Welcome to the May newsletter, don’t we just love our motorsport or to put it another way, “ another Lands End Trial that I failed to start”. You really couldn’t make this stuff up, you think you have done everything correctly, no corners cut, ticked the boxes, dotted the I’s, I even bought the Beret. and somehow the lord of the gremlins put’s his bloody great foot in it and declares “you will not go to the ball (or hills).

At the beginning of the Easter week I went out in the 2cv and did some 50 or so miles handing out programs and doing the PR work, got home put the car in the garage and declared it “fit to go”. Friday morning of the ill fated day I go out to the garage to find the car won’t start, this turns into one of the longest days of my life, lunchtime with still no joy, Andy Prosser and Joe Caudle arrive to assist with the reluctant tin snail. We between us spend the rest of the day trying all manner of things to get it started, NO, at 8.00pm I’m shattered and have to phone navigator Phil to give him the bad news, he took it well but deep down he was cursing all things French and probably muttering a few  French words and I don’t mean Chardonnay. Many thanks to Andy and Joe in doing their utmost to get things going, next year !!.
To make up for our disappointment on Saturday morning Vivien and I took Phil and wife Margaret down to Bluehills for a bit of spectating, at least we were able savour some of the event. For those who were wondering the fault lay in two dodgy pistons with the rings stuck firmly in them causing a drastic loss of compression, hey ho.

A few photos from The Lands End.

Lorraine doing her official observing, making sure anyone who needs a bit of help gets it.

MARSHALLING ON BLUE HILLS 2024

Well Easter Saturday can only mean one thing !! Easter eggs ,spring lamb ?? No don’t be silly it has to be Bluehills on the Lands End.

No matter the weather come rain or shine (we’ll come to the rain later) that’s where we’ve been over the years spectating, competing or latterly marshalling.

My Grandfather in the 1950/60 s use to sell pasties from his baker’s van on this hill every Easter Saturday, always ready to grab an opportunity to earn a shilling.

Lorraine’s dad competed in 1955 on a motorbike & sidecar only to vow “never again”.

We arrived on the hill at 8am to find chief marshals Norman & Yvonne Tonkin  had already arrived, with jobs allocated, by which time a steady stream of marshals were arriving & with them the first of the many showers of the day.

By 10.30 the first bike was on the hill thereafter a steady flow followed, tired & weary some took the section in their stride others unfortunately the tiredness got the better of them, with our trusty strong marshals at hand the bikers were soon uprighted back on their way again.

Within 3 hours the first car was on the hill & made it look easy but it wasn’t long before the failures came thick & fast, with Bluehills living up to its reputation as “ the stopper”. The sight of so many competitors wearing  LNCMC hats  was lovely to see.

Around 5.30pm the queue for BH 1 was getting longer & longer, with issues on this section the decision was made to close here at 6pm.This was the time the rain came in & boy oh boy did it rain accompanied with high winds .

The queue was slowly progressing to BH2, by 7pm the light was fading fast & the weather had turned even nastier, Norman said that we should endeavour to keep the section open for as long as possible to give everyone in the queue a chance of attempting the hill, as long as being safe to do so.

Now 7.30pm and in the dark , brollies being blown inside out, in all the years this had to be one of the worst weather conditions we’ve known .The only benefit of the rain it made the hill  easier for competitors but not for marshals who were struggling to see competitors numbers & keeping the score cards dry.

At 7.45pm the decision was made to close the hill but as we drove down to close the gate to the hill the course closer was in front of us, so everyone in the queue had an attempt at the hill.

Now in the dark we dismantled the signs, fencing etc but it got so bad the Tonkin Team went back out on Sunday morning to collect the rest.

At 8.45pm (13 hours door to door) we arrived home cold very wet to a hot bath followed by a hot cuppa “ansum”.

WE know you can’t spend Thank You’s but it is always appreciated by the marshals, without these people the sport will not continue.

Would we do it again!! ABSOLUTELY YES
Thank you
Andrew& Lorraine Rippon

No Andrew isn’t being sponsored by Green Flag he’s signalling that the hill is clear for the next competitor, note the LNCMC Hi viz.

——————-What’s on

Committee meeting Thursday 16^th May, Fox & Grapes , Lifton. 7.30 pm.

Sunday 18^th May Northgate Sporting Trial at Ashleigh , Lifton. This is a great venue and a chance to watch unique sporting trials cars in action, if you are able to marshal Mike Wevill would love to hear from you 01566 784451. If you are coming to watch for the first time it will be arrowed from Lifton so just follow the arrows.

Lanson Steam Rally May 25^th, 26^th 27^th  at Altarnun, this is a big event with attractions for all the family, our club will be having a stand there, if you are able to help on the stand for a few hours it would be very much appreciated.

Testing Trial Sunday 9^th June, regs out soon.

Spry Sporting trial Sunday 15^th June, regs out in a few weeks.

Simon Oates reports on this year’s Lands End Trial
100^th Lands End Trial Friday29^th & Saturday 30^th April 2024

At last after several administrative hiccups, it was the 100^th Lands End Trial and down West it was starting from Launceston Rugby Club which is just over the River Tamar in Cornwall. A great new start point with plenty of parking and as many facilities as anyone may need – good choice. With the trial starting also at Cirencester and Popham, there were some logistical concerns about over 400 vehicles entered and taking part in the trial. Once all three starts were off (we started at 19.58 car 328), we made our way to Bridgwater Rugby Club on the pre-arranged route for the real start. We made use of the facilities here for 1 ½ hours before our start at 00.28 (or is it 12.28?) and left with the rest of our team (Oggy, Oggy, Oggy) with Simon Riddle (327, Dutton Melos) leading the way and Darren Ruby (329, BMW 318i) holding the position of rear gunner, just in case.

The weather was holding with a mostly clear sky and partial moon, so we followed the route to Fellons Oak where we joined the first of many queues and the longest I’d seen there in the last 14 years. A bit of a surprise as this year there were no restarts or Vegetable Oil for any classes. Once we completed the section, we decided that the recent horrendous weather had certainly impacted the hills condition for the worse. During the night my front passenger mudguard let go causing surprisingly strong braking to the side of the road. Lashings of Gaffer Tape was applied to hold it together for the rest of the trial.

None of the other sections overnight were worthy of mention and we topped up with fuel at Barbrook. Whilst there, we helped John & Natasha Early replace a front wheel bearing on another Liege which wouldn’t have been possible without Rob & Elizabeth Haworth carrying a spare one and a builders bolster provided by the wonderful garage (one of your neighbours has it if it hasn’t returned). We left Barbrook in daylight with most of the Class O cars in front but critically, the closing car behind. It was very slow, (you get used to long queues on certain trials) but once we were past the terracotta cat on the roof and the crocodile we knew that Beggars Roost was just ahead. Cleared by most I expect and through Barton Steep with yet another easy restart, we ploughed on towards Riverton from a different angle (normally come under the main road to access it).

We waited behind Toby Parkins & Tobi Crowthers’ Citroen Ami (class O and not the modern electric one!) for the most entertaining moments of the trial. He took off from the start and dropped off a ledge which caused most of his exhaust to come out of the side and then be driven over and dragged by a security chain all the way to the top of the hill. Why oh why didn’t anyone have their camera rolling, I’m still aching thinking about it. He retrieved the system at the top of the hill, chucked it in the back and carried on. Truly a man with the right attitude! Turns out he has a BMW 1100 bike engine in the car as well and it sounded better without the exhaust.  Easy restart duly completed by us and off to Sutcombe and long queues where again there was an easy restart. We didn’t stop for refreshments at the top as we were so far behind, so we carried on to Bradworthy and a top up of fuel at Wicketts Garage who have supported the trial as far back as anyone can remember! Next on to Gooseham Holding Control where there was no queue due to no restarts for anyone on Darracott. From Darracott we looped north on lanes that normally are used to link local sections and Wargery Wood and its restart had been put in one of these lanes. From here we joined the Atlantic Highway to Bude and then Widemouth Bay Route Check where sometimes we are held if the next section is busy.

No holdups and off to Crackington where there was only a restart for class 8. By now we were running tandem with Jonny Smith and his film crew for the Late Brake Show and they were running a Kia Picanto press car (the Pi & o had been removed) which he took great pleasure telling us that in welsh, cant meant 100 which we thought very appropriate for the trial. He said they only put a sump guard and van tyres on the car and thought they’d give it a go – what could possibly go wrong? He went on to clear Crackington, is this the next car for everyone? We managed to do the same as Jonny and crew, then on to the special test and finally Brunch stop at Wilsey Down Hotel where we decided it was time for the roof to make a brief appearance. A well-deserved break and Cornish Breakfast was had by most and we were told Warleggan in the afternoon had been cancelled due a medical emergency so we drove on to Ruses Mill for a tarmac restart on the section (normally class O & R section only) followed by another Special Test just above the section.

Once completed we followed directions to Warleggan and then on to Eddy’s Branch Line for a further queue of 1 ½ hours after it had been shortened when they decided that class O couldn’t do the section. Class O then moved en mass to Blue Hills to form another orderly queue. I spoke to some of the MG Day Trial starters from Wilsey Down who were in the queue and it turned out they had originally been told they would start at 9.00 which then changed to 1.45 pm and 6 hills to do. They were queuing for their 2^nd hill which was then cancelled and told to go to Blue Hills. That would be 2 hills for the day trial!! The section was truly muddy and slippery, but we navigated the first slope and two corners and drove towards the last slope that had caught many cars out. I kept the speed up, maybe a little too fast and took off without clearance from ground control and landed near the finish and over the line to see a lady shaking her head and saying “you’re all bloody mad”. Who are we to disagree? Car still intact (unlike quite a few), we passed 6 cars blowing up their tyres (we kept ours at 12 psi throughout the Trial) and continued with the instructions to Perranporth Holding Control.

As the rain started to build, we were told to carry on in our own time to Blue Hills. A queue much much longer than I had ever seen greeted us as did the opening of the heavens. Occupants of some of the houses were trying to get out but were well and truly blocked in by all the cars (I thought Holding Control was there to stop that?). It didn’t take long to decide it was roof time again for us but most of the other open top vehicles seemed to have their large Parasols up! (I’d forgotten to pack mine for the Cornish sun). I’d never seen so many cars in front or behind on the hills and progress was slow enough for the water snails to overtake us while we waited.

I gave Simon Riddle (from our team) a call to see how he was doing only to find he had broken his prop shaft at Eddy’s Branch Line and was at home in Gunnislake sunning himself. Eventually Blue Hills 1 was cancelled but the heroes from the gym of rope pullers couldn’t have done more to try and keep the hill open. Also, commiserations to all that cleared the hill only for it to be struck from the results. Some of the videos certainly showed near impossible ground conditions and true commitment from within the cars and externally by the marshals. The queue now started to move and as we got nearer the start we started to wake up to the extent that Steve Moir (the 24 hour bouncer) leapt out of the car and started pulling the roof off. “Whoa, Whoa” I shouted, “it’s bloody soaking and I’m knackered”, I know it would make a better picture without the hood, but who in their right mind would stay out in all of that to take a picture – more of those heroes I talked about is the answer!

Steve stopped, a little disappointed and pushed some of the poppers from the roof back in place. His enthusiasm for bouncing remained high and helped propel us off the restart and astride the finish line. Special mention to the Blue Hills team that kept the hill going and open after 7pm as mentioned in the amendments at the start. Had none of the sections been cancelled, another 2 + hours would have been added to the trial and it would have been totally unreasonable for them to have stayed open. Our other team mate and rear gunner Darren Ruby finished the trial with his suspension ratchet strapped together for all of the daylight hours of the trial and may have had a bumpy landing at Guy’s. We left for the finish at Mithian and played wing man in the dark behind one of the MG boat tails who seemed to have candles at the front and nothing to the rear. A few excursions slaloming the white lines and even up to 15 mph at one point, we managed to protect their rear end until we signed off at the Miners Arms. A horrendous trip back to Launceston with the A30 closed and then reopened after we had done a re-route. Fantastic lightening, strong winds and biblical rain are quite an experience in a Liege!

We must be thankful that personnel were prepared to step in and take the reins after last years witch hunt. An ominous task for anyone to do and especially for a new team that included some last minute key changes. Thanks to all involved for organisation, marshalling (unbelievable dedication for 10 hrs+), Land owners, venues, local clubs and anyone else involved that made the event happen.

In my opinion the Trial had to be dumbed down to ensure that everyone had a chance of finishing. This meant less or easier restarts, fewer challenging sections, a poor selection of available hills with little to challenge experienced drivers probably until Eddy’s Branch Line near the end. Expect record numbers of medals won as a result, ouch, that will hurt the piggy bank! Cancellation of sections for whatever reason will always have an impact on value for money especially if they are the harder sections. Overall the feedback in the media has been fantastic with no mention of where I felt the trial was underperforming and I respect those opinions. There is now clearly a massive difference between an MCC event and any ACTC trials in so many ways and maybe the only way to experience a true trial is to support and enter your local ACTC motor club events and compare. I do question how the MCC plan to go forward with their three Classic Trials as they seem to have lost some of their direction especially over the last 8 years which is doing no favours to the club’s heritage and its past pioneers. Maybe this is due to changing legislation, HSE and the woke brigade but I thought that last year’s LE event had improved in several areas and certainly a better selection of hills but then it had the carpet pulled from under it.
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Our chairman Simon Riddle brings us up to date.

Last month, we got the newsletter out just before the Lands End Trial, so a short rundown as it seems a while ago already! Mixed fortunes for the committee competing on the 100th edition, Simon O with (another) gold and (another) class win, Andy B was happy with his bronze on his outfit, Darren and Ashley also gained a bronze even if complete with bit of a headache and a well strapped up car to get it! Richard was a little disappointed to only be able to do a very small number of sections on the day event. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the iconic Blue Hills as the large step at Eddy’s Branch Line put us out of the trial but luckily the section is less than an hour from home and we did get back in the dry (huge thanks to passenger Chris’ wife Jackie for coming to the rescue). John T with the worst luck though as I am sure he’ll brief us on the 2CV gremlins. Thanks to all the volunteers and marshals to put an event of that scale on. Since then we had a well attended committee meeting at the Fox who were once again very welcoming.

The trialing season begins to quieten now ahead of the summer break. Brighter evenings, a chance for other hobbies, holidays etc, that said – our spring and summer programme of events is shortly underway.

Saturday 18th May is the Northgate Sporting Trial at Ashleigh, Lifton. We had originally ear marked a new site we have been granted access to for this but a month ago the weather still wasn’t on side so it was decided to play safe with a familiar venue and run a separate small event on the new site at a slightly later date, all to be revealed in due course. Following this we will again be having a club stand and exhibiting at the Launceston Steam Rally over the late May bank holiday weekend (25th-27th). If you are free and could bring a vehicle along then we would be delighted to hear from you, no need to be a committee or club member the more we can share the weekend around the better. Then into early June will be the Carr Cup, a testing trial style event when where we can accommodate all ages and machinery. Also, we are hoping we can run another summer run, Joe has a route in mind so will look forward to that and putting a date out in due course.

All for now,
Simon R
———–

More L E from Richard Simpson
A Comedy of Errors

After one of the best motorcycling experiences of my life riding the Daylight version of the Motor Cycling Club’s 2023 Lands End Trial, I determined to spread the joy and get my two brothers involved for this year and the 100^th edition of the event.

If last year’s had been great, I could hardly imagine just how good it would be in my brothers’ company.

Ben is a former ACU Enduro instructor and British Championship competitor. These days, he is a keen mountain-biker. Mike is a former AMCA motocrosser, and currently competes in ultra-marathon cross-country running races (each event is like two London marathons back-to-back, but run up and down hills in places like the Cotswolds or South Downs). They are both considerably younger and fitter than their wreck of an older brother.

Ben already had a suitable bike: a beautifully-restored Beta Enduro. This is one of the first Beta four-strokes and has a KTM EXC 450 engine.

Mike didn’t have a bike. Then he got a phone call. An old acquaintance had decided that the time had come to sell the Honda XR600 that had belonged to his son. His son had put the bike into storage and gone off to work in Italy, then been killed when a car he was passenger in was involved in an accident.

Anyway, it turned out the deceased son had ridden the XR in the Lands End Trial many years previously, and his Dad was delighted by the prospect of the bike doing the event again.

We decided that as none of us had good lights and that Mike and Ben had never done the event before, we would just do the daylight route…now grandly named the Cornwall Trial. 

Entries confirmed, we waited for the routebook to be posted.
What a disappointment. The daylight part of the route was but a shadow of its former self: Watermain Lane, Great Grogley, Withielgoose, Trevithick,  Zelah all left out! This was starting to look like not such good value after all. I felt bad…my brothers had both invested £100s in tyres, preparation, club membership, ACU licence and entry fees, and all for what?

Six sections/tests…two of which were on tarmac!

Is this really the best that could be done for the 100^th edition of the MCC’s flagship trial? 

I put it down to the club perhaps erring on the side of caution given the horribly wet Winter. It certainly can’t have been a shortage of marshals, because a basically pointless tarmac section had been included at Ruses Mill just before the acceleration/braking test.

Determined to make the best of it we popped down to the start of the event proper at Launceston Ruby Club the night before, said hello to Lisa, went back to my house, ate, tried not to drink too much, slept, and headed off for a very civilised 8 am appointment with the scrutineers the next morning.

Over breakfast we were told that Warleggan section had been closed “due to a medical incident.” 

OK, so we are now down to three off-tarmac sections: one of which is a green lane that anyone can ride at any time. My own feelings on this are a bit mixed: I’ve been up Warleggan twice and fallen on it three times!

To my amazement, we have some supporters come to the start to wish us well. Two lots of neighbours heard the bikes start up this morning and are here to see us off. They then head off to Crackington to see some of the entrants in the main trial tackle this infamous hill.

Off we go to Ruses Mill, where there is no queue, so we are sent up the hill one-by-one. I’ve explained the process for the special test to my brothers the night before, but all is forgotten and my shouted reminders fall on deaf ears. The section is followed by the go-stop test, which I take very cautiously (recording one of the slowest times of the entire event). I stop at the top and hear the sound of first one, and then another, powerful four-stroke singles being given full gas straight up the hill.
Both brothers have forgotten to stop and have taken the whole hill as one, like it was Shelsley Walsh!

“Oh, I wondered why that bloke was waving a flag at me,” Mike muses.
There then follows a rather pleasant tour of Cornwall’s minor roads. It’s Easter Saturday, but little traffic is to be seen.

Dropping down off the moor past Minions we see a ‘domestic drama’ unfold. A young couple are climbing up onto the moor on trendy gravel bikes. The bloke in front looks happy enough, the girl behind him rather less so. As we pass, she jumps off her bike, throws it into the hedge with surprising force, and mouths some very rude words at him.

Enjoy your holiday, folks!

The recently recommissioned XR is starting to give Mike a bit of trouble with power fading away under hard throttle, so it stalls a couple of times and some other competitors catch us. He reckons he can ride around the problem, so we carry on.

The lanes leading to Warleggan are very pleasant, and we are having an enjoyable day, but this really isn’t a trial. At Warleggan, the holding area is packed with police cars and ambulances, so we replot our route by the side of the road, and head off for the traffic-calmed hell of Bodmin, which we have to negotiate before we can get to the first ‘proper’ section: Eddy’s Branch Line.

Fair play to the organisers: the route has been very well marked with ‘R’, ‘L’, and ‘SO’ boards. Of course, this can’t be done in Bodmin itself, so navigation becomes critical. I always get lost in Bodmin, so Ben takes the lead with his hi-tech GPS navigation system replacing my paper roll.

At last we are out the other side of Bodmin, and heading for Eddy’s Branch Line. This marked a turning point for me in last year’s trial: to channel Winston Churchill’s remark about the Battle of El Alamein “Before Eddy’s Branch Line I never had a clean, after Eddy’s Branch Line I never had a fail.”

It was muddy last year when we had had much less rain, so I know it will be very muddy this time. We stop outside the farmyard, and drop as much air out of our tyres as we dare. I’m down to 4 psi. While we are doing this, a stream of cars arrives and head off down the field to the start of the section at the bottom of the hill.

This is very bad news. I’m confident that the section won’t be as tight as it was last year for the cars, but they are still going to be digging holes in it. Most of the cars have stopped in the field to adjust their tyres. I urge my brothers to push past them; which they are a bit reluctant to do. In my view, it’s perfectly fair…they all came past us when we were adjusting our tyres.

It’s super-slippery. Ben gets a bit enthusiastic on the Beta 450, and spins it 360: and that’s going downhill!

We get to the queue for the start of the section. What I see makes my heart sink. There’s a tight hairpin up onto the railway embankment immediately after the start. Even with our limited view we can see its going to be too tight for all but the smallest of the specialist trials cars. The saloons and sports cars won’t stand a chance.

And so it goes. We watch a car set off, hit the outside bank, slide back with wheels spinning, and rinse and repeat under the eyes of the marshals, digging ever-deeper holes.

Why is this allowed to happen? There’s an exit route marked out, but no, the show must go on with the damage continuing until the section is unpassable.
Now it’s my turn. I charge at the embankment, hoping that the light weight and tractable power of the X-Trainer will float us through the damage the cars have done. Which we just about do…but not without a bit of ‘foot assistance.’
At the top, I wait for my brothers: Ben had to foot and Mike did a 360 on the big XR and stalled it. 

It’s a shame. This potentially great section drew complaints last year for being ‘too tight and too long’ for the car people. The MCC responded with the public sacking and humiliation of the event organiser and appointing a committee who have presided over this cock-up.

We reinflate our tyres and head for the time control at Perranporth, where we refuel. The two Betas take an almost identical amount of petrol, while the XR is a little thirstier.  

There’s one more section to do before the grand finale at Blue Hills: Lambriggan. This year it’s for bikes only as the cars didn’t like the deep little ford at the start. It’s a pleasant section, but I foot after losing a bit of rhythm at the restart.
Blue Hills next.

We arrive to find a long queue of cars ahead of us (they drove straight here from Perranporth). Blue Hills 1 (the Magic Roundabout) has filled with water, and the cars have stirred up a load of muddy slop and tracked it onto the cobbles of the very steep restart.

This has rendered it pretty much impassable, but the cars are still being sent up it, and the poor marshals are having to drag them out manually with a strap. It’s a silly, dangerous situation which gets worse every time a car passes through. Two proper sections so far, and two cocked-up!

Eventually we find ourselves at the front of the queue. Marshals aren’t supposed to discuss the sections, let alone give advice, but we are told: “Aim for the gully on the left on the exit: if you hit the cobbles you’ll fall for sure.”
I keep left, but still need to foot like fury to get up and out.

Blue Hills 2 is less challenging than last year: the chicanes have gone. I start on the left, then cross the track on a relatively smooth and shallow part to be able to take the outside line into the bend at the top. Sadly, I miss the back brake on the restart, and slide back, but make it to the top OK after more frantic footwork.

Here I am greeted by John Turner, who has failed to start the event after his 2CV decided it didn’t want to play but has come to Blue Hills to spectate.
We take a group picture at the top, and head for the finish and the pub. 
On the way home we pass what seems like most of the car entry, still heading for Blue Hills after massive and avoidable delays at the Branch Line. 

I wonder what time the Blue Hills marshals were able to shut-up shop and go home?

——————–
Tailpiece

So I didn’t get my “L E fix” but a week late I did manage to cover some of the route.

A couple of months ago I had signed up to do what was called the “Devon 150” organised by the Lambretta Club Great Britain, basically Minehead to Brixham. The first note of geography failing is that it’s starting in Minehead means unless it’s been moved it’s in Somerset. Never mind, Friday afternoon of the 5^th April I set off on the 90 mile ride to Minehead, a very pleasant ride ahead of the impending storm Kathleen, once in Minehead after a quick tour I manage to Find the Premier Inn which is my stay for the night, book in, padlock the bike and head off into town to join some friends for a few beers and a curry, standard format.

Bright and early Saturday morning after breakfast I head off up to the Rugby Club     ( the one where many a Lands End breakfasted) to do the signing in and collect route sheet, hang around for a while as two of my friends are tail end Charlie marshals whilst the other 50 or so go ahead .

So off we go on a fairly familiar route down to Porlock and up that lovely hill and across the Brendon Hills and down pass the County Gate (one of the few times I’ve seen it in daylight) , Kathleen is really blowing now which makes for an interesting ride but we wind our way down to Barbrook all in one piece, after taking on fuel I ask Richard in the garage if he has a L E signing on sheet, no he says you’re a week late (bit picky) we have a good laugh and off again, passing Kentisbury and through Combe Martin and Ilfracombe with lots of people waving to us, once through Barnstaple we take the old road (B3252) into Torrington and a pasty stop, the official lunch stop is at the Green Dragon , Northlew, so we turn off at a small road at Hatherleigh and blimey we’re almost trialling, the state of the road nearly catches us out, huge great potholes and ditches, apparently one of the riders came to grief here and another five ploughed into him but were all laughing about it by the time they got to the pub.

So onward to Moretonhampstead and across Dartmoor, and Kathleens second chance to blow us off. Despite the wind , passing the Warren House Inn was iconic it is such an amazing setting and the view was superb , as we wind our way down to Postbridge the walkers looked a little puzzled , although they might just have been getting high on the amount of 2 stroke in the air. We travelled on to Two Bridges where I peeled off and left the others to continue to Brixham, they were staying the night there and I had other pressing things to be doing on Sunday so made my way home, and just beating the rain in the process. Once home I had clocked up 240 miles which was enough to give me a severe case of “scooters arse”.

Great fun on small bikes.

Minehead Rugby club start

The Green Dragon at Northlew, strange as it may seem but in the days of Mike Karslake, Northlew was home to the Lambretta museum.

Barbrook and it’s 2 stroke invasion

That’s all for this month folks  please keep sending the contributions
billjan299@gmail.com

March 2024 Newsletter

Hard to believe a month has passed and we’re now in March, I’m still getting over Christmas, who says I live in the past. The month of February is a funny old time for the club, seemingly not a lot happening but in reality a lot is going on if only in the planning.

***********

Awards Evening

Nigel had been working overtime to make sure the annual awards evening would go to plan, it was a full house at Trethorne,. as you can see in the photos a large table of awards was beautifully laid out awaiting the freshly spruced up recipients (amazing how splendid they all looked) after a very nice two course meal it was down to Nigel and club President Warin Kelly to bring everyone to order and hand out the awards.

A selection of the winner’s photos below but a full batch of all the winners are on the club Facebook page.

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From our Chairman

A generally quiet spell of club activities came back into life last Friday, with the start of a busy couple of weeks, with our awards evening.

A fantastic attendance at Trethorne, with a two course carvery followed by Nigel’s presentation of the 2023 awards and then an hour or two of socialising. It was great to see our youngest members right through to our oldest there. Thank you to Lisa for taking the bookings and sorting the money side on the night along with her assistant Lorraine. The raffle raised over £150 for the air ambulance. 

Extended thanks to Warin and Nigel for sorting the awards and the engraving. Furthermore to Nigel for MC’ing the night as well. Again the arranging of it all is a task not to be underestimated. Our new cameraman Mr Turner too with his snappy lense, I’m waiting for the selfie with Warin to go viral! Thank you to everyone that came and made it a very enjoyable evening. I hope you all enjoyed the evening and the opportunity to chat amongst like minded people.

This Sunday is the Launceston Trial at Lew Woods, once again by kind permission of Peter Newman who has been allowing the club to use his land for well over 40 years. We have an excellent entry of 62 at the time of writing. Of course offers to marshal will never be turned down so if you’re not competing but fancy a day out on Sunday you’ll be more than welcome. The popular Proper Ansome catering are in attendance. We plan 22 sections for the bikes and 18 for the cars (slightly conditions dependent). 

There’s no respite, as on Thursday 7th we have the AGM at the Fox & Grapes. They have been very welcoming to us since we have started to use them as a base for meetings so if you have an interest in our events then please feel free to come along, a 7pm start. 

Finally for this month from me – from a club perspective it’s great to see so many active competitors of all ages in our membership now. I remember a few years ago, you’d look through an entry list on a classic trial and at best one or two of us would have Launceston down as their club. Now when I scan through the list there is  noticeably a significant number more which is brilliant, so hopefully we are doing something right and appealing to all with our events. Long may it continue and remember we are more than open to suggestions for events or activities from any of our members. 

Hope to see many of you on Sunday, where our new gazebo should be making its debut! 

Simon R

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Annual General Meeting

As Simon has just mentioned next Thursday March the 7^th is the all important club meeting, the chance to have your say in what the club does and how it does it, and who does it. The Fox and Grapes Lifton, for those who want to make an evening of it there is food available, if you can’t find us ask at the bar as they may well have put us in their hall next door.

Whilst on the subject all jobs on the committee are up for grabs, including the Editor’s job so if you think you might like to try your hand at the newsletter don’t be shy, obviously it should be someone with good IT skills and with a  reasonable command of the English language (there’s always Spellcheck) and also be prepared to get out and monitor some of our events so that there is something to report on, a chance of stardom, perhaps I’m overselling it slightly.

Forthcoming Events

Sunday the 3^rd of March

Launceston trial, the entry list is pretty much full but you could still have a great day marshalling, Nigel would love to hear from you 07902 542798.

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Simon Oates has been allowed to travel a little further.

Exmoor Trial    Sunday 11^th February 2024

Nigel Cowling agreed to bounce for the day instead of marshalling which sometimes makes the driver feel a little guilty as there was a late shout out for marshals for the trial due to illness. They eventually mustered enough willing bodies from up to 200 miles away (thank you allJ) to keep all the sections running. As we drove up in the morning and crossed Bideford Bridge, we were aware of the Spring tide and only about 2ft before the tide would touch the top of the bridge arches and it was still coming in. The forecast was variable and wet all the way up to the start at Porte Farm. Too wet to park cars, vans or trailers in the field, so we were distributed around the yards and buildings and unloaded, scrutineered and signed on for a day’s fun. With the car off the trailer, I decided to put the roof up to keep the worst of the rain off the occupants and let the tyre down to 8 psi. Running as 45, we started at 8.45 and on to Porte Farm 1 (1) with a sharp left into the section and up a slippery track. On the corner I didn’t judge it well and was pushed wide hitting one of the markers and then struggling to the top slipping the clutch to keep moving all the way. Did the marker count? I didn’t see anything in the regulations so assumed it was OK.

I think the ACTC rules for 2024 says markers don’t count unless the regulations state otherwise. I’ll put my neck out and say that I think it should be the other way around with all markers counting unless stated otherwise. If they don’t count it could be tempting for some competitors to knock them over if you can get an advantage on a section and that could be all the markers without any penalty! One section over and I’m controversial already. Next section Porte Farm 2 (2) was further along the ground with a restart for most classes. Up a slippery bank and off the restart with little problem. Looping around the same tracks, we made our way to Porte Farm 3 (3) with a restart only for class 8. Only 4 of the 12 class 8 cars cleared the hill and some didn’t get to the restart. When our turn came I just gunned right towards the hill and bounced off the left bank back into the hill, struggled through the first bit with clutch being ridden and then managed to keep going through the restart markers to the top.

Quite relieved to get there which no other class 7 car managed on the day. Tyres pumped up to 14psi for the road and off to Loxhore Cott (4) which was a sunken track and bridleway which only stopped one bike at the start. We also took the opportunity of taking the roof down as the weather improved. Once through the section we waited for Alex Gray in his Fugitive to try and keep the class 8 cars in front. He was having trouble with the engine and kept fettling it throughout the day but managed to complete the trial with a creditable 11^th overall for a novice. Further up the road just before Becotts Lane (7), they had to stop again and insisted we all carried on. Tom Walker in the class 8 Liege stayed and helped (Stroud Team mates), both continuing but mixed in with class 6. The section was potentially tricky especially for the bikes but all cars got up.

On through the lanes to the woods and Stoodleigh Stream (8) where I rolled back on the restart last year. No such problems this year and around the tight right bend to the finish. Following the track through the woods (well actually most of the woods has been clear felled) and on to Stoodleigh Steep (10) and a lower restart which we cleared with more riding of the clutch to the top, to then reverse down and out to the next hill Clockhay Climb (11). A quick blatt up the section which all class 7 & 8 cleared. At this point we were unbelievably still clear (along with 4 class 8 cars), the sun was trying to shine and a couple of kites decided to show off in the sky. We made our way across country to South Molton and a refuel at Rogers Garage (pasty, drink and some mini eggs for dessert). The stop here gave time for a good old chitter and an opportunity for some of the morning marshals to move to the afternoon sections for us to continue playing in the mud. To the next section Holdridge Hell (12) which had a tricky lower restart for class 8, up a muddy bank with tree roots thrown in. Four class 8 cars were successful, so well done Paul Merson, Tom Walker, Thomas Jones & Jack Selwood.

The higher restart was failed by us due to a tree root just at the wrong place, but there was one exceptional result by Dave Haizelden (class5) in his Scimitar who completed the restart. We watched and listened to the class 8 cars on the next hill Holdridge Hill (13) which was pure clay. None got higher than a 6, so I thought I’d drop to 4psi and blast the hill. “What happened was”, not a lot. The car just refused to rev and pull, maybe because of too much grip and not enough power but we managed to struggle to the 8. The tyres were then pumped to 14psi for the road and on to High Bray (14). Last year we managed to clear the restart after a late stop (didn’t see the R markers) so it shouldn’t be a problem. WRONG, rough as rats to the restart that was lower down the hill. I should have stopped on the right but kept high to the left and no matter how much Duracell bouncing Nigel did, we were stuck good and proper. Having failed we dropped back a few inches and drove off up the hill, but it wasn’t over yet. After 15 to 20 yds, I managed to hit one of the rocks so hard that the drivers front tyre lost air straight away (I could put my thumb straight through the side wall) but we continued through the section for about half a mile until we found somewhere safe for cars to pass and relatively flat.

That is the first puncture in the Liege in 33 trials and I don’t think an inner tube would have saved us. The front tyre was on 12 psi which is pretty standard for the road in this car. Since I have been adding weight (64kg this week) over the back wheels this year (3 trials), I’ve buckled two wheels badly and now a puncture, I guess it’s got to be expected! Once we had changed the tyre we moved on to the Bentwitchen Test (OT 1) and manages a time of 14.14 seconds. We then followed the lanes to Floyds Bank (15) where 6, 7 & 8 went on the right hand track. The more cars that went through, the more slippery the section got. In retrospect I should probably stayed as high to the right in fresh ground and knocked all the markers over (a bit tongue in cheek) but I didn’t and slid sideways failing to pass the last 4 markers. That was four failures and points dropped in a row, as they said at school all those years ago, “could have done better”.

It was great to see Charlie Merson taking video of the section with his arm in a sling and grin on his face as we failed miserably!  Quarter of a mile further up the hill was Cross Lane (17) which needed commitment to clear the rough terrain. On past Simonsbath to Scoresdown (18) (with two of the What3Words being gobblers.dribble!!) and a restart for 7 & 8 which caused no problems. The last section was Beggars Roost (19) also with a restart for most classes which again was pretty uneventful. With the last section completed we drove to the finish at the Old Station House Inn, signed off and had a swift one (0%). Weather and ground conditions were truly variable which made a massively challenging and enjoyable trial. Route instructions were clear and marshalling excellent. At the end of the day we managed a class 7 win and 7^th overall behind all those class 8 cars.  I’ve just spotted some drops of oil under the back of the car – Oh dear, more fettling is required!!

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Willing Horses by Richard Simpson

Trialling in a 2CV

Before the years of PSA corporate blandness and common platforms, Citroens always seemed as though they had been designed by an engineering genius who had never seen a motorcar, but had heard about them, and was determined to build one that could beat all comers in a particular niche market.

Hence, we had wonderful creations like the DS (Goddess) designed to whisk a French family and their luggage across Europe equipped with ‘magic carpet’ hydraulic suspension and headlamps that could see around corners. And the 2CV (two horses), which was designed to carry four French farmers wearing hats, and a basket of eggs, across a ploughed field without breaking any of the eggs!

The latter’s unique qualities would appear to make it ideal for use as a trials car. It comes as standard with the world’s cleverest car suspension, and really not much else. You don’t have to strip it out to make it into a trials car, there’s nothing in it that isn’t essential anyway. And given it’s built to drive across fields, there’s not a great deal more needed in the way of modification.

Hence, one has appeared in John Turner’s garage as a replacement for his much-loved Dellow. And having suffered for a night and a day in the passenger seat of the Dellow doing the Lands End Trial, the idea of doing the one-day Chairman’s Trial in a car with proper seats and a roof seemed quite appealing. I might even still be able to walk at journey’s end!

The roof was very welcome, because after rain all the previous night, the downpour continued all the following day. Even with the roof, we still finished with a pool of water in the front footwell. Over-vigorous ‘fording’ of floods caused water to rise up through the heater vents and hit us in the face. Hilarious!

The day got off to a flying start when we arrived at the venue to be told that the scrutineer had drunk too much cider the night before and was still in bed. We retired to the cattle market café to await our start time, only to be told that the motorbikes had all left, and we were the first car away so there was already a queue behind us.

The 2CV clattered heroically out of the car park, and I used a high-tech navigation aid John had fitted: a GPS trip meter accurate to 0.1 of a mile.

It was brilliant, I don’t think we missed a turning all day. Just reset read the distance to the next junction in the roadbook and start looking when you are within 0.1 of a mile of it.

The trial itself was relatively straightforward: some of the sections had been quite rightly cancelled because it was so wet, and most of what was left was at least partially driveable.

Although the 2CV’s air-cooled flat-twin engine would run out of puff on the steeper climbs, the suspension did an excellent job of maintaining traction and a relatively smooth ride. Just for the record, the 2CV’s engine output is 29 hp, less than that of most of the motorcycles taking part in the event!

We did end up with a wheel in a ditch on one of the lanes between sections, but the crew of a following BMW kindly helped us to lift it out. To celebrate, John drove over my foot!

Only once did we actually get stuck on a section, and that was one that defeated most of the other cars.

We were told that we would be towed up by a tractor, and then that the tractor wouldn’t start. So we sat and watched as the rest of the field tackled the section with limited success, churning it up all the more.

Finally, they got the tractor started; A Renault tractor. No doubt it had gone on strike, faced with the prospect of having to recover a Citroen. It pulled us to the top the hill to the amusement of on-lookers.

Having gone from first car on the road to almost last, the remaining sections were badly rutted and a bit too much for the little 2CV. But it got us to the finish, having used a tiny amount of fuel, pulled up some horribly steep inclines, and never missed a beat.

I can confidently say that we won Class One. I confess we were the only car in class.

We didn’t have a basket of eggs with us, but John and I both wore hats because of the rain. Oh, and I could still walk at the end of the day. Citroen’s design brief fulfilled, I think!

John thought he’d ditch the car but I finished up washing my socks after he’d run over my foot!

For Sale.

Alternator I bought this a couple of years after converting the Dellow from dynamo, the idea was to carry it on long distance events in case the one on the car failed, as it happens it did several events but never got used so in as new condition.
First £30 buys it
J.T. 07971 249783

The Bikers on the Holsworthy Chairman’s Trial found it muddy as well !

Tailpiece or was it a wise move

Having got the 2CV in a reasonable stage of fettle it seemed a good idea to maybe enter a one day event, AHA the Holsworthy Chairmans Trial is on the horizon let’s give it a go. I summoned Richard and he was up for navigating so the entry was pinged.

I should have known better really, it has rained virtually solidly since the beginning of the year but so what let’s give it a go. I don’t want to steal anything from Richard so I will just add a  photo although I was stunned to having won the event “outright”, well I think so as I did have the highest score and as trialling is comparable to cricket when it comes to scoring I must have, anyway we survived and are still able to laugh about it.

That’s all for this month,  please send contributions to   billjan299@gmail.com