.
Three old codgers & one approaching that status met to lay out the sections in glorious weather on the Saturday morning. It was reminiscent of scenes from “Last of the Summer Wine”; I will leave it to your imagination to match the characters. Three familiar hills were laid out in the woods; three new hills out in the field. Overnight there was heavy rain which just petered out by the time of the start of the trial. 3 PSI tyre pressure was decided & off we went to do 3 hills in the woods 4 times. There wasn’t much grip, one could be caught out anywhere. It was soon apparent that Jerome Fack was in a class of his own on the day; he led comfortable at lunchtime. John Cole, Alan Murton & myself where all within 4 points of each other but 16 behind Jerome.

During the leisurely lunch break Ann Cole generously provided festive mince pies for all. Suitably fortified, we set off to tackle the 3 hills in the field 4 times. I started off with great expectations, with a fine trickle, by clearing section 5 which involved a set of difficult ruts over virgin grass the surfaces soon cut up and it was all downhill from thereon. Jerome continued to show us the way and consolidated his lead. There were good climbs right across the entry. It was good to see Stewart Stamp out in his newly liveried Hamilton &; first time out Steve Pritchett should have been pleased with his 3 clears. When the scoresheets were added Jerome Fack was the clear winner on 46. John Cole pipped Alan Murton by just one point to win the Blue class on 83 with the rest further behind.
The weather held out & there was bright sunshine in the afternoon. I know I am bias but I thought we had a really good trial & hope it was enjoyed by everyone involved. I must admit I was quite knackered after unloading; I slept soundly that night.

Thanks to the Landowner, Warin for acting as COC, & the small band of Marshalls. My special thanks to Andy Beveridge for stepping in at the very last minute to passenger for me after Nigel dropped out with flu (a bit of a come down from bouncing for Thomas B)

Mike Wevill

Thanks to Andy Prosser for photos of Ron Beer Trial

AWARDS
Nigel Cowling has asked me to remind all award winners from last year to please return their awards to him, the awards evening is looming (date to be confirmed, probably early March?) and he needs to get them sorted and engraved so as to be ready for the new recipients. If you need to contact Nigel please ring him on 07902 542798.

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*Success in the Landscapes Review***

Some great news to start the year.
You might remember that back in the Spring of 2022 we encouraged everyone involved with the club to take part in the Government’s Landscape Review Consultation, which contained a not very subtly-disguised attempt to get motor vehicles banned from using unsurfaced roads and byways in the countryside.

Most significantly, it asked: Should we legislate to restrict the use of motor vehicles on unsealed unclassified roads for recreational use, subject to appropriate exemptions? As a club we decided that the appropriate response to this question was: “Local authorities already have regulatory powers to restrict motor use where there is a legitimate reason to do so (while a route is being maintained, for example) so there is no need for more legislation from a Government that is supposed to be ‘deregulating’ where possible.” And we asked people to make this point when taking part in the consultation. Incredibly, it seems that for once the Government actually listened to reasoned argument on this topic.

The Government’s response reads: “The consultation shows many people feel strongly about protecting green lanes, but it did not identify clear support for removing vehicular rights. Therefore, we will not proceed with this proposal. We believe that the current Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process is legally robust enough to protect green lanes with carefully targeted local action to protect sensitive areas while allowing vehicle users to responsibly enjoy the countryside.”

This was exactly the point that we had made. On a more local level, a green lane in Derbyshire was recently saved from an attempt by two women to downgrade it to Bridleway at a Public Inquiry by evidence from the Long Distance Trials community. The Government Inspector was swayed to the view that vehicular rights existed on the route because it had been used by hundreds of drivers and riders on two occasions as part of the MCC’s Edinburgh Trial. The MCC had informed locals, the parish council, the country council and the police that the route of the trial would take in this public road, and no objection had been raised. This established that the route had been used without stealth, permission or objection, and vehicular rights were therefore conclusively established. This indicates the importance of archiving route-books and entry lists, together with supporting photography.

Congratulations to all who joined in the efforts to save our green lane and trials heritage.
We will keep you posted when more effort is required, because we can be sure that it will be!

Richard Simpson

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*Tailpiece***

The photo below which has been doing the rounds in Facebook is taken in Western Road, Launceston , cars lined up are taking part in the 1930 Lands End Trial, presumably a lunch stop on a somewhat rainy day. I’ve also seen the photo in colour but in some ways it seems nicer in black & white , maybe because colour was unusual in the thirties. One thing that is very striking is the lack of visibility from inside the cockpit of the average sporting car, once squeezed in with passenger the driver has very little forward or sideways visibility, no wonder it’s more likely to see old trials photos with the hood down whatever the weather.

I tried going on to the DVLA website and doing a vehicle check to see if any of the cars were still listed but alas no, probably stored away in someone’s private collection.

All for this month, please keep the contributions coming in billjan299@gmail.com J.T.

Newsletter December 2023

Posted on December 2, 2023 by admin

December 2023 Newsletter

Blooming heck, December has started with a chill, all of a sudden we have to accept it’s Winter, mind you I was “up North” in Derbyshire last weekend and they had a proper frost now that was chilly, I’ll put up with being a woosie southerner if we don’t have weather like that. Last night we had a committee meeting down at the Fox & Grapes, Lifton, a good turn out of members including Nick Symons who has dipped his toes in to being a committee member, well done Nick.

All the usual matters of committee business were chewed over, such as dates of events for next year and the purchase of a new Gazebo complete with club branding for use at shows etc, somewhere to hide from the rain or sun depending on time of year.

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Simon Oates as always keeps us posted on recent events he has completed so here is his account of the Tamar Trial.

The 76^th Tamar Trial  Sunday 22^nd October 2023

Liam Hartley arrived just after 8am and was raring to do his Duracell bunny bouncing for the day (he just bounces forever!). He had ridden his motorbike down and his ‘waterproofs’ were soaked through after he hit one of those tropical showers! Off to scrutineering at Proper Ansome Cafe and a start at 9.17. A great turnout of 46 bikes and chairs along with 36 cars. A dry start and off to Petherwin Old Hill (1) and a restart for 6, 7 & 8, catching a couple of class 8’s. Next on to the first timed Special Test 1 at Lewannick Down. ‘Front wheel on Line A.

Forward with all wheels through Line B. Reverse with all wheels back behind Line B. Forward, straight through Line C and stop astride Line D. I half watched Bob Blackman in his Arkley do it in front of me. It shouldn’t be hard to do unless you’re me where I failed to register the Line B and only used Line C – Failure of test 1 and a bollocking from Liam (well it was worse than that really!) Bowing my head in shame, we made our way over the moors which were looking at their best in the Autumn sun to Warleggan (2) and 14psi and a restart which we managed to clear to our relief. On through St Neot and Wild Boar Lane (3) for another high restart on the slab of slate which dropped 3 points (all class 7 were caught out here and half of class 8). Once at the top we toured on to Watermain Lane (4) where we were greeted by Anna Robinson at the start with David Robinson on the restart, hanging like tinsel on a Christmas tree in the hedge!!

We saw his flag drop (or was it rise?) and cleared the section. A short lane dash on to Lestitha Well (5) which had a few interesting crevices in the lane down to the start. A tricky deviation in the middle of the section made sure everyone was awake and a restart for class 8 that caught a few out. The bikes went on to Ladye Park (6) with a best score for bikes of 3 and not one managed a clear (sneaky little organisers). The cars moved on to the second Special Test 2 at Waylands which we managed to complete without incident! (only one B line in the middle).

Out of the test and through Pensilva, Callington and right towards Harrowbarrow. Right just before the village to Barrett’s Mill (7) with a restart for all classes which everyone cleared apart from a few unfortunate bikes. We then drove on to Tank’s Terror (8) which was cleared by 5 bikes and only 1 car, driven by the legend known as Dean Partington. We managed a 2 and were well chuffed with that (steep grass, muddy and tiered bank with a twist). Time Control and refreshments were just up the road at the Tamar Valley Donkey Park where we were held for 30 minutes. Once we’d chatted to the donkeys, we were off to Horse Bridge and the woods we had first used last year for four brand new sections. The Twister (9) and The Quarry (10) were twisty and slippery and a true challenge. Next was The Slates (11) with a restart for class 7 & 8, followed by The Firs (12).

All tight and testing amongst the trees and overgrowth. 17 points dropped here which shows how tough it was although Dean Partington with Duncan Stephens as wing man only dropped 1 point on the four sections. Both Keith Sanders and Matt Facey’s class 5 cars also did the impossible and only dropped 6 points each within the wood sections – fantastic driving. Conditions dictated that the early cars had a distinct advantage on the day but that’s trialling! A few later cars had trouble finding their way out of the woods where maybe some of the many arrows had been knocked down with all the slipping and sliding! Out of the woods and across Horse Bridge and right towards Lee Quarry (13) with restarts for classes 7 & 8.

A truly tough section with only two class 8 cars clearing the section, all the rest of the cars spinning like a top and failing any further upward motion. A mile further up the road was Angel Steps (14) which was levelled out a bit with a digger last year and we feared could have ruined the hill. Fear not, it’s still a formidable challenge especially on 14 psi for us. We were stuck in a cloud of tyre smoke for over a minute making miniscule progress off the top restart (couldn’t see the markers or marshal) and made it to the 3. Liam was well on form with some up and personal bouncing to infinity and beyond. Disappointed, we drove on to Lew Wood 1 (15) to drop a further 3 points on tree roots off the lower restart. Liam was not happy!!

Further on through the woods to Lew Woods 2 (16) where we managed to clear the section. The bikes had a bike only section at Harts (17) which only 3 bikes cleared. On to Lifton and Park Impossible (18) where we were meant to be on 12 psi, but when I asked the starting marshal he said there were no tyre pressure limits. It’s a tough section to finish on at the best of times and we got away off the restart but were stopped by the hill just before the 2. Not a normal place to stop the cars! I have to mention here that Phil Thomas ably assisted by Keelan Hancock in ‘Fathers Dutton Melos’ were the only car to clear the section. They also had cleared everything from Angel Steps which truly took some magical skills.

Off back to the finish at the Frog and Bucket in South Petherwin and signing off. Unbelievably we managed to come second in Class 7 and dropped 35 points, 6 behind class 7 winner Phil Thomas (29 points). Overall winner was the red hot Jack Selwood ably assisted by Abbie Jeffery in their Class 8 DP Ford special. Class 8 dominated the top 4 positions with a stunning 5^th for Keith Sanders in his Class 5 Reliant Scimitar (it really does have 4 wheels Dell Boy!).

The bikes had a 3-way tie on 17 points with John Reeves pipping Kevin Miller and Tristan Barnicoat. Steve Urell and Julie Williams (did she have a stuffed donkey in her pocket after lunch??) had a fantastic trial for 6^th overall and a win on 3 wheels. A truly fantastic trial with a great mix of new and old sections, giving a rest to sections used in previous years. The weather made the route between sections fantastic and showed Cornwall at its best. Route instructions were clear and concise, marshals were legends and land owners so much appreciated.

The biggest THANK YOU must go to SimonR, NigelC, AndrewR and JanC plus all their behind the scenes team for organising my Favourite Trial of 2023 so far despite my poor showing. This is what club trials are all about with sections that are capable of stopping all classes with tyre pressures, deviations, roots, restarts, other sneaky means etc. It’s rare to see a clear round on this trial, maybe that’s why it’s called a trial and long may it continue.

John Hadwick. I received a sad telephone call on the 3^rd of November from Polly Hadwick to give Vivien and I the news that John Hadwick had sadly passed away. John had spent the last ten years battling with cancer, despite being constantly in pain he never complained, whenever I asked him how he was the reply would be “I’m alright John”.

We first met John and Polly on a Lands end trial in the early to mid 2000’s, ending up sharing dig’s with them and several other competitors in a couple of over crowded hotel rooms (I use the term Hotel loosely) near Zennor. From then on we always kept in touch, John was a very clever engineer working on everything from trials and race cars to reboring the engines for the local Council dustcarts, John and I would occasionally go off to an event together spectating, we would be walking around the pits and he would stop me and say “fancy that they’re using Vauxhall steering gear on that” such was his knowledge, meanwhile all I could do was admire the carburettor set up and nod.

The photo below was at the top of Bluehills on the 2007 Lands end Trial. Left to Right Rosemarie and Ray Goodright, John, Mike & Pat Gomm, far right J.T. the two ladies in the foreground are Polly and Viv T.   Happy Days 😊

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Calendar of Events

10th of December   The Ron Beer Sporting Trial which is a round of the ASWMC to be held at Ashleigh , Lifton , Devon. Once again we are needing marshals so if you are able to help Mike Wevill would love to hear from you, tel 01566 784451.Have a day out watching those strange (to some) little sporting trials cars in action with their passengers acrobatics putting their weight where needed.

January 5^th/6^th is the date for the annual long distance MCC Exeter Trial , last year it was floods, will it be the same again or icy roads, who knows but there will be a lot of our own club members out there doing their best to defy all that is thrown at them.

A little way off but a date for the diary, February 23^rd for our annual awards evening, more info to follow.

Thursday 7^th of March is the club AGM , have your say in what goes on in the organising of events.

Sunday 3^rd of March is the Launceston Trial.

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Get well soon. Bouncer and general club supporter Liam Hartley is somewhat under the weather at the moment, hopefully he will be out on the hills in the not too distant future.

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From our chairman

The last newsletter of 2023 so I would like to take the early opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to thank you all for your support in any capacity of our events during the year. No events of our own during November but we do have one final event this year with the Ron Beer Sporting Trial at Ashleigh near Lifton on Sunday 10th December as ever any offer of marshals for the day would be most welcome.

We had our last committee meeting of the year last week and I’m pleased that we have added another active competitor to our committee with Nick Symons being co-opted on. We’ll be looking to run a full programme of events next year similar to this and I feel that the club ends the year in a strong position. Just a little reminder that subs from the 1st January will have a slight increase to £12 and to £2.50 for all ancillary memberships.

Thanks again to all for 2023, here’s hoping 2024 is a good year to look forward to.

Simon R

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Mr Oates is back again with his account of the Allen Trial, take it away Simon.

The Allen Trial Sunday 26^th November 2023

A late start number of 68 saw us leaving the Bull Inn in Hinton at 9.40, so a reasonable start time from Cornwall in the morning. The first section was Tog Hill (1) and was a straight forward climb to break us in and maybe a false bit of confidence. On to Bitton Lane (2) for a yellow restart on 12psi for ourselves. All cleared and no problems yet. 7 miles on to Fairy Hill Observed Test 1 for a downhill right slippery bend to all wheels through the B boards, Reverse all through again and a short blast to astride the C boards in 19.5 seconds, not too tardy! A couple of hundred yards on was Fairy Hill (3) where classes 6 & 7 (10psi) had a restart on the bottom muddy corner. Class 8 could drive through our restart and have their own higher up the hill (I thought it looked easier than ours).

The previous cars and drizzle had not improved the traction at the restart. We fought as best we could and struggled to move forward for a 5. Impressive to see Paul Watson in his Imp cleared the section and he wasn’t that far in front of us. As we left the section I could see more room wider on the restart that might have helped me. A mile along the roads we came to Big Uplands (4) (Byeway Open to All Traffic) a long rough, slippery and stoney track with a restart for classes 6, 7 & 8 around a sharp left bend. No problem and cleared fairly easily. 7.5 miles on to Guys Hill (5) (BOAT) with a notoriously hard restart on 10psi. Restart for classes 6, 7 & 8. There were 6 clears in 1 – 5, only Dean Vowden cleared in class 6, 4 out of 18 class 7 cleared and 6 class 8 failed. Luckily we snuck off the line to infinity and beyond!

On for a further 10 miles to Travers Hill (6) (BOAT) which was a track on the side of a steep wooded hill overlooking Blagdon Lake Slippery and rough to the top with a restart for classes 7 & 8. We stopped at the top of the line and nearly slipped back over a root, but got away with it. Most cleared the section. Lunch was at the Chew Valley Lake picnic area. The sausage and chips were tasty and consumed in no time at all. We turned right out of the picnic area and on to the next section Burledge 1 (7) (BOAT) where the section was split in two with a restart on Burledge 2. 5 miles on we went into Fry’s Bottom Wood and past Fry’s Bottom 1 (8) on the left that was only for Class 8 and only cleared by 5 cars.

The rain was now starting to change the ground conditions for the worse. Observed Test 2 which was a quick blat from the ‘A’ boards into a box over the ‘B’ board with all wheels, reverse all wheels over again and astride line ‘C’, 15 seconds flat was good enough for me. It’s always fun if you get it right even with 40 bhp! Up the track to Fry’s Bottom 2 (9) which was a zig zag through the muddy undergrowth to a restart on a sharp muddy corner and around a tree. Fairly technical and good fun. 100 m further on, we came to Fry’s Bottom 3 (10). While we were waiting Andrew & Lisa Dams arrived in their Peugeot 106, beaming from ear to ear.

It appeared the restart marshal had jumped out and stopped him for the restart even though he didn’t have one. He then pulled away, went around the tree and cleared the section. Wow some achievementJ. The section was a wiggly weaving woodland track to a restart for Classes 6 & 7 on a bank with little grip and a sharp right up a clay bank. So little grip after the restart and no chance of turning up the hill for a clear. Further into the woods we went on to, you’ve guessed it, Fry’s Bottom 4 (11) which was a nasty little climb through tree roots after a sharp right turn in wet clay.

Class 8 had not done the previous section and had a restart around the roots on this one. None of the class 8 cleared the section but Thomas Jones in his Ford Snipe Special managed a 1. The last wet section John Walker (12) was a further 13 miles away and we put the hood up on the car enroute to reduce the precipitation in the car. The rain nearly stopped before attacking the long narrow, stony, rough and slippery section which was preceded with a dip in a swollen stream (to clean the car off?) before covering it in mud again on the way up the section.

Throughout the trial, all marshals were so helpful, the route was clearly marked at junctions and the venues welcoming. THANK YOU ALL for making the trial so enjoyable and friendly. May be a few changes for next year to rest some sections, add some new to keep the event fresh?

Provisional results show two amazing clear rounds by Rob Holden in his re engine BMW in class 3 and David Haizelden re finding the grip after the Tamar Trial in his Reliant Scimitar in class 5. David pipped Rob by some 8 seconds on the combined test times and wins the Allen Trophy. We eventually managed 2^nd in class 7 after Travers Hill was corrected to a clear.

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For sale

Acewell 258 mini dashboard computer. This compact unit does speed (mph), trip,clock, fuel level and more. Primarily aimed at the motorcycle/ATV market but can also be used for a car.I bought this for the 2CV but it’s not quite what I’m looking for , comes complete with wiring and set up instructions. Buy it new for around £100 inc postage, this one’s only a few weeks old, yours for £30. 07971 249783

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Tailpiece

So here we are at the tail end of another year, our committee has worked hard throughout the year to put on events which we hope appeal to our members, we know we don’t always get it completely right but in general I think we do ok, doing our best to cater for all aspects of motorsport be it on 2,3 or 4 wheels and also putting on events to include our youngest members, always good to see them enjoying themselves, the smiles tell it all.

The next newsletter will be at the start of 2024 and an opportunity where we will be able to do it all again, so on behalf of the committee it’s Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Keep the contributions coming, billjan299&gmail.com