Marathon Reports
Nearly 90 crews have started the 15th Classic Marathon
from the UK and Luxembourg. Scrutineering had passed without incident and competitors had basked in the sunshine at both venues. Getting to scrutineering had not been as easy for some and there were several car changes as well as running repairs en route.
Bentley crew John Abel and John Dennett had suffered over heating, cured by changing the radiator which meant a late arrival at Hollingbourne, the new radiator must be okay as they are currently lying 13th overall. Tony Welsh and Anita Williams had flown in from the USA to compete in the event but were forced to change cars when their original entry developed engine troubles, they have however stayed faithful to Lancia but are now in a Flavia Coupe.
Paul and Peter McGibney were not so fortunate, there Mercedes-Benz 220 developed severe engine problems and they were last heard of in a North London seeking somebody to rebuild the engine overnight.
The Luxembourg starters had been entertained on Saturday evening with a reception hosted by event sponsor Bank Leu, whilst the UK starters had tucked into an early Christmas dinner to set them up for the week.
Luxembourg starters enjoyed a leisurely breakfast as the UK starters were crossing the Channel courtesy of Sea France, a smooth, quick crossing meant that crews were able to get a good start for the trip across Northern France. Stuart Tait and David Emmerson did not even make it to the ferry - the clutch thrust bearing in their MGC had given up the ghost, undaunted they went home, got the modern car and were eating with us at the group meal in Evry, just south of Paris.
Keith Graham and Sue Hoffman in the Austin Healey 100/4 at least got across the channel but problems with the half shaft led to a need for assistance from the sweep crew. Tony Fowkes and Andy Inskip made temporary repairs to get the car mobile but further repairs are required to enable them to continue, the jungle drums have been in action and a local enthusiast is likely to receive an early knock on the door - it’s amazing what fellow enthusiasts will do for each other.
Our charity fund raising duo Barbara Williams and Wiz Clift had a quiet run down to Dover - this was due to the fact that until they set off this morning Barbara had not told Wiz that she had never driven on the continent….. They were back on speaking terms at the group dinner as the wine flowed. They are currently lying a very credible 4th in the Clubman category, this placing secured by being within the top 10 on the circuit test.
It was supposed to be an easy day to break crews in and the Circuit Consistency test at the fantastic Folembray circuit was enjoyed by all - some crews enjoyed it so much that they did extra laps and copped a four minute penalty - to save the blushes we won’t name them but just look at the results page….
Following the circuit there was a Regularity Test, this was to prove the downfall of several competitors who managed to start the Regularity but not visit the finish, thankfully they have all now made it back to the hotel but not without incurring the appropriate penalties.
The leaderboard shows two crews clean and 19 crews having less than ten seconds penalty. Dutch crew Cornelius Goedegebuur and Erwin Berkhof, Jaguar MkII share the top spot with Peter and Ann Locks, Morris 1800 Landcrab, Peter and Ann having gained from being courteous drivers, waiting to allow somebody to turn gave them a slight delay on the regularity and put them into the finish on the correct time. Both crews did equally well on the circuit tests by managing to complete all laps in the same time.
The car park was busy with the sweep crews attending to many minor ailments - typically first day problems with many cars suffering from lack of recent use.
Monday is a busy day with crews tackling three regularity sections and a further two circuit consistency tests.
Leg 2 - Circulating Well
As crews sat down enjoying their evening meal the results team were hard at work processing the days efforts. Crews had tackled three regularity sections and had two attempts at a circuit consistency test at the Lurcy-Lèvis circuit – recently used by McLaren for high speed testing, our competitors were not going quite as fast – just to make things a bit more interesting the direction was reversed and one of the loops taken out meaning that a different lap time had to be achieved. Still some crews are struggling to get to grips with the number of laps required. This problem is not affecting the leaders and Goedegebuur / Berekhof in the Jaguar MkII have a slender two second lead over fellow Dutchmen Henk Touw and Bennie Roetgerink driving a Porsche 356.
Jayne Wignall and Kevin Savage are upholding the British honours with a good performance in the Sunbeam Tiger, the next three places are filled by Dutchmen with 2002 Marathon Winners Jan Ebus and Lester van der Zalm holding fourth place.
In the Clubman class the delightful Austin Seven Ulster of Roger Gourd and Terry Davies have now taken the top spot, it’s a bit of a case of little and large as second is Tony and Isabella Covill in the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, former leaders David Gracey and Nick Buenfeld have dropped back to fifth having accumulated a string of penalties.
The vintage cars are giving a good showing with 3 in the top 11 places – and this is with them running to the same time schedule as the more modern cars. Stan Williams has got his Alvis up into eighth place and just a second behind is Roy Williams in the Lagonda LG45, 2001 winner Paul Carter is close behind with his Bentley 4.5 Le Mans
The navigation is starting to get trickier now and a secret check in a forest section led to many crews receiving penalties for wrong direction of approach.
Kenny MacEwan and Graham McEwan are having a steady drive in the Viper Green Porsche 911, their continued appearance in the results giving the Event Director some fear as a few bets were flying around the start about this crews poor finish record, also in the Classic Class are Michael Barnes and David Moffat who have teamed up to do this event – both are usually drivers which must make for some interesting discussions when the map reading gets a bit tricky!
Family rivalry is strong in the Newman family, Andrew is currently in 40th with navigator Michael Hope while brother Michael, accompanied by Paul Hindle, is a little further down. The rivalry looks set to continue as both have entered the Winter Challenge – returning to Monte-Carlo in 2004.
We also hope to persuade Monaco resident Geoff O’Nion to enter – it’s a bit of a drag up to the start but at least he wouldn’t have far to go home. Geoff was seen with dirty hands at dinner having spent some time rebuilding his Mini’s dynamo. Geoff and Nigel Hutchinson have slipped down the leader board a bit today but are still within sight of the leaders.
Leg 3 - We now have new leaders
Henk Touw and Bennie Roetgerink have taken the lead from fellow Dutchmen Cornelius Goedegebuur and Erwin Berkhof, it’s only 12 seconds so the pressure is on. In third place is Bert Dolk and Jan Berkhof with Jan Ebus and Lester van der Zalm in fifth, Jayne Wignall and Kevin Savage are upholding British hopes in equal third, Jayne enjoying the power of the Sunbeam Tiger on the increasing mountainous terrain.
Veteran Marathon competitor Geoff Cooper is in sixth place, Geoff has done virtually every Marathon to date and has always been faithful to the Scimitar brand, this year he is accompanied by Willy Cave, another Marathon veteran. David and Catriona Rings hold seventh place and have been gradually climbing up the leaderboard. Neil Wilson and John Buffum are having a good run in the Mercedes 280SL and are currently second in class. Roy Williams and John Bayliss lead the Vintage contigent in their Lagonda LG45.
Andrew Newman and Michael Hope are doing well on their third rally. If it was not for having done an incorrect number of laps on one of the Circuit tests they would be lying 5th overall! They are however likely to improve on their current 21st position.
Richard Prosser and Rob Lyall had a dramatic day in the Reliant Scimitar coupe, first a heater hose burst and then they fractured a brake pipe, trying to get back on time made for some spirited driving by Richard but they were out of time at one control by a single minute and accordingly picked up a missed control penalty.
David and Wendy Brown had a narrow escape when they had a slow speed roll in their Volvo PV544. David didn’t waste the time that the car was on it’s side - he took the opportunity to tighten everything up underneath figuring that it may be a while before he got such good access again!
It had been a long day down from Vichy but the excellent meal at the La Salvaza restaurant in Carcassonne Airport lifted everybody’s spirits and there were many smiling faces as the wine went down.
In the Clubman section the big Rolls-Royce of the Covill’s has taken the lead and into second place we have our charity duo of Barbara Williams and Wizz Clift, suffering from fading brakes. They had taken a shortened route into Carcassonne but in doing so missed a secret check which meant another five minute penalty but they are still going and making money all the way, Shabib bin Taimur and Henry Morgan have been forced to retire their beautiful Mercedes 300SL with engine problems. Peter Baulch and Martin Male are having a good run, the lead up to the event had been rather fraught with various problems but they have put this behind them and are now focusing on the finishing ramp in Pamplona.
It’ll be another long day as crews cross into Spain but an excellent spirit has been fostered between the competitors and there will surely be some tales to tell in Zaragoza.
Leg 4 - Into Spain we go
As crews arrived in Zaragoza it soon became apparent that there were few changes in the leaderboard. Henk Touw has increased his lead to 17 seconds over Cornelius Goedegebuur, Jayne Wignall has moved up into third place, just eight seconds behind. Richard Fenhalls and “M-T” are up into the top ten. Paul Wignall, with Rally of the Tests Route Master Fred Bent has driven his Alfa Giulietta Sprint up into the top 10 at last.
The day had brought several retirements as the terrain had toughened, Paul and James Bloxidge, Jaguar XK140 have engine problems as do Julian Pitts and Graham Briggs in the TR4, Ian Adams and Bob Smith broke amongst other things a camshaft in their Lotus Cortina. Rumours have it that today there will be an unofficial hire car class on some of the regularity sections.
Mark and Ben Munne spent many hours trying to trace a misfire in their BMW 2002tii, it turned out to be a blocked fuel filter in the tank, they will be looking to make up some places now the car is back on song. Jean Pierre Magalhaes spent several hours in a garage in Carcassonne having the brakes on his Alfa fixed, all appears to be okay now but a large penalty was incurred. Fellow Alfa driver Klaus-Uwe Schaffrath had steering problems on arrival at Zaragoza but the virtual non stop work of the sweep crews got him mobile again in time for the restart.
The Covill’s have retained the lead in the Clubman section, David Gracey and Nick Buenfeld have got their MGB back up to second now, but are still 13 minutes behind so will have to work hard to take the lead. Roger Gourd and Terry Davies have dropped back to third, the Austin Seven Ulster is suffering from the plugs fouling. With an engine that small they need all the power they can get, still their main concern will be to not repeat the situation in the 1999 Marathon where they rolled the car. Barbara Williams has dropped back a couple of places now after spending time in Carcassonne having her Rover’s power steering fixed. They have already started talking about what event they may do next so the bug has bitten.
Roy Williams – Lagonda LG45 has extended his lead in the Vintage class, and has just a 59 second lead over Paul Carter’s Bentley.
Now the circuit consistency tests are behind crews they can concentrate on the navigation and regularity sections. Car reliability is also starting to take its toll and there is no doubt that some will be backing off to preserve fragile components.
Leg 5 - Off to find the Bulls
Crews arrived at the splendid Iruna Park Hotel in bright sunshine, the reserved parking area was packed with locals keen to see the cars and for once the level of mechanical activity seems to have slowed down as the cars settle down.The leaderboard has changed yet again and whilst Henk Touw has retained his lead Jayne Wignall is upholding British honours and moved up into second place. Early leader Cornelius Goedegebuur is only six seconds behind so there’s plenty of scope for change yet. Less than a minute separates second to fifth places add another minute and you can get up to tenth place. All will have to be on their guard for the final leg as they do a loop back up into France. This is the area that proved the sting in the tail for the 1999 Classic Marathon when the leaderboard was shook up as several of the top crews missed a critical slot.
The Council and Tourist Office in Pamplona had been very welcoming and drivers were delighted to find wine in all the rooms, there was then much frantic searching for cork screws……
The exuberant Robert Harley and Trina Walsh had forsaken their Bentley which had been damaged on a recent event for the Ford Zephyr, unfortunately the Zephyr has now suffered terminal engine failure with a rod through the side of the block so now they are sidelined and will spend the day spectating. Keith Leckie has got his Porsche 912 up into the top 25 and sub 10 minute penalty area, pre event dramas included stripping the carburettors down and finding some internal components were missing. Robin Stretton of Boost Grpahics has returned to the Classic Marathon after many years, this time with Graham Rood on the maps, Robin was a Marathon pioneer having competed in the 1988 event. That was in his MGA, on this event he is using a Rochdale Olympic, kindly loaned by John Blankley as Robin’s own similar car was not available.
Dutch TR driver Barry Emons is looking to taking an early bath, his head gasket is starting to weep and may not last another day in the mountains so they are considering setting off for home. David Axten and Peter Green are gradually making their way up the leaderboard in the MG Magnette, now up to 32nd place they are doing well against with most of the cars in front being considerably newer, looks like it’s time to have fifties category again to reflect the difference in performance of the periods.
The cars in the Classic class are holding in well with no retirements from this class. Current class leaders and MacKewan and McKewan, the colour of their car (Viper Green) has however attracted the attention of the vigilant, but helpful Guardia as they show the way down the route at the approved 50kph……. second in class is the much more discrete 911 of Barnes and Moffat.
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