I had my first experience of trialling in an open car when I passengered Dudley Sterry on The Exmoor. The drive through the breaking dawn from The New Forest up to Barnstaple was of course an experience in itself. This I will write about later! All the class eight’s were running together at the head of the field and we were third car on the road. This meant that apart from a handful of class eight’s and the occasional late biker we saw very few other competitors all day.
Jenny Wren was the first section and we had a long wait, first at a holding control, then at the foot of the section itself, as the bikes were having major problems in the slippery conditions. We heard that Adrian Marfell, who is the current man to beat, didn’t get of the re-start, but when our time came we did. Although all the sections apart from Beggars were new to me none of them held any surprises for Dudley. He knew the class 8 restart was going to be on some slippery slate. His advance strategy was to trickle off, that’s exactly what he did and it worked!
Sepscott 1 and 2 and Snapper 1 and 2 were in a wood and neither posed any problems for Dudley’s J2 although Snapper 1 was a bit hairy where the track was washed away. The worst bit was after the section ends and I should think the lower classes would have had problems getting out the top.
Riverton was reserved for Solo’s and Class 8. This was because the track was badly eroded. The J2 didn’t have any problems although if we had stopped it would have tipped on it’s side we were at such an angle.
We lost our clean sheet on High Bray. It looked easy from the start line but then I couldn’t see what was around the corner! We got of the re-start OK and Dudley tried to drive up the left-hand part of the track, avoiding the "Grand Canyon" on the right. Unfortunately we didn’t quite have enough momentum and the rear slid into the canyon and that was that, well after a spirited attempt to "burn-out" it was!
We were back into another wood at for Pheasants Hill and Lower Mouland, both of which we cleaned easily although we got a flat front tyre and had to change the tube, which is nice and easy if you don’t have to break the bead! Beggars was a no problem at all. It looked completely different to The Lands End when the restart area is rough and rocky, whether with doctoring or because it gets cut up by the earlier numbers, or both!
We got a route amendment at Beggars, substituting Lyncombe Bridge with Scoresdown (anybody know why?). This was nice and easy which is more than could be said for the last hill at Floyds Bank, a grassy weave amongst or through the goarse bushes. The J2 didn’t want to steer properly and Dudley couldn’t get it straight enough to attack the last bank so we dropped another couple of marks. I would think this would have been a nightmare for the lower classes.
John Lees came over for a quick chat at the finish then there just remained the matter of the drive back to The New Forest to pick up my Volvo to go back to Bedfordshire. I got home at 9.30 pm having left at 2.45 am. 600 miles in all, two thirds of it in an open car with no hood and no windscreen! A long day but what a fantastic adventure. More of which over the next few days over on The Classical gas Web Site. I would love to hear more about the trial because running at the front we hardly saw anyone else.
How was your Exmoor Trial?
Michael
My Exmoor Trial was a day of frustration and exhilaration. Let me explain! My cousins live in Devon, and for the past few years I have gone down and watched them compete in yhe Exmoor, and thought to myself , I could do that !. Well, this year I plucked up the courage ,Thought that I had prepared my car pretty well and set of to do the event. By the way , my car is a Hillman Imp which I have also just started atempting PCT,s with. We set of from Barnstaple, butterflys in the stomach, to the fabled Jenny Wren, only to be held in the waiting car park, for nearly 2 hours, before our first try at classic trialling. We got as far as the restart where, I suppose my inexperience got the better of me, and reversing back out of the section seemed to set the order of the day.If we managed to get of the start line , we didnt on the restart! , that is except for Sepscott 2, which we managed to clear. After this highpoint, things got worse as the day went on. My clutch started slipping erratically, I think as it got hotter it seemed to dissappear. Anyway , three atempts to get up to the start line on Snapper 1, with absolutely no chance of getting off of the line, the ruts were so deep, winnie,my Imp had done a belly flop and refused to move with out the assisstance of six people pushing and shoving ! High Bray, managed to get of the line and was going quite well, but couldnt remember if I had to restart, hessitated and all was lost. After that the clutch was worsening, so rather than retire, we decided to nurse it along, and at leasr get to the start line of the remaining sections ,even if we couldnt get over the line, and back to Staghunters Inn which is what we did, thus collecting our finnishers certificate! Quite an acheivement for us and to cap it all we were'nt last. I'm hooked and cant wait for the next one, that is after changing the clutch, sorting out the brakes, replaceing the floor bung, pushed out by the mud on Tordown, more ground clearance----------------------- When does it stop , if ever. Ed Nikel
ReplyDeleteThis is not strictly a contribution to the 'My Exmoor' discussion; more a response to Michael's views on trailering cars to and from trials as expressed in his report on the Exmoor over on Classical Gas. Dudley's views on this are well known and respected and carry a lot of weight in a sport that he has competed in with distinction for many, many years. Michaels views on Class 8 cars are also valid - but not if you're 6'4" tall! Both Stuart Harrold and I are around this height. If it weren't for the ability to trailer to and from one day events, or back from the MCC events I doubt if either of us would compete. Stuart's Troll has just about enough leg room for us to operate in for relatively short periods of time. But cramp etc sets in after a short time. The Land's End instruction after Hoskin '.... turn left on to the A 30 and in approximately 23 miles trurn right at ...' is purgatory. For the sake of my and my chauffeur's arthritic knees and ankles leave us have the luxury of returning from trials in some comfort, not cramped up in the car like sardines in a can. On the Manx I tried the passengers position in a Cannon, just prior to the last hill. How anybody over 5'4" can operate in those I do not know.
ReplyDeleteI think Ed's experiences compared to mine highlight how hard it is or organisers to cater for the wide range of capabilities of cars and drivers. I know I would really have stuggled in my Beetle on some of the stuff Dudley climbed with ease. I was interested to hear how long Ed had to wait at the holding control for the first section. I should think the last car must have finished pretty late. A couple of words on Chris's message - hope to find out for myself before I get to old as I rather fancy a Troll or a Dellow. Only problem is that guy's like David Thompson get in while I am still thinking! Certainly I was pretty comfortable in Duley's car. It was about 135 miles from The New Forest to Barstaple in conditions hovering around frezing. I was surprised but I didn't get cold in the gear I borrowed from Dudley and Fred Gregory. As I said I was pretty comfortable and went to sleep for most of the journey back! Michael
ReplyDeleteSurely the topic of trailering cars to meetings is worthy of a separate subject, rather than added to a report on one specific event. Although now known as Classic Trials, we are all involved in RELIABILITY Trials. To me this means, among other things, that the cars should be comfortable enough to drive for more than the small mileage that the average one-day event uses. There are arguments for using trailers to get to and from events. Convenience and safety being two that spring to mind. The idea of using a trailer because the vehicle is next-to-impossible to drive on the road strikes me as a very poor argument indeed. I drive the car I do because I am comfortable driving it. I don't fit in a Dellow and I have problems with Trolls, so I don't drive them. I sold my very competitive Class 8 special because it was too uncomfortable to drive for any distance. The next owner did the same! Dud regularly makes fools of most of his fellow competitors in Class 8 and even greater fools of those of us (yes, I use a trailer!) in the other classes. His car is driven to and from all meetings and his stamina is such that, although his passenger may fall asleep on the way home, Dud does not! More power to him. This argument is important because it is linked to what Mike has to say about the difficulties of trying to run an event for cars of such widely differing abilities. The supply of suitable vehicles for classes 3,4,5 and 6 is fast running out (the newest Escort Mk2 is now over 20 years old!). Competitive vehicles in Class 1 tend to be odd to say the least. Class 2 competitors are increasingly concerned about the severity of sections and do not contest the one-day trials in great numbers. Against that, some kitcars are now modified almost beyond recognition and a lot of the things in Class 8 were not designed to be used on the road at all and, increasingly, organisers are laying out courses to stop them. The fact is that most of the successful cars tend to arrive on a trailer. Is this because they have been developed to the point that they cannot be driven comfortably (or, indeed, safely) for any distance on the road? At the moment, organisers do a pretty good job at squaring this particular circle, but if things develop too much further some competitors will be demanding that we take the events off the public highway altogether as their vehicles are too uncomfortable to drive on the roads! The time is fast approaching when we will have to decide which way our sport is going. Mike Furse.
ReplyDeleteHi I have lifted most of the above and pasted it into the Trailer debate. I hope no one minds. Mark
ReplyDelete