issue 20 - kdmc bulletin february 2015

KDMC Bulletin February 2015 Edition


Committee Members

President: Duncan Wild Vice Presidents: Mike Harrison Norman Robertson Alan Smith Chairman: Jef Sumner Vice Chairman: Steve Henstock Secretary: Jeff Gray Treasurer: Lorna Harrison Competition Secretary: Vacant Membership Secretary: Margaret Mullen Club Development Officer: Vacant Social Secretary : Vacant Equipment Officer: Simon Barnett Bulletin Editor: Barbara Skepper Chief Marshal: Mike Timmins Committee Posts: Mike Vokes Steve Skepper Andrew Lawson Mike Lawson


Welcome to the February edition of the KDMC Bulletin, the first of the new year. I hope you all had a

great Christmas and that this year will be a happy and successful one. Russell Smith has made

another bumper contribution to this issue. My thanks go to him and all the other contributors who

have taken the time to write an article. Please send articles for the April bulletin to

[email protected] by March 27th.

This issue sees a slight tweak to the format by request. You will find a list of committee members on

the first page and the list of upcoming events has moved to the last page.

Attached to this issue you will find the ticket order form for the dinner dance and the membership

renewal form.

Barbara Skepper.

***********************************************

FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Please send all claims for marshal and competition points (including claims for articles) to Richard

Duddell. When claiming points for articles you must send a copy to both Richard and the bulletin

editor.

Membership Renewal

2014 membership has now lapsed so, if you have not already done so, now is the time to send a

renewal form which is attached, along with the appropriate fee, of course, to renew your

membership for 2015. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Margaret Mullen.

New Book

Club member Geoff Simpson will have a new book published at the end of January. A History of the

Battle of Britain Fighter Association: Commemorating The Few tells the story of the exclusive body of

whom only Allied airmen who flew in the Battle of Britain in 1940 may be full members. It also gives

examples of the ways in which "The Few" are remembered. Geoff's previous books include Guy

Gibson: Dam Buster and How to Survive in Cheshire, a tongue in cheek look at the county, including a

short piece about the Tour of Cheshire. Geoff's books can be bought or ordered at any bookseller or

through Amazon and other websites.

A copy of the dust jacket is attached in pdf format for those who wish to have a look.

mailto:[email protected]


CHAIRMAN’S CHAT

Well that’s it another year gone, I trust that you all had a very happy Christmas and New Year and

that Santa was kind to you all. Now we can all look forward to another full and active year of Motor

Sport; either as a competitor, organiser or Marshal.

So what do I say.

From the Club’s prospective, since my last chat, as stated in the December (Christmas) bulletin, we

have been passing through a quiet time; that is in respect of our Motor Sport, however work has

been going on in the background, our Event Teams have been hard at work trying to prepare a

programme for the year; the Plains, and Tour of Cheshire teams are also hard at work planning the

coming years events; but I’m sure that there will be more on these issues later in the bulletin.

Notwithstanding which the competitive year has started, Our “New Year Autosolo” was held at

Demon Tweeks, on the 18th January a “very” cold day, the event went ahead despite the concerns of

some regarding the ice that covered the Tests on our arrival, and although I’m sure Duncan will have

more to say, I would like to thank the team that immediately stepped in to spread salt and generally

tackle the situation, so that the event could go ahead.

To move forward, as said in December, we have to look ahead; coming up very soon will be the

AGM. As I have said many times over the past we (the Executive Committee) are keen to attract new

members to the team(s) as you will see from the Nominations Form circulated by the Secretary, last

year we had three offices which remained unfilled. PLEASE if you feel that you would like to join

either the Executive Committee or an Event Team, then speak to any committee member, who will

be pleased to help and advise.

Further to the above you will also have seen that our President, Duncan Wild, and myself, have

indicated that it is our wish not to stand for re-election.

To Duncan, I would like to offer my personal thanks, and those of the Club for the help and guidance

that you have given over the years, on stepping down I am sure the Club will continue to find you

things to do.

On my own behalf, my decision is not due to anything within the Club. As many will know I have, due

to various reasons found it difficult over the last twelve months and I do not feel that I have given

the Club and you the members the time and attention you deserve, and unfortunately it does not

seem to be getting any easier. I will still be around and will support and attend as many events as

possible.

Thanks to you all for the support that I have received

Regards

Jef Sumner


Following are several articles from Russ Smith about various events in which he has taken part.

Greystoke Stages 2014 A couple of years ago, Richard and I had entered the Greystoke stages in the 205 and really enjoyed

the day. Essentially a single venue event in the forest, it is a relatively cheap way to go competing in

the trees.

Neither of us took much persuading to head back out again this year in the Rover but with its 1.8

engine, we would be up against some of Britain’s finest Escort with drivers such as Steve Bannister

and Matthew Robinson. Our aim was to go out and enjoy the day, basically the way every rally

should be treated, as it costs us all enough!

With some new racing fluid in the system and the brakes once again borrowed from the road car we

received our seeding, down near the tail end once again, 45th out of 57. Not one to complain I

headed up to the Lakes to find my dad who had hired a cottage for a quiet few days away from

work.

Arriving at scrutineering, we bumped

in to one of the organisers who had

come over to tell us that we had

caused him such a headache with

seeding and that we were so far

down because we were in a Rover.

Far from being a standard Rover, I

was somewhat annoyed but we went

along with it, not thinking it would

cause any issues.

The first couple of stages were used to gain some confidence back in the brakes after the Plains.

Slowly building up in speed we ended up completing the first loop of two in 25th place. Happy with

the car and tyres we went off in to the second loop of stages, an identical repeat of the first two.

Passing through the short third stage 15 seconds quicker than our first run, we were very happy and

looking forward to the second running of the next one. Flying through stage 4, we came across a

queue of cars and knowing there must be a blockage or serious accident, we pulled up and got out

of the car. After a few minutes the ambulance arrived to pick up a couple of crew members from a

crashed MK1 Escort. Thankfully nothing too

serious, we were sent back off to the service

area with the stage having been cancelled.

Looking at the results board at the lunch halt,

we could see we had been given a notional time

of the slowest car to complete the stage ahead

of us. Being seeded so far down, this left us

with a time around 30 seconds slower than that

of the one we would have set ourselves had

there been no hold up. With a quick

conversation with the guys in the results hut, it

was established that here was nothing we could do, we just had to deal with it.


With nothing to lose in the remaining three stages, we just went all out for it, with stage 5 being

possibly the best drive I have had in a rally car. Fully committed to each corner we took over a

minute out of the car in front of us in just 5 miles and crossing the line Richard and I looked at each

other and smiled. I think Richard’s comment was, ‘’that’s why I go rallying’’.

Other than some worn out tyres and plenty of dust to clean off, the car had performed brilliantly and

more than made up for the issues of my first few events. We finished a decent 21st Overall and 8th in

class, having dropped from around 17th with the added time penalty. But up against those Escorts,

we were pleased with the outcome.

For those wanting to try forest rallying for the first time, I cannot recommend the event highly

enough! With plenty of service time, no road sections and a good smooth surface, it’s a great way to

start. I will return soon, hopefully with the more powerful 1600 engine.

Manx National 2014 A year on after my first event in the Rover and it was time for the Manx again. With the event now

running as a round of the BRC it was with a bit of apprehension that an entry went in for the Manx

National event. Notorious for throwing the cars off the stage and causing them to be cancelled, the

BRC have forced many national events to lose a stage or two over the years. That, along with the rise

in entry cost to cover all the additional equipment needed for the ‘top guys’ I had a good think what

to do. But having failed to finish the previous two years, I had to go back to show I could do it with

the aim of a top three in class. As the entries began to trickle in, our class became more and more

competitive. Thankfully separated from the big Escorts, all the front wheel drive cars from 1600-

2500 litre were grouped together. With 13 of us in total, from 205’s to ex work’s Nissan Almera Kit

Cars, it would certainly be a challenge.

As in previous years, the event would be a

good excuse for a holiday too so with a self

catering cottage booked for 6 of us, we headed

out on the Tuesday morning with the car,

trailer, many spares, a few beers and plenty of

pasties in tow. Arriving at Heysham with Dad

and Zoe we met up with Mike, Matthew and

Philip Vokes in the Mini, along with the guys

from the other two MG’s, including Dan

Harrison and Jamie and Owen Turner.

Thankfully a good crossing was had with many laughs and a few games of scrabble to pass the time.

On reaching the Island, we headed straight for our cottage located just outside of Douglas in a quiet

Glen. We had three cottages in a row, a few beers to

celebrate and an evening out for a pizza - well two each as it

turned out!

Wednesday was the first of the two recce days so Mathew

and I set off in the Mini with Philip squashed in the back,

whilst Dad, Mike and Zoe took off in the service van to do a

bit of second hand book shopping at Jurby. After running

through a few stages and checking the notes, we all headed off to visit the Sound of Man, an area


that we had never visited on our many trips to the Island over the years. After a good lunch with yet

more laughs, Zoe took up the position of back seat driver whilst Philip and the two Dads went off up

Snaefell, two in the tram and one on foot - I’ll let you work out who did which.

With many stage miles completed, we were very happy with the notes but fancied checking a couple

of stages in the dark so back to the cottage for a quick rest before heading out with the dads in tow,

whilst Zoe and Philip were left to look after the pasties for tea. A trip down Druidale in the dark had

the whole car talking away. It’s certainly a challenge even at recce speeds and one stage I would love

to get sorted this year after too many issues with the suspension in the previous year. Happy with

the stages, we headed home for a quiet night, some great food and a few very strange facts from

one of Zoe’s second hand book purchases.

Did you know? The longest monopoly game in a bathtub was 99 hours long.

Thursday, the day of the event. Off to scrutineering and through we went with no issues so having

set up the service area and done a quick spanner check we were free to do as we pleased for the

afternoon until the Parc Ferme opened on the Prom around 6ish. As has now become custom, we

headed off to Peel for our usual burger at The Creek Inn. Probably the best on the Island and easily

the biggest if you attempt the Mission Impossible burger, it was

enough to keep us going until the end of the day. After a wander

round Peel and a visit to the Island’s transport Museum to see the

Peel P50, we made our way back to Douglas. Suiting ourselves up

and making sure we had everything, we climbed into the rally car

and headed off down to the Promenade and into Parc Ferme before

the first stage along the front.

Taking our chance to grab a Manx Ice Cream, we headed off to the

drivers briefing before walking the first stage which was a super

special along the front of Douglas’ Villa Marina. Taking up our

positions in the queue for the first control, we could watch as the

top runners went through the stage, side by side. Seeing Jimmy

McRae throw his V8 Firenza around the stage was a sight to see and hear.

Lining up on the start line as car 51, a seeding we were finally happy with, we looked over to see one

of our class favourites next to us and on the

quicker side too. Having done the stage 3 times

previous and always come out the winner, I was

determined not to let this one go to waste.

Thankfully we crossed the line ahead of the

other car by a good second or so and our 2014

Manx had got off to a great start.

A quick trip back to service for the spotlights and

we headed off to the first real stage - 5 Tonnes

Bridge. This was a trip down the hillclimb course

at Sulby - one of our favourite stages from the previous year and the scene of my minor

disagreement with a wall the year before that. Sat up on top of the hill waiting, we got news that

one of the 6 BRC cars ahead has gone off already, causing the stage to be stopped. After an hour’s


delay whilst the car was shifted, we got underway and on with the event. After a very steady run, we

were next into Ravensdale, a long stage that took in Druidale, Brandywell Cottage, Sartfield Hairpin

and Little London. Probably the most recognisable stage and easily the most challenging, with tight

twisty sections, long fast flowing roads and massive jumps. We made it to the end with no issues,

although we hardly set the timing sheets alight. Having made it through Ravensdale, our last stage

of the day was on the far side of the Island, called the Sand Quarry. Once again, a queue had formed

due to more top guys in the bushes. After another long wait the stage was cancelled and we were

sent back to the service area for the night in 41st Overall, 5th in Class and 19th in the National event.

Back to the house for a well-earned rest, a bit of food and a beer or two, along with some more

useless facts.

Did you know? Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

Friday, the big day! Not really being happy at all with my performance on Thursday’s stages, I had

woken up deciding to give it a proper go. A quick spanner check again in service and we were off

into the stages. With no real issues to mention

throughout the morning, we steadily worked our way up

the positions as we pushed on and others dropped out.

Making it up to 35th overall by lunch, we were happy

with our pace but being 50 seconds behind the car above

in class, the ex-works Almera Kit Car, and a minute ahead

of the one below, we were kind of stuck in our own rally.

Not wanting to put any undue stress on the car or push

too hard, we held our pace and tried to make sure we

got to the end. A few more stages passed without issue and we were ready for the night leg. This

included a run down the Marine Drive before a couple of passes through Castletown and back into

the lanes. It was on our run out to the first of these that we saw the Nissan parked up down a side

street with the bonnet open. A small cheer in our car as we went past may have been whispered, we

were now up to third in class, or so we thought. Sitting in the queue for the stage there was no sign

of the Almera, surely he was OTL by now. Off we went down the challenging stage and over to

Castletown for the spectator friendly town stages. Passing by the harbour and just inches from the

front doors of the houses and pubs, it is one of the stages I always remember watching on TV and on

our rally videos of old. A great sensation, if not a little bit strange.

Back to service at the end of the night to see that

somehow the Almera was still on the results sheet and

posting times. Nothing we could do now but a few

inquisitive conversations were had over the dinner table

that evening, along with plenty of food, some more beer

and the now customary useless facts from Zoe’s book!

Did you know? Grapes explode when you put them in a

microwave.

Saturday morning, the last day of the event. Over to the service area as usual for a quick spanner

check whilst Matthew went to post a query form on the notice board, regarding the Almera. A

response was heard later that day. The Almera, having broken down, got back to service and fixed


the problem before going through the out control for a second time, therefore not registering as OTL

on the timesheets. Thankfully the organisers, sharing our view, gave him the penalties as per the

regs and we were back up to third in class, 2 minutes behind the one in front and seven ahead of the

following cars. It really was time for some steady driving to get us to the end.

Another quick blast along the Marine drive before some more classic stages. Despite our steady

pace, we still endured a spin up on a 90 right in the Snuff the Wind stage. I was a bit surprised we

had done this but putting it down to driver error, I didn’t really think much of it. The next few stages

passed without any further issues and we finally made

it to the last stage of the rally, Classic. Taking in a few

miles over Druidale to Brandywell, we then go over the

hills and down to the TT Course just before Douglas

and crossing the finish line at the grandstand. The first

few cars went into the stage but before long so did the

recovery and rescue units. Sitting in the sunshine

enjoying a chat, the time began to drag on. Getting

closer and closer to the road opening times, we were

all starting to wonder if the last stage would actually run. Thankfully news filtered down the line that

the car off had been sorted, all was well and we would be on our way shortly. Setting off into the 13

mile stage, we took every corner and every jump with caution. Never have I driven a stage with as

much riding on it. I think I lifted for many corners I would normally have taken flat and the stage

seemed to go on for ever but as we popped out on to the TT course, past the rolled Escort of Guy

Woodcock, we knew we could pretty much coast the car home from here. Making it down to the

hairpin before the finish straight, we spun again, the car seemingly jumping out of gear but putting

that straight to the back of my mind we got going before flying flat out down the road towards the

finish. Just one chicane to go, don’t mess up here I thought to myself. But after 3 years of trying, we

crossed the line of one of the toughest and longest events in Britain. The sense of relief and

happiness when we did was fantastic. Back into service for our interview and to collect any awards.

Unfortunately, despite the 13 starters in our class, only first and second were awarded anything so a

bike bottle and a wooden coaster are all we have to show for the class result on the event. But

having said that, 31st Overall on a BRC rally, 3rd in Class and 13th Overall in our National Rally really is

a great result in an 1800cc Rover 200 and one I’ll never forget.

A quick chat with the other crews of the MG’s (who finished first and second in the 1400 class) and a

big congratulations from the two dads who both have long standing connections with the Island and

the event, as well as Zoe and Philip, and we were all very happy. Packing up the van and service

area, we headed back to the cottage for a quick change

before a very large Chinese Banquet and a good few drinks

were consumed in celebration of the entire group.

Heading back on the ferry on the Sunday, after another trip

around Peel for an ice cream and to clear our heads, we

could look back on what had been a fantastic holiday, a

great result and an experience to remember. I would like to

say to everyone a massive thanks for everything you did.

Matthew for guiding me round so well, on just your second stage event, Dad for all the support and

photos, Mike for your support, expert fuel pouring abilities again and for the loan of the Mini, Philip


for some amazing videos and for many laughs and to Zoe for putting up with me in my grumpy mood

after my terrible driving on Thursday, and for many photos and ridiculous facts.

Did you know? The world record for carrying a milk bottle on your head is 24 miles and the odds of

being killed by falling out of bed are 1 in 2 million.

Adgespeed Stages My final stage rally of 2014 was just a quick blast around 3 Sisters at Wigan. After a great result on

the Manx I had a few unanswered questions of the gearbox. Was it just me, or had the box started

to jump out of first gear? Putting it into competition would be the best way to find out.

A quick once over as usual and nothing much to sort

after the previous rally, other than a crack in the

exhaust and it was off to Wigan. Sitting in with me

this time was Dave Aincham, his first stage event and

in the wrong seat too.

The first stage was run in the damp and as we set off

from the start line onto the track I felt I was getting a

lot of wheel spin, not having time to think before the

first corner loomed large. Hitting the brakes, the car suddenly swapped ends without a moment’s

notice. Heading backwards towards a marshals hut on the first corner was a bit embarrassing to say

the least and I did wonder if it would be the end of the event. Thankfully coming to rest before we

touched anything, off we went again. 200 yards to the second corner and round we went again.

Now beginning to suspect an issue as I don’t normally drive like that (honest Dave), we carried on

along the lap. It was only as I felt we were struggling for power down the back straight, did I look

down to see I had left the cable handbrake on!

Needless to say, that’s something that I’m not going

to forget again in a hurry and one I’ll probably never

be allowed to forget. Having dropped over 30

seconds to the other guys in class, we were never

going to make it up on the short stages so the rest of

the day was spent playing and having fun.

Unfortunately, we did experience the gearbox

gremlins on many an occasion throughout the day,

taking 3 attempts on the start line of one stage before having to hold the gear-lever in every time we

needed first.

At the end of the day, we had both had a great laugh, a couple of spins and a not too impressive

result but for once that wasn’t an issue.

The car is now parked up in my unit waiting for the gearbox to be rebuilt and who knows, maybe the

1600 engine too? In time for the Manx 2015 maybe?


Preston Regardless 2014 Having parked up the orange Rover, I had thought the 3 Sisters event would be my last of the year

but on seeing the announcement of a resurrected 190 mile road rally last run around Lancashire and

into Yorkshire in 1980, my interest was raised. Having done numerous Garstang and Preston

Memorial Rallies, I knew the style of event would be one to my liking. Typically with straight forward

plotting and some great roads with just enough whites thrown in to make it challenging, it would be

fun without being too taxing for a standard car.

Chatting to Mike one club night, he mentioned that Matthew was interested in putting in an entry

and wondered if I fancied doing it too. Yes was my answer, but due to the clash with the Roger

Albert Clark, I was unsure whether I would be able to make it. After a few discussions with dad and

a change of plans, Matthew put in our entry. My standard Rover 25, which I purchased on eBay for

£320 some 18 months and 20,000 miles previous, would be our car of choice for the evening. After

throwing on some old gravel tyres, a free sumpguard and some borrowed bucket seats and

harnesses, we were ready to go.

Noise and scrutineering went well. Just a blown main beam light was flagged up so off to Halfords

with 15 minutes to spare before it shut and our car was sorted. Signing on in a sports bar around

Preston Docks, we sat and plotted some route information over a pizza and chatted to fellow

competitors and club members Dave and Jennie Aincham and Andy and James Williams.

Looking though our information and time cards, it was obvious we would be having a small test at

Trax, a go-kart track in the docks, before a 2 hour wait to plot the route before the event started

properly. Having run through Trax at night on the North West stages I sort of knew what to expect

but with a couple of stop astride lines and code boards to be noted it wasn’t a straight forward blast.

So off we went into the dark and around the 2 stroke oil cover track, mostly sideways. Crossing the

line at the end of the test I turned to Matthew and said how awful I had driven, only to find we had

set joint fastest time with car 1. Not a bad start then!

Thankfully we managed to get the whole 190 mile route down on to our maps in the 2 hours we had

been given, allowing us to concentrate on the job in hand. Setting off towards the first section, over

on the west side of the M6, we arrived at our first control on time. Knowing full well the lanes would

be extremely fast, we had to set off at a fair pace but with the rain beginning to fall it was a fine

balance between speed and caution. This was a balance that a few cars did not find, with one of the

top cars parked in a ditch just a few miles in. Thankfully we keep all four wheels on the black stuff

well most of the time! The subsidence around the area led to many small jumps and crests sending

the car flying in to the air or crashing down on the sump guard. With no major incidents or

moments to note around here, we slowly worked our way across the map in to the usual GPMC

territory.

It was here that the fog descended. Thankfully I had not wanted to drill holes in my bumper and fit

any spotlights to the car, so my small fog lights remained. These, along with reactions I consider to

be fairly good and a complete trust in Matthew’s map reading ability, I felt that we would have a

good chance to make up some time on other cars and we pushed hard. Sure enough through the

fog we began to see the tail lights of the car in front and the ones of the car in front of them. Taking

one minute and two minutes out of other cars in the top 10 showed we were on a great pace.

Unfortunately though, the sections were not timed tightly enough and we had to wait outside the


control for a few minutes as we watched the other cars roll in on their minutes. This meant that we

had not picked up any time. This ended up as the main feature of the night, catching cars only to

have to sit and wait whilst any advantage we had over them disappeared. So with the first time card

done and cleaned, other than 30 seconds dropped at Trax, we knew we were joint leaders.

A quick splash of petrol and we were off to the roads around Gisburn forest. Having done these

roads many times, we knew that this would more than likely be the deciding section. Setting off in

to the first big NAM we went round well picking up three code boards. The second NAM just a mile

up the road caused us a bit of confusion though. Messing up a hairpin after being told that part of

the car park was closed and Matthew’s sudden inability to read letters and numbers meant we

dropped a few more seconds than we would have liked. But we still made it through the section

dropping 1m12s. Nothing we could do now and just hoping it was quick enough, we went off onto

the moors with some unbelievably fast roads and massive commitment needed. We once again

caught our minute man who had spent quite a few sections deliberately blocking us from passing by

driving down the wrong side of the road, reversing at us in controls and generally behaving in a

pretty pathetic way. Obviously put off by our lights catching him yet again, they completely missed a

small layby in which a code board had been

placed. Nipping in we picked it up and

continued along the road until the next control.

Knowing exactly what was going to happen

next, I told Matthew to hide his timecards. Sure

enough, out pops the navigator for a friendly

chat with Matthew, the first time he had got

out of the car all night. Unable to glean the

information he wanted, he travelled back down

the line to the next car where he struck up

conversation whilst noting down the missing code board. Needless to say, I wasn’t particularly

happy with his antics but we couldn’t do anything about it and it just made us more determined to

show them how it’s done properly.

With the rest of the timecard being cleaned again, our penalties stood at 1m42s. We now had no

idea how we were doing but judging the pace of the cars immediately round us I felt we would be

knocking on the door of the top 3 places. After a splash more petrol we were onto card 3 for the last

leg of the event. Similar to the second card there was a great variety of roads from tight twisty and

muddy roads to flat out sections across the moors with some pretty big jumps, crests and hidden

bends.

Approaching another large NAM part way through the timecard, we saw the car in front heading

toward us. Nipping in to the car park before him we collected our codes and disappeared off into the

dark. Finally we had made it past and with plenty of narrow and muddy lanes we managed to pull

quite a distance. Unfortunately another slack section meant we got to the control early once again,

so sitting at the boards we could see the other guys heading up the road behind us. Despite all that

had gone on before, I moved my car across the road in to a layby to let them through so as not to

impede their time. Waiting for our minute, we rolled up to the marshals and asked for the time we

needed. Somehow we came across the only marshal the whole night who decided that he was going

to apply the blue book to the exact rule and deemed us to have arrived early when we moved across

to the side to let the other car past. Absolutely fuming that the other car had potentially cost us a


result, albeit through an act of my kindness, we tried to reason with the marshal but he was having

none of it. With this now playing on our minds over the next few sections I found it hard to

concentrate until the end but with some great roads and Kitt Brow Ford to come we still had to keep

up the pace. Making it through the last card without any penalties other than the one for ‘clocking

in early’, we went back to the finish where we set about compiling the most detailed query form

known to man.

An hour after submitting it and wondering whether to just go home, we finally got our answer back.

As they stated, in the interests of common sense they had decided to rescind our penalty and give us

the time we had asked for as we went up to the marshal. Very happy upon hearing this we knew we

had to hang around to find out the results. Thankfully our dropped time in Gisburn had not been too

bad and we ended up 2nd overall.

Despite having been competing for around 12 years on road rallies, the night certainly opened my

eyes to a great few things. Firstly, the lengths other competitors will go to get a result (and not a

great one at that) and secondly, that you should possibly only think about yourself when it comes to

checking in at controls. I would have to think twice again before moving out of the way to let a car

go by at a control. This time we got lucky, next time we may not.

Despite the obvious issues with timing which I later found out was out of the clubs hands, the event

was a cracking one. It was 190 miles for £80 and our result certainly shows that ‘proper’ cars are

definitely not needed to get a decent result. Who knows, we may well go one better next time - I

know we will certainly give it everything we can to try!

Here’s a view of the Preston Road Rally from Matthew Vokes.

The Preston

The One & Only Preston Rally has a bit of a reputation in the rallying world… Now in its 36th year, it’s

a rally that I’ve always wanted to do! Having spent the last 4 years in Cambridge, 30 minutes away

from the start venue, it’s a little ironic that the year I move 6 hours away is the year I finally do it!

I’d heard many rumours about the Preston about the mud, the route (with the vast majority on

private land and over 90% unsurfaced) and the expectations of a crazy night started at signing on

when the Final Finals handed out here included no less than 3 pages dedicated to the recovery

vehicles that would be out on the event! It’s also one of the only road events where sections are not

really described by their control numbers, but by names (and sponsors no less too!). The organisers

also mentioned that they’d used over 900 stakes, mainly with arrows on – it’s more like a stage

event than a road rally…. The roadbook given out at MC1 contained very few details, just the

transport sections, and the maps for each competitive section would be given out at the start of

each section. These took 3 forms – a diagram with arrows on, much like the diagrams used on

Historic Road Rallies for the special tests (described by the Clerk of the Course as “tulips without the

balls”), a diagram with a big thick red line showing the route (a “circular herringbone”) or a 1:25,000

OS map with the route drawn on (“grid references”). There was a bit of a laugh when another

competitor asked at the competitors briefing what the plotting was like, to which the Clerk of the


Course’s reply was “If you have to plot a Grid Reference you’ve gone wrong as during the

organisation I haven’t plotted a single one!” Sadly, I can’t show anybody these diagrams as they

were all collected in at the end of each section – it perhaps doesn’t take much to guess why…

I was out with former Preston winner Martin Self in his Proton. The Preston lived up to its reputation

immediately from the start, with the first section starting in the middle of a muddy field. 100 yards

after the start was a passage control, the car that started 2 minutes ahead of us was already stuck

here and was getting a tow out by one of the many aforementioned recovery vehicles… We passed

several cars stuck on the second section having gone straight on at a tight 90 right – the braking

treacherously slippery in some of these fields. We were caught out on one occasion with the

unpredictable grip and made an impromptu trip into a hedge… Thankfully we managed to reverse it

out on the second attempt with just a few extra seconds lost, though when it didn’t come out first

time I was getting a little worried that I’d have to get out and push... The excursion was clear for all

to see as we pulled into first petrol with a large branch on the bonnet!

After the farmyards and fields of the previous sections, we had a change using some of the fenland

roads (with a couple of cut through fields of course!) and a really fast section around one of the

disused airfields. We dropped a little bit of unnecessary time here where I made a small wrong slot

(though partly because the road was covered up by the lines drawn on the map to define the route,

or that’s my excuse!). The route then ventured into the many forests that are around, several of

which I have previously orienteered in – they look very different at night, and from inside a car! A

friend and I from the orienteering club have also set up a trail through one of the forests using little

pieces of reflective tape stapled to the trees, so I was able to tell Martin on the start line that if he

saw anything reflecting he could ignore it and sure enough we did pass a little bit of the route, so I

knew exactly what it was reflecting back at us!

We picked up two punctures on consecutive sections which were fairly rough – it was the same tyre

that went both times! We took it slightly more carefully through the final two sections as we’d used

both spares to ensure we got to the finish. Overall, we finished 13th overall, better than our seeding

of 31, but still a long way from the winners. At least we finished, which is more than can be said for a

large percentage of the field! Thanks to Martin for the ride round, and of course to the organisers

and all the marshals out on the route for an excellent event – I hope to be back next year!

And his take on the KDMC 12 car.

KDMC Christmas 12 Car

For my third rally in as many weekends, I teamed up with Richard Duddell in his VW Polo. Having left

work an hour early, thankfully the M6 was clear so I managed to get to the start with plenty of time

before signing on opened. Russ, Dave & Jennie had pledged a rally as close as possible to a true road

rally within the constraints for a 12 car that the blue book would allow, so it promised to be a good

night’s fun.

The initial plotting of the route up until the midway halt was completed quickly, and the first

regularity started from the pub car park in the lanes around Plumley. Now, when I normally do


regularity I have a proper tripmeter and several stopwatches, whereas in the Polo, we were running

off the car trip and 1 stopwatch only. Thankfully the first regularity was a Jogularity, so it wasn’t too

difficult to keep to time, and we picked up 9 seconds over the 3 controls, with some help from a

little bit of rallymanship...! It also gave us an opportunity to calibrate the Polo’s trip against the

organisers mile – it turned out that the Polo was reading 0.1 miles too slow every 2 miles…

With a correction factor applied to my speed tables (yay, more maths to get my head around!), the

next section continued to head east. A sneaky little control just to the south of Gawsworth caught us

out slightly, about 200 yards prior I had said to Richard “I’m not expecting a control around here”,

only to come round the corner to find Graham Raeburn, so we were quite early there. Overall, we

were still best on this regularity though.

Section 3 was the first standard sections of the event – a much easier prospect to put away the

speed tables for now. We lost a few seconds reversing back to what we thought was a missed

codeboard, but actually tuned out to be a cone reflecting in the verge, but still reached the first two

controls on time. We had by this time caught both Duncan & Steve in the Mini and the Imp of my

Dad & brother and a little train developed as the route weaved through Macclesfield forest, with

patches of fog making it a little trickier. Sadly, the section had to be prematurely ended as we

reached the Cat & Fiddle road with the rest of the section blocked by snow. This meant that we

unfortunately didn’t get to go down the Goyt Valley, but much credit to the organisers for hastily re-

routing that meant we lost as little of the route as possible.

The last section was a great 50 minute standard section which looped round the lanes between

Congleton & Holmes Chapel, using many of the NAM triangles. We nearly cleaned the section, but

came into the final control just a few seconds into the next minute.

Results showed that we had won the event by 5 minutes, which was very pleasing! Thanks to

Richard for the ride, plus of course to all the marshals who stood out in the rain, the cold, and

especially the snow. And finally, thanks to Russ, Dave & Jennie for putting on an excellent event –

cracking route, great documentation and coping admirably with all the snowy problems that Mother

Nature caused! Looking forward to doing the Goyt Valley section, so when’s the next one?

Dave Aincham also writes about the 12 car.

KDMC Christmas 12 car

Twas the night before Christmas….13 nights actually….and months of planning had all come together

for 2014’s 12 car. Trouble was, the weather gods hadn’t read the script and as myself, Russ and Zoe

went round the route on setup duties the skies turned grey and flurries of snow started to make

code board setting up less enjoyable!

It really was touch and go whether we would run the event, but once back at the start, with

competitors and marshals arriving we figured ‘what the heck’ – Game on!


Once a competitors briefing was rushed through (forgetting almost everything I was supposed to

say!) super nav Jen and I set off in the day-glo Ibiza on course car duties – I could finally relax and

just get on with driving…..yeh right!

All was going super smooth….marshals were at their locations and ready for action, the roads were

wet and muddy – perfect rally conditions. Just above Macclesfield forest however, the roads went

from black tarmac to white snow…oh dear! We made it to the cat and fiddle road, and tried to

continue along the route but on one steep section the road was covered in too much snow to

continue so competitors were halted by Mark Adams and a reroute plan was hatched.

Two sections had to be cut out but the main thing was we still had a rally on our hands and we could

save the cuts for this year’s 12 car (weather allowing!). The last sections went smoothly even if they

were a bit slippy and starting to ice over.

Knutsford services was our chosen finish venue and slowly all the crews started to appear – mostly

with smiling faces.

Big congratulations to the winning crew - Richard Duddell and Matthew Vokes.

Huge thankyou’s to all the marshals who braved the chilly weather to come out and help. Without

you, events like these would not be able to go ahead and really sorry to the marshals who were on

the sections that we had to cut out.

Thankyou to David Walters for performing steward duties and Russ and Steve Henstock for towing

me out of a ditch I managed to reverse into!!!

See you all in December for 2015’s 12 car (tbc).

Photo 1 - CoC Russ Smith presenting the winning driver Richard Duddell with his award and

Christmas 12 car pudding.

Photo2 - Award winners (from left to right) Rob Yates 2nd place driver, Richard Duddell (not looking

too happy!) 1st place driver, Alan Ogden 2nd place nav.


Duncan Wild tells us about the first Autosolo of the year

New Year Autosolo and PCA

There’s always a risk of bad weather at this time of the year. Two years ago half the entry for our visit to Demon Tweeks were snowbound. This year everyone turned up but were confronted by a skating rink. Overnight snow and rain had frozen hard. It was difficult just to stand up, let alone drive competitively. Demon Tweeks car parks at Wrexham were going to provide a challenge. Chris Turner tried his best to find keys for two grit boxes without success, thankfully the third was open. While Simon Barnet started putting up the tape around the venue I laid out the short test by the garage. Mike Vokes, Andy Redhead and Jef Sumner were spreading grit around the test which was also where Steve Henstock was scrutineering. The cars helped spread the grit.

An appropriate sign for the conditions The large test presented more problems. The loading bay area was very bad and we didn’t want to risk damage to the building and air conditioning units. So by cutting the test in half we reduced the amount of gritting to do and kept clear of the building. The equipment was emptied out of the trailer and grit loaded on board. The team then spread grit on the first test. With cones laid out and a new start positioned we were ready to go, but were we. I tried the test and found it too slippery for competition. We didn’t want broken wheels on the kerbs. A decision to aim for a 10.30 start left time for all competitors to have a run round test 1 to spread the grit and find the worst spots. It worked well and we got underway with the PCA competitors. It was interesting this year to find that we had 10 PCA entries, usually we have a couple. It appears that some competitors prefer this type of event to gain experience. We also had the usual F1000 competitor gaining a signature for his licence prior to compete on rallies. Basically the Clubmen followed before letting the National B competitors have a go. The car control was impressive under the conditions. The pair of tests provided an interesting challenge. While the clubmen and PCA competitors could drop their worst time on each test layout, the National B competitors had to count all times. The weather remained dry but very cold all morning. As lunchtime approached it was obvious that the loading bay area was thawing out. This allowed the longer test to be laid out. Some gritting was still necessary where the shade had restricted the thaw but at least the area near the building was dry. After the lunch break there were two further tests to tackle. The short second one had received favourable comments in the morning so wasn’t changed. That saved time. The marshals were very slick on the long test. We were able to start a second car when the first car was nearing the end of


the test so there was no let up. Unfortunately part way through the run the heavens opened and the marshals had to endure strong wind and cold rain. A decision was taken to finish the event after 12 tests. The efforts of the marshals under Mike Timmins had salvaged an event from the perils of winter which was remarkable when we think of the conditions at 8.30am.

Mark Eastman, FTD Clubmans Autosolo As for the competitors, most of who were in closed cars, they put on a display of car control in difficult conditions. Competition was close. There were 9 PCA starters, 11 Clubmen and 12 National B. Winner of the National B was Roger Holder (Starlet) but was chased all the way by Liam Rollings (Mini) until Liam had a wrong test. In the Clubmans event it was a clean sweep for KDMC’s members. Mark Eastman won in his Rover 216, Andrew Lawson (Suzuki Swift) and David Brown (Nissan Micra) were second and third. Mike Lawson may be regretting persuading Andrew to enter as he wasn’t expecting to be beaten by his son, I know how you feel Mike. My thanks to the team who made this event possible and run smoothly once we had cleared the ice. Also thanks to the indoor team of Steve Skepper (results), Cherrie and Lorna. KDMC Members Results National B Autosolo Andy Williams Micra 7 o/a 5th class A David Dunlop Micra 10 o/a 6th in class A Clubmans Autosolo Mark Eastman Rover 216 1st o/a 1st class B Andrew Lawson Swift 2nd o/a 2nd class B David Brown Micra 3rd o/a 1st class A Mike Lawson Swift 6 o/a 3rd class B Matt Scott Metro 9th o/a 6th class A PCA James Williams Micra 3 o/a Russ Henstock Metro 8 o/a

Finally, Richard Duddell gives his round up of last year’s scatter championship.


SCATTER SEASON REVIEW

For those of you who have no idea what a scatter is, it’s a navigational event that is similar to a

timed treasure hunt. Crews of two (or more) comprising a driver and a navigator are given

information, usually in the form of grid references, to identify specific locations on a map. The crew

are then required to visit that location where they will (hopefully) find the answer to a question.

Answers can be easy or hard to find, and each correct answer is worth a set number of point. Crews

are required to get to the finish within a specific time limit, and the crew with the most points wins.

Simples!

So… what has happened in 2014

Scatter 141: February

New organising crew Jennie and Dave Aincham put on the first event of the year, based near

Macclesfield, which enabled us to use the roads in east Cheshire and Derbyshire. The event

attracted an encouraging turnout of 11 crews in a variety of vehicles, including some newcomers and

a few returning crews to take on the regulars. At the end of the evening, Russ Smith and myself

(Rover 25) chalked up a first victory in defence of our 2013 title, followed by Sam Self/Dom Maggi

(Corsa) and Steve Briers/Simon Thompson (Peugeot) in 3rd. Sam and Dom were 1st novices, with

some of the regular crews falling victim to the severe penalties for not arriving back at the finish in

time.

Scatter 142: March

Paul Kelly, assisted by Jeff Gray, moved the focus of activity to central Cheshire for the March

scatter, based at the Golden Pheasant. The pleasing trend of increased entry levels continued, with 9

crews tackling this one. There was a theme to the evening with all the clues located on bridges. Russ

and I notched up our second win, with Mike and Philip Vokes (MINI Cooper) 2nd and Simon

Thompson swapping in to the drivers seat to take 3rd and 1st novice with son Oliver on the maps

(Audi A6). Andy and James Williams went for a bridge too far and were OTL (sorry, couldn’t resist

that one….)

Scatter 143: April

Even further west this time to Davenham for Alan Smith’s event. This one has a unique feature in

that the start and finish are upstairs, in the restaurant above the pub. Can’t think of any others than

have done that. 9 crews made the trip out this time. After a close fought evening, Russ and I scored

the hat trick, from Steve and Simon in the Peugeot and Dale and Oliver Cox in their MGB. Matthew

Vokes arrived hotfoot from the airport but still seemed to be operating in a different timezone as he

successfully navigated his dad to the highest points score of the evening, but went significantly OTL

in the process.


After the conclusion of the summer grass events, Monday nights are now being taken up by the

second half of the scatter season. The Vokes family had chosen a new start venue for their event at

Bridge Trafford, and were sending us off round map 117.

A read of the regs a couple of weeks before was interesting as it included a new category of Super

Expert. Further reading showed that there was only one crew that would fall within this definition,

namely Russ and myself. Hmmm - what manner of deviousness was being planned here?

The organisers remained tight lipped over the preceding days, but things became a little clearer at

signing-on when we were the only competitors issues with a translation sheet between WingDings

font (the one with all the symbols) and normal text. When the clue sheet was issued, it became

apparent that the organisers had substituted vital words with WingDings and these needed to be

translated before the clues could be found, so whilst I was plotting, Russ was doing his best Bletchley

Park decoder impression trying to crack the enigma of what questions we were really being asked!

Couple this with two photographic clues, photographic tiebreakers and no obvious route (even

though the clues were relatively close together) and our brains were certainly being mashed before

we even left the pub!

We were one of the last crews to leave, and so the game was afoot to try and make up for our

longer than usual plotting time. The points distribution gave 4 points each for the photo clues, and

with a number of 3 pointers, we decided that the focus had to be on these whilst picking up

convenient 1 and 2 pointers, if they were close to the route.

As usual we decided to work in a loop and set off heading north (going within 100m of the organisers

house), picking up a 3 pointer at Wimbolds Trafford, a 2 pointer near Helsby then over to the first 4

pointer at a crossroads on the edge of Delamere Forest. Another 3 at Kingsley and a 2 at Norley took

us down to a 2 and a 3 near Oulton Park, and another 2 near Tarporley before heading to the next 4

near Beeston Castle. I had worked out that the photo was at one of two junctions, so a few minutes

lost shuttling between them to get the right answer. After that we headed westwards via a 1 pointer

at the Ice Cream Factory, before a couple more 2’s at Saighton and Milners Heath. Time was a bit

tight on the run-in, and we arrived with a couple of minutes left on the clock. We didn’t have time

to complete the final tiebreaker which was to give the grid reference at which a photo of a rabbit

was taken…..!

Discussion with other competitors, as Matthew and Philip worked their way through the answers,

showed that most people had worked out the two photo clues so it was down to how many other

points had been scored. In the event it came down to a one point difference between ourselves and

Paul and Lachlan Chevasse – Paul being an ex Motoring News championship level navigator and his

son being a very good orienteer. Fortunately, it was in our favour, 36 to 35.

So, the attempt to frustrate our winning streak had very nearly worked and had added to the

challenge of the event. As ever, Mike, Matthew and Philip had put on an accurate and well thought

out event. Russ and I have now won 4 out of 4 scatters this year so, as we have won the

championship, we might be looking to do something different on the next two events.


Scatter 145: October

The October scatter was organised by Barbara and Steve Skepper. As usual, this was the Northern

event starting and finishing near Wrightington, with clues located on map 102. Prior to the event

there was a crash on the motorway which meant that it was a bit tight for competitors and

organisers to get to the start on time. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to compete in this one. Having

reached a maximum championship score as navigator I had decided to have a go as a driver – Russ

was away on business so couldn’t jump in the navs seat (or did he recall my driving from a previous

12 car we had done?) and in spite of attempts to find another victim nobody was willing to read the

maps for me. By all accounts, Barbara and Steve put on another good event with all the clues being

accurately plotted. The downside for them was that they only received four entries, with the event

being won by Duncan Wild/Lorna Harrison from Alan Smith/Shon Gosling and Andy and James

Williams. The fourth crew, Dale and Sue Cox went OTL. It takes a lot of time and effort to organise a

scatter, so if you get chance please come out and support our organisers.

Scatter 146: November - wot, no maps?

Why is it, when you find yourself in a pub that brews its own bear (does this come with marmalade

sandwiches? – Ed), you are inevitably driving? That was the situation I found myself in after Jen

Farrar and David Walters November scatter, at the Vale in Bollington. After a 22 year hiatus since I

last drove on a scatter (Lancs and Cheshire CC, 1992, OTL and last) it was time to relinquish the maps

and take over the steering wheel. Mike Vokes had agreed to take on duties as the map man, and as

we were both in unfamiliar roles we were classed as Novices (honest… read the regs if you don’t

believe me).

I can’t really say where we went during the course of the evening other than that it was over the Cat

and Fiddle road twice and included various bits of Derbyshire and North Staffordshire and a few

bumpy whites. It was a strange experience not having a map in front of me and not being in control

of the “time available v distance to go v how many more clues can we get” conundrum. Mike

managed to cope admirably with my regular questioning of “how much time left?” and “are we

nearly there yet?” My driving was not helped by a) twisting my ankle quite badly half way through

the night at the furthest point away from the finish and b) the fog descending on the Cat and Fiddle

on the way back. Despite that, Mike got us back to the pub with a couple of minutes to spare.

When results were announced, Mark Eastman and his new nav Ben Dijkstra had taken victory in the

Lexus Repomobile with Alan Smith and Shon Gosling second and Mike and myself taking third. A

total of 6 crews were out that night so we were pleased to find ourselves in the top half. Thanks to

Jen and David for organising.

The championship tables have been published elsewhere – suffice to say well done to all the award

winners and event organisers, and let battle recommence in February 2015.


EVENTS

Below are upcoming events to add to your diary.

Saturday February 7th – NW Stages (Round 1 Stage Rally Championship)

Monday February 9th – social evening - Pre Tour of Cheshire Evening with Mike and Lorna Harrison

Saturday February 21st – Rali Bryniau Clwyd (Round 1 Road Rally Championship)

Saturday February 28th – KDMC Dinner Dance and Award Presentation

Sunday March 1st – Mid-Wales Stages (Round 2 Stage Rally Championship)

Saturday March 7th – Tour of Cheshire

Monday March 9th – Scatter 152 and Videonight – Golden Pheasant Plumley

Sunday March 15th – John Mackenzie Autotest (Round2 Off Road Championship)

Monday March 16th – KDMC AGM

Saturday March 28th – Rally North Wales (Round 3 Stage Rally Championship)

Sunday March 29th – North Yorks Classic (Round 1 Historic Road Rally Championship)

Monday March 30th – Scatter 153

issue 20 - kdmc bulletin february 2015

Documents

edition kdmc bulletin

christmas bulletin

new year

vacant membership secretary

membership renewal form

simon barnett bulletin

edition welcome

vacant social secretary