issue 23 - kdmc bulletin august 2015

KDMC Bulletin August 2015 Edition


Committee Members

President: Alan Smith Vice Presidents: Mike Harrison Norman Robertson Jeff Gray Chairman: Jef Sumner Vice Chairman: Steve Henstock Secretary: Jeff Gray Treasurer: Lorna Harrison Competition Secretary: Mike Lawson 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 Lee Skilling


Welcome to the August edition of the KDMC Bulletin. Thank you to everyone who made a sterling

effort to get articles to me at the last minute. It had looked as if this might be a very slim edition but

as always you came through with some great reports. I hope you all enjoy reading them.

Get down to the Pheasant this Monday to hear what will no doubt be a very interesting talk by Lorna

and Mike Harrison about their recent escapades in America. Further details are below.

There are also a few spaces left on the rearranged karting evening. Details are found in an

attachment to this bulletin.

Please send articles for the October bulletin to [email protected] by September

26th.

Barbara Skepper.

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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.

High Legh Festival of Transport Help Required Shon Gosling is looking for people to help at the FOT held on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September. Marshal’s points are available! Please contact Shon at [email protected]. If you would like to exhibit there is an attachment with the bulletin containing the form you will need.

TRANS AMERICA 2015

Mike and Lorna Harrison's first long distance rally - Trans America 2015. Hear about their trip and

see the pictures of this 6,000 mile epic event which they completed in 21 days with temperatures

exceeding 100 degrees.

Monday 10 August 8pm at the Golden Pheasant.

mailto:[email protected]


Moving Up in Autotesting Duncan Wild

There was good turn out on the last Grass autotest, however have you ever considered trying a tarmac event. I’m sure that if you witnessed the BTRDA Championship event at Demon Tweeks you will wonder how you can make the transition from club event to championship level. Years ago there were many regional events in the North West where you could hone your skills. They are few and far between these days. KDMC, along with Whitchurch MC and BTRDA have been looking at this problem. KDMC will run a Clubman’s Autotest and PCA at Demon Tweeks on Sunday 4th October. The aim is to give competitors a taste of tarmac autotests with tests suitable for road going cars. They will not be memory tests but fun to drive. If you plan to compete then any car can be used. Awards will be for the novices, although experts can come and enjoy the day. The best preparation is to make sure that the handbrake is working and convert it to fly off by taping the button in. Regs will be on the website and sent out to members via e mail. If you want more information, please get in contact. Duncan Wild 01244 300511 [email protected]

Competition Forum

Monday September 14th 2015

8pm Golden Pheasant, Plumley

This is your chance to have a say in how and what we run as club competitions in the

coming year. Your views are important so we would love to see you at the meeting.

mailto:[email protected]


CHAIRMAN’S CHAT

Well here we go again, August already, what happened to Summer I must have blinked and missed

it.

So what has happened since my report in June, well, Duncan ran another successful “Tim Sargeant”

Autotest at Demon Tweeks at the end of June, 3 Separate Tests run concurrently during the course

of the day. Well received by all, although we could have done with a few more members present to

act as Marshals. We have had two Grass Autotests one each in June and July and then Paul (Kelly)

attempted to put on a “Car Park Capers” in July, unfortunately not many people turned up.

Hopefully there will be other articles on these events elsewhere in the Bulletin.

Also in June I had the pleasure of visiting my “second home”, Dinas Mawddwy, in order to present a

cheque, on behalf of the Club, to the “Dinas Mawddwy First Responders” following their assistance

on this year’s Plains Rally. The group are an “on call” team of First Aiders who will attend incidents in

and around Dinas to give help and assistance until Medical Support arrives (nearest ambulances,

Dolgellau, Machynlleth or Welshpool). The group have, with KDMC support now established a

Portable Defibrillator in the Village, which when sorted will have signage showing that it has been

installed with the assistance of KDMC.

And now for the scary bit, for those of a delicate disposition, look away NOW.

Yours truly, presenting the cheque!!


It should be said that I finished of the trip, by presenting Wales Air Ambulance with their cheque in

respect of monies raised on the Plains.

Referring back to Pauls attempts to put on a “Car Park Capers” and the lack of support, we are in

general suffering from lack of support to our regular Monday Night meetings, and I have to admit I

am one who doesn’t get to Club very often, so what do we do. If you have any thoughts or ideas as

to how we can arise more interest please let me or any other Committee member know.

Regards, Jef Sumner


Here are two articles from Peter Boyce - the first about the Hughes Rally and the second on the

BMCK East Anglian.

The Hughes Rally 2015

For some years now I have enjoyed this Kent based event, just the once as driver in a DS21 and

several times as navigator for Rich Harrison in the MGB. We are doing selected rounds of the HRCR

Clubmans Series this year and the Hughes has to be one, especially as this year sees its 50th

anniversary. Since moving back to Kent from Cheshire it has become my home event, but I notice

that many of the northern crews don’t come down for it, not even this year Duncan Wild and Steve

Skepper. Scrutineering and signing on were at Homelands near Ashford as last year and were quickly

and efficiently done so that we could do the measured distance and get back to Hawkinge for some

eating and drinking, our usual preparation for a rally.

Sunday dawned grey and drizzly after several days of sunshine, but in a way good news as it might

keep the local cyclists and horse people off the roads. We were running at 34 so at 08.34 I could

collect my roadbook and rally pack and as Rich put the numbers and rally plates on I began to plot

the route as far as I could. Regularity A was a sequence of spot heights and fairly straightforward and

regularity B was a series of farms and other buildings to pass in a given order and with not too many

speed changes. These took us onto Romney Marsh and a welcome coffee halt at the familiar Lathe

Barn.

Now for the first plot and bash section and one which caused the majority of the field to get a WD at

one timing point. It involved counting green dots and routing under and over various features. If you

look at OS sheet 189 and find 073288, plot the following; 3 green dots, 064301, 6 green dots, U, 9

green dots, O, U. using as always the shortest route. Most of us found the electricity transmission

lines and counted back 6 green dots and routed via Newchurch. But the correct route and the

shorter route used the 6 dots as two sets of three, a nice little trap set by Andy Gibson which fooled

about 80% of the field. The route for Regularity D was to connect in a specified order a set of

references we had plotted at the start, but not all of them, in the style of the old London Maps. This

took us to Hole Park, a place I had never heard of near Benenden, where we did 3 tests before lunch.

One, a longish grass autotest was quite easy to follow as the route seemed to have been mown out

of the long grass elsewhere. The main problem was grip rather than finding the way round the

cones. Lunch was accompanied by Hole Park’s home-made apple juice, very good and served by the

proprietor himself. A repeat of one of the pre lunch tests after lunch then Regularity E, defined by

tulips and leading us north to the grass tests at Headcorn airfield, a trade mark venue of the Hughes,

this year on the field to the right of the entrance rather than the long field to the left. From the finish

of the second test we were straight into regularity F, a Jogularity which took us to the tests at

Newhouse Farm and the Pluckley Brickworks , with their tight turns and giddiness inducing gyrations.

The final Regularity was a mixture of tulips, herringbone, references and over / unders given out at

various points on the route from Pluckley Brickworks via Egerton Forstal, Southernden, Pye Corner,

and Pluckley village to end near Shadoxhurst, a long regularity with speed changes to tax a tiring

brain at the end of the day. A short drive back to Homelands for a welcome meal and the usual “if

only” tales while the results were worked out. The WDs on Regularity C had a major effect on the

results, with top navigators like Andy Pullan being caught out. David Feakes and Trevor Hawkins

must have had a nightmare time with most of the rally coming at them from the wrong direction!

(Their control was at about 057279 – did you plot it the right way?). I had another moment when I


was head down checking the tripmeter and clock as we passed a junction we needed, requiring a

turn round and retrace and the inevitable time loss. No problem thought I, as the Joker would take

care of it which it did, but I had forgotten the time earlier when we had been held up for ages by a

stream of traffic exiting a grass track meeting and got a big penalty.

The results showed us at 20th, with John Abel and Martyn Taylor winners in the Sunbeam Tiger,

ahead of Howard Warren and Ian Tullie 2nd in the 911. Mike and Liz Jordan had a good run in the

Escort RS2000 to finish14th and first Blackpalfrey. Other Blackpalfrey crews were Tom Wilson and

Martin Phaff in the Rover who beat us by 21 seconds to finish 19th; Andrew Twort and Claudine

Bloom were 23rd in the Escort; and Charles Harrison and Dave Hughes 26th in Graham Mayes’ MGB.

Why in Graham’s MGB? The MOT on Charles’ Triumph had expired on the previous day and the

scrutineer had of course picked it up! Well done Graham for lending the car! At the awards

presentation there was a special award for Andy Gibson for his decades of work for the Hughes and

for the Blackpalfrey Club in general. Not only did Andy receive an award but he also received a

standing ovation, well deserved too.

Rich and I had enjoyed a really diverse day of motorsport with a varied mixture of navigation, some

very nice lanes, drizzle in the morning and sun in the evening and a non damaging event – ideal, just

what the Clubmans Series should be.

The East Anglian Classic June 20th 2015

Chelmsford Motor Club’s East Anglian Classic is a favourite of mine with its challenging regularities

and its big open tests, mostly on the various airfields in that part of England. It was Round 6 of this

year’s HRCR Clubmans Series but some of the top crews were missing as it clashed with the CRA’s

Marathon. Nevertheless there was a good entry, with Rich and I at 19; Duncan Wild and Steve

Skepper from Knutsford at 10; and Graham Mayes with Keith Howard from Blackpalfrey at 15. This

year the event had been moved south into Essex and Rally HQ was at Elsenham Golf and Leisure

complex just NE of Stansted Airport. The Airport Premier Inn was our base so just a 5 minute run to

scrutiny and signing on, though scrutineering was a rather long drawn out affair. At signing on we

received our time cards and basic route outline plus the book of test diagrams. Back to the airport

for a quick plot of the regularities’ start and test locations and then the normal drinks and meal with

Duncan and Steve.

Next morning we received the hand outs for Regularities A and B one hour before our due time so

plenty of time to get them plotted onto the maps. Regularity A was a London style map where we

had to join up a set of pre-plotted points in the correct order and from the correct direction, some to

be avoided too and with 3 speed changes. Regularity B was a set of spot heights taking us from sheet

167 to sheet 154 with 4 speed changes. On Reg A some of us had a problem at the last timing point

where a marshal was on her own and having to try to cope with several cars all arriving together.

With the Liege clocks this is asking a bit much and we felt sorry for her as she got more and more

flustered – we lost time here. Next came Wethersfield Airfield, once a big USAF base if my memory is

correct and still an active base, though not for flying any more. Here we did 4 massive tests twice,

some of them over a mile long and all on tarmac or concrete and tough on tyres. There was also

strict security on entering and leaving the base. Then a short run to Haverhill for fuel and the lunch

halt at Ridgwell and a nice pub buffet, much appreciated after a tough and unrelenting morning.


On leaving lunch we received our next handout for Regularities C and D, with just a few minutes to

get the first bit of the route on to the map before the off. Reg C consisted of a set of T,B, L, R’s with

which to leave consecutive grid squares. This was followed by a set of TR, TL, MR, SOX, TLX etc,

instructions at consecutive junctions (CRO) to the end of the section, with 4 speed changes. By now

it was raining and very quickly our wipers gave up. We pressed on and did reasonably well to arrive

back at Wethersfield for the second crack at the tests, this time from the opposite direction. The

surface was now slippery and without wipers it was like looking through net curtains, making

identifying the letters on the cones tricky. Also doing the alphabet backwards was another challenge

for our elderly brains! We managed to destroy one cone and nudge another en route to one wrong

test but completed all 8 otherwise without too much difficulty peering through our net curtains!

Regularity D was a set of tulips and 5 speed changes and posed no real problems. Now for the final

regularity, a plot and bash section with the first route handout through the window as we left the

start. What joy! A herringbone, always tricky to plot on the move. However it all fitted OK to arrive

at the required spot height in the required grid square. Handout 2 was a set of grid lines to cross plus

a trio of not as map triangles to reach another spot height in another square! The 3rd handout was a

set of WSW, NE, WNW etc directions from which to leave junctions, thankfully with no speed

changes, to take us to the end of the section and of the rally.

Back at rally HQ the results were fairly quickly posted. We had got a big penalty at one timing point

when we had stopped to try to fix the wipers and I had missed a speed change in the confusion. Both

Duncan/Steve in the Mini and Graham/Keith in the MGB made mistakes on the last regularity but

had the good fortune to have the control following their errors scrubbed – it happened to be the

same marshal, on her own, who had had problems in the morning. It meant that penalties of

minutes became zero and did have a big effect on the results. Having been Chief Marshal on the

Tour of Cheshire for years it is asking for trouble to have just one person at a control on an event of

this status, stopping the clock, entering the time and signing the competitor’s card, entering the time

on the checksheet and chipping the clock, especially when several cars turn up at once.

Duncan and Steve came 8th and 1st in their class; Graham and Keith were 14th with Rich and I in the

other MGB 17th. Winners were the Chelmsford crew of Gavin and Claire Rogers in the Reliant

Scimitar from John Ruddock and Nick Cooper in the Escort and with Jim Deacon and David Taylor 3rd

in the MGB Roadster. It had been a full on rally with very little time out of the car, just the 40 or so

minutes at lunch time and we all felt pretty shattered at the end. Full marks to Paul Brewerton as C

of C for putting on such a good no nonsense rally on mostly smooth roads and with generally

smooth though tyre abrasive tests, and using, for me anyway, a set of roads I had never rallied on

before.

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Steve Skepper has also submitted an article on the East Anglian Rally.

The only Way is Essex (Well almost)

a.k.a The 2015 East Anglian Classic

The 2015 East Anglian Classic ventured out of its usual area, moving to the Home County of

organising Club Chelmsford MC. Certainly for Duncan and I, Essex was a new hunting ground in

rallying terms.

Rally HQ was to be Elsenham Golf & Country Club just a few miles from the Premier Inn at Stansted

Airport. After a relatively uneventful journey South, Duncan and I arrived at the Premier Inn Stansted

and checked-in. We had some spare time so did the measured distance. This wasn’t the most ideal

stretch of road as although on a local Yellow road, it was actually quite busy with some fast moving

traffic, so stopping to check some of the distances was awkward and in some cases dangerous. We

took 4 or 5 runs but eventually settled on a setting that we felt was the closest we could get.

We then went to queue up for scrutineering and signing-on.

After a somewhat drawn-out process we passed scrutineering and got our paperwork including Road

book and Test Layout book. We had a small amount of plotting, having been given 15 references to

plot and labelled with letters A-O. The first regularity was to be in the form of a London Map and we

would get a list of which points would be used and what the directions of approach and depart

would be in the morning, 1 hour before our due start time.

We then joined Peter and Rich for our customary pre-event meal and drinks.

The morning dawned quite bright and seeded at 10 we would leave at 09.10. Regularity A started at

the Golf Club Exit. Of the 15 points we were given to plot, 6 of them were to be avoided. There were

4 timing points and 3 speed changes. Our times were +2s, 0, -1 & 0. So we were really pleased with

that and although we didn’t realise it at the time, we were actually leading the event! Then on to

Weathersfield Airfield for the first set of 8 tests. Using some perimeter roads and quite a few

dispersal points all the tests were quite lengthy. There were four tests each run twice. On the second

run through we ran at 30 sec intervals. Large cones were used but even then the grassy areas

contained longer grass and some cones were cunningly placed just out of sight. Our first test was ok,

but on the second and third ones we lost some time looking for particular cones. On our second run

through, we improved on our 2nd test time by 19s and our 3rd test time by a massive 45s.

Then it was straight on to Reg B. Navigation was via spot heights and with 4 timing points and 4

speed changes our times on this one were +2s, -2s, +7s & +5s. Once again we were happy with these

scores. This Regularity made a very brief visit over the border into Suffolk. After a quick petrol stop,

we headed for lunch at the White Horse, Ridgewell. After a light lunch we left with the knowledge

that we were 5th overall.

Regularity C was to take us back to the Airfield. Navigation was by directions of departure from grid

squares( B-Bottom, T-Top, L-Left & R-Right) followed by a series of TL (Turn left), TR (Turn Right), ML

(Miss left) SO (Straight-on) etc. There were 3 timing points and 4 speed changes. Our times on this

one were -5s, +6s & +1s, so another good set. We re-entered the airfield for the second set of 8

eights this time done in reverse. That is the reverse direction, NOT reverse gear! We felt we had a

good run on these. The Mini was going well. In fact so well that we nearly caught the car in front on

one test.


Then on to Reg D. a grid of 24 Tulips took us back into the area of the eastern most points from the

morning London map section. This time we visited some of the morning “Avoids”. There were 3

timing points and 5 speed changes. Our times were +7s, -6s and another 0. Could we possibly afford

a slight thought that we were having a good day?

The final reg E was plot and bash. The first handout, a Herringbone took us to the first timing point

and our time was +3s. The second handout was using Gridlines and a couple other bits of

information. Unfortunately I missed plotting a LWR triangle which featured quite early in this

section. I also missed a vital piece of information showing where the section actually ended. As a

result we appeared to run out of navigation and wrong slotted for a short distance turning left..

After reviewing the route we headed back to where we had run out of route and headed to the

right. As we went round the next bend there was the next Control! We had dropped some 4 minutes

or so. The control was manned by a lady who we had come across at a couple of controls during the

morning. Unfortunately she was always on her own and it was a bit unfair on her to be so. She

gradually seemed to get more flustered. We sat patiently in the control watching the seconds tick

away (some 50s secs or so!)

Off we went with the final handout, a series of Compass directions including a LWR triangle which

we got correct. Our final two times were +5s and +3s. It was quite frustrating to think we (or more to

the point I ) had dropped a clanger and undone all the good work we had done earlier. Finishing just

South of Stansted Airport we headed back to the finish. We got some tea and waited for results to

appear. We were showing as 4th overall but we knew we still had our bad one to be added in.

As we were finishing our meal Duncan went to check the results. He returned with a bit of a smile on

his face. The bad news? We had missed a PC so had a 100s penalty. The good news, our large

penalty and that of the following control had been scrubbed. In fact the times for everybody had

been scrubbed, so something else must have happened. This meant that we finished 8th overall. We

were third in class and as the first two in class received overall awards, we actually received the 1st in

Class award. So lady luck shone on us this time. Peter and Rich finished 17th overall.

All in all, a very enjoyable event with some brilliant tests. A slightly less busy measured distance and

maybe a slightly larger Start/Finish venue would have just made the difference.

Rich, Peter, Duncan and I were staying over for a second night so we returned to the Premier inn for

a celebratory Sharing Platter and a few drinks.

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Mike Harrison here tells us a little about his adventures in the E Type.

Cape to Cape 2015

Lorna and I always enjoy an excuse to use our Series 3 E Type, especially if it's on the relatively

empty roads in Europe so a couple of years ago we did Dennis Greenslade's 10th Cape to Cape a

competitive tour from Cabo do Roca in Portugal to Cape Cornwall in, not surprisingly, Cornwall.

Despite ignition issues on the event and some very wet days we thoroughly enjoyed the event with

its suitable mix of competition, interesting route, good hotels and time to socialise with the other

entrants as well as help raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

There was little doubt we would therefore enter the eleventh event, run at the end of April, from

Cap de la Hague in northern France to Cap d'Antibes in the south. Dennis increased the number of

entries this year to the largest ever at 46 crews of which eleven where in Jaguars from the 1951 ex

Mike Hawthorn XK120 to the more modern E type ( although the last of the marque are over forty

years old).

The navigation for the majority of the 1,200 mile route is by way of a route book instruction which

states places you need to pass through and then you plot your selected route on the map. The only

exception was a number of tulip sections through, for example, Foret des Andaines. The directions

being given by tulip junctions, but no mileages.

After the usual welcome dinner the event start the route took us along the on the coast, near

Cherbourg, before cutting south and heading for the first night's halt at Rochecorbon near Tours in

the Loire valley. Our mini 'chateau' hotel was entirely decked out inside in black and white -

something you might expect in Paris but not rural France and one of the added features of the hotel

facilities was the Tesla supercharge station for your Tesla electric supercar.

Unfortunately due to the increase in entrants there were a couple of nights when the rally was split

into two hotels - hardly surprising when you need to accommodate about 100 people in rural

France. We travelled on the following morning to the other chateaux for the restart and a Le Mans

style test (the only test on the event) in the hotel grounds before heading off in our new start order


to Saint Nectaire in the Auvergue region. One of the event features is that Dennis jumbles up the

starting order each day so you do get to meet the other participants on the event. Unfortunately the

day was somewhat spoilt by heavy rain which persisted for the majority of the day and although the

the E Type doesn't leak in the same way as the TRs it steams up, so it soon becomes like driving

through fog.

We were now getting into Monte Challenge territory going through the Gorges de Courgoul and the

Pinols. It was on these sections we missed our only control of the event which was sited in a lay-by

that had a blocked entrance. By the overnight in Valance only two of the 46 crews were penalty free.

Dennis likes crews getting penalties as that means the crew has to pay a fine which goes to the

Macmillian charity.

The following day's restart was at the top of the Col de Rotisson west of Valance. Our navigation was

mostly 'plot and bash' style today up and over a variety of Cols. it was during this that our 'knocking'

noise from under the car became so concerning that we stopped at the side of the car to investigate

its origin. It was not just when going over the odd bump it was making the noise on very smooth

Tarmac surfaces as well. The source was not immediately apparent so we decided to carry on slowly

for the remainder if the day's eighty miles and resolve a solution after getting the car up on axle

stands at the overnight hotel.

Having got right underneath the car I found firstly one of the exhaust clamps was loose (but this

unfortunately wasn't an exhaust noise). After further inspection I found that the rear gearbox

mounting bracket was loose and one of the securing bolts was a good inch out of its seating. Once

tightened up the knocking noise disappeared. Work complete there was just time to grab a beer (or

it might have been two) to wash away the heat of the day before the charity auction. We helped

swell the take by successfully bidding on a Cornish number plate (to appear shortly on the Aero), a

handmade replica Stirling Moss crash helmet signed by him and a Sebastian Loeb signed baseball

hat.

Day 5 probably had some of the best scenery of the event as we travelled through the Canyon du

Vardon and the azure blue of Lac de Sainte-Croix. However, before the day started we had a battery

failure and guess what no garage in the town is open on a Monday! Fortunately the restaurant

manager in the hotel spoke English and we were able to source a battery in a neighbouring town. An

hour late we left the hotel having purchased the most expensive battery in Europe. Fortunately the

first control was not until late morning so after some fast motoring we caught up the field and by the

coffee stop at Les Cavaliers we were back on schedule. Time to enjoy both a coffee and the sights of

the canyon from the outdoor terrace. Not somewhere you would have wanted to fall off the terrace

after one too many as it was almost straight down to the river in the canyon floor.

The remainder of the day was up in the hills traversing many of the famous rally Cols such as Col de

Bleine before dropping back down to the congestion of the coast roads.

The final day of the event was to drive the famous Col du Turini where renowned navigator Willy

Cave,who was doing the event, told me he was first at the Col in 1955 and must have been up and

down the Col sixty or seventy times - so far. After taking the 'compulsory' snaps of the car in front of

the Hotel des Trois Valless we headed for Monte Carlo and drove the F1 circuit and witnessed the


circuit and grandstand construction in full progress. Then, on the final night, party and prize giving.

The total raised from the event will not be fully known for a while, but by the final night party on the

beach at Juan les Pins it was £87,000 bringing the total from the eleven events to over £644,000. A

good reason, if one was really needed, to drink champagne at the pre dinner beach reception.

The results are determined by the amounts raised for the charity as well as the usual lack of

penalties. The best performance in a Jaguar trophy was awarded to us. Fortunately the chrome

leaping Jaguar is mounted in such a way as it mirrors the trophy we won last time - a matching pairs

of lovely bookends!

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

Dave Aincham describes events at a recent grass autotest.

Monday 3rd August - Grass 153 - Newhall Farm, Millington – CoC Jeff Gray

Dave Dunlop in the Micra. Mark Adams marshalling. Andy Williams with a Cheshire cat grin

A beautiful evening of sunshine greeted us at Newhall Farm for Monday’s grass autotest. 11

competitors lined up for the night’s fun taking on Jeff’s tricky 4 tests all strategically set out to

maximize the amount of cow dung we’d have to drive through and later have to wash off our cars

(or in Duncan’s case – his wifes car!).

Duncan Wild with Mark marshalling again


After a brief drivers briefing, we all spread out over the 4 tests and proceeded in trying our best to

match the diagrams given…not an easy feat when you can’t work out which bit of the test you are on

after reversing, doing a 180 spin around a cone and then not quite sure which way you are supposed

to be going next!

4 rounds of the 4 tests saw an outright winner in new member Adam Wilks (any relation to Guy?) in

the 106 jointly driven by Aiden Reynard. Great to have 2 new members join us on the autotest, and

after speaking to them, they seem keen to have a crack at the Twilight series too (got a 12 car

coming up too lads!)….nice to meet you both and great first outing on a KDMC event.

Andy in car with James Williams and Shon Gosling looking on. Aiden Reynard driving with Simon Barnet marshalling

Thank you to all the organisers, marshals and spectator who turned up, without you guys and gals

we couldn’t run these events.

Next event in the Grass championship is a PCT run by Richard Duddell, regs now on the club website.

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

Finally we have two articles from Duncan Wild. The first describes a recent stay away from home and

the second looks at some recent autotests.

Motoring Joy Following the autotest at Dumfries at the end of July Cherrie and I decided to have a holiday in Dumfries and Galloway. We headed West after the event on the Saturday evening and were pleased to find that the caravan site at Sandyhills, a few miles from Dalbeatie, had space. I first stayed there in 1958 on a family holiday. We returned there in 1976 with our first caravan and two very young children. There was little change, just a number of holiday caravans overlooking the Solway. Our initial stay of two nights was eventually extended to six as we enjoyed exploring the area. Despite this being the height of the holiday season the site was far from full. As we drove round the quiet road we were taken back to quieter times. The car parks in the towns were free and there was space to park, even with the motorhome. Even the car parks near the beaches were free. There were beautifully kept villages with brilliantly white cottages. The roads were quiet with mown grass verges by the farms and cottages. There was no litter anywhere and we saw council workers picking up the odd pieces on the beach. Everyone was so friendly. I could enjoy the slow pace of life in that area. If you want a quiet holiday with many historic interests then I can recommend South West Scotland. Our highlight was a visit to the Mull of Galloway where you could see the Lake District, The Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.


Around the Cones Tim Sargeant Memorial Autotest – 28th June

The TSMA went very well this year. Demon Tweeks are building a new office block which reduced the unloading bay area slightly but there is the promise of an enlarged car park next year. We had one of the larger entries this year in the BTRDA and MSA Championship events and it proved to be a close battle as usual. Alastair Moffatt in the Mini Special led all day, followed by a close battle between Richard Pinkney

(Caterham) and Malcolm Livingston (Lindsay Special). However, that’s only part of the story. There

was a sudden shower just before the lunch break which changed the results significantly. Biggest

loser was Paul Fobister (Haigh Special). He was second early on but he lost 15 seconds to Richard

Pinkney in two tests on the slippery conditions. Dave Evans (Blitz) lost less time as only one test was

wet. Paul Fobister and Dave Evans were tied at lunch in fifth place. The loss of time by the specials

allowed the sports car drivers to catch up. There was only 1.5 seconds separating Richard Pinkney

and Malcolm Livingston at lunch. The afternoon tests saw a very close four way battle for fourth

place which went to Knutsford & DMC member Chris Chapman in the Striker. Fifth was Dave Evans.

Steve Morten (Striker) made a spirited effort in the afternoon to move up from seventh to sixth, 0.1

seconds ahead of Paul Fobister.

The large saloon battle was as always between the two Scotsmen, Warren Gillespie getting the

better of Willie Keaning this time in 10th and 11th positions overall. Mike Biss had trouble all week

getting his Mini ready but made the journey from Bedfordshire worthwhile with second in class

behind David Fox. The road going class was won by Liam Rollings, out for allrounders points. He was

18th overall and was one to suffer from the wet conditions before lunch.

There were five KDMC members competing; 4th Chris Chapman, 8th Ian Chapman, 13th Gordon

Holmes, 17th Colin Moreton, 20th Dave Goodlad.

A big thank you to Demon Tweeks for the use of the venue and to the marshals, led by Mike Vokes.

Steve Skepper provided the results.

Hartlepool and Alwoodley Autotests – 11th and 12th July

I headed North in mid-July for the Demon Tweeks BTRDA Autotest and Link-up MSA Championship autotests. At the CSMA event in June the ABS gearbox developed a serious noise, I now know that I’d broken teeth on the crown wheel and pinion. Unfortunately I hadn’t had time to repair the box so dropped in my spare 1430 engine with a standard gearbox. The event at Seaton Carew was great fun although I kept selecting third or fourth gear. I usually have a modified gearbox which only has first, second and reverse. This cost me time but due to computer problems we didn’t know where we were all day. The organisers promised to send out results after the event. Their problems were compounded when the computer, trophies and other valuable were stolen while the organisers cleared the sea front site at Seaton Carew after the competitors had left. Fortunately the organisers were able to compile the results from some retained data and information from competitors. Alastair Moffatt in the Mini Special was fastest. I finished 11th overall. Chris and Ian Chapman were the other two KDMC members entered, finishing 6th and 9th overall.


Sunday’s Alwoodley MC event at the Ferodo test track at Sherburn was another successful day for Moffatt as he claimed FTD despite his Mini Special breaking a rocker shaft. He was closely followed by Malcolm Livingston who also had engine problems when the carburettors started to fall off the special. In fact several top drivers suffered mechanical problems. Richard Pinkney had brake failure which together with his penalties dropped him to third. I was getting used to the 4-speed box but still struggled at times. The tests suited the ABS with two laid out on narrow roads. There were four KDMC members on this event; 6th Ian Chapman, 7th Duncan Wild, 10th Gordon Holmes and 16th Colin Moreton. South of Scotland Car Club Autotest – 25th July The busy month concluded in Scotland when S0SCC ran their first BTRDA Championship event for several years. This was a who’s who of autotesting with a large contingent of Northern Irish autotesters taking the crossing to the South West of Scotland. The tests were some of the most challenging this year and suited the ABS which now has the rebuilt three speed gearbox fitted. It was a joy to find the correct gear each time. With such a competitive field I was pleased with 14th overall. It was interesting to see that the top four came from different classes; Striker, Mini Special, Nova and Mini. Alastair Moffatt was best placed English driver in second with the next best Englishman, Paul Fobister in eighth. There were three KDMC members on this one; 11th Chris Chapman, 14th Duncan Wild and 15th Ian Chapman. Grass Autotest 154 – 3rd August After a busy July I started August with a visit to Millington Farm for the third Grass Autotest. Jef Gray was in charge and laid out four tests for the 11 competitors, including two new members. Despite a forecast of rain it was a lovely dry evening. As usual the grass was slippery, especially as the evening progressed. The tests were tight in places and a good handbrake was essential. Cherrie leant me the Up! for the evening. It still has a proper handbrake leaver, unlike my Golf. Competition was fierce at the top, although I made a mess of the third test and despite taking a long time to study the route round four cones I got it wrong. The 30 second penalty was killer. New member, Adam Wilks (Peugeot 106) and Dave Aincham (Mini Clubman) traded times at the top. Andy Williams set the fastest time on test 1 but dropped back as the event progressed. Everyone enjoyed the evening. A big thank you to the marshals. There was an excellent turn out led by Mike Timmins. Results 1 Adam Wilks 106 789.6 FTD 2 Dave Aincham Mini 794.2 1st Class A 3 Andy Williams Micra 835.0 2nd Class A 4 Duncan Wild Up 854.8 5 David Dunlop Micra 899.9 6 James Williams Micra 938.0 1st Novice 7 David Brown Micra 942.6 8 Mike Phillips Peugeot 1011.2 9 Jeff Buchanan MX5 1033.6 10 Aiden Reynard 106 1044.2 11 Chris Phillips Peugeot 1192.8


EVENTS

Below are upcoming events to add to your diary.

Sunday August 9th St Wilfrid’s Rally (Round 5 Historic Road Rally Championship)

Monday August 10th – Social Evening – American Trip talk by Lorna and Mike Harrison

Sunday August 16th – Scammonden Hill Climb (Round 10 Off Road Championship)

Saturday August 22nd – Rali Gogledd (Round 5 Road Rally Championship)

Sunday August 30th – Firefly Autotest (Off Road Championship)

Friday September 4th – Saturday September 5th – Promenade Stages (Rd 6 SSR)

Saturday September 5th – Vale of Clwyd (Round 6 Historic Road Rally Championship)

Monday September 7th – Scatter 154 organiser Andy Williams

Monday September 14th –Competition Forum

Saturday September 26th – Clitheronian (Round 6 Road Rally Championship)

Saturday September 26th – Sunday 27th – High Legh Festival of Transport

Sunday October 4th – BTRDA Autotest Challenge

Monday October 5th – Scatter 155 organiser Mike Vokes

Back Cover Photographs (L-R and Top to Bottom)

Mini Cooper of Duncan Wild / Steve Skepper waiting for the start of the Poppy Rally in the market square in Poperinge.

MGB of Rich Harrison / Peter Boyce also in the square in Poperinge.

Chris Chapman tackling a test on the Tim Sargeant Memorial Autotest.

Dave Goodlad also on the Tim Sargeant Memorial Autotest.

David Dunlop in his Nissan Micra participating in Grass Autotest 153 with Mark Adams marshalling.

Russ Henstock accompanied by Matt Scott competing in the New Year Autosolo PCA.


Chris Kettle and Andy Redhead marshalling on the Knutsford Autosolo at Booths Hall

issue 23 - kdmc bulletin august 2015

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