Reports & Results

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Roger Bricknell and Trevor Annear - TR4a - pleased to reach the stormy Llandudno finish

Leg Three – Stoke-on-Trent to Llandudno Finish

The fourth and final day of the 8th Rally of the Tests initially looked as though we were on the former Winter Challenge. There was a light dusting of snow on the cars and this led to much speculation as to what the weather may be like when we got into higher areas including the Clocaenog forest complex.

First competitive section of the day was back at Swynnerton but this time it was a regularity, the means of illustrating the correct route was also modified this time so that instead of tulips competitors had to follow a map, although perhaps slightly more subdued than the previous evening it was still enjoyed by the crews and special thanks must be made to all those who make the use of these MOD venues possible. It is also appropriate to single out Richard Lugg and his colleagues from Ecurie Royal Oak motor club who worked so hard on Saturday and Sunday to set up and run the venue, plus of course clear away after we had left.

After a couple more tests and another regularity the crews reached Whittington Castle for a tea halt. This is the only castle in the UK that is run by the community. Like the ladies of Porlock the serving wenches at the Castle had dressed up in the period of the event.

By this point we had several more retirements, Both Steve Sly / Nick Green Volvo 122S and David MacKay / Tony Davies had both fallen victim to Swynnerton on Saturday night and despite the best efforts of the sweep crews had failed to start on Sunday. Nigel and David Redwood did start on Sunday but were to have a short day due to head gasket failure on their Triumph TR3A.

From Whittington the event went into Wales and headed off towards Llandudno but there were still plenty of opportunities for time to be lost with another seven tests and three regularities to go.

There was a good variety of tests including kart circuits, the main town centre car park in Corwen and a test at Bodelwyddan Castle. These were split with a regularity through the Clocaenog forest complex.

The weather had improved as the day progressed and the threatened snow storm through Clocaenog did not materialise. However by the time the crews reached Llandudno and the tests on the Great Orme the wind had picked up – marshals on the Gt Orme tests had to use the small versions of the infamous Stop / Go lollipops, there was concern that if they’d used this year’s new enlarged version they may have been blown off the side!

Fred Bent greets Andrew Belcher and David Burrows - Triumph 2000 - at Llandudno

Attempts were made to erect the finish gantry but in the interests of public safety it was decided that it may be safer to mount the finish display boards to the front of event sponsor CES’s van!

The crews were greeted as they crossed the finishing line by Route Designer and Clerk of the Course Fred Bent, without exception crews were praising Fred and his team, the standards of marshalling had been exceptional both in terms of quality and quantity. The route and test venues had been selected with care and provided a challenge to all regardless of the age or size of car.

Later on at the awards ceremony these comments were repeated again by event winners John Bateson and Mark I’Anson. John and Mark had led for the majority of the event and this was a well deserved win. The bulk of the Mercedes-Benz 300 may be a handicap in some situations but at other times the comfort and interior space makes for an easier life for the co-driver while grappling with folding maps – you can use them full size. John joked that the second placed car, the Mini of Frank Lenehan and Cath Woodman would fit in the boot of the Mercedes. In terms of scores the Porsche 911 of Howard Warren and Brian Goff was next but as this is a post 62 car it is only eligible for Class Awards, so accordingly Howard and Brian were 1st in their class. This promoted fourth placed Paul Wignall / Nigel Raeburn up into third. Paul was of course winner of this event in 2007.

The special awards are worthy of mention, Spirit of the Rally went to Brian and Janette Dwelly – they run a very standard 948cc Morris Minor, Against All Odds was Simon Parson and Trevor Cattermole in the Austin Healey Sprite, they had so many problems with the car they didn’t have time to make their usual contribution to these web reports. When the car crossed the finishing line it looked like a low rider, this was despite the fitment of new rear springs.

The Whistle and Flute cup for the best dressed crew went to Harvey and Jan du Cros, with the Top Hat trophy once again going to Nicole Melse. Concours d’elegance went to Charles Graves and Ron Palmer in the beautiful Jaguar XK150. Best on Tests – calculated using the scratch times for the tests went to Howard Warren and Brian Goff in the Porsche 911.

For the more informal awards Fred Bent presented boxes of After Eight Mints to all the competitors and officials who had competed on or officiated on all eight editions of the Rally of the Tests.

During the prizegiving Fred Bent, Anthony Preston and Bob Redhead received a standing ovation from the competitors for what was considered to be the best edition so far. The team are already hard at work planning the 2009 event with further details to be announced before Christmas.

For detailed results please see the Results section.

Frank Lenehan & Cath Woodman - Mini Cooper - equal fastest at Celia's Place and 2nd o/a after Leg 2

Leg Two – Taunton to Stoke-on-Trent

It’s been another exciting day on the ‘Tests. The day started off with a test at the Haynes International Motor Museum before a regularity section through Worthy Farm – home to the Glastonbury Festival – the amount of time some crews spent there makes you think they were waiting for next year’s festival!

This regularity saw Tests newcomers Bernard Northmore and Charles Hamilton have a small incident with the Minor of Brian and Janette Dwelly. The Northmore Healey came of worst but it was a shame to see the Minor, celebrating it’s 60th Birthday this year with a mis-shapen wing.

Another with a birthday celebration was Robert Ellis, a last minute entry to the event, with Shaun Arnold in a Volvo Amazon.

Following the Regularity it was another test for a time control at the Tollgate Tea Rooms just outside Bath, this type of small family run business is where we like to use for our halts. From here there followed an intense session with three tests and a regularity. Kemble airfield saw the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint of Bert Dolk and Jan Berkhof stop with ignition failure. The sweep crews were able to get them running again but with a considerable loss of time, further time was lost for this crew on the subsequent road section.

Lunch was at the Hatherley Manor Hotel where competitors tucked into a choice of curries, there was a great atmosphere here with the control being manned by Mike Broad, one time co driver to Russell Brookes. Chief Marshal Bob Redhead goes through his address book each year and more often than not gets a couple of former rally competitors out to run controls. On the event this year we have also seen controls run by Graham Robson, one time Triumph works co driver, Neil Wilson again a co driver to Russell Brookes, Mike Wood and Don Barrow.

The sweep crews were kept busy through out lunch, the largest task seemed to be repairing the exhaust on the Vauxhall VX4/90 of Warren Kennedy / Phil Swain but there were many other cars with smaller issues. Not seen at lunch was the yellow peril Austin Healey Sprite of Parsons and Cattermole. They had broken a leaf spring on one of the morning test’s and were determined to have it mended so that they could tackle the evening section.

Punctures seem to have been a problem for several competitors and at various times during the day wheels were being swapped around between competitor cars and the sweep crews. Several competitors had multiple punctures so you can speculate whether this was down to their choice of tyres or driving style!

After lunch competitors tackled two tests at the Three Counties Showground. It was good to see Vintageant competitor Robert Harley out spectating at one of the test starts. There were still another two tests and two regularities before the tea halt at the Woodbridge Inn in Coalport. From here there was another regularity and then what for many would be the highlight of the event – a tuliped time control section through the MOD land at Swynnerton. This has been used on the Tests a couple of times before and is developing as part of the Test’s folklore.

Tonight was no different.... as competitors checked into the Holiday Inn in Stoke their enthusiasm for the venue was infectious. Many thinking that it was even better in the dark than it had been in the daylight. The combinations of surface changes and multi use junctions means that it is a test for both crew members. As usual though it gained a few scalps including the TR3 of David MacKay and Tony Davies who broke their diff less than ½ a mile into the section. Also in trouble was the Volvo 122S of Nick Green and Steve Sly. Newcomers Tal Lambert and Tim Lawrence didn’t even make it this far – they slid off the road on the evening regularity and by the time they got towed out it was too late to rejoin that evening.

The latest results are now available and with one day of intense competition left there is no room for error as crews cross Wales towards the finish on Llandudno Promenade.

The Mercedes 300SE of John Bateson and Mark I'Anson, seen here in the Axe Valley, is leading at the Taunton overnight halt after Leg 1

Leg One – Bournemouth to Taunton

We are now in Taunton at the end of a very full, tough and enjoyable day for most competitors. Nicholas Pryor and Lesley Stockwell had a delayed start to the day with a failed starter motor, after a few phone calls a local TR Specialist was tracked down and much to the dismay of the TR competitors on the event he soon fixed the starter on their MGA. They were able to catch up with the event at Taunton and rejoined in time for the Porlock tea halt and the subsequent section in the Devon and Somerset lanes.

For the remaining competitors the days motoring started at Kingston Lacy with the MTC and a test before moving on to a farmyard test. The next section of route had a slight deviation due to some forestry work and this meant a planned drive through a ford was missed, instead competitors were diverted straight to the Clay Pigeon Kart Circuit. Here the test was nearly two laps and went down well, particularly enjoyed by those in the smaller more nimble cars but as test results are calculated on a class basis the larger cars are not disadvantaged. Next up was a regularity section through the Axe Valley. Some challenging navigation led to some crews dropping time and the retirement of Charles Colton / Peter Stokes and Gerry Brown / Bob Rutherford.

Lunch was held at Escot Park where it was also planned to hold a test section but the recent floods in this area washed away some of the estate bridges so we were left with a slightly extended lunch break. Marshalling this control was our very own Keith Baud with wife Jenny showing him how the clocks should be used – he has never been that keen on modern technology!

After lunch there was another test and then a regularity before a test around a holiday camp! Thankfully the holiday makers were away, adding to the variety of the event the next time control was at a bikers café – Zukis near Winkworth.

By now there were more cars starting to show signs of distress, the stunning Porsche 356 of Michael and Sebastian Haberl had an engine fire, thankfully the damage was limited with the assistance from Andy Belcher and Andy Burrows who stopped at the incident.

As the light deteriorated more and more cars were finding the going tough. The stop at Porlock was well received and the local ladies did the village proud and fed the crews so well there were few takers for the buffet that was on offer at the night halt here in Taunton.

The list of retirements grew as the night went progressed, Dermot Carnegie and Martyn Taylor have blown the engine in their Alfa Romeo, Trevor Wragg and Stephen Deane have a suspension problem in their Porsche 911, Dave Smith and Andrew Duerden have damaged the suspension in their Vauxhall VX 4/90 so it’s unlikely that they will be going much further but rally drivers are resourceful and who knows what the morning will bring. Paul Hargreaves and David Naylor arrived at the hotel covered in mud, they had found the forest tough going in their Lotus Elan and had spent some time in the mud trying to refix their exhaust.

Warren and Jean Chmura had been in a ditch in the big pink Citroen but thanks to the suspension system they were able to jack the car up and drive straight out!

At the time of writing the mechanical assistance crews are still hard at work – there are three crews out this year, the usuals of Peter and Betty Banham, Andy Inskip and Rob Kitchen being joined this year by Bill Price and Graham Rood. The idea was that Bill and Graham would cover the halts but they were kept busy out on the road as well.

The tough conditions have been relished by both old and new competitors and it will be another long day tomorrow culminating in a time control section at the infamous Swynnerton Camp.

The results crew have just finished their calculations and the printer is churning away producing the sets for competitors to receive at the morning restart in a few hours time.

The Mayor of Bournemouth flags away car #1, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Paul Wignall and Nigel Raeburn at the start of the 8th Rally of The Tests

Prologue – Bournemouth

The first day of the 8th Rally of the Tests saw Bournemouth blessed with winter sunshine - perhaps it was fitting that the last test of the night finished in the Winter Gardens.

The sweep crews were kept busy all day tackling minor problems that had arisen on the journey to Bournemouth, thankfully all 82 cars on the final entry list were scrutineered without any major issues and all left Bournemouth for the start at Matchams Kart Circuit, as I was not there, much of the following comments are courtesy of Simon and Trevor in the yellow Sprite.

The Matchams kart circuit proved a challenge for the competitors and the fact that the test was run in the dark made some corners very difficult, test like this are very popular with competitors and provide some good competition at relatively low speeds due to the confined nature of kart circuit.

Some cars didn’t make into the first test unscathed, James Warner and Colin Francis had a shock when the bonnet blew up on their Triumph TR3, Colin sporting a new red streaked look to his hair with a graze from the impact.

Following on from this was two regularities on private gravel tracks. Needless to say there were some difficulties maintaining the required average and at least one car found that if you want to stay on the road you have to brake a lot earlier when the road surface is wet gravel, thankfully no damage was caused and the car was retrieved and able to continue even if the driver was somewhat red faced. Well placed passage controls and timing points only served to heighten the interest. The failure of the headlights on our roving reporters Sprite made these regularities even more testing. The lapping system used meant that navigators were kept on their toes and tyre tracks could not be used as an indication of the correct route.

The final test of the evening started on the in front of Bournemouth Pier and led up through the Winter Gardens. We had the honour of being joined by the Mayor and Mayoress of Bournemouth. After flagging some cars off the Mayor and Mayoress decided to extend their stay and stayed to watch some cars on the test, judging by the comments made during his speech at dinner later they enjoyed themselves and we were invited back for a future event. The running of this test was made possible by the assistance of members from the Bournemouth and District Motor Club, many of whom had spent a good part of the day setting up the test.

During the evening meal Clerk of the Course Fred Bent made mention of the previous winners that were present at the dinner and also called up those from the seven up club who received their complimentary bottle of the drink named in their honour!

Also mentioned were the large number of competitors who were new to the event, as well as those who had travelled from further afield – countries mentioned included USA, Austria, Belgium, Holland, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, a truly International event.

It’s a long day tomorrow with a route across Dorset, into Devon and finally back into Somerset for the overnight halt in Taunton.

There is no shortage of competition with nineteen time controls, eight tests, five regularities and numerous timing points and passage controls to keep all the competitors on their toes,. However for many more interested in the social side of the event then the visit to Porlock for tea may well be the highlight, we first went there a couple of years ago and it has gone down in ‘Tests folklore as one of the best meal halts of the event with the ladies of the village preparing tea for 160 hungry rally drivers and just like Bournemouth they have invited us back again. We must be doing some things right!

For results from the evening please see the results section of the website, it is a late finish in Taunton tomorrow so please don’t expect too much of an update until the early hours of Sunday morning.