I have had a mail from an American fan who would love to take part in The Edinburgh. Does anyone need a passenger?
The correspondence is below.
Michael
Doug,
Let me answer your questions below
To enter the Edinburgh Trial, which is organised by the MCC you need to be a member of the MCC. You can apply by following the link to their Web Site over on Classical Gas. (any problems let me know). As a member of the MCC you will get the regs and entry form sent automatically. As far as I know you do not have to be a British Citizen or be a UK resident to take part. As the 3 MCC trials are closed to club events you do not need a competition licence.
I see no reason as far as the club is cocerned why you can't run a hire car but if you meab Hertz/Avis etc I am sure they will object! and frankly it wouldn't be suitable, even for Class 0. There may well be competitors "in the trade" that would be prepared to hire you a proper trials car.
Road Insurance does not cover the trial. However the MCC can rrange it for less than 짙10.
I am sure that you could get a ride as a passenger. If you definately want to do this I and John Aley, Pat Toulmin etc will put the word around. The main thing is that the driver will want to be 100% sure you turn up on the night!
So the first step is for you to join the MCC.
Michael
>From: "Hagerman, Douglas" <Douglas.Hagerman@hp.com>
>To: <mleete24@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Entering a UK trial from overseas
>Date: Tue, 6 May 2003 16:13:15 -0400
>
>Hi Michael.
>
>I'm probably going to be in England in late September or early October of this year. If I wanted to enter the Edinburgh trial, what would be the best approach? Do I need to get a competition license? Can I run a hired car? Does road insurance cover trials?
>
>I'll be over there by myself, so perhaps it would be better to try to find someone who is already planning to enter and go with them as a passenger. What's the chance of finding someone who would be interested in this approach?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Doug.
Doug has a background of motorcycle trials, and is now primarily an "old english" car enthusiast, so if anyone feels like letting him drive their MG/Marlin/Dellow with them as passenger that would be great. If anyone IS willing, please could they put their heads above the parapet sooner rather than later - we all know how soon the Edinburgh regs will come out, and how soon they will close. We all talk about how friendly this sport is, lets help this guy fulfill an ambition.
ReplyDeleteDoug is going to take part, not in the Edinburgh, as his schedule didn't work out that way, but in this weekend's Exe Valley Trial as passenger for Roger Bricknell. I would like to be able to thank all those who expressed an interest in trying to help Doug to fulfull an ambition, alsas, I cannot, as no one appeared to take any interest what so ever. So next time one of you tries to tell me what a friendly sport we have you will get my reply ---- B*****KS Thanks to you all for nothing.
ReplyDeleteSimon,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your anger at certain Classical Gassers who were theoretically
able to help but did not step forward. However, please consider those of us
who are unable to help at this time and therefore should not be subjected to
the same disparagement.
Your unsubstantiated accusations are simply offensive – particularly to
trials motorcyclists like myself.
Please think before you use statements like “Thanks to you all for nothing”
since we are not all in a position to provide passenger seats on long
distance trials.
In my opinion, the most unfriendly approach within our sport has been
displayed not by the silence of CG members, but by your recent comments.
Doug Sarney
Classical Gas member & motorcyclist.
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Well said Doug. I also think that Simons comments
ReplyDeletewere totally uncalled for. Although I am new to trials competing, (the Edinburgh
becons for me as a trials virgin!!!) I would think that the availability of a
left hand seat is dependent on many variables and not necessarily available at
the drop of a hat. Perhaps some like to keep their tried and tested passenger,
and why not indeed!
As a passenger on the Edinburgh last year, as Chief
Scrutineer and also marshal on the Northern and through contacts and
assistance via Classical Gas since I started converting my Skoda, I have come
across a most friendly, helpful and cheerful bunch of motor sport enthusiasts
and have no need to revise my opinion in the light of Simons
message.
A couple of thoughts. The first is that this mini-debate shows why we must have a real names group. Personally I admire Simon for expressing his personal opinion. Yes, it attracted justifiable criticism for the strength of the language but thats how he felt at the time and he spoke his mind! Now to whether I agree with him or not. Well I will sit on the fence and say yes and no. The question of whether classic triallers are a friendly crowd or not is interesting. Certainly I have met some really super people trialling but I also think there are some right stuck up and ignorent s*d*. Looking back to when I started trialling I generally I remember people in similar machinery coming up to chat but often competitors stick to their own little circle. These days my Internet activity means a lot of people recognise me from the cartoon say Hi Michael and come and chat which is nice. I almost always find officials and marshals friendly. Who has not been seduced by John Sargents warm welcome whether he knows you or not. The late Geoff Margetts was another warm and friendly guy and there are many more. But hey we do this thing for fun and relaxation to get away from the stress and strain of modern life. Lets hang loose and if the chance arises have a beer together at the end of the Edinburgh. Michael PS - Its great our American buddy is going out on a trial. Only problem is that sitting with one of the greatest masters the sport has ever know he will think its far easier than it is!
ReplyDeleteI must say I generally agree with Michael. My passenger Chris Phillips and I believe one of the best things about a MCC event is the chance to chat with the competitors just in front of or behind you as you wait at controls or hills. On each event you meet a different group of interesting people. We do not ask to run with other competitors as the 'unknown' is far more entertaining. Not quite the same on 1 day events as they are generally much more hectic with less chance for chatting. In general I would say that 99% of clasic trialers are friendly. On a compleatly different note. I was C of C at the Ross Pinford sporting trial yesterday. Ground rock hard and bone dry so we used 10 p.s.i. as minimum and managed to take maks off every one without making the hills dangerous. The point of this, if you want to stop class 7 and 8 do it with tyre pressures not special hills. See you on Edinburgh. Stuart Harrold
ReplyDeleteStuart
ReplyDeleteAccording to the write-up on the Ross trial in Motorsport News "...conditions were very dry and drivers opted for tyre pressures as low as ten psi to improve grip..." !!!
I agree that tyre pressures are the way to go on restricting climbing ability.
Regards, Stuart Cairney
The drivers did not opt for 10 p.s.i., we the organisors told them it was 10. There was much mumbling but at the end we had run a competative trial in very dry conditions without having dangerous hills. Apparently 10 p.s.i. has only ever been used 'up north' previously so we were trend setters. I believe everyone enjoyed the event. Stuart Harrold
ReplyDeleteAre we talking about the same trial or the Gigi thing?
ReplyDeleteWe got side-tracked onto the Ross sporting trial.
ReplyDeleteI thought the suggestion (in MN) that the drivers had opted for 10lbs to improve grip was amusing.
I'm looking foward to their report on the Edinburgh
"... some of the drivers chose to stop at the restarts half way up the section to gain a better view of the track..."
Regards, Stuart
Hello Everyone. Thanks to Simon's coordination I was privileged to ride as passenger with Roger Bricknell. I can't hope to express how much fun this was and how much I appreciate Simon and Roger's tremendous efforts to make me feel welcome. I had a great time and will send Simon a bit of a writeup of what I thought about it all. After seeing the narrow Devon lanes up close and personal, I'm sort of not thinking now that it would be practical to run a classic format trial in the U.S.--we simply don't have that sort of roads at all, anywhere. Even private farm lanes are wider than your public roads! There are places in Vermont, Colorado, etc. where single-venue events could be held, and I think that the Massachusetts Land Rover club has tried to do a small trial-like event, but the combination of lanes, cars, and eccentricity that is part of this business is just not available over on this side of the pond. Anyway, I had a great time. Maybe I will try to do this again when there's a bit more mud! Thanks! Doug.
ReplyDeleteExe Valley Trial Report
ReplyDeleteor, A Day with Roger Bricknell
by Doug Hagerman
2 October 2003
This past spring I was poking around in the Classical Gas website and realized that I might be able to cadge a ride in the Edinburgh trial since I would be England in early October. I mailed a request to Simon Woodall about this possibility, and eventually after my schedule changed and some other stuff happened it worked out that he was able to arrange for me to ride as passenger with Roger Bricknell in the Exe Valley trial. This is a report about what I found out on my day with Roger.
Some readers don't know about trials, so to start from the beginning: In a trial you drive your car or motorcycle up narrow lanes and try to avoid getting stuck. Penalty points are awarded and low score wins.
Of course any sort of activity like this is ultimately a social thing, and the personal welcome and hospitality that I encountered was great. Simon suggested a terrific B&B near the start, and on Sunday morning I met him and Barbara at the Cat and Fiddle pub in Clyst st Mary, near Exeter. There was a big crowd of cars and people, mostly holding coffee cups as they queued up to get their car numbers and route sheets. Event registration was handled by a friendly committee and everybody was quite cheerful and optimistic, although I did hear someone say that they were experiencing pre-event stomach nervousness. 26 motorcycles and 46 cars competed.
Simon introduced me to Roger and to several other people--whose names I've forgotten, of course--and then it was just me and Roger for the rest of the day. The trial was sponsored by the Crash Box and Classic Car Club, and put on by Roger (not the same one), James, Greg, Phil, and Ron, each of whom I was probably introduced to. :*)
The organizational mechanics of a trial are almost exactly the same as for a U.S. time-speed-distance road rally. There's pre-registration by mail, then on the day of the event you get a car number and a route sheet. You start on your assigned minute and follow the instructions on the sheet. Since there's only an overall time limit, you don't need to worry about staying exactly on speed, but then you can't afford to waste time, either. Then at the end of the day you meet back at the starting point and turn in your car numbers and have a drink. Results are computed on the spot, but not many people stay to the end. Scoring complexity is similar to that of a TSD rally and takes some time to complete.
The essential ingredient for a classic trial is unpaved English lanes. Surprisingly, from the American viewpoint, there are thousands of miles of public roads in England that are only one lane wide. Furthermore, they are often bordered on both sides by stone walls or high hedges so that visibility is extremely limited. This is a unique part of driving in the U.K. and has to be coped with by everybody--even the access roads to subdivisions and grocery stores may be these tiny lanes. There is a considerable amount of slowing down to peer around corners, backing up to a wide spot to allow overtaking, and generally pokey driving as a result of this road configuration.
In addition, some of these lanes are unpaved. Now, averaged across the whole country I would say that America has many more miles of unpaved roads, because in rural areas across the U.S. there are huge networks of gravel and dirt byways. But these are almost always two lanes wide, and in almost all cases they are level enough to be graded on a fairly regular basis. Except in a few remote mountainous areas like Vermont or Colorado, there are essentially no single-track public roads in the U.S. And none of them have the high walls or hedgerows seen in England.
And, then finally, some of these public lanes go straight up the side
Congratulations Doug on a fine write up, you seem to have picked up on all the finer points of classic trialing, in fact trialing in general. So glad you enjoyed your run with one of the best trial drivers in the country. Stuart Harrold
ReplyDelete