Happy new year and good Trialing in 2002 from the Pop Asylum trials team. We all had a great Exeter with all three of us claiming gold medals and no punctures! hope all that entered had an enjoyable day. By the way, are tyre pressure limits at Simms for class 7&8 a bit cruel or are they necessary?
Well done to you and the guys Clive. I was spectating on Simms for a while and it was pretty difficult. You did well for all three of you to get up. I am sorry I missed you. First it means I didn't get a picture for you. Second I would love to see the TP Pop storm Simms. I remember when John and Adrian built the car. They tried it out on all the local Falcon Trials and Autotests. I guess you know they called it the "Runner Bean". btw - Which route did you take? John TP was a believer in going up the right hand side by the spectators. If you look thru' the photo's you will see that both Adrian TP and John's protoge Simon Robson still stick to this principle. Even if they both failed! Best wishes Michael
ReplyDeleteHello Michael The Runner bean im sorry to say had an engine fault so i borrowed my dads Dutton Mellos which preformed very well. At Simms i have always driven up through the middle. I believe that turning to the right and then turning back onto the main track not only makes the section longer but must knock off valuable speed that is needed to clear the hill. Im sure other people have different views ? Thankyou for looking out for the T.P Pop i hope to have it together soon..
ReplyDeleteWell done Team Pop Asylum on all climbing Simms In reply to your question re tyre pressures on Simms I think they work pretty well on this hill. We've got up it the last three times on hard tyres but not so this year due to a mixture of very slippery surface and c**p technique (complacency creeping in perhaps). In general though, I'm not a great fan of tyre pressure restrictions as some cars do better on say 16psi than others. I know one (heavy and powerful) Class 8 car uses 12 psi where we would normally use about 5 or 6psi in the buggy, for example. Of course technique does come into it as well...
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the digital images chaps. Notice how I stopped on the hills so you got a nice sharp image!! I just wrote a report of the trial but it got sent into the ether as the btinternet line dis-connected itself. I will try again in the next few days.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all those who got up Simms. We were going really well, and fast, but pride comes before a fall and we stopped. I agree that tyre pressure limits seem a bit hard on Simms which would stop most anyhow. It seems to me that if they are to be applies then some of the easier hills would be better candidates and reward good driving and punish the complacent. I too worry about the danger of descending steep sections such as Simms in reverse as it seems this is far and away the most dangerous aspect of trials. With the foot brake, steering is often unavailable and handbrakes may be inadequate or fail, this coupled with the reverse castor makes an excursion of the track or rollover likely. I would suggest that people keep the car in gear as this will give a little extra braking. The other problem is that having failed a section one's mind is not always totally on the ball. All the best Tony
ReplyDeleteWell done Clive and the rest of Pop (Mellos and Escort) Asylum, I'm sure you'll have got the team award with that result. As regards tyre pressures however, the problem I guess is how to otherwise stop Classes 7 and 8. I'm sure a higher restart wouldnt be favoured? As Tony Branson suggested you could have pressure limits on other hills but then they could be too severe for those sections. What I would say though is look at the results when they come out. If I were a betting man, and I can be! I would suggest that there will be more Golds in classes 7 and 8, than the entire lower classes of 1-6 combined. If this is the case then maybe they arent severe enough?? Or maybe to even things out it should be made easier again for the lower classes. But if the organisers go that way then more golds lead to more triples and the challenge becomes somewhat reduced. Just a few thoughts, but I can categorically say that I hope we never have pressure limits for Simms in Class 4! Happy New Year to all, Giles
ReplyDeleteThe one I hate coming back down is Highwood 2 on the Cotswold Clouds. Talk about heart in mouth. Giles - I guess you don't know what I mean because you have never had to bak down Michael
ReplyDeleteUnfortunatly I did not do the Exeter as I was away skiing. But as a class 8 driver talk of tyre pressure limits always interests me, particularly if they are 'reasonable'. That is in the range 10 to 15 p.s.i. rather than the stupid 23 p.s.i. for P.C.T.'s. In fact I rather like 'reasonable' pressure limits as I do not get punctures and not so much time is spent pumping up. I have also noticed that some of the class 8's that have huge wheels do not do so well on 'reasonable' pressures as do my little 165x15 wheels! But, if by using 'reasonable' pressure limits we can use less damaging hills which ALL classes can have a go at without damaging their vehicle I am all in favour, classic trials are not just for us class 8 types. On the recent Exmore Clouds I felt really sorry for those saloons having to cope with the ruts, rocks and general roughness of Port Lane. I have only managed to clean Simms once, in 2001 on pressure limit but I did the hill in early afternoon sunlight, I think time of day and the weather is an important factor in getting up Simms. As a final note its good to see all these newly aquired Trolls comming out again, there are 5 Trolls on the Clee Hill this comming weekend. Billy Goats Gruff will have to huff and puff a bit harder!! Stuart Harrold
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