Malc Graham / Charlie Woodward - Highwayman Rally - SD34 ...

Spotlight On Malc Graham (4). Pg. 12. Spotlight On Malc Graham (5). Pg. 13. SD34 MSG Championship Tables. Pg. 14. SD34 MSG Marshals Championship.

Malc Graham / Charlie Woodward - Highwayman Rally

Chairmans Chat

This summer’s major topic is obviously the weather so I might as well chip in something about it but for one case it’s not what you would expect. We headed up to Greystoke Forest on the 8th July for the single venue rally fully prepared for the anticipated rain and mud but the problems were neither of these. The day was dry and got warmer as it went on so the problems were the dreaded midges, as there was little wind, and the dust, yes dust not mud, and that also hung around after each car passed. I’ve never seen so many cars finish a forest rally so clean apart from, of course, those that had visited the odd ditch. It was great to see Malcolm Wilson running as a course car in an immaculate Escort MkII until sadly sidelined by a broken halfshaft mid afternoon. In total contrast I have recently seen some photo’s of the devastation caused to the Gribun road on the Isle of Mull as a result of flash flooding. I believe several bridges and parts of the road were either washed away or severely damaged and so the first thought was for the sections used on the Mull Rally and the impact on the event but given that this is only this road in the area it will need to be repaired to allow normality to return for the locals and thus hopefully the event will not suffer. It’s very disappointing that the Group B Stage Rally planned for the August Bank Holiday weekend has been postponed due to lack of suitable venues, let’s hope the organisers can sort out enough venues as the event will be eagerly awaited by those who remember Group B rallying. Best regards, Les Fragle, Chairman & Secretary, SD(34) Motor Sport Group

Contents

Front Cover: Malc Graham & Charlie Woodward Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg. Pg.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Chairmans Chat Member Club Contacts More SD34MSG Contacts Around the Clubs (1) Around the Clubs (2) Around the Clubs (3) Spotlight On Malc Graham (1) Spotlight On Malc Graham (2) Spotlight On Malc Graham (3) Spotlight On Malc Graham (4) Spotlight On Malc Graham (5) SD34 MSG Championship Tables SD34 MSG Marshals Championship SD34MSG Championships Rounds Championships Registration Form JRT Enville Stages Turnbull Trophy Rally (1) Turnbull Trophy Rally (2) John Overend Memorial Rally Nicky Grist Stages Rally (1) Nicky Grist Stages Rally (2) Lake District Classic Rally Morecambe Rally (1) Morecambe Rally (2) Gareth Hall Memorial Rally PK Memorial Rally More Georgia (Knockhill, Crail & Kames) Formula Ford (1) Formula Ford (2) Formula Ford (3) Formula Ford (4) CSC Spa Summer Classic The ‘Barrow Taxi’ Grumpy Old Git Out & About with Gemini WRC Rally New Zealand (1) WRC Rally New Zealand (2) MSA News (1) MSA News (2) MSA News (3) Odds Sods & Bodkins (1) Odds Sods & Bodkins (2) Odds Sods & Bodkins (3) Odds Sods & Bodkins (4) Odds Sods & Bodkins (5) Forthcoming Events (1) Forthcoming Events (2) Forthcoming Events (3) Forthcoming Events (4) And Finally

Gazzard Accounts

33 Acresfield Road, Middleton, Manchester. M24 2WT

0161 643 0151 or 07973-816965 email : [emailprotected]

SD34MSG - Member Clubs & contact details Accrington MSC Contact Email Tel. Website

: David Barratt : [emailprotected] : 01254-384127 : www.accrington-msc.org

Bolton-le-Moors MC

Contact : Peter Sharples Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01772-626116 Website : www.bolton-le-moorscarclub.co.uk

Bury AC

Contact : Matthew Field Email : [emailprotected] Tel : 01772-465716

CSMA (NW)

Contact : Steve Johnson Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01254-392663 : 07718 051 882

Clitheroe & DMC

Contact : Terry Martin Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01254-249796 : 07816-184539 Website : www.cdmconline.com

Fylde MSC

Contact : David Grady Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07957-642855 Website : www.fyldemotorsportclub.co.uk

Garstang & Preston MC

Contact : Margaret Duckworth Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01772-700823 Website : www.gpmc.co.uk

High Moor MC

Contact : Gary Heslop Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 0161-6430151 : 07973-816965 Website : www.hmmc.co.uk

Lancaster MC

Contact : C.Paskin Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07528-704105 Website : www.lancastermotorclub.com

Lancs & Cheshire CC

Contact : David Bailey Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 0161-2919065 Website : www.lancashireandcheshirecarclub.co.uk

Lightning MSC

Contact : Andy Rhodes Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01772-632820

Manx AS

Contact : Chris Woodcock Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07973-830695 Website : www.manxautosport.org

Motorsport (NW) Ltd

Contact : Mark Wilkinson Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07878-657580 Website : www.nwstages.co.uk (Details of Member Clubs of Motorsport (NW) on pg 4)

Mull CC

Contact : Chris Woodcock Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07973-830695 Website : www.mullcarclub.co.uk

Pendle & DMC

Contact : Ray Duckworth Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01282-812551 Website : www.pendledistrictmc.co.uk

Stockport061MC

Contact : Mark Wilkinson Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07879-657580 Website : www.stockport061.co.uk

Wallasey MC

Contact : Tony King Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07989-616546 Website : www.wallaseymc.com

Warrington & DMC

Contact : Ann McCormack Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 01928-710546 Website : www.warringtondmc.org

Wigan & DMC

Contact : Simon Hunter Email : [emailprotected] Tel. : 07773-270509 Website : www.wiganmotorclub.org.uk

2300 Club

Contact : Neil Molyneux Email : [emailprotected] Website : www.2300club.org

LIMITED

Comprising the following Clubs Blackpool South Shore Motor Club www.bssmc.com

Contacts President :

Alan Shaw

Chairman Secretary League Compiler Individual Compiler Vice Chairman : Treasurer : Road Rally :

Knutsford & District Motor Club

[emailprotected] 01995-672230

Graham Bray

0161-7969079 [emailprotected]

Eve Fisher

www.hmmc.co.uk

www.knutsfordmotorclub.co.uk

Lancashire & Cheshire Car Club

www.lancashireandcheshirecarclub.co.uk

Stockport 061 Motor Club www.stockport061.co.uk

[emailprotected] 0161-7666950

Warrington & District Motor Club

Matthew Field

Wallasey Motor Club

[emailprotected] 01772 465716

David Barratt

Marshals :

Ann McCormack

[emailprotected] 01254-681350

[emailprotected] 01254-384127 [emailprotected]

01928-710546

Margaret Duckworth

[emailprotected] 01772-700823

www.sd34msg.org Steve Butler

[emailprotected]

Radios :

www.eromc.co.uk

Les Fragle

OTR :

Newsletter :

Ecurie Royal Oak Motor Club High Moor Motor Club

Chris Woodcock

Website :

www.chestermotorclub.co.uk

[emailprotected] 01282-613321

Stage Rally :

Registrations :

Chester Motor Club

Maurice Ellison

[emailprotected] 07788-723721 01524-735488

Bill Wilmer

Approved MSA Radio Co-ordinator Gemini Communications 07973-830705 [emailprotected]

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors, and not necessarily those of the editor or the committee of the SD 34 MSG

www.warringtondmc.org

www.wallaseymc.com

Website : www.nwstages.co.uk

Mark Wilkinson - [emailprotected]

ADVERTISING

in the ‘SPOTLIGHT’

1/4 page (ish - we are very flexible) advert for a full 12 issues (1 year) costs just £50 Sent to all 20 member clubs and then

forwarded to club members + another 4000+ on

the distribution list (20 X 100 + 4000 = 7000+ readers) All advertising revenue helps to fund SD34MSG Contact either Les Fragle, Maurice Ellison or Steve Johnson for more details

Steve Johnson

07718 051 882

[emailprotected]

01995-672230

[emailprotected]

07788-723721

[emailprotected]

Les Fragle

Maurice Ellison

WANTED

YOUR Clubs:-

News, Views, Reviews, Club Profiles, Events, Birthdays, Anniversaries. Club Nights Send to : Maurice Ellison [emailprotected] 07788-723721

WALLASEY MC

Inter-Club Table Top Rally Series

The Club Meets at 9-00pm Every Monday Port Sunlight Village Social Club Bridge St, Port Sunlight CH62 4UP

2012 Three Castles Welsh Classic Trial

A group of nine members from Wallasey Motor Club were marshalling on a test at Gyrn Castle in North Wales on the last day of this year’s tenth anniversary Three Castles Classic Trial. Having been nominated as test commander, I was a little nervous before the event that not enough marshals would arrive but with Neil Evans’ chasing and a start crew organised by Dave Thomas, there were enough bodies on the day. Initially, I think, people were a little disappointed with how short & comparatively simple the test appeared to be. However, despite the early start, it turned into an interesting morning’s motorsport with a variety of classic cars and varying levels of commitment from the crews. Surprisingly, the rain we were all expecting held off and we managed to stay dry which was a bonus. After some instruction on the Liege clocks from the clock car, Gary, Neil & Jon took up position at the stop line. The cars ranged from 30’s sports & tourers to early 80’s saloons & sports cars. There was a wide variety of makes including Alvis, Austin-Healey, Bristol, Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes, Morgan, and Porsche. Steve & CJ were monitoring the “garage” (C) manoeuvre which several competitors managed to miss completely! The rest of us were split between the slalom (B) and a stop line (A), noting any crew who failed to negotiate the manoeuvres successfully. Whilst not as dramatic or technically sophisticated as rallying, the variety of cars and driving techniques on this trial made it interesting. And we finished in time for a lunchtime pint.....

Tony King

(Wallasey MC)

Competitor

Club

Rd Rd Rd Rd Tot 1 2 3 4

Terry Martin

CDMC

Mark Shepherd

G&PMC

Terry May

G&PMC

Steve Butler

CDMC

JamesGardner

CDMC

Matt Worden

CDMC

Dion Wild

CDMC

Kris Coombes

G&PMC

Dave Nolan

G&PMC

Jason Bleakley

G&PMC

Jem Dale

G&PMC

Myles Dale

G&PMC

Heidi Woodcock

CDMC

Maurice Ellison

LMC

Paul Buckel

CDMC

Mark Byrne

G&PMC

Tom Byrne

G&PMC

Alan Barnes

G&PMC

Ian Farnworth

G&PMC

Steve Lewis

CDMC

Chris Day

CDMC

Martin

CDMC

Nigel Worswick

CDMC

Phil Scholes

CDMC

James

CDMC

10 10

10 9

6 6

NEXT ROUND (Round 3)

Tuesday August the 7th Waddington (Again) 8-30 Map

We would like to see more teams from other clubs within the SD34MSG organisation at future events Can you beat Terry, Mark or Steve ?

Next General Meeting

Monday 13th August

Tofts Cricket Club, Booths Hall, Chelford Rd., Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8OP

ANCC

22nd October

Delegates Meeting Whitcliffe Hotel Cleckheaton (Map ref. 104/186255).

Clubnight—Tuesday July 17th -

Matt Griffin

CLITHEROE & DMC The Club Meets at 8-30pm Every Tuesday

at Waddington Sports & Social Club Waddington, Nr Clitheroe Website : www.cdmconline.com

Ford RallyAcad 2003

Bulldog 2008

CLUBNIGHT Tuesday 26th June

Nigel Worswick Sol Rally Barbados

Nigel entertained the Members of Clitheroe & DMC with tales from the rally

Matt was taken to Motorsporrt events at the tender age of 3 monrths by two keen parents. He started racing Go Karts when he was11 yr old. His 1st venture into Rallying was the 2008 Wydean Stages in a Nissan Micra and he contested the F1000 Junior Championship. The following year he moved into the Rallyschool VW Lupo to have a crack at the BTRDA series. He funds his Motorsport by working full time and then helping at Rallyschool at weekends whilst also gaining valuable experience

Clubnight—Tuesday July 24th

Dave Watkins & his Allied Polymer MkII

+ Replica Lancia Beta Type 37

August Clubnights 7th August 14th August 21st August 28th August Following Nigels talk - Terry Martin presented him with the ceramic Rabbit (above) - The significance of this rabbit was then explained - however if you want to know more - you will need to ask Nigel - far too complicated for me !

Inter-Club Table Top Rally (CofC Steve Butler) Committee Night TEGSport with Arron Newby & Martyn Taylor TBA

Lancashire & Cheshire Car Club

Lancashire & Cheshire Car Club Meets at 8-30pm on the 2nd Thursday of each Month at the Roebuck Pub M41 6HD

1 & 2 September - Ty Croes Weekend Sprint

A great weekend at the challenging circuit on Anglesey. Marshals needed for one or two days, on or off track. Good camping facilities and local B&Bs. Cash contribution per day towards expenses, plus gift and free cash draw. Contact Martin Nield on 0161 980 8509 or Chief Marshal, see website www.ty-croes.com

23 24

September Chairman's Challenge Autotest

Demon Tweeks, Near Wrexham. This makes an interesting Sunday out watching close up as cars manoeuvre their tests against the clock. Martin Nield 0161-980-8509 25

September - Passion for Power, Event City

A different sort of 'marshalling' but really vital as we share our sport with members of the public. This is a new and interesting show and volunteers are needed to man the club display stand: Saturday and/ or Sunday manning the stand. Shifts on rota system to allow marshals to visit the show and/or the Trafford Centre. Competitors who bring competition cars for the display may qualify for marshalling points, please check. All queries, contact S Nield 0161 980 8509

The Club Meets at 8pm onwards Every Second Thursday @ High Lane Conservative Club, 23 Buxton Rd., High Lane, Stockport SK68DR The 4th Thurs of the month is an ‘Away’ event

Date

Event

Organiser

Venue

09/08/12

DVD

23/08/12

Members' Cars

13/09/12

Table Top

HLCC

27/09/12

Karting

Swains, Buxton

11/10/12

Quiz

HLCC

25/10/12

On the Road Event

08/11/12

Guest Speaker

22/11/12

On the Road Event

13/12/12

Game

HLCC

SD34MSG Meeting

Wednesday 19th September (3rd Wednesday of every other month)

8-00pm Hartwood Hall Hotel, Chorley. Just off M61 at J8 109 / 583 181

WARRINGTON & DMC Warrington & District Motor Club has it's meeting place as ''The Antrobus Arms'' on the A559 between Warrington & Northwich. CW9 6JD. We meet every

Lancaster MC

meet at the Scale Hall Hotel, Morecambe Rd, Lancaster (Next to Aldi !!) on the 1st Thursday of the Month at 8pm

Navigation Classes

Start Thursday 16th August 8-00pm

Venue - Scale Hall Hotel, Morecambe Rd, Lancaster. You will need Map 97, a romer, pencil & rubber If you dont have a map, or romer then a few spares will be available Starting with very basic and relatively simple navigation but leading on (in the weeks to come) to the more complex. Classes will include timing, P&B, Pace Notes etc. etc Classes every third Thursday of the Month We aim to put the theory into practice by running a ‘Navigational Exercise’ to put the lessons to the test.

Meet at the The Delph Tavern, Tontine, Orrell WN5 8UJ every second & fourth Monday of the month

Bolton-le-Moors MC

The Club Meets at 9-00pm very Thursday @ Horwich RMI Club, Chorley New Rd, Horwich. M/R109/639 111

Fylde MSC

Meet at the The Victoria Hotel, Cleveleys On the first Thursday of the month

Garstang & Preston MC Meet at 8-30pm Every Tuesday at the Lonsdale Club, Fulwood Hall Ln, Fulwood, Preston PR2 8BD

SPOTLIGHT ON ‘Malc Graham’

Photographs & Quotes Front Cover - Malc with Charlie Woodward on the Highwayman Rally in Yorkshire. The car is the ex-works recce

car as used by Timo Salonen and Tony Pond among others, prepared by Andy Dawson and bought for Malc's use by his good friend David Taylor. Malc and Charlie were leading at petrol, then Charlie wrong-slotted Malc into a field in the second half and they dropped down to fourth. "I beat him up", laughs Malc looking back. "But we remain the best of friends."

Photo above - Malc and Charlie in Malc's Datsun 160JSS, sponsored by Taylor's. A cracking car. On one

particular rally on which they finished fourth overall, the Glanfield Lawrence Rally, run in Lancashire and Cumbria, they wore out their front brake pads with 30 miles to go. With the daunting Hardknott and Wrynose passes still to negotiate, Charlie Woodward, with his usual dry sense of humour, reassured Malc that they would get to the finish okay, saying: "At least they won't fade any more!" D.O.B. - 02/05/1943 - Audenshaw. Married to Jean for 48 years, retired baker and confectioner, member of Springhill Motorsport Club (Accrington) INVOLVED IN MOTORSPORT:- I always loved cars and could name every car on our roads from the age of 5. My dad bought me a years’ subscription to “Motor” magazine and I was utterly consumed by the reports and in particular to the pictures of rally cars in some far away countries, all travel stained and full of spotlights. They told their own stories, the danger, the adventure of it all, just two men, one car, and as far as I could tell - on unknown roads. This was going to be my future sport without doubt. My chance came when I reached the age of 18. I had been driving for a year in a new Morris Mini and my mother had just changed it for a Triumph Herald coupe as a reward for joining the family bakery business. She never saw the Mini as a proper car, it’ll never catch on she would say. One of our Saturday morning customers, a Jack Whittaker by name, used to park outside the shop in his Austin Cambridge and it sported 3 spotlights on the front and a large reversing lamp on the rear accompanied by a sticker which contained the words Springhill Car Club Accrington. It had to be a rally car especially when I noticed the absence of hubcaps, I asked, and I was right, and furthermore there was a rally the following day. Jack sent me to an address in Willows Lane which belonged to the club’s secretary, there I joined the club and filled in an entry form for my first event, the navigator was to be my 17 years old girlfriend Jean. (Continued Pg 9)

SPOTLIGHT ON ‘Malc Graham’ Continued from page 8

Photograph & Quote

The crazed look on Malc's face says it all about this picture, taken at Warton Aerodrome near Blackpool on a special stage practise day. Malc was sitting in with driver Brian Hacking. If you look closely you can see that the passenger door won't shut and Malc says of the experience: "Practise day? Brian sure needed it!" I was totally besides myself with excitement, but, what to wear? How do I prepare the car for the gruelling rally I was about to embark upon. Clothes were taken care of at our local Greenwoods Menswear Shop. A sports jacket with leather patches on the elbows, a checked shirt, lovat green trousers and a matching cravat, well you have to look the part. The car was prepared by a good polish, tape in a cross pattern on the headlights and a novice cross on the rear. Superb stuff!!!! We definitely must have looked the part as we were seeded at No.1. We were given our instructions as we left the start line and I was bitterly disappointed to see the words “ANNUAL TREASURE HUNT” written across the top. It might be a treasure hunt to the other competitors, but to me it was a full blown international rally. After stalling twice as the marshall flagged us away, we left quite smoothly in a cloud of blue tyresmoke and we were flat out up the main road(we were on the outskirts of Accrington) I saw a police car in a layby but carried on without slowing one bit “He won’t do us, he’ll know we are on a rally” I said. How wrong can you be. He chased us for about a mile, and to his credit seemed to understand my misguided enthusiasm, and gave me a strict caution. Whilst this ticking off was taking place the other competitors trundled past looking for clues. That’s how you do it, the policeman explained. Oh no it isn’t I thought, when is the first all-nighter? Then we sulkily headed for home. 1st ALL NIGHTER:- A few weeks after my ill-fated treasure hunt, Jean & I entered a CDMC night rally. We had been given navigational lessons by the club chairman, Ted Metcalfe and his navigator Arnold Yardley, two really nice blokes and very experienced. They showed us how to plot 6 figure map references on the O.S maps and draw the route in. Jean worked in the office at E.J. Rileys and everywhere they had installed snooker tables they stuck a coloured drawing pin in a map of the country. Therefore, if Jean stuck a colour coded pin into the map of the route at the carefully plotted spots it would be quicker and look more professional. Well, it certainly looked nice until we arrived at the 3rd or 4th corner on the 1st “doing section” the Triumph Herald pitched up and down and side to side, opposite lock was vigorously applied, the map board finished up on my knee, minus pins. We did try to locate the pin holes all to no avail. We then drove down a few muddy lanes to achieve that all important well travelled look and once again headed for home vowing that the engagement was off etc. etc. MOST FRIGHTENING MOMENT:-The rally was “The Cossack Rally” sponsored by Roger Clark’s hairspray company. I think it was organised by Beverley & District motor club. The format was very interesting being made up of 60 stage miles on airfields and army tank testing grounds, starting at about 6.00pm on the Saturday evening, 100 miles of road rallying starting at midnight and then a further few stages on the same airfields early morning. Brilliant format! The first couple of stages were fantastic after Charlie Woodward and myself had got used to racing with other cars, some on lap one and others lap two, having set off at 30 sec intervals. Our Datsun Violet was causing concern and we experienced oil surge for the first time on the very fast open corners. A baffled sump came shortly after and completely cured the problem. We then moved on to an army camp and I saw these hills in the distance, they were sandy looking and triangular in shape with a sharp peak at the top. As we completed one of the stages Charlie mentioned that as we approached these peaky things, that were once quite small from a distance, were now very tall indeed and furthermore there were roads over them. Surely not, cars can’t go over them, after all they are designed to test tanks and all things military, just then the first car was hurtling up this mountain, took off at the top, landed many yards over the other side and carried on unabated. Very shortly it would be my turn and even though none of the other drivers around me even mentioned the forthcoming daunting task, I was bricking it. We started the stage, the world’s biggest yumps were a good mile in and the roads leading to them were very slippery and still very fast, concentration and reading the road ahead was of vital importance, when there in the distance there it was - a steep flat out climb upwards into outer space. My legs had turned to jelly and I got that nasty taste in my mouth when you are really afraid, “FLAT” shouted Charlie sensing that I was about to back off. Did I back off? Did I Hell, which shows what a wonderful thing adrenalin is and that coupled with the heat of competition and the will to win can do for you. The sense of relief when we had completed the stage was indescribable and the fact that we had taken 3rd fastest time was even better. That thought of aiming the car’s bonnet into the unknown has been with me ever since., until a few weeks ago when my son-in-law Steven asked me to accompany him on a 4X4 course, there were so many blind summits to negotiate, our instructor gently talked me over them, because if I hadn’t I would have to have gone home very early. It seems strange that yumping was part and parcel of every rally I have done without a care, anyway I have now conquered that fear and happily I have no more. (Continued Pg 10)

SPOTLIGHT ON ‘Malc Graham’ Continued from page 9

Photographs & Quotes Top Right

Sideways to victory. Malc in full sideways flow in the original 693 GOB on the Cossack Rally, run in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It involved 50 miles of night -time stages, then 100 miles of road rallying tests, and a fuerther 50 miles of dayl;ight stages on the Sunday morning. "It was brilliant," remembers Malc. "We went through nine tyres and finished ninth overall out of 120 starters. Excellent."

Bottom

Malc proudly claims he was the first person to win a rally in a Ford Capri. Here he is in his three-litre beast with a familar face, Dave Orrick, on the maps.

BIGGEST ACCIDENT:- The rally was the Tour of

Mull, probably in 1984. My ex-factory Datsun 160J SSS coupe had been prepared by Andy Dawson to a very high standard, with new forest tyres, slicks, intermediate racers and professionally made pace notes. The weather was horrendous, raining horizontally throughout the entire weekend. We completed the forest section almost a minute down on the quickest crew and that was slow enough to put us in 20th place. “NOT GOOD” Charlie said, but we’ll catch up in two stages tonight! Ever the optimist was my Charlie. The night came and we set off on the lst stage brimming with confidence, determined to get nearer the front runners. We did exactly that, but not without a few heart stopping moments. Expertly reading the pace notes Charlie would shout “flat over crest-200” I was flat out but on landing I found that we were putting two wheels on the grass. Well if that was what you had to do in order to win, then that was what I would do. Halfway through the night the command came and I can still hear Charlie’s voice shouting “FLAT 300” There were to be no more commands that night. I am sure we had covered no more than a couple of feet when we were airborne, probably towards the next island. The road had long since disappeared and we were truly flying, gaining altitude by the second. Something had to intervene, and it did, a very tall and solid telegraph pole, having been slowed initially by the support wires. Somebody later measured our red paint on the nasty pole some 17’6” up. We immediately began our descent and landed in a peat bog which was obligingly very soft and we were up to the doors in mud, made even more uncomfortable by the incessant wind and rain. When I had stopped the windscreen wipers which had been wiping our faces in the absence of a windscreen, Charlie cooly said “I think we’ll call it a do, eh?” BEST EVENT:- I have absolutely loved nearly every single rally on which I have competed, so I have chosen for these purposes the first event I ever won - CDMC’s Clitheronian in about 1974 some 15 years since I did my first rally, and the same night that the famous RED RUM won his second or third race at Aintree. My navigator for the rally was one Dave Orrick, whom I had done several events with in the preceeding months and had managed a few 2nd, 3rd, & 4th places, confidence was growing. The car was a big, black, beautiful 3 litre CAPRI, which many people felt would be non-competitive and too difficult to drive in order to reach that coveted first place. The night was damp but clear and I think we were seeded just behind John Morton/Alan Birchall. Rumours had been rife the week before concerning the route, which several crews seemingly had access to! As we departed the Edisford Bridge car park we were handed an amendment to the early part of the route. We arrived at an early control, which was part of the amended route and enquired what time had John booked in, and we were absolutely delighted when we were informed that he had not yet arrived. He never did! After that it was a nervy and difficult drive with our main opposition gone, but still many capable crews out there. We were trying hard but attempting not to put a wheel wrong especially through the foggy sections which was not easy. Dave did a wonderful job in guiding me through the muddy lanes and importantly judging the speed at which to drive to ensure victory. At the finish it seemed to take forever to calculate the results, then Clerk of Course Ron Graham (no relation) quietly whispered in my ear that we had won! “PHEW”! When I did my first event I had already prepared my winning speech, when it came 15 years on I was so full of emotion I could not say a word. How everyone laughed! My eternal thanks to CDMC and Dave Orrick.

(Continued Page 11)

SPOTLIGHT ON ‘Malc Graham’ Continued from page 10

Photograph & Quote

Eat your heart out Hannu Mikkola! Malc had a chance to use his rally car as a course opening car on the Knowsley Safari Park stage of the Lombard RAC Rally in 1979. Malc scorched round in a time of 5 minutes 31 seconds while Hannu, in a works Ford Escort, was three seconds slower!

RALLY HERO:- I have had many heroes over the

years including John Sprinzel, Timo Makinen, Paddy Hopkirk, Hannau Mikkola, Roger Clark, Tony Pond, Ron Beecroft, Bob Bean, Richard Burns and many more, but the stand out for me was Stig Blomquist. I don’t really know why either as all the works drivers were exceptionally gifted in their work. I followed his career with great interest and he was one of the few who was equally at home on the loose or on tarmac, a rare talent I think and his ability to manage an ailing car to the finish was brilliant. Imagine my delight when I was lucky enough to share the stage with him on a forum at a SD34 prize presentation. He was everything that I wanted him to be, humble, charming and best of all he laughed at all my stories. What a night, what a memory!! FUNNIEST MOMENT:- Charlie and I were sat on the start line on the Tour of Mull feeling all important and not a little famous. Tobermory was packed with islanders and rally spectators alike. Our Datsun had attracted many admirers and I had spent the last part of an hour telling interested people about the car and signing autographs - it could only happen on Mull, probably the best rally in the world - Ian Grinrod always says. Fred Bent from Morecambe CC was doing the commenting and he said “Next up we have Mal Graham and Charlie Woodward, Mal has done for rallying what Cyril Smith has done for hang gliding!” What an ego deflater I felt initially and then we started to laugh uncontrollably and I have been laughing ever since, To young people who don’t know - Cyril was a 30stone MP for Rochdale at that time. BIGGEST INFLUENCE:- This has to be Andy Dawson from Dawson Auto Developments or D.A.D. as his motor engineering and competition car preparation company is called. When I acquired my first Datsun, Dave Orrick knew Andy who was running the Datsun works cars under the title of Team Datsun Europe. Big stuff. He contacted Andy at his premises in London and asked if he would make my standard car into a rally car, he told Dave, tell him to give me a ring. It took me a week to pluck up the courage to make that call, after all he was a well-known and well respected man in racing and rallying and a very capable driver to boot. The conversation went well as he was easy to talk to and seriously knew his stuff. I was chuffed as a chocolate frog that such a man as he was already aware of me after reading reports in the Motoring News etc., and how I had a reputation for immaculately prepared cars. WOW! Taking the car to LANCASTER MEWS in London was an adventure in itself. Neither Charlie or me had ever driven to London before and as we went in 2 cars, trying to stick close together was a daunting prospect. Easier than we thought, we found his fantastic workshop, it was beautiful, tiled walls, tiled floors, tools, equipment, and the cars undergoing various stages of preparation, all pristine. Soon my car would be amongst them. I already had an LSD and Minilite wheels which were already on the car - good start that, Andy told me, give me a ring in two weeks time. We came home excited as two little boys would have been, then the worry came as the words “money” as costs had never been mentioned. After an anxious two weeks passed, I rang him up. Amazingly he told me that it was ready, that it looked beautiful, it went well, it handled well and it sounded perfect on its twin webers. We went to collect the car on a Saturday afternoon, it was in his yard amongst a variety of race and rally cars and it definitely looked the part, it sat squat and looked purposeful. Andy came out to greet us and started it up, it sounded distinctive and full of power, in fact, it was amazing. He then put me at ease about the cost of it all by telling me not to worry as he knew we had no major sponsor to foot the bill. He was right as the total was £535.00. What a bloke to look after a poor baker in such a generous manner. The car was everything that I had wished for and a lot more besides.That was the start of many years of rallying bliss and friendship with both Andy and his wife Vicki. One day Andy and I were out on the rally track at Silverstone, where he had relocated from London and he asked “why do you go down through the gears when approaching a corner?” “To slow down for the corner of course, slow in, fast out” The reply came that the latter part was right but the former was wrong. He reasoned that you don’t need to slow down for the corners until you get to them, keep it flat, use your brakes and then select a gear that is appropriate for that particular corner. Try it, it works well. That and many other tips were shared with me and they were all right. A BIG INFLUENCE - YOU BET! BIGGEST REGRET:- I was chairman of SHMSC for over 30 years and for a few years Colin Welsh was my secretary. I never ever thought of claiming any sort of monetary recompense for anything to do with the club, Clerk of Course work for at least 10 Ribble rallies, PR’ing, driving the course car, etc, etc. He worked in an office and claimed expenses for everything, pens, rubbers, maps, paper clips, diaries, romers, in fact everything. He was very efficient but I wish someone else had volunteered for the job.

Continued on page 12

SPOTLIGHT ON ‘Malc Graham’ - Continued from page 11 MOST HELP FROM;- This is the hardest question of the whole piece. There have been so many willing helpers

over the years, I could fill an entire book with them. In the early years it was my best friend Roy Whittaker who was an excellent mechanic and in subsequent years a garage owner. He would work tirelessly on my cars and made sure they were safe for me to drive, all without charge. Our club was full of mechanics and I was never without help when needed. When I got my 3 litre Capri I bought and L.S.D and it was a specialist job to fit it, not one a local garage would attempt to fit. Steve Binns was a member of our club and worked at Skippers of Burnley, Ford dealers. He volunteered to fit it for a couple of pints for him and his brother Eric. They turned up at our first shop in Accrington at 11.20 am one Sunday morning with only our back yard to work in. There goes my Sunday lunchtime pint in the pub across the road I thought. How wrong can you be! We were hands washed and waiting for the pub to open at 11.55 am. Brilliant! My biggest helper was long time friend David Taylor who was the owner of Accrington’s first Datsun dealers. He was really pleased when I sold the Capri and bought a 160J SSS coupe from him and he gave me lots of help with the car, spares, etc. He was also delighted with the success we had in the car which impressed his customers who had read reports of events in the local paper. Even some of our customers bought cars off him with comments like “If the car is good enough for you to rally, it must be good enough for me to take my wife to ASDA”. One day he called me to his office and to my delight informed me that he had contacted Andy Dawson, and had negotiated a deal to buy me a factory recce car that Timo Salonen and Tony Pond used for practise. It would be registered in my name and he would help maintain it as far as his mechanics were capable.. Sadly that last bit didn’t amount to much, but the car was collected and loved and cherished for several years after. Thankyou seems such a small word when so much gratitude is felt by me - THANK YOU anyway DAVE. AMBITIONS FOR FUTURE:- This is easy! I would like to get rid of all my doctors and hospital appointments, not to mention a cart load of pills I have to take every day! On paper, I am a physical wreck, in real life, apart from a husky voice I feel perfect and no symptoms of what is wrong with me any kind and am still as “fit as a butchers dog.” IF I WAS STARTING AGAIN:- Get rid of my secretary Colin Welsh! CHAMPIONSHIPS:- NONE!! Everyone who asks this question is surprised by my negative answer. The reason being is that I loved rallying too much to concentrate on one championship. There were many rallies all over the country that I just had to do. Fifteen or twelve rallies a year just weren’t enough. For instance, one year I was placed 2nd on 36 events! Major championships in those days were serious affairs, and it was commonplace for all the top crews to book into hotels close to the start venue of the rally, usually from Thursday night onwards, and using that event’s routes from previous years, practise and make pace notes. To get in amongst them wasn’t easy. TO BE THERE was impossible for me with my business and the shop’s muffins, pies and cakes would not happen without me. ADVICE TO NEWCOMERS TO THE SPORT:- Very few of us have access to unlimited funds, therefore we have to work out how we actually are on competing at any level we choose. Typically none of us can afford all the things we would like in life, such as a nice road car, a nice big house, nice holidays, etc., so if we want it badly enough you can buy cheaper versions of all of these things and get that rally car. Do it whilst you are young enough and eventually you should be able to get your nice things back as well. It’s a bad thing to go through life wishing you had done something and not done it. WE ONLY GET ONE SHOT AT IT!!!!! LAST BUT NOT LEAST - FAVOURITE CAR:- Any Aston Martin, except DBS. I just love them and always have, probably never own one as then the dream will be over!!!!

The 'One & Only' Malc Graham

I have known Malc Graham for 55years. We went to the same school and he was in the same year as my cousin Laurence Brennand. When I got interested in Motorsport I joined Spring Hill Car Club and Malc was the Chairman. I joined the SHCC committee, was Cof C on Autotests and stages rallies for SHMSC. I have PR'd his Ribble Rally Routes, been Chief Marshal, done the results and also Navigated for him on a couple of occassions and I was a member of SHMSC for 28 years. Malc is my sons God Father. He has been to many parties at most of the houses I have lived in. He was at my Wedding. We support (or used to support) the same football team. We sat in the Blackburn End - not far from each other and chatted at every home game. We have been to away matches together. Do I get a mention in the above article - NOT A WORD - All he does is complain about his 'Best Mate' and secretary Colin (Why Aye Mon) Welsh (Colin was from Newcastle-upon-Tyne) But does'n't he tell a cracking yarn ! LOL Mo (the deflated and forgotten one - All say Ahhhh !!)

2012 Championship Tables Stage Rally Championship

Road Rally Championship Following G&PMC Memorial Rally

Following Enville Stages - Anglesey

Last updated 22nd July 2012 Following Morecambe Rally

Last updated 18th July 2012

O/A

Driver

pts Class Club

1 2 3 4 = 5 = 5 = 7 = 7 9 = 10 = 10

Steve Quigley Ian Savage Garry Jakeman Steve Johnson Michael Judson Steve Lewis Graham Chesters Ross Miller Peter Jackson Keith Dowthwaite John Gorton

81 80 79 52 27 27 26 26 26 0 0

O/A

Co-Driver

pts Class Club

1 2 = 3 = 3 = 3 = 3 = 7 = 7 = 9 = 9 11

Garry Heslop Terry Martin Paula Swinscoe Steve Butler Matthew Jakeman Niel Bye Heidi Woodcock Paul Blanchard Ian Raynor Bradley Johnson Tony King

C D B A C D B C D C D

108 82 52 52 52 52 27 27 26 26 0

D C D A B D C B D C

CDMC HMMC HMMC CSMA CDMC CDMC GPMC CDMC GPMC Wall MC CDMC HMMC CDMC CDMC CSMA HMMC BLMCC CDMC CDMC CDMC CDMC Wall MC

Non Race/Rally Championship Last updated 16th July 2012 - Following Knutsford A/T Asolo

O/A DRIVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

pts Events

Steve Mather Steve Johnson Steve Kennell Steve Lewis Steve Price Hazel Johnson David Goodlad Charles Andrews

61.52 60.64 49.17 47.84 46.37 29.36 18.50 18.20

(6) (6) (5) (5) (5) (3) (2) (2)

Club BLMCC CSMA CDMC CDMC BLMCC CDMC BLMCC Lanc MC

O/A

Driver

pts

Club

1 2 = 3 = 3 5 6 = 7 8 = 9 = 9 11 12 13

Simon Boardman Pete (James) Tyson Pete Jagger Steve Hudson Andy Ritchie Paul Buckel Robert McClean Paul Brereton Charles Andrews Dion Wild Martin Whittaker John Byram Paul Redford

38 30 28 28 23 17 14 11 9 9 9 8 7

CDMC Lanc MC BLMCC GPMC Lanc MC CDMC G&PMC Lanc MC Lanc MC CDMC CDMC Lanc MC CDMC

O/A

Navigator

pts

Club

Maurice Ellison Alan Barnes Tom Byrne Steve Butler Chris Paskin Susan McClean Terry Martin Ian Rayner Mathew Worden

35 34 24 17 10 9 9 0 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 6 8 8

= = = =

Lanc MC G&PMC G&PMC CDMC Lanc MC G&PMC CDMC CDMC CDMC

NB - Change of Date & Confirmation that the Countdown is definitely going to run this year 8th/9th September (1 week later than normal) Lancaster MC's Black Sheep Rally - 17/18 November will now be a Clubman event Still an SD34MSG Road Rally Championship Round

Individual Championship Following G&PMC Memorial Rally Last updated 3rd July 2012 2012

DOES YOUR EVENT REQUIRE RADIO SAFETY CREWS Contact

Gemini Communications Bill Wilmer 07973-830705 [emailprotected]

O/A

Competitor

pts

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Steve Johnson Stephen Mather Steve Price Gary Heslop Steve Butler Gary Jakeman Maurice Ellison Paul Buckel

65 53 33 28 26 22 15 8

Club CSMA CDMC CDMC HMMC CDMC HMMC LMC CDMC

Manx AC

SD34MSG

MARSHALS CHAMPIONSHIP

Motorsport NW Ltd.

Last updated 18th July 2012

Accrington MSC David Barratt

Peter Sharples Eric Wilkinson Joe Evers Martin Beamish Steve Mather Steve Price

30 20 10 10 10 10

Julie Sharples Hannah Speaker John Richardson Jack Mather James Sharples James Swallow

Bury AC Clitheroe & DMC Steve Butler Martin Berry Steve Lewis John Ashton Craig Wroe Paul Buckle Paul Flynn

20 20 10 10 10 10

20 10 10 10 10 10

Michael Judson Martin Whittaker Dion Wild Steve Quigley Terry Martin Steve Flynn Matt Flynn

20 20 20 10 10 10 10

20 20

Graham Bray Graham Maxwell

20 20

CSMA (NW) Eve Fisher Greg Holden

Pendle & DMC

Bolton-le-Moors MC

Fylde MSC Garstang & Preston MC Les Fragle

Karen Whittam Ric Wood Terry May Graham Chester Jason Bleakley Dave Nolan Mark Shepherd Phil Aspinall Alex Jackson

40 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Margaret Duckworth Peter Shuttleworth Steve Kenyon Andy Dewhurst Andy Benson Tony Young Kris Coombes Pete Jackson Steve Coombes Steve Hudson

High Moor MC Gary Heslop Gary Jakeman Stephen Holmes

20 10 10

Gerry Morris Andrew Morris

Lancaster MC Maurice Ellison

Lancs & Cheshire MC Lightning MC

Mull CC

20 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Rod Brereton Mick Tomlinson Ray Duckworth

20 10 10

Alan Shaw Les Eltringham

10 10

Stockport 061

Ken Wilkinson Rob Yates Julian Russell Phil Hesketh Andy Chambers Andy Turner Anthony Miles Daryl Evans Brian Stott Martin Payne

50 50 40 40 40 30 20 20 30 30

Mark Wilkinson 50 Ian Bruce 40 Sarah-Jane Dunhill 40 Steph Wilkinson 40 Geoff Callaghan Bob Milloy Chris Miles Keith Miles Daniel Chambers Mathew Turner

30 30 20 20 20 10

Wallasey MC Warrington & DMC Billy O’Brian Allan Burns Mark Carter

50 40 40

Steven Price 30 Dave Read 30 Sandra Witherspoon 30 Sheila Cox 20 Dave Bates 20 Colin Burgess 10

Robert O’Brian Denise Burns

Phil Clayton Joanne Mackman Anne McCormack Paul Cox Gordon Pirie Ian Heywood Colin Cresswell

Wigan MC 2300

20 10

Gazzard Accounts

33 Acresfield Road,

Middleton, Manchester M24 2WT 0161 643 0151 or 07973-816965 email : [emailprotected]

50 40 30 30 30 30 20 20 10

SD34MSG

SD 34 MSG

Championship Rounds at a Glance

Inter Club League

SD34MSG

Following Memorial Rally - Last updated 3rd July 2012

Division A Club

Date

Position Points

Div

O/A

Clitheroe & DMC

426

Bolton-le-Moors CC

367

Stockport061

342

Warrington & DMC

305

Accrington MSC

156

Garstang & Preston MC

142

Division B Club

Div

O/A

CSMA (NW)

218

High Moor MC

125

Lancs & Cheshire CC

120

Wallasey MC

120

Pendle & DMC

Manx AS

Division C Club

Position Div

O/A

102

Wigan MC

Mull CC

=15

Bury AC

=15

Lightning MSC

=17

2300

=17

Fylde MSC

=17

Motorsport NW Ltd

=17

Lancaster M.C.

Points

Event

August 19th 26th 26th

Hillclimb Autosolo Auto Test

September 1st 2nd 16th 23rd

October 14th 2nd 2nd

Club Pendle & DMC CSMA(NW) CSMA(NW)

Sprint Sprint Autosolo Auto Test

Lancs & Chesh CC Lancs & Chesh CC BLMCC Lancs & Chesh CC

Autosolo

BLMCC

December

Position Points

None Race/None Rally

Autosolo Auto Test

Accrington MSC CSMA(NW)

SD34MSG Road Rally Championship Date

Event

September

Club

08/09 22/23

Countdown Rally Clitheronian Rally

Spadeadam MC Clitheroe & DMC

20/21

Illuminations Rally

Morecambe CC

10/11 17/18

John Robson Black Sheep

Hexham MC Lancaster MC

October

November

SD34MSG Stage Rally Championship Date

Event

September 7/8 9 30 31

Promenade Stages Stockport061 Stages Heroes Stages

October 12/14 14 15

Mull Adgespeed Stages

November 11 24

Neil Howard Hall Trophy

Club Wallasey MC Stockport061 G&PMC MullCC Wigan & DMC BLMCC Clitheroe & DMC

Gazzard Accounts

33 Acresfield Road, Middleton, Manchester M24 2WT 0161 643 0151 or 07973-816965 email : [emailprotected]

2012 SD34 MSG CHAMPIONSHIP REGISTRATION FORM www.sd34msg.org.uk NAME;

………………………………………………………………………………

ADDRESS;

…………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………

POSTCODE;

…………………………….

HOME TEL. NO;

………………………………

MOBILE NO;

…………………………………..

E-MAIL ADDRESS;

………………………………………………

SD34 NOMINATED CLUB (one club only)……………………………………… Please register me for the SD34 Championships listed below; I understand that the information contained on this sheet may be held on computer, but will be kept in the strictest Confidence for SD34 MSG use only. SIGNATURE…………………………………DATE………………………………… Please forward the completed SD34 registration form with registration fee of £5.00 to; SD34 MSG ,c/o Mrs.M.Duckworth,12 Silsden Ave.,Ribbleton, Preston.PR2 6XB Registration commences on date of receipt of application form or on advance notification by e-mail. . Tel. No; 01772 700823 E-Mail; [emailprotected] N.B. You do not need to register in order to claim points for the Interclub league championship but you must register for the individual or disciplined championships. Driver Co-Driver/ Navigator Delete as appropriate

Class Delete as appropriate

STAGE RALLY

DRIVER CO DRIVER

A / B / C / D (Cls) A/B/C/D

ROAD RALLY

DRIVER NAVIGATOR

Exp / Semi / Nov Exp / Semi / Nov

CHAMPIONSHIP

OFFROAD

Tick to Register

Official SD34 Use only

A / B / C / D / E / F /G

MARSHALLING POINTS. If you are registering as driver and navigator/co-driver in the same discipline you must nominate which you want marshalling points to be awarded to. ……………………………………………………….

CLASSES

Stage Rally; A = up to 1400cc, B = 1401 to 1600cc, C = 1601 to 2000cc, D = over 20000cc & 4wd Road Rally; Expert; A competitor who, in the role registered has finished in the top 10 of a Nat B Or higher grade rally. Semi Expert; All competitors not eligible for Expert or Novice class. Novice; A competitor in the role registered who has never won an award other than a team award. Off Road; A = saloon cars up to 13ft long and up to and including 1400cc. B = Saloon cars up to 13ft long and over 1400cc. C= Saloon cars over 13ft long and up to and including 1600cc. D= Saloon cars over 13ft long and over 1601cc. (Saloons will include estate cars, hatchbacks and commercials as appropriate) E= Sports cars. F = Specials. G = Special Stage rally cars.

JRT ENVILLE STAGES - ANGLESEY RACE CIRCUIT SUNDAY 8th July 2012 IAN SAVAGE/GARY HESLOP - MITSUBISHI EVO 6 Our third event of 2012 saw us with an early start from Shaw for the two hour ten minute early morning drive to compete on the Enville Stages @ Anglesey. We had to be ready for Sunday Scrutineering @ 7.15am as JRT ENVILLE Stages Rally per FIs. We were seeded @ Car No.14, with our fellow High Moor MC Ty-Croes - Anglesey driver Tim Whiting/Neil McDonald also running at Car No. 11 in the 8th July orange Mk 2. Upon arrival at the circuit, following unloading, we were third in the queue for scrutineering when suddenly were advised that the Noise Control had commenced. There was a hasty excursion by several competitors over to Noise. Pass = 98db. We rejoined the scrutineering queue fifth in line. Ronnie Roberts appeared @ 7.30am as detailed in the event regulations. The time was passed in some good-natured banter between fellow familiar faces/friends and competitors alike. However the scrutineering and signing-on for the event passed remarkably swiftly, leaving Ian and myself a quick sortie onto the circuit to assess the chicanes and the two hairpins on Stage 1. Since the previous event, Ian had changed the exhaust housing on the Evo so we wanted to see how it went. We arrived @ arrival SS1, where there was a waiting queue therefore I got out of the car to get my correct minute. Usual traffic light countdown and we were away from the new pits and race control area in a clockwise direction. Having gone round the “banked” hairpin right onto the 150m straight, the car didn`t appear to have gained any increased propulsion hoped for by the change of exhaust housing. Ian felt we were down on power as boost gauge lower than usual. The end of SS1 saw us on the Stop line with smoking brakes, and a few immediate headaches to solve. SS2 was a repeat of SS1. Ian had made a few tweaks under the bonnet, but not much difference was felt on stage. We had already lost over 40 seconds to the lead cars after just two completed stages. Not good !! SS3 and SS4 came and went. Ian had carried out a few more tweaks under the bonnet, having dismantled and reconnected several pipes and checked the air flow box. At least we had gained a bit more boost, but still down on stage times. Stages SS5 to SS7 showed a little more improvement, and we began to make some progress up the overall standings. Unfortunately Steve Quigley/Terry Martin in the pink Renault Clio had developed a knocking noise which proved to be terminal on this particular event. They seemed to be going very well up to that point. SS8 saw us lose time, as we felt a O/S/F puncture whilst approaching the split for the final little loop of three. We made a hasty decision to depart the circuit at that point and take a “Stage Maximum” whilst obtaining Stage Finish and Passage Control times, rather than parking on the infield of the split to change the wheel. This proved a wise move, as the tyre hadn`t yet fully deflated allowing us to limp back to service. The pre-scheduled wet stuff showed its mantle, just as the organisers were readying SS9. Swift change to Intermediates. Ian had changed suspension settings to “WET”. Ian was happier at this arrangement, as it allowed him to get the rear of the car breaking away as he negotiated the bends. On one lap, Ian drifted the car around a long 90 right with full opposite lock at the end of the long straight before heading uphill to the long 90 left (up towards the “gun turret” area of the previous circuit layout). As the car was straightening up, there were some marshals jumping up and down on the hillside to our right and cheering despite the worsening weather conditions. Ian put his clenched fist up in salute of their enthusiasm and support which got the marshals even more animated and vocal as we departed. SS10 was the last stage of the event (and certainly the wettest). We safely completed the stage, then loaded the car onto the trailer. After several goodbyes, we headed off for the wet journey back to Shaw. On the return journey we endured a traffic jam on the A55 near Colwyn Bay. Dave Gaskell had driven to Anglesey to assist with servicing duties which was very much appreciated. We all called into a Little Chef just before Queensferry, where we witnessed the end of Andy Murray`s Wimbledon Mens` Singles Final defeat to Roger Federer on TV. The funniest moment of the entire day was us passing Dave after the Little Chef with him “reclining” in the drivers seat of his vehicle rubbing his stomach with a contented smile on his face. Legend !! Many thanks to the organising team, officials, sponsors of the event, and to the marshals and radio crews for enduring the wet conditions thrown at them during the last two stages of the event, and throughout “clear-up operations” at its conclusion.

WARRINGTON & DMC

IAN SAVAGE/GARY HESLOP

CAR No.14

(HMMC)

Turnbull Trophy Rally

Taylor Wins Turnbull Trophy Thriller

Sunday June 24th saw the return of the Turnbull Trophy Rally to Albermarle Barracks near Newcastle. The first time the venue has been used since 2007. With all the recent weather warnings everybody was geared up for a wet event, and they weren’t let down as SS1 started in a foray of greasy concrete and puddles of unknown depths. SS2 saw the sun make an appearance, which lasted long enough to start drying the stages out and many venturing onto slicks. So dry in fact that by SS6, a particularly greasy long medium left seemed to be relenting enough grip for Peter and I to hit it flat, or so we thought… Midway through the corner we found ourselves going backwards very quickly, and asking ourselves “what was in that grass again?!” A question most crews ask themselves as they’re hurtling off the side of a track at a fair rate of knots. Happily there wasn’t anything, and with the help of some marshals we finished the stage. Up until SS6, Michael Glendinning had been leading Peter Taylor by a small margin in his TEG Impreza, but a gearbox problem during SS7 saw him retire and Taylor inherit a 2 minute lead over Howard Chopping in his Impreza. As the rain started to really pour, wet tyres were the choice for many for the remainder of the day. Peter and I stuck with slicks for as long as we dared due to the soft compound in the greasy conditions, before finally giving into the weather and fitting intermediates on the front for the final stage. With added confidence from the grip at the front end, we had our second high speed spin of the day. Finally coming to a halt sideways in a cloud of spray, we got back underway to finish the stage. We claimed 24th overall and 2nd in class 2. The win however went to Peter Taylor and Andrew Roughhead in their Renault Clio R3, who managed to tame a misfire for SS8 and bring the car home. Second were Howard Chopping and Jonathan Turnbull in the Impreza, and Lyndon Barton with Jonny Vance completed the podium in their Ford Escort. James Swallow - Bolton-le-Moors Car Club (BLMCC)

Sunday 24th June 2012 Tynemouth & District Motor Sport Club Ltd

More Turnbull Trophy Rally

Another rally and another different winner, this time The Screamer is back. Peter Taylor and Andrew Roughead’s return to the championship would be victorious as they took their Renault Clio to a well-deserved win on the Turnbull Trophy Rally. And although the timesheets show they were over 2 minutes ahead of their nearest rivals at the finish, they had to fight hard on 7 of the day’s 8 stages for their success. That battle commenced at 9:30 on a wet and slippy Sunday morning at Albemarle airfield. Steady overnight rain meant the venue was very slippy as cars ventured out onto this rarely used venue. The Clio of Taylor / Roughead Dave Seed/Colin Tombs had no answer to the Subaru Impreza of Michael Glendinning / Don Whyatt and dropped 15 seconds on the opening 13 mile test. The Clio clawed back 5 seconds over the next 2 stages but then lost 6 seconds to find themselves 16 down at the lunch halt. The youngsters were trying hard enough but their struggle wasn’t helped as their front tyres were wrecked after each stage. The afternoon stages would be run in an anticlockwise direction and on the first test came some hope as the Subaru dropped 11 seconds and then 2 on stage 6. With the gap down to just 3 seconds going into the penultimate stage the heavens opened and the runways became treacherous watercourses. However this would have no impact on the overall outcome as the red Subaru stopped out on the test with a gearbox problem. With a bit of persuasion, Glendinning managed to get the car going again but realising he had no 4th or 5th gear he called it a day and drove the car back onto the trailer. A sad end for our 2010 champion. So Peter and Andrew steadily drove the final 3-lap stage and took a well-deserved rally win which they were keen to dedicate to Gareth Roberts, a young friend tragically killed in an accident the week before on the Targa Florio. Their car now looks forward to an engine and gearbox rebuild before it’s next outing. Pete Gibson and Josh Davison in their Mitsubishi Evo6 got off to a flying start and on the opening test passing 2 cars to push them into a fine 4th place overall. Unfortunately, they slipped back 4 places over the next 3 tests as they’d misjudged tyres to find themselves in 8th at the halfway point. As the first 2 afternoon tests were dry they managed to reduce the gap to 1 second on the car in front. This gave the crew some hope but with it came the worry of a clutch that was starting to slip. 6 tests completed but with 26 miles still to cover over the final 2 stages, it seemed a tall order to gain more places. An inspired late tyre change onto intermediates just before the start of the seventh test was helped when heavy rain came. This decision plus their change in driving style to start short shifting to reduce wheelspin plus less grippy tarmac all helped to ease the strain and they immediately moved up 4 places again. The change in weather might have been a bit fortuitous for the lads, but they grabbed their chance despite the clutch slip getting worse by the mile. For the final run, they switched the anti lag off now and were delighted to make it to the final control. Their reward was an excellent 4th place overall. Next up was another version of Mitsubishi’s Evolutions, this time it was an Evo9 driven by Stuart Walker. The man from Falkirk was disappointed with his start and was only 25th after being overtaken by 2 cars on the first stage. Although his move up the leaderboard was happening at a slow rate, he was at a loss to fathom out was he was going so poorly. His service crew eventually found the answer in a melted catalytic converter that was breaking down. Once this was rectified, Stuart and Jack Morton were back on the pace setting 4 top ten times to finish in 7th place overall. (cont'd pg 19)

Turnbull Trophy Rally

Turbull Trophy - Continued from Page 18

The co driver taking 4th place points was Ann Forster. She was sitting alongside the Michael Pickles in his Subaru and their only problem being a leaking hose that sprayed it’s liquid onto the turbo. They ended up in 8th overall, just 14 seconds shy of Walker/Morton. Coming home in a fine 9th overall was Geoff Simpson and Mick Johnson. The lads from Ripon had a great day and although they started at number 44 enjoyed a trouble free run in their yellow Mitsubishi Evo6 to take an excellent top ten finish. Jon Olds was next in his unusual Nissan Pulsar., who doesn’t get out on many events apart from Croft but as ever had a good run to finish his local rally in 12th place. Barry Renwick and Ken Bills got their day off to the worst possible start when the throttle stuck open on their Ford Escort within a mile of the first stage start. They managed to get the car back into Service but the Stuart Walker/Jack Morton remaining 84 miles were always going to be an uphill struggle. With the car back to full fitness, they would still be content with 15th. Geoffrey Harkness and Caroline Lodge were having yet another trouble free day in the green Vauxhall Corsa. As ever, they didn’t look dramatic but their consistency was to be rewarded with the class win on the day. Richard Clark was one of several crews having a family day out as he had his son sitting alongside him for the day. Although Richard’s been out in a Peugeot 205 of late, he decided to try a change and use a Subaru that was sitting in his garage doing nothing. Before the event, he was nervous about the change and planned to take it easy and aim to be in the top 25 at the finish. His only problem all day was the engine temperature Geoff Simpson/Mick Johnson running too high, but he managed to hit his target and ended up in 22nd place. Stuart Wilson and Steve Dargan were happy to get their Vauxhall Nova to the finish in 26th place – from a start number of 26. With a bog standard engine fitted, they were never going to set top times. Their only problems were with the fan belt on the penultimate stage and gear linkage occasionally making life difficult. Just over a minute behind were the Knox brothers - James was holding the wheel on this rally with Kevin in the hot seat. The little Peugeot 106 had only recently been acquired and was still in a very basic state of preparation but they pushed hard all day. Their only worry being the rear suspension as the car was sitting very close to the ground all day. Andy Plunkett and son Jacob suffered in their bright green Honda Civic when an engine mounting broke. They’d been going well in the morning and after the lunch break had moved up to 16th overall. However, on the penultimate test the problem surfaced and they only just managed to get to service and cobble a repair. They incurred road penalties doing so and took a stage maximum on the final run to end up in 31st place. The husband and wife team of John and Liz Clayton in their Subaru Impreza completed an extra lap on stage 2 when they came unsighted across a slow car at the stage split and they couldn’t get into the appropriate lane. Things improved until they arrived back in service after stage 6 with the rear wheels pointing in different directions and damaged suspension ! Some frantic repair work saw them complete the final 2 tests safely, but at a much reduced pace. So what happened to some of the unlucky crews ? Paul Swift / David Cox were the first to go when 5 miles into stage 1, they were sliding out of a chicane in Paul’s trademark opposite lock style and they hit a large rock hidden in the grass. The result was a bent axle for their Ford Escort and although a repair of sorts was tried the car was undriveable. Barry and Michael Lindsay were doing their usual giant killing act and managed 3 top ten times out of the morning’s 4 stages. They started the afternoon runs in 10th overall and leading their class but disaster struck when they stopped with a broken driveshaft. Barry believes that Albemarle is his jinxed venue now as he’s only finished there once in 18 years of trying. Chris Anderson and Chris Thirling were quick from the off and settled into a good rhythm to go into the half way in 9th overall. A top result was spoiled when they called it a day after the gearbox bearings became noisy and then became stuck in second gear on the first afternoon test. The GTM Coupe of Ed Todd and Andy Brown was another victim of broken drive shafts – this time on the start line of stage 2. Michael Davison / Chris Dodds made it a little bit further into stage 2 before the nearside front wheel studs sheared – thought to be the after effects of hitting a kerb in Weeton earlier in the year. Alan Cowan enlisted the co-driving services of Shona Hale for his first outing in the Vauxhall Astra since the Jack Frost. Unfortunately, the car only completed 1 stage before a drive shaft broke. Paul Firth was out co-driving in another Astra but retired after stage 6 with gear linkage problems. Big thanks must go to Tynemouth Motor Club and a special mention for Ray Cummings for all his persistence in persuading the Army to let an ‘old’ venue back into use after a 5 year break from motorsport. And once that decision had been made, Ed Barber and his team swung into action. They are to be commended for all their efforts in running a slick event. They managed to produce another great event for our championship and with its airfield roads, yet more variety. It’s not often a single venue rally gives crews in excess of 80 competitive miles, and it was well received by everyone too. However, the main stars of the day would be the marshals who stood out in the rain as they were to endure quite a few heavy rain showers. (David Shield)

Sunday 24th June 2012 Tynemouth & District Motor Sport Club Ltd

John Overend Memorial Stages Rally at Melbourne

Second Successive 4WD Victory For Newby

Ian Joel 2nd O/A

Well I hope you enjoy the photos. I have been promised 2 reports from competitors of the Greystoke stages but they never turned up !!

Following his fantastic victory on his 4WD debut on the John Overend Memorial Stages Rally at Melbourne in May, Lancaster MCs Arron Newby made it two out of two with a sensational win on yesterday's Opposite Lock Stages Rally held at Manby Motorsport Complex in Lincolnshire. On his first visit to the venue near Louth, the 17year-old from Carnforth was once again driving the Robert Wiseman Dairies-sponsored and TEG Sport -prepared Group N Subaru Impreza for only the Picture courtesy of Christopher Maw - Rallysport Photography. second time and in doing so, saw off a number of Report by Cartersport leading drivers in what was a full entry of 75 cars for the popular event. In the car which was campaigned previously by Mark Higgins in the BRC, Newby and co-driver Martyn Taylor set second fastest time on the opening stage as they played themselves in on the venue's unique combination of 70% grass tracks and 30% tarmac runways but by the second, eight mile test, they hit the front and were never headed. Newby gradually upped the pace during the first half of the rally as the part worn Pirelli K6 tyres proved ample for the job and by SS5, was well in command. With the aid of an in-car camera, Arron went even quicker on SS6 to claim the stage by some 20 seconds before ramming home his advantage on the final two tests to eventually win by a healthy 54 seconds. Arron Newby: "This is fantastic, I could really get the hang of this! I'm loving driving the Subaru and especially like the four wheel drive power as it's like sitting at home and driving a Playstation, it's absolutely perfect. The venue was brilliant and certainly unique and the car ran faultlessly all day so a big thanks to the team and hopefully we can make it a hat trick of wins next time I get to drive it." Stuart Newby, TEG Sport team owner: "We're all over the moon as this is another fantastic result. We were seeded at car number 6 and when I saw the entry list I knew there were some seriously quick competitors in it and thought it was going to be tough. But once again Arron has totally impressed me, he was going really well and he seems much more suited to four wheel drive than two wheel drive. We have a test on Tuesday in the Subaru on gravel and we'll look at getting a couple of events in before Arron's next scheduled outing on the Ulster Rally, maybe one in the Subaru and one in his normal BRC Skoda."

Darren Atkinson/Tom Woodburn 7th O/A 2nd in Class

Ian Joel

Steve Petch

Matthew Gibson / Chris Paskin

Steve Petch 1st O/A

Nicky Grist Stages

David Wright suffered a disappointing early retirement on the Nicky Grist Stages rally when an alternator problem caused him to stop after the first stage. Wright was hopeful of a good result on the Builth Wells-based event after recent successes and he lined up at the start line of the opening Monument stage in his Kumho Tyres, Proflex, Drenth, York Brewery, Millers Oils and Grove Hill Garage-backed GPM Mitsubishi Evo 9 aiming for a top three position. His hopes were dashed when five seconds before he was due to start the stage the engine revs surged and then the engine cut out. After 30 seconds the car was restarted but the stage was run with the engine in road mode rather than competition mode resulting in a large time loss. With no chance to repair the problem and a risk of damage to the engine if he continued Wright retired once he had completed the stage. “It is very disappointing to retire from the event, especially as the stages used are some of my favourite in the UK but there was nothing we could do unfortunately,” said Wright. “The problem occurred as we were being counted down to start the stage. We think it was caused by the alternator surging in power but we’ll check it all out in the next few days.” “We’ve had a really good run of success recently and it’s unfortunate that we could not continue the run on Saturday. Thank you to all the sponsors for their support.” Wright’s next event is likely to be the Merrick Stages in South West Scotland which takes place in early September. Songasporrt

All the latest British Rally Photographs

www.pro-rally.co.uk

Phil James

PRO-RALLY PHOTOGRAPHY TEL: 01772 69-00-34 MOB: 07771 76-86-57 EMAIL: [emailprotected]

Matt Edwards put in a huge performance on the Nicky Grist Stages rally to regain his second place in the “REIS - Get Connected” British Trial and Rally Drivers Association (BTRDA) Gold Star Championship after missing the last round last month. The event saw 124 rally crews compete on eight special stages totalling 45 stages miles on some of the finest gravel roads in Great Britain; stages often used on the World Rally Championship including legendary names such as Crychan and Monument, all on the edge of the Epynt military training facility in South Wales. Edwards, 27 was co-driven by Sam Collis of Chesterfield in the Swift Group, Millers Oils, backed class B13 Mitsubishi Evo IX. It was to be a drawn out battle for Edwards as he tussled with Championship leader Shaun Gardener of Ludlow and Nigel Griffiths of Presteigne throughout the day, netting a very credible 5th, just behind Gardener who took 4th in the modified specification Mitsubishi Evo 5.9, and Griffiths who finished 3rd in his Subaru Impreza. After the second stage, Edwards had managed to climb up to 4th place and maintained that position for two stages, but differential (diff) mapping problems left him struggling for the extra power control needed to hold that position. Seeded in 7th place ahead of the event, Edwards managed to achieve his goal of a top five placing, a massive achievement given that the first two finishers were in substantially more powerful World Rally Cars (WRC), these including Ruthin’s Hugh Hunter who finished second in the Ford Focus WRC03. Equally impressive is the fact that Edwards managed to beat off four other WRC specification cars to achieve this finish. Of the result Edwards said “I’m happy with the finish as its all points towards the Championship and we’re sitting in a better position than we thought we would be given the number of WRC entrants in the Championship this year.” He added “The new lightweight tyre performed really well, giving more feel and control and in my mind, they’re better suited to this particular car and my style of driving.” Edwards made a few mistakes early in the rally which cost him vital seconds, saying “I was a bit rusty over the first stages and made a few small errors, but that’s down to the lack of seat time in this car between events, especially as it’s nearly two months since the last outing on the Plains Rally.” He added “I’m hoping to find some additional budget to get some testing in between events and we’re doing the Coracle Rally next weekend at Sweet Lamb to try and sort out a few diff mapping issues, generally get more seat time and to try and improve on our standings in the Welsh Forest Rally Championship.”

Nicky Grist Stages Nicky Grist Stages Robert Kennedy/ Steve Coombes Car 247 - Nissan Micra RF1.0 76th O/All – 4th Class

I’d decided to make the notes more aggressive for this event in the hope of finding some much needed pace. Again we were using some of the RF1.0 drivers as a bench mark, but I secretly had an eye on a class position. On the Friday night there was an opportunity to fine tune the notes in a forum held with Nicky Grist. It was great to see how a professional looked at the notes and the things he picked out when driving the stages that day. These weren’t obvious on the DVD and just about every crew had missed them. A must attend forum for this event. SS1 – Monument 1 – Was flat over everything for the first 0.4 miles as the aggressive notes seemed to work. We set 4th fastest time (in Class), but there was still more pace in the notes. Luckily everyone felt the same. We survived hitting a big hole on the inside of a 1L and were airborne over the jump. SS2 – Crychan 1 – Whilst waiting to start it was great to see Graham Cookson wondering over to the car to say hello, but unfortunately there wasn’t much time to chat. We were running this stage twice so as we went through I altered the notes for our second run. A big moment on a 100 , Flat/Dip Jnct, 6L/Bmp unsettled us and cost us some pace. Taking a few miles to get back into it cost us all the time we gained on SS1, also not helped by an overshoot into a HpR. 7th Fastest. SS3 – Halfway 1 – On the road section we spoke about really attacking the stages and winding the car up. This worked to a degree as we went 4th fastest. Some of the sections were being taken flat as Robert started to drive with confidence in the notes. SS4 – Route 60 1 – Went well as we started to build a lead on the drivers we had set as a benchmark and compete for a class position. 3rd fastest stage time set and as we headed to service we had turned a 14 second deficit into a 6. With no problems to report service was a simple case of a quick check and a splash of fuel. Unfortunately the quick check revealed a small crack starting to develop on the FNS strut. Nothing major but it was leaking a little bit of fluid. There was nothing we could do so we set off for SS5. SS5 – Crychan 2 – Was our best stage of the year so far. Robert really drove with confidence and the altered notes worked well. We went 21 seconds quicker (about 3 secs a mile) giving us 3rd fastest time and reducing the gap to 5 secs. SS6 – Halfway 2 – Went really well despite a small overshoot on a SqR as we continued to turn up the pressure for the class positions. Unfortunately our rivals were doing the same as they extended the gap to 8 secs. This was disappointing, but our pace was becoming competitive with the front runners in our class. SS7 – Route 60 2 – Saw us catch the car that had set off 1 minute in front of us costing us maybe a second or 2 and despite a half spin we drew level on time for 3rd in class as we headed into second service. Again we had no problems to report, but the quick check of the car saw that we had bent a rim somewhere on one of the last 3 stages. Our luck was in though as the tyre had stayed up. SS8 – Monument 2 – Was a reversal of SS1 and we had it all to go for. We set off with good pace as we attacked the stage. We had a half spin on a HpR, hit a pothole down the straight and was airborne again over the jump. Despite our efforts we had been beaten by 6 seconds and had to settle for our third 4th in class finish. Despite missing out on 3rd we had closed the gap on the people in front. Usually we are a few minutes off a class position, but this time we were only seconds. The gap to the class winner had also closed and some of our stage times were very competitive. The car needs some attention before our next outing with some front struts and a set of tyres a must. Until next time, enjoy your sport.

Steve Coombes (G&PMC)

(Gemini 5)

www.pcrallying.co.uk

NESCRO

Historic Motorsport In The North of England And Scotland

BUMPER ENTRY FOR

LAKE DISTRICT CLASSIC RALLY

MSA British Rally Championship BRC announces fourth annual Open day

The MSA British Rally Championship will hold its annual open day later this year, the Curborough Sprint Circuit-based event planned for Friday 21st September, a week before the final round of the 2012 season in Yorkshire. The event will be supported by four manufacturers again, Citroën, Ford, Peugeot and Renault providing cars for potential BRC competitors to sample on the twisty all-asphalt track to the north of Birmingham. BRC control tyre supplier Pirelli will also be at the event with a range of gravel and asphalt tyres and to help promote the Pirelli Star Driver scheme for next year. The event has been a great success since its inception in 2009, giving teams and drivers a chance to look at options for the following season with BRC officials on hand to answer questions. A selection of professional motorsport preparation companies will be invited to attend too, encouraged to bring their own potential customers for an opportunity to try out cars for sale or hire. The NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge will be represented at the event, the National B status championship continuing to support the BRC for another year as both a feeder and a competitive series in its own right. A more detailed schedule will be announced nearer to the event, including a list of the attending teams. In the meantime for more information please contact the BRC office on 01772 840295 or via [emailprotected]. For more information on the MSA British Rally Championship visit www.rallybrc.co.uk

A bumper entry of almost 50 classic cars, nearly twice the previous years attendance, descended on Penrith last Sunday (July 15th) for the Lake District Classic Rally, organised by Wigton Motor Club and sponsored by Lake District Hotels, which saw a wide variety of makes from yesteryear including MG, Triumph, Rover, Austin Healey and Hillmanplus less often seen makes such as Morgan and Wartburg. . The rally is one of the most popular in the rally calendar and drivers came from all over the North of England, joined by a strong contingent from North of the Border. They were treated to an excellent event featuring a mix of driving tests and navigation sections run over the tight twisty lanes in the Eden Valley, Crosby Ravensworth Fell and Bretherdale Common. The action started with a test round the lorry park at Penrith Truckstop, one of a wide variety of venues which included the Redhills Auction Mart, Frank Birds Poultry farm at Langwathby, Highfield and Yanwath farms on the Lowther Estate,the quarry tracks at Oddendale and the incredibly twisty road past Waters Farm , just South of Shap. A patttern soon developed with the MG Midget of Duns duo Archie and Richard Simmonds battling for the lead with the 44 year old Mini of Steve Entwhistle/ Bob Hargreaves. This first test spelled disaster for Neil Campbell when his Escort ground to a halt with a defunct fuel pump. Having made the long journey from Pitlochry to Penrith, he was distraught but some fiddling with the cars fuses got it going again and he managed to stay in the event, albeit almost half an hour behind schedule. Many crews arrived at the lunch halt at Tebay Services with tales of being baulked by agricultural machinery on the Bretherdale loop although Brian and Jane Dwelly had more pressing problems , their pristine Morris Minor having a loose engine mounting. Amazingly they were carrying a spare and managed to fit it during the lunch halt and continue to the finish. The afternoon session featured are-run of the morning’s tests and a navigation section in the Strickland area which had several navigators puzzled. The Simmonds eased out a clear lead at the head of the pack but behind them Entwhistle/ Hargreaves were pushed hard by the very rapid Ford Escort of Bertram/ Thompson, the margin at the finish being a mere second. The verdict from all the competing crews was that the Lake District Classic had been an excellent event and the organisers must have been encouraged by the many shouts of “See You Next Year” as competitors were heading for home. Ed Graham

Morecambe Rally

Steve Hudson / Alan Barnes

21/22 July 2012

Eau de Carling

The Morecambe Rally can be best summed up from my personal point of view in one word: Disastrous. I had arguably the worst night I have ever had in a rally car in that I struggled with the timing after a misplaced time by a marshal near Killington - ie he filled in the wrong time control box and my mental arithmatic is All Morecambe Rally Photographs courtesy never at its best at 4.30 in the morning. of Phil Jame See page 21 for details But we also had a couple of incidents to cope with. Here's a rather novel sentence for you all to get your heads around. I have never ever come under attack before in a rally car. Mark & Tom Byrne It even seems odd typing that sentence, but even odder if I tell you that we were attacked not once, but TWICE. The first episode came within a mile of the first start control when a shower of rocks landed on the bonnet of our car near Over Kellet.We were not alone as a Ford Anglia suffered a cracked windscreen and Thomas Byrne, running at the back of the field with his dad Mark, also got pelted by the same thugs. It's pretty scary when you are travelling at some lick and that happens. The second attack came in the second half near Old Hutton. We had just slotted into a lane when we were confronted by a man who was obviously the worse for wear after attending a wedding. The clue was the morning suit he was wearing. He had obviously been drinking heavily and had decided to stop rally cars from Pete Tyson / Niel Harrison passing his property. So there he was in the middle of the road, with his dog for company. We slowed and tried to pass him on his left. He moved to the left. We stopped. He slammed the roof of the car with one hand and bellowed at Steve Hudson: "What's your F&*king Problem?", then tried to hit Steve on the side of the head with a Carling lager can, before throwing it into the car. Steve had not said a word to cause any of this. The result was lager everywhere, particularly on my map, soaking it and smudging the route to the point where it was barely legible. We managed to then drive past him but he was not a happy bunny. That episode summed up the rally for me, but there can be no excuses. We simply had a bad night in general. We had missed a codeboard on a white in the first half and a car behind us (that we had Simon Boardman/ Chris Williams overtaken) refused to let us back up in order to get it. Then we missed another on White Moss. I shouted it up but we didn't see it, probably going too fast. And then we missed a NAM after the episode with the drunkard. I won't make excuses as they don't get you anywhere. I was basically not on top of my game and it showed. Steve drove very well but was let down by my performance. A big well done to Danny Cowell andf Mark Shepherd and all the marshals for turning out and putting on a challenging event. So there you go. That's rallying and that's the report for this month. A strange one but life can be strange at times. Next up, the Countdown Rally. One thing is for sure, our results can only go one way after the Morecambe. . . . . .Up! Alan Barnes (G&PMC)

Morecambe Rally

Andy Ritchie / Maurice Ellison

21/22 July 2012

The route presentation, information and documentation was fine. The route itself was good and more importantly (to me at least) I enjoyed it. Whether the same applies to other competitors – I don’t know, but I can only speak of my own experience. Not sure that I liked the volume of amendments that had to be copied down at the start – couldn’t we have had a photocopied compilation in with the Route Instructions?

Two Hours plotting time - Magic

Since the G&PMC Memorial Rally we had acquired Ian Farnworths BMW Compact. The rear shockers Photo courtesy GMS (Dave Culley - GrizeMotorSports) were goosed and the tyres not what we wanted but with all the spare (?) cash spent - we had to run what we had (the ? Is because - Who has any "spare cash' these days) Were there faults? Of course there were but it did not spoil my enjoyment of the event. At the drivers briefing the instruction to competitors seemed confused on the subject of ‘the point we would be given a time’. Was it when we passed the control board or was it when we presented the time card to the marshal. We were given conflicting answers, but after much questioning it appeared to be that when you presented the card to the Marshal that was when you got the time – no need to wait outside of the control. This worked in practice until we pulled into TC7 (end of Halton Park) and collected a 2 minute penalty for booking in early – even though I presented my card at the time I required - because the time that I passed the control board was 1 minute early. Lesson learned 2 minutes penalty gained – we stayed outside of control areas after that. It was not the Marshals fault – that’s the instructions he had been given. The route was comprised of a lot of 4minute section – brilliant – the problem with 4 minute sections is getting enough marshal to man that amount of controls, but Danny (one way or another) managed to get sufficient marshals – Well done Danny and all the marshals for turning out (Oh and well done for the clocks all being set up correctly and still working throughout the whole event - never more than a seconds discrepancy). The whites – the 1st white (GS 48/66) Werstfield House (only1.5miles from my house) I have never used before (I have looked at the start and the end but never been down it until Saturday night) and it caused us a problem – we struggled for grip through the muddier section and almost ground to a halt but just, and I mean just, managed to keep going. Then came the ‘pleasure’ (not!) of Beaumont Grange – bit too rough for my liking. Then after the sedate run through Lancaster to Ridge Lane. I had last used the Ridge Lane white on the 1976 Mild & Bitter Stages and it was as smooth as a baby’s bottom back then, in places it still is but in others it is as rough as the proverbial Badgers. Whilst traversing Ridge Lane we came up behind Car 39 who somehow had got past us (have not got a clue where because no competitor had passed us and he must have been running in front of his due time by 12 minutes). Car 39 proceeded to block us and refused to move over (from RC 10 Ridge Lane and all through Littledale, Haylots, Cragg Bank, White Moss, and Low Gill until RC 22 Mill Houses) (at the end of the 2 neutrals we even gave them a 2 minute start on us) before we eventually got past him. Bugger! (to the Marshal on top of Littledale – We were not shouting at you but at the two in car 39 – sorry if you thought we were having a go) We then had a sedate run from Burton-in-Lonsdale to Cantsfield. Another white I have never used before but Lionel – My driver used to go to school with the farmer who owns this muddy track and with luck on our side we got through it, well crossed up a lot of the time, but through it. And now a steady run to Petrol at Crooklands. Second Half – Now this was more my sort of thing and I was really looking forward to a good run. That is until we departed MTC3. From MTC3 the route took us up Buck Yeats, past Whetstone to the Warth crossroads down through Goose Green and Gatebeck to join the A6 heading towards Kendal. I have PR’d this road 5 or 6 times and know it well. Or so I thought! For reasons I can’t work out, within a half mile I slotted Andy into Plum Tree Farm, then convinced myself I was on the wrong road completely, headed back to MTC3 to try again and nearly made the same mistake yet again. A GREY moment! Sorry Andy. Next up was the Yellow over the Helme just outside of Kendal – funnily enough I had driven the opposite way down it last month – last time I can remember using this was around 1972 on the Devils Own. A blast over Docker Fell, Strawberry Bank and onto Killington. Up Firbank Fell and downFox’s Pulpit. By now we were running in daylight. Another run, this time on the eastern side of Killington and down past Old Town before joining the A65 for a quiet run through Kirkby Lonsdale and Whittington for the last section past Docker Hall then Gunnerthwaite and Locka Lane to the finish. At the finish a protest about a knocked down code board got that code board removed from the results and dropped us 7 places (we had reversed up to get it !) to 14th O/A. Not bad considering we were just out to get a feel of the car. There was plenty of chat about the amount of ‘daylight’ running, stones being thrown at competing cars, pedestrians walking down the middle of the road and refusing to move but I still enjoyed the event (despite the confusion over waiting outside controls). I would have preferred the whites to be a little smoother but there is little (other than not to use them) that the organisers can do about that – they had told everyone in advance – so you cant bitch about it, and it was good to see a fairly full entry with plenty of marshals out there.

Maurice Ellison Lancaster MC (& G&PMC & CDMC & WCMC & KLMC)

Bala and District Car Club (BDMC)

Gareth Hall Memorial Rally.

Friends and fellow competitors travelled from far and wide to take part in the event which is now in its 9th year and is held in the memory of Gareth Hall, a popular and highly talented codriver and member of BDMC who sadly lost his life in 2002, shortly after winning the 2002 Welsh Clubman’s Forestry Championship alongside driver Dorian Rees. The event comprised 12 stages made up of 3 loops of 4 stages and more than lived up to the expectation of being an exciting day of high speed drama over the narrow, bumpy and twisty flowing tarmac tracks of the former military test base at the Ranges Motorsport Centre, Trawsfynydd. Dry conditions made for a fast rally pace and the fastest were rewarded for their speed and bravery, the more powerful machines being able to take advantage of greater speed in conditions giving excellent grip. The rally was won by Ken Pugh of Trawsfynydd, co driven by Aled Edwards of Pwllheli in their Mitsubishi Evo III, but not without a titanic battle with ex works driver, Geoff Jones of Machynlleth co-driven by Dan Nieroda of Conwy who were out in their Subaru Impreza and what must surely be the tightest rally finish at this venue. With an impressive record of 6 outright wins and 4 second places out of 10 starts at this venue, Pugh was the man to beat, but Jones was having none of it and set about trying to cause an upset, matching Pugh’s times on the first two stages. The pair continued to trade time off each other for the remainder of the day and Pugh went into the last stage with a 1 second advantage over Jones. Jones found that little bit extra to pull a second back off Pugh to leave the pair all square after 12 stages, Pugh taking the win after a count back to the first stage win which went to Pugh on the 3rd stage of the day. With Pugh and Jones taking 1st and 2nd in class 4, 3rd place went to the immaculately prepared Darrian T9 of Aberystwyth’s Gareth Richards and co-driver Ian Jones of Abergele. Richards made the task of throwing the wide bodied Darrian around the narrow tracks and corners of the infamous Triangle look easy. Elsewhere in the rally, Chris Phillips of Llandudno was co-driven by his sister, Sarah Hughes of Mochdre in their ex cup 1600 cc Peugeot Gti, the pair having a close battle in class 2 with Geoff McQuilling of Bala in his Honda Civic, McQuilling eventually overhauling Phillips to take the class honours by 10 seconds. Phillips struggled in the unusually dry conditions, his medium compound tyres used over the first four stages being a little too hard to find sufficient grip, the car under-steering at the corners, costing vital seconds. A change to softer compound rear tyres after stage 4 improved grip levels and offered more stability. A win in Class 1 for Anthony Williams and co-driver Tim Gill, of Wrexham was enough to clinch the BDMC/NWCC jointly organised 2012 Trawsfynydd Rally Challenge, the pair having also won their class on the Ranges Rally earlier in the year and winning more stages in their class than runner-up, Ken Pugh. The rally was also a round of the Association of North Western Car Clubs Stage Rally Championship. BDMC and the Hall family would like to thank all those that assisted and supported the event. A raffle for a hand carved walking stick made by Brian Roberts of Cerrig y Drudion raised over £160 towards the Wales Air Ambulance.

Gareth Hall Memorial Rally

Steve's Johnsons outing in new car

Accrington MSC’ s Steve Johnson took 14th place in his first outing in a new car at the Gareth Hall Memorial Stages in Wales. Johnson was aided by 16-year-old Jack Foster, who was co-driving a first senior stage rally, as he gave a first run-out to his new Nissan Micra 1300. “I was learning the car,” Johnson said. “I was going faster than I’d been before and on the fourth stage I came off the road and went on to the grass. I got back on, although we lost 15 or 20 seconds. “But the main thing was just to finish and to keep it in the right direction.”

Photographs from the Gareth Hall Memorial Rally courtesy of Duncan Littler

Duncan Littler, 2 Pendref, Dwyran, Anglesey, Gwynedd. LL61 6YL Tel:01248 430015 Mob:07740 179619 e-mail: [emailprotected]

Polyroof PK Memorial Rally Whites challenge PK crews

A spectacle of navigational skill and precision timing was the order of the evening at the Bala and District Motor Club’s (BDMC) Polyroof PK Memorial Rally on the weekend of 23rd/24th June. The night time road rally saw 90 crews from throughout the UK plot their route against the clock at the rally HQ at Rhug Farm near Corwen before heading off into the narrow twisty tarmac surfaced lanes around Cerrig y Drudion to put their mapping skills into practice over 120 miles of classic Welsh lanes. The event was a round of Welsh Association of Motor Clubs, Association of North Western car Clubs and the Welsh Borders Car Club Championships. The rally now in its 20th year is named in the honour of John Gwynne Williams, one of BDMC’s earlier members who was affectionately known as PK and a gifted driver developing the talents and experience of many co-drivers entering the sport. The early part of the rally before refuel was set to challenge crews using some “whites” or unclassified roads which with intermittent loose surfacing provided a test of driving skills as crews battled it out against the clock to find grip and pass through controls in the right order. After refuelling at Rhug Farm, crews were presented with fast flowing lanes and the odd shower made for some tricky road conditions especially with some semi-concealed junctions which left some crews sailing past the intended turnings, costing vital seconds. Is all this an excuse then to tear up and down public roads? No, the sport of road rallying requires a high degree of skill and an analytical mind as the event is based on crews travelling at an average speed of 30 miles per hour, but the complication of going through a high number of passage control points in the right order, dealing with some of the more bumpy and twisty roads sections or simply catching the car in front can eat into the allotted time meaning crews have to push harder on the sections where the maximum speed limit allows. The event was won by Meirion Evans of Newcastle Emlyn and Iwan Jones in their Ford Escort Mk2, Meirion being the driving force behind Wales Motorsport Fabrications Ltd of Ceredigion. Evans had a battle on his hands all night with 2nd placed Richard Jerman of Welshpool also in an Escort, but took the win by a healthy 28 second margin. The highest place BDMC crew was that of Sion Ellis of Dolgellau and Daniel Rimmer of Cerrig y Drudion in their Honda Civic who finished 67th overall. North Wales Car Club (NWCC) had 4 crews out, the highest placed finisher being Rob Jones of Colwyn Bay, co-driving for Dewi Williams in a Peugeot 205 in the Expert Class, taking 8th place overall. The night also showed the generosity of rallying fans with BDMC handing over a cheque in excess of £1000 to the Wales Air Ambulance, a charity providing a vital service through emergency air

Meirion Evans / Iwan Jones

Photo Courtesy of John Evans The Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club has unveiled

plans to run a championship in 2013, focussing on historic rally cars complying with MSA historic regulations. The RAC Pre ’87 Championship is the working title for the new initiative, which is expected to run over eight one-day gravel rallies in England, Scotland and Wales. The championship will cater for cars from MSA historic Categories One, Two and Three as well as cars prepared to FIA Appendix K. Additional classes will accommodate cars built up to the end of 1986 as well as other pre ’87 cars that do not fully comply with historic regulations. Colin Heppenstall, the man behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally, is the driving force for the new series but says that it is competitor demand that has been the catalyst for this new development. “Competitors, many of them members of the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, have come to us and asked us to put a championship together,” said Heppenstall. “We have consulted with a range of interested parties and have had initial discussions with the MSA. Cars in Categories One, Two and Three will run in full accordance with the current MSA historic regulations.” Heppenstall says that the Roger Albert Clark Rally will not be part of the championship, but hopes that some of the crews that contest the season-long championship will then finish the season on the Roger Albert Clark. “The RACRMC was set up to provide a friendly and fun way to go rallying with a spirit of sporting competition on the stages,” said Heppenstall. “We plan to continue that ethos into the new championship.” Discussions will now open with event organisers to finalise a 2013 calendar. “We expect to have eight one-day gravel events in the first year with the best six scores to count. There will be a good geographical spread, but one of our prime aims is to contain the cost of competition and attract as strong a field as possible in these difficult financial times.” More details, including the draft 2013 calendar, TV arrangements and outline regulations will be made available over the coming weeks. Details can also be found at www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org My wife used to put it about a bit before we were married even the labels in her knickers said Next! My wife tried to buy something online yesterday. Anyone know how to get a credit card out of a floppy drive ? I'm constantly having to separate fact from fiction. I hate being a librarian.

Georgia Shiel—update report

Extracts from the Junior 1000 Co-ordinator website (by Dave Barlow)

CRAIL : 16-June

On a day when only 44 out of 66 experienced “senior” crews could finish the whole course at the Summer Stages Rally at Crail Raceway on 16th June, 14 Junior 1000 crews started and 14 Junior 1000 crews finished. What a magnificent reflection on how quickly the youngsters aged between 14 and 17 are learning their craft and developing the skill to drive in the conditions that prevailed when so many experienced people fell by the wayside. Plus the critical role played by the experienced co-drivers who have to tame all that energy and enthusiasm. Conditions during the day varied from bad to worse. Standing water was the headache on the first 2 of 6 stages and then persistent rain made the track more like a skating rink than a high speed rally stage. Everybody has a “bad hair day” now and again!!! And at Crail it was the turn of Georgia Shiels and Phil Sandham. The Shiels ex Aaron McClure Micra was looking pristine after its visit to the body shop after Ingliston. And on hand to tend his “old toy” was the man Aaron McClure himself who had left home down South at 3am to be at Crail for 7am!! First stage was good and Georgia was in the middle of the pack. Then things started to go wrong on stage 2 with an argument with a chicane and some of the new paintwork looking very second hand. There was a BTCC point with Harry Marchbank when they both tried to go through the same chicane at the same time. But Georgia stood her ground and Harry had tyres flying everywhere. The slippy conditions caught Georgia out a couple of more times but after a “team talk and hug” she was on it on stage 5. At the split, Phil reckoned that Georgia was well up on the leaders but it was his turn to have the hair problem – “Left at split” should have read “Right at split”. The result was that Georgia crossed the finish line about 10 seconds in front of lead car Alexander Vassallo and was rewarded with a stage maximum for taking the wrong route. But Georgia is being very philosophical (no pun intended) about it and reckons that the experience of driving in the conditions has added greatly to her learning curve. I spoke with Georgia on Tuesday after the rally and she proudly told me that – in true rally style – she had been on the ‘phone all morning and had sourced all the parts to repair the damage to the front of her Micra for £30. This girl is learning so fast!!!

KNOCKHILL : 28-June

It started for us on Thursday 28th at Knockhill with the Junior MSA Training Day. The MSA Academy was represented by Greg Symes, James Wozencroft and John MacCrone. 10 Junior 1000 candidates attended – Georgia Shiels, Blair Brown, Scott Murray, Calum Kitt, Alex Adams, Andy Struthers, Alexander Vassallo, Ally Currie, Mikey Dickie and Dale Kelly – and 6 young go karters. The mist came down at Knockhill – this did not affect the MSA course which was in the Media Centre – but Kinnairds Restaurant was extremely busy with waiting Dads and people who turned up for Knockhill courses but could not get out on track. Everybody was waterlogged with coffee/tea. The Junior day was deemed a success by everybody who attended. And the MSA team have to be thanked and congratulated for putting on a good show.

PROM NIGHT : 04-July

It was the week of School Proms for a few and the order of the day for most folk going to a School Prom is a nice stretched limo. But not our Georgia. She was chauffeured in her rally Micra!!! Good frock and all. Well done.

KAMES : 05-July

3 Junior teams attended Kames to support an EACC Track Night for Go Motorsport. This was championed by Alison Clark – our Go Motorsport rep in Scotland - and she had a very broad selection of “Joe Public” come along. Our “ambassadors” were Georgia Shiels, Andy Struthers and Alex Adams. They could not give passenger rides but had a ball showing off their driving skills. Another well done.

BRSCC Avon Tyres Formula Ford Northern Championship Anglesey Race Weekend – 12-13th May 2012 Pre 90 Qualifying

As the weekend began on a glorious but windy Saturday morning at Anglesey, the track layout was altered at the last minute to the full International Circuit due to the new paddock complex being without power and only half built! However, the new pit garages were able to accommodate the cars with ease and the Pre 90 Championship got underway with qualifying. In three separate incidents, David Gavan, James Mitchell and Nigel Dolan all span and continued in the early stages of their efforts. With 5 minutes remaining, the major incident of the session occurred with Mike Mullins, after being distracted by strange engine noises and rising oil pressure, hitting the marker tyres up the gradual incline towards School. The impact was such that it broke his front right suspension and caused such The front of Mike Mullin’s car brought painful significant bodywork damage that his weekend finished so looks to the faces of everyone in the paddock prematurely. Mike’s accident brought out the Red Flag due to the tyres on the track. When the session did resume it was the usual suspects at the front who continued their battle for pole, with Stuart Jones, Nigel Dolan, Ian Parkington and Andrew Thomas the main contenders. Both Roy MacGregor and Nigel Dolan entered the pits before the chequered flag came down. When it did, Stuart Jones took pole from Nigel Dolan, the duo forming a familiar sight on the front row. Particular praise must be given to John Farrell, previous Class C and Pre-90 Champion, who competed in a Class E Merlyn and drove it incredibly fast to qualify in 7th.

Post 89 Qualifying

The slightly smaller than usual Post 89 field took to the track for their qualifying session with not one but three of the McArthur family represented. However it was Neil Winn, clearly showing his eagerness to post an early fast time, who span and continued on his very first lap. After 2 laps it was John Murphy who was quickest with Martin Short and Luke Cooper close behind. Lap 3 saw Neil McArthur spinning and continuing, whilst Winn moved up to P3. The Medina Sport man was now flying, on his next lap jumping to pole, how- ever Murphy was not in the mood to be beaten, quickly regaining top spot with a 1.34.7s. With 4 minutes left, Vincent Jay continued after taking a spin whilst it was David McArthur who was top of the family tree in 4th. The Top 3 of Murphy, Winn & Short battle for Pole With 2 minutes left Jay Wheals jumped above Cooper into P5, whilst Austin Kimberley moved into P7 above Neil McArthur with only 1 minute left, however just before the chequered flag dropped, Neil was not to be denied his 7th place, regaining it on his final lap. The top three ended with Murphy on pole, with Winn joining him on the front row with Martin Short andDavid McArthur just behind on the second row. Neil McArthur ended P7 with Tom McArthur in 10th.

Saturday Pre 90 Race

As the cars rolled out for the first Pre 90 race, they were already minus one, as Graham Legget had Diesel-contaminated fuel. His weekend would hopefully improve on Sunday. Off the start Nigel Dolan, John Wilkinson and John Farrell all began excellently, particularly Farrell showing his natural speed. Wilkinson moving up to second from P5, Farrell into third from P7. By the end of the first lap however, Stuart Jones who qualified on Pole, made a resurgence, moving into second ahead of Wilkinson. Stuart Jones leads the field to victory On Lap 2 Parkington was able to take Jones, how- ever it was short lived as Jones the lead back at Hairpin. On the same lap, Andrew Thomas and David Murphy both went off the track and out of the race. By the end of Lap 3, Jones led by 1s from Parkington with Dolan in 3rd and Wilkinson in 4th. A lap later, Dolan got ahead of Parkington and by the end of Lap 4, Jones had extended his lead to 1.5s. John Farrell was putting himself clearly forwarded to be the Driver of the Day in P4. By the end of Lap 6, the field had become extremely spread out with not much positional change at this point.

Continued Page 30

BRSCC Avon Tyres Formula Ford Northern Championship Anglesey Race Weekend – 12-13th May 2012

(Continued from Page 29)

By the end of Lap 8, Dolan in 2nd was now 7s ahead of Parkington. Roy MacGregor was unfortunately at the back of the pack and now 1m 10s behind the lead and soon to be lapped by Jones. By the end of Lap 9 Parkington was 11s behind Dolan. Unfortunately a lap later MacGregor retired, over a lap down on the rest of the pack. Replacing Roy at the back of the pack was Phil Nelson who span but continued, sending him toppling to the back. On the final lap Dolan was only 1.762s behind Jones with Colin Williams and James Mitchell battling together for 7th. Jones crossed the finishing line, taking the chequered flag with his customary celebration with both hands in the air. Stuart said he was merely “appreciating the applause from the crowd!!”.

Post 89 Race

Off the start, it was Neil Winn who moved up the pack into 2nd, but the early action involved multiple contact between Luke Cooper, Jay Wheals & Neil McArthur at Rocket with body damage occurring to the cars during airborne contact. By the end of the first lap it was John Murphy who had been able to get ahead of Winn with Martin Short in third. It was a short race for Cooper who, after his collision earlier in the lap, retired into the pits with a bent steering arm. By the end of Lap 2, Short had been able to overtake Winn into second, however on Lap 4, Winn fought back, outbreaking Short into Rocket and taking the place back. Similarly struggling after his incident was David McArthur took 4th place Jay Wheals, and on Lap 6 it got significantly worse to win the family battle when his engine blew after Corkscrew, leaking oil onto the track along the new pit straight. There was another retiree as Austin Kimberley pulled off after coasting round the track. After Lap 8, Murphy at the front was 2 seconds ahead of Winn, who was himself 2.4s ahead of Short, with the McArthur family battle being led by David with Tom and Neil behind. At this point the pack were very spread out, similar to the Pre-90 race shortly before. All places were comfortable with no jostling for position. On the last lap, David McArthur was challenging Short for third, only 0.9s behind. There was then a huge 11.5s gap between McArthur and the rest of the pack led by Jamie Jardine in fifth. At the chequered flag, Short held of David McArthur by only 0.014s over the line. The rest of the McArthur family ended further down the pack, with Tom in 6th, ahead of Neil in 7th.

Sunday Pre 90 Race 1

Sunday raceday came around in very windy but still The Pre 90 cars flood into the first corner extremely bright and sunny conditions. The Pre 90 race began with both pole sitter Stuart Jones and Nigel Dolan making good starts off the line with Dolan leading. However Jones was able to take the lead after only Lap 2. Ian Parkington sat in third place with Colin Williams in fouth in his Class E car. By the end of the third lap both Chris Stones and John Wilkinson were side by side over the Start/Finish line for sixth, whilst Graham Legget span and continued, losing the back end of the car whilst looking up the inside of David Gavan at Peel and getting it horribly wrong, falling to the back of the grid. Legget was soon able to retrieve his place back from Roy MacGregor however, but his challenge to Gavan was lost. At the end of Lap 4, the top 5 were almost 6 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack with John Wilkinson able to get past Stones for 6th. Elsewhere, Colin Williams took John Farrell for fourth and Parkington span and continued at Hairpin, taking him down from third to fifth. At the front, the battle between Jones and Dolan was much closer than in Saturday’s race, only 0.5s the difference at this stage. On Lap 7 Dolan span and continued, however he remained in second but was now 5.9s behind Jones. At this point the drivers were clearly now trying to outbreak each other to gain an advantage, whilst Farrell and Williams were having a real battle together, with only 0.07s between them. Elsewhere James Mitchell and Andrew MacGregor were jostling for eighth place, with only a 0.5s gap dividing them. By the end of Lap 9, there was almost a 6 second gap between Dolan in second and Williams in third. Meanwhile Wilkinson and Murphy battled for eighth, whilst Gavan and Andrew Thomas fought for eleventh. On Lap 10, MacGregor and Phil Nelson, who were battling with only 0.1s between them over the Start/ Finish line, collided into the first corner. Nelson was off and out of the race with a bent steering column.

Continued Page 31

BRSCC Avon Tyres Formula Ford Northern Championship

Anglesey Race Weekend – 12-13th May 2012 (Continued from Page 30) Post 89 Race 1

The accident brought out the Red flag, and so with only 2 minutes 24 seconds left of the race, the end to the session was called by the Chief Steward, with all cars entering Park Ferme. After 10 completed laps, Stuart Jones was in first place, exactly 5s ahead of Dolan in P2, and 10.9s ahead of Williams in third. Particular recognition should go to both Williams and John Farrell for finishing in third and fourth places respectively, both in Class E cars. As the cars travelled round on their outlap before the start of the race, Neil McArthur span leading to a delay at the start.When the race did begin, all started well with John Murphy getting Neil Winn & Martin Short battled early for 2nd place away from pole well from Neil Winn. By the end of Lap 1, Luke Cooper was suffering from a possible loss of fluid and was quickly at the back of the grid, however only 2 laps later he had quickly gotten past both Dan Headlam and Vincent Jay into 9th place. As it was on Saturday, the family battle between Neil and Tom McArthur continued their duel, by the end of Lap 3 they were challenging each other for sixth place. As they passed the Start/ Finish line on Lap 4, there was only half a car length between Murphy and Winn, 0.113s which by the end of the next lap was stretched to 0.6s. Just behind, there was a 1.4s gap between Martin Short in 3rd and David McArthur in 4th. McArthur had a 4.5s gap between himself and Jamie Jardine on Lap 5, extended to 5.8s by the end of Lap 6. Elsewhere, it was very close between eighth and eleventh, with no more than half a second between any of them. By the end of Lap 7 Short was able to take Winn over the Start/Finish line, whilst Austin Kimberley over- took Tom McArthur for seventh place. The earlier gap between David McArthur and Jardine at this point had now extended to 7.4s with McArthur posting the fastest lap of the race so far as he closed down on Winn. This pressure was too much for Winn who succumbed and span and continued at Rocket, dropping down to 6th and now under pressure from Kimberley. At this point, David McArthur was on fire (not literally!) as he overtook Martin Short along the old pit straight for 2nd place. There was now an 8.4s gap between Short and Jardine in fourth with Short less than 0.5s behind McArthur. Short continued his pursuit of McArthur and set the new fastest lap on Lap 11 of 1.34.093, now only 0.2s behind the second placed man. On the final lap McArthur decided to go all out for the win, and, when only 0.2s behind Murphy went in too deep going into Rocket and span, making life easy for Short to take his place and ease the pressure on Murphy who took the win from Short by 0.381s, with David McArthur finishing in third, still 7s ahead of Jardine in fourth.

Pre 90 Race 2

The second Pre 90 race of the day began with Parkinson and Dolan as the front two on the grid, followed by the two UCLan cars of Stuart Jones and Andrew Thomas. From the start, all were off well and by the end of Lap 1 Jones led whilst Dolan took Parkington for second. Meanwhile David Murphy who Colin Williams in his Class E car started in sixth, was now only 1s behind in fourth, with Colin had an impressive second race Williams in his Class E car, in fifth. On Lap 2, the front pair came together at Hairpin with Jones spinning after a tap from Dolan resulting in the Birmingham man without his front nose. That incident meant Dolan and Parkinson were the new front two with Murphy 2.6s behind in third. As Lap 3 came to an end, the two UCLan cars were side by side over the Start/Finish line, with only 0.046s difference, with Thomas ahead of Jones going into the first corner. Lap 4 however enabled Jones to get ahead of both Thomas and Murphy into third. At this point there was a 3.6s gap between the front two with a further 2.5s gap from second to third. By Lap 6, Jones was hunting down the front two, setting the new fastest lap of the race with a 1.36.241s. His efforts came to fruition only a lap later when, on the Start/Finish straight, Parkinson left the door wide open and Jones took full advantage into the first corner, moving into second. The gap then to Williams in fourth was now 7s. Elsewhere Graham Legget was only 0.3s behind Chris Stones in tenth, whilst Murphy was 1.5s behind sixth placed Farrell. At this point the top three were well clear by 10 seconds. Murphy had slipped down to eighth, going side by side with Wilkinson and having the inside going into the first corner, however he couldn't make it stick and there was no change. Jones was hunting Dolan down on Lap 11, the gap between the front two now only 0.37s. A lap later and Jones made his move - going side by side over the Start/Finish line, Dolan having the inside line into the first corner but as they exited onto the new Start/Finish straight it was Jones that got better traction to take the lead. However it was very short lived as Jones outbreaked himself at Hairpin, enabling Dolan to snatch the lead back. Elsewhere Farrell was now only half a car length behind Andrew Thomas.

Continued on Page 32

BRSCC Avon Tyres Formula Ford Northern Championship Anglesey Race Weekend – 12-13th May 2012 At the chequered flag, it was extremely close as Jones had been able to close up once again on Dolan. They ran side by side along the Start/Finish straight and over the line, with Dolan winning it by 0.129s. Thomas held onto fifth by 0.3s, Wilkinson held off Murphy for seventh, whilst Stones kept ahead of Legget by 0.6s. Stuart Jones now leads the Pre 90 Championship on 119 points, with Nigel Dolan in second on 91, with Ian Parkington behind on 59.

(Continued from Page 31)

Post 89 Race 2

The honour of the final race of the weekend was given to the Post 89 cars, with the wind Dan Headlam, Jamie Jardine & Tom McArthur battle in midfield really blowing in off the Irish Sea. When the red lights went out, it was Martin Short and John Murphy who both had good starts off the line, Short moving up into second past Neil Winn. At Rocket, a corner that had seen a lot of action over the weekend, lived up to expectation once again as Tom McArthur and Jamie Jardine made nose to tail contact with each other before continuing. The action continued on the second lap, with Tom McArthur in the thick of it again as he and Austin Kimberley collided at the first corner, the damage significant enough for Kimberley to retire from the race. By the end of the second lap Winn had past Short to re-take second place whilst on Lap 4, Luke Cooper, David McArthur and Jamie Jardine all went side to side over the Start/Finish line towards the first corner. Lap 5 saw Vincent Jay take a spin whilst David McArthur was able to get past Cooper into fourth position. A lap later and it was sixth placed Jar- dine who was under severe pressure from Tom McArthur, only 0.067s ahead, whilst the top three were over 5 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. The pressure from Tom McArthur took its toll on Jardine on Lap 7, the man from Frodsham dropping it down to ninth place, enabling the father and son pair of Neil and Tom McArthur to renew their family rivalry for sixth position. The top five were now 12 seconds ahead of the chasing pack headed by Neil McArthur. By Lap 9, Winn was now only 0.5s behind the leader Murphy, setting a new fastest lap of 1.34.793s, whilst Jardine was quickly recovering from his earlier spin, once again challenging with Tom McArthur, only two-tenths behind. By Lap 10 Winn was now even closer to Murphy’s gearbox, only 0.177s behind, whilst Vincent Jay continued after having another spin. Jardine was now having to look closer in his mirrors as Dan Headlam was only 0.6s behind. On the penultimate lap, Jardine sensed the opportunity in front of him and attempted to take Tom McArthur over the Start/Finish line but McArthur was too from the good and held the inside line into the first corner. As the chequered flag waved for the final time at the BRSCC Avon Tyres Northern Anglesey weekend, Jardine dramatically saw his Formula Ford 1600 Championship opportunity and took McArthur over the finish line, by only half a car length - a painstakingly close 0.010s. The rest of the pack remained the same with Murphy taking the win, with Winn in second and Short taking the [emailprotected] final podium place. Rachel has loads more Photos of these Murphy now leads the Post 89 Championship by a point from Neil Winn, who is a huge 26 points ahead of third events. AND others. Contact her for details placed Martin Short. at the above email address

Photographs

Courtesy of Rachel Bourne

Russell Hayes

Mini Sport Ltd,

Thompson St., Padiham, Lancashire, BB12 7AP Tel : 01282 778731 Fax: 01282 772043 www.minisport.com

15th - 17 th June 2012

CSCC Spa Summer Classic @ Spa Francorchamps

When I heard about Andy and Allan Davies making the trip to Spa earlier in the year I jumped at the chance to see if there was a spare seat in the motor home to tag along and act as a pit bum for the weekend. So the weeks passed leading up to the event, and our numbers increased to make the trip over to Belgium. There was myself, Carl Bennett, Dave Hill, Steve Turner, and of course Allan and Andy Davies who would be doing a shared drive in Allan’s impressive BMW E30 M3. It was an early start Thursday morning to get down to Stafford, home of Driveme.Net, to get to the motor home, M3 in tow, to get to Dover for the 2pm sailing to Dunkirk. We arrived at Dover in good time, and were soon loaded on to the ferry, saying goodbye to the white cliffs and Old Blighty! 2 Hours later and we landed at Dunkirk, and started the 2nd leg of the drive to get to the circuit. We arrived at Spa at about 8:30pm and made our way in to the circuit, there where already loads of people there, so we ummed and arred a little before deciding on the best place to set up camp, and promptly got unloaded what needed to be unloaded – table, chairs, cheese and wine, and had a bite to eat and some wine to relax after the trip The format of the weekend was to be a 30 min qualifying session on Friday, where both drivers needed to learn the track, and the best time of the session would be used for race 1 on the Saturday, with the results of that race being used for Sunday’s race. Unfortunately, the Belgium weather wasn’t being kind, with rain forecast for Friday / Saturday, but getting better and drier on the Sunday. As Andy had driven the circuit before he opted to do the wet race, with Allan doing the Race on the Sunday. So with a wet qualifying session, Andy took the first few laps in the Toyo 888 shod M3 before handing over to Allan for the majority of the session so he could get to know the track. With tricky conditions, and not the best wet weather tires, they did an impressive job qualifying the car, and set 12th fastest time out of a 52 car grid! Following a wet Friday night, the weather forecast stayed true and a wet Saturday followed… Andy struggled in the race with the Tires, with a few other competitors opting for list 1a tires to get some grip through the water covered track…. He finished the race a respectable 17th overall, which was bettered when it was discovered a few cars finishing higher up the order had fitted full race wets to their cars – a tire not allowed in this series, and they were excluded from the results! Thankfully Sunday saw some better weather, and by mid morning the sun was starting to crack through the clouds and dry the track. Allan started 14th on the grid after cars from the previous days racing had been excluded and moved to the back of the grid. Allan made a reasonable getaway and started to settle down as he got familiar with the track. There was a fair bit of action on the track as higher powered cars, unable to use their advantage in the wet made their way forwards, and lighter, and less powerful cars that had prospered in the wet got shuffled backwards. Allan brought the car home in a respectable 13th position out of the 46 that finished the race. The car was promptly loaded on to the trailer again, and we packed up everything again, and began the long trip back to England – roll on September when Andy is back over there racing in the Masters!!

Stu MacMaster

(Wallasey MC)

The saga of the mark 1 Escort goes on and on and on and……. Had to pull our entry on the Lake District Classic because

The Barrow Taxi Column

the engine problems were not resolved. We took the car on the aka Mr Paul Brereton trailer to the cars the star show instead and also took the Proton. Jeff and I put them on the KLMC stand and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day which was a great consolation for our disappointment over the LDC. The weather was good and there was a really good turnout of both cars and visitors. The following Wednesday was an introduction to motorsport evening at the Heaves which was in our normal third Wednesday clubnight slot. Again a good turnout of people and a nice relaxed evening of banter and chat ending up with a short scatter which was a very nice end to a pleasant evening which was followed up by our congenial hosts laying on the usual delicious freshly made sanwiches. Paul Whitelock filled my Proton with balloons for a guess how many balloons are in the car competition and there was a raffle as well. Ronnie Sandham brought the Myerscough College Transporter with a single seater in it and in the Heaves there was a playstation rallying game and some good in car footage on DVDs playing. The next day I was picking up another engine for the mark 1 which I managed to source locally. First impressions are good and it has all the right bits with it so we now have about 4 engines and only 1 that works. I have taken my newly built propshaft back to Driveline in Morecambe because it needs a little shortening, not their fault because the template I gave them was the original which had disintegrated on a full power run up ! So by August the Escort should be finally sorted hoo bl**dy ray. And so to the Morecambe rally. Danny Cowell stepped in as C-of-C this year and organised the event all on sheet 97. Danny and his crew found some amazing whites that had not been used in many years. Some were rather interesting and caused the writer some perspiration and excessive use of the steering wheel as the mud and crap caused the car to want to select its own routes. Hesitate and you were lost, getting stuck in Cantsfield must have been a nightmare thank god we had a nice chunky set of knobblies on that pulled us through the sludge.and the little Proton revved its little heart out and never missed a beat all night. As promised I will update Jeffs progress as a navigator. Once again I put in the entry as a semi-expert although we should really be novice. This was Jeffs second rally and after the shock to his system of the Memorial Rally where we only managed to get to petrol we analysed the problems we found. Firstly his plotting was too slow and we only got as far as petrol plotted before the start. This was compounded by the fact that we were arriving at junctions before he was calling them. We wrong slotted a couple of times and lost loads of time which meant that we had no time at petrol as we were already close to OTL. We decided to have a night a week where we would try to improve our communication and the speed of plotting. Firstly we sat down to some routes that we had begged off Dan Willan, Steve Kenyon and Maurice Ellison. Jeff improved dramatically over the next couple of weeks and we were able to get whole routes down within an hour. I suggested that he should not worry about calling bends because he had been doing it but it was taking too much of his concentration and I suggested that he should concentrate on junctions and only mention severe bends. I would just drive roads as I saw them. Anyway the night of the Morecambe arrived and with two hours plotting Jeff managed to comfortably get the route down and the start was relaxed –no pressure. The first controls were easy enough and even though they were all 4 minute sections there was no drama and we were waiting outside controls for our minute. It went a bit Pete Tong at the quarry which was a NAM with two code boards, easy enough but on the exit from the quarry you arrive at a junction. Which way Jeff ? Er, right I think, so we blasted off down the road to where there was another junction on the right Jeff said he didn’t think that was right so we turned round and went back to the original junction where he decided that his original shout was right so about turn and back down the road. We got a lot further this time before he decided that we had to go back again. Oh nightmare, time drifting away on what should be an easy section. The problem was that his concentration was taken by writing the boards down and going back to the map wasn’t straightforward as you lose your place by changing boards so we decided that he needed to be further ahead. Many controls are on or near junctions so I suggested that Jeff should tell me that a control was coming up and call any following junctions so that I would know which way to go and after he had got marshals signatures etc. I could carry on while he found his place back on the map. This started to work well and things became much smoother. We still feel that much can be improved but the basic teamwork and understanding is improving and we will continue to work on it. We have spoken to several of our top navigators and they all say it is not a five minute job to become good at it. Some of the top guys have been doing it for 20 years and more. Many readers may find this boring but we wanted to share our experiences so that other new navigators may learn from our mistakes and we could encourage more people to have a go. Jeff has kept his cool and kept his concentration where many would have spit the dummy and given up on it. The Morecambe is his second rally and he got it plotted and got us to the finish which was excellent considering the pressure of doing over 40 controls We will continue refining points that we feel need attention and will continue to report our progress. I must say that I was quite impressed with his efforts on the Morecambe where we managed to finish 24th o/a and we look forward to bigger and better things. Danny Cowell and his crew put on a magnificent event and the marshals were plentiful and outstanding, some must have done three controls each and we competitors are really grateful to you all for making the effort to keep our wonderful sport alive and kicking. Paul Brereton

Mo’s Mutterings or ‘Grumpy Old Git gets on his Soap Box’ At the last SD34MSG Committee night I went off on one of my customery ramblings. I started attending SD34 on behalf of Springhill Car Club back in 1974. Back then it was not unusual to have 4 committee members (or more) in attendance from each club and SD34 meetings were held every month back then. A club could not afford to miss any of those meetings. SD34 was used a lot in those days to avoid dates clashes (mainly with road rallies) and to sort out route clashes. Now whilst road rallies have declined in number there is still a case for clubs discussing Stage Rally date clashes. Back then it was dates and routes that needed co-operation between clubs. These days there are only a limited number of competitors to go around and it seems pointless to me to have nothing for weeks and then three events on the same weekend or on consecutive weekends - If it continues in this way then some clubs are bound to cancel events due to a lack of entries. This then causes competitors to leave sending off their entry until they are sure the event is going to run. A viscious circle that needs to be broken, and the only way to do that is for inter club co-operation and discussion way before the event dates are sent to the MSA. I said earlier that SD34 used to meet on a monthly basis and a club could ill afford to miss a meeting - one of the benefits of this was that clubs saw the value of SD34 and used to promote the SD34 Championships to their own members. Because the SD34 Championships were strong, then by being a round of the SD34 Championship clubs could expect, and get a full entry from within the membership of SD34. I know that Springhills own Championship was an exact copy of the SD34 events and I expect that was the case for most of the membership. These days member clubs seem to nominate events for their own championships in isolation to the SD34 rounds. The other benefit of adopting this method was that thev league was always strongly contested. There is strength in clubs wiorking together for the common good instead of just doing their own thing and SD34MSG is a catylist that can benefit the clubs that are its members but the membership (member clubs) have to work not only for themselves but SD34MSG as a whole. Back then 'social' events were organised for the SD34 clubs. These could be anything from a Gymkana to a table top. All these Inter Club events were strongly contested (we loved beating Clitheroe or Longton). I would like to see more inter club activity but judging by the response to the Inter Club Table Top I wonder if clubs are all that interested. Up to press the Interclub Table Top series (whilst well supported) has had members from only 3 member clubs to these events. Getting back to my opening statement about my ramblings What I was asking was - Since the start of SD34 the world of Motorsport has changed but has SD34 moved to reflect these changes? Does SD34 provide member clubs with the right support. What do members clubs and their members want out of SD34? Should we look more closly at what we are doing ? It might be that we are doing nothing wrong and are doing everything right ! But without some feedback from members it is very difficult to know where or what needs to improve - if at all Send me your thoughts ([emailprotected]) Or chat to your SD34MSG Rep

Speed limits: 40mph plan for country roads

The DfT says 68% of road deaths in Britain in 2010 took place on rural roads Speed limits on many rural roads in England could be cut from 60mph to 40mph under government proposals.

The reduction should be considered by councils on roads with "many bends or junctions", the Department for Transport (DfT) says in draft guidance. Some 49% of road deaths in 2010 in the UK took place on single carriageway rural roads with a 60mph speed limit. Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said it was "vital that speed limits are suitable for local conditions". The vast majority of rural single-carriageway roads are subject to the national speed limit of 60mph. It seems strange that you've got minor roads, often that are just tarmaced tracks, that have a speed limit of 60mph - just 10mph less than the motorways” I am not sure how to go about fighting this because, unfortunatly, it seems logical and makes sense to me. The statistics speak for themselves You can't have a speed limit that changes from 30mph to 60mph between midnight and 6am . I don’t like the sound of it and heaven help road rallying if it happens.

However : The problem with statistics is in how they are interpreted

I have been told that 20% of all fatal road accidents are caused by drunk drivers. It follows that 80% of all fatal accidents must be caused by drivers who have not had a drink. Logic suggests that we should therefor all have a wee dram before setting off in the car because it is obviously safer to drive when drunk ! Joking aside - I have mentioned previously the arrival of 20mph zones where I live. I can see local authorities taking up on this because the 'officialdom' way seems hell bent on regulating us for our own good. It does not matter that common sense goes out the window. These days I seem to spend most of my time, when driving, watching for speed cameras, my speedo, checking for changes in speed limit , more and more signs etc. etc and less and less time concentrating on the hazards around me. I am finding that the amount of people wearing HiVis is also increasing - so much so that it is the person without Ho-Vis that now stands out. With a constantly changing speed limit and ever increasing number of speed cameras you can lose your licence in a day. Then they wonder why we have just seen a rise in accidents - They have caused them by distracting the driver. Take care out there - They ARE out to get you

OUT & ABOUT With Gemini

Gemini Communications Team MOTORSPORT MANAGEMENT SAFETY SYSTEMS

Serving Motorsport for 45 Years www.geminicommunications.org.uk

Bill Wilmer 07973-830705 [emailprotected]

Greystoke Stages Rally

The merry crew (which included Myself, Cath Simpson from Morecambe Car Club an interesting combination !! - & her band of students from Myerscough College) on duty at Junc 15 - not a lot happened. (which is what - I assume - everyone wants) but it was a little bit on the boring side. The only excitement of the day (and the only time I spoke on the radio) was to notify Control that Car 00 Malcolm Wilson & wife (as co-driver) had broke a halfshaft. Mrs Wilson enjoyed the coffee & biscuits that we provided (for some reason she rejected my burgers) whilst they awaited recovery and Malcolm watched the cars. I don’t know where everyone came from but following Malcolms breakdown we had more speccies than we had seen all day and most were after a photo stood next to Malcolm and he willingly obliged and had a brief chat with them all until the recovery crew towed him away. Mo (Gemini 59)

I just want to thank everyone for a tremendous 26 crews turnout on Sunday the 8th of July, a great job well done - not often do we have three large events to cover on our books on the same day. Greystoke Stages, Tony reports:Event ran well and dry all day, Malcolm Wilson gave rides in his Mk 2 escort and gave out prizes at the end for the winners and they raised over £1000 for charity. We had 53 starters and 45 finishers, 1 rolled and as a precaution we had EMMU check them out in the paddock, 1 blown engine, 1 small fire, 3 in ditches, we got away about 17:30, Roger was very pleased with Gemini's cover for the event. Regards Tony Enville Stages:Graham who was to be the event controller phoned me late Saturday afternoon reporting that his car was off road - Derek Bedson jumped in at the last minute and Controlled the event, Special thanks to Derek for this Derek reported 53 starters as well - a roller, and a few tow off's and they had rain late in the afternoon, car 10 head gasket blown and also good early finish for everyone. Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride:About 500 riders down this year from the 8,000 who did it last year, we think the weather during the week had put a lot off although on the day it was fine with mostly good sunshine. For some reason this year we had lots of riders falling off and a couple been hit by cars - one lady ran into the back of her husband and fell off, they still are not talking!!! Just special thanks to Dave Crosby who saw nothing only birds flying past him all day, sorry the feathered type, who was on Winter Hill all day controlling the radio network, although he reported he has several hot meals brought to him, that's more than I got.. Bill

Event Up-Dates

Golden Microphone Championship 2012 Leading Board 1st, 2nd, = 3rd. = 3rd. = 3rd. = 3rd. = 7th = 7th = 7th = 7th = 7th.

Gemini 56 Gemini 11 Gemini 18 Gemini 13 Gemini 31 Gemini 38 Gemini 12 Gemini 14 Gemini 23 Gemini 59 Gemini 11

Tony Jones 13 points Peter Langtree, 11 points Eve and Graham , 8 points Stuart Dickenson 8 points Duncan Stock, 8 points Alan Shaw & Les Eltringham 8 points Chris Jarvis, 7 points Adrian Lloyd, 7 points Ian Davies, 7 points Maurice Ellison 7 points Mark Wilkinson, 7 points

If you can help on any of these please let me know.:Rally of Great Britain M.S.A. International Stage Rally, 14-16 Sep Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages ‘Warcop Ranges only this year’ Multi Use Venue, Sun 23 Sept The Heroes Stage Rally Weeton, near Kirkham, Lancs Pendle - Garstang & Preston MC Multi Use Venue, Sun 30 Sept. Cambrian National Rally Cloceanog / Penmachno Forests North Wales, National Stage Rally Sat 20 Oct Hall Trophy Stages Rally Blyton – Lincolnshire, Clitheroe & DMC Multi Use Venue, Sat 24 Nov

Brother Rally New Zealand By Joseph Lewry (our man in New Zealand)

After a 2 year absence the World Rally circus returned to New Zealand (to get a taste of the WRC in 2011 we had to travel to Australia). This time the event was a true winter rally. On previous occasions the rally was usually run in mid to late autumn which usually meant stable weather. This year, with the event in winter anything was possible. The base for the event was a recently re-developed area of Auckland called the Viaduct. This was where the rally show was held with the Service Park right next door. For those that wanted a little bit more there are bars, restaurants, and other things to see and do. The event kicked off with an autograph session on the Sunday prior to the event. Most WRC drivers were present however Sebastian Loeb was a notable absence. Also notable was that none of the codrivers were present (were they enjoying local eateries maybe?). I managed to get some of the drivers to autograph some of my photos from Rally Australia last year. Most notable for me was Ken Block. He was most interested in the photo and remembered the day and stage without any prompting. A very personable guy and a great ambassador for the sport. Also somewhat unusual was seeing Mikko Hirvonen wearing the red coloured clothing of Citroen. Somehow he looks more natural in blue to me. The weather leading up to the actual event had been very wet and the long term forecast was for some rather nasty weather. Time to drag out the wet weather gear. Fortunately as the week progressed the forecast got better and we got to live up to one of this country’s nick-names (land of the long white cloud). Thankfully the weather during the actual event remained good with just the odd light shower. The first competitive event for the rally was shakedown at 8.00 am on Thursday morning. There were actually 2 shakedown stages. One for the WRC cars and one for everybody else. The stage was about 20 kilometres north of Auckland so it was a 5.00 am departure from home for me. I arrived at the stage start at about 7.30 am (thank you GPS for showing me the way and thank you Google Earth for helping me see where the road went before I got there). I had decided that the best spots photographically were at the start so decided to walk in about 1 kilometre. I didn’t come across any spot that was outstanding so started to head back when the first cars started coming through (there was a slight hold up while so families needed to get their children off to school). The first cars through were all unspectacular and then Ott Tanak came through. Foot flat on the floor and completely sideways. Welcome back WRC. I progressively walked back to the start of the stage where the best corner was and spent the rest of my time there. One thing that was very obvious from the start was that the youngsters (Tanak and Novikov) like travelling sideways. They always seemed to be looking out of their side window. Great for people like myself taking photos but probably not the quickest way to get through the stages. The Citroen drivers were both very straight through the corners and the works Fords were somewhere in between.

The works Mini’s from Portugal were very slow when compared to the Prodrive version. Why did BMW take the works contract from Prodrive?

Later on that day there was another autograph session back at the rally show after the cars had paraded down Auckland’s main street. This time all drivers and co-drivers were present. There was a very long queue and unfortunately a number of people missed out due to the popularity of the event. (Continued Page 38)

Brother Rally New Zealand By Joseph Lewry (continued from page 37)

The first day of the event was based very close to where I live so not such an early start for me (7.00 am this time). These stages have been used for Rally New Zealand for a number of years and made up about half of the total competitive distance. I managed to get to 3 out of the 8 stages. There were large crowds at all of the spectator points which goes some way to confirming the popularity of the event (with the day being a normal working day). Days 2 and 3 were north of Auckland so I had already decided that I was going to spend the next 2 nights in Auckland (thereby saving myself 90 minutes travel time each morning). Day 2 dawned and it was off to the first stage that I had planned to go to. I had miscalculated the time to get there and managed to arrive just as the last of the zero cars was going through (after walking for about 1 kilometre from where I had parked my car). It was a very good spot for spectating where you could watch the cars travelling along the top of a ridge and then do a double right downhill turn to then pass in front of the spectators. It was then possible to see the cars disappearing off in to the distance through a number of switchback turns. The crowd at this spot was very large and was kept informed of what was going on by some knowledgeable commentators (on previous occasions we have had some commentators that were sadly lacking in any knowledge about rallying). Due to the way that the day had been organized it was really only possible to get to 2 spots during the day (3 may have been possible but it would have been a real rush to get between spots). There is one stage that has a jump over a bridge the end of the stage (famously Marcus Gronholm rolled his Peugeot at the corner after the bridge a few years ago). I had decided to give the spot a miss as it gets very crowded and difficult to get away from. Instead I went to the start of another stage where the cars travelled about 200 metres from the start control, turned through a 90 degree right hand turn and then sped off in to the distance. This corner turned out to probably provide the best photos from the event (again Tanak and Novikov came through the corner as if they had approached it backwards). Day 3 was based closer to Auckland and included 2 runs through a park in central Auckland. Having looked at Google Earth before the event I had discovered that all of the spectator points were tarmac intersections. I decided that I would go to the central Auckland stage and take a few “arty” pictures and then go to the finish of the power stage. The crowds at the central Auckland stage were very large as there was no admission charge and plenty of other things for families to do. There was not a large crowd at the end of the power stage as I suspect most people had decided to go to the formal finish back in Auckland. With the event over for another year it now remains to be seen what happens in the future. At the moment if we want to see a WRC event in 2012 we will need to travel to Australia or some other country. Unfortunately the manufacturers seem to want the New Zealand rally to be dropped from the calendar due to the cost involved however on the other side the drivers praise the event to a very high level and love coming here. One idea that is being put around is that the Rally would be in Australia for 3 years and then come to New Zealand for 3 years. This idea does not seem to be very popular as it will be difficult to keep interest in the sport for the years that we do not hold it. Another idea that makes more sense is holding both Rally New Zealand and Rally Australia 3 weeks apart each year. That way the expenses for the manufacturers are kept to a minimum and the championship can be called a true world championship (remove New Zealand and Australia and it becomes a European and South American championship only).

Joseph Lewry

www.motorsport-photography.eu

BMSTT grant aid available

Successful British GP for the MSA

A popular victory for UK-based Mark Webber brought the curtain down on another terrific British Grand Prix weekend for the MSA. Once again the governing body was pleased to welcome MPs and parliamentarians to Silverstone, including three Secretaries of State: Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP, Justice Secretary; Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media & Sport; and Rt Hon Michael Moore MP, Secretary of State for Scotland. MSA Chief Executive, Colin Hilton, said: “As with all overning bodies, our public affairs activity is vital in ensuring that we are involved in the discussions that might affect our sport. This year we have had issues regarding forestry access and apprenticeships, while we continue to push for a review of the Road Traffic Act to enable closed road motor sport. “We use the British Grand Prix as a great opportunity to spend time with important politicians and demonstrate the value of the sport and its related industry to the UK. We were delighted that three Secretaries of State were able to join us and each of them left with a better nderstanding of British motor sport and support for our activities.” The MPs were also shown around the Williams and McLaren garages, while FOM President Bernie Ecclestone was keen to meet Clarke, a long-standing supporter of F1 and British motor sport. FIA President Jean Todt was also on hand to provide a warm welcome to the F1 paddock.

The British Motor Sports Training Trust, under the chairmanship of Lord Rooker, has a grant aid programme to assist MSA Clubs and Recognised Groups with volunteer officials training, particularly for – but not limited to –marshals. Application forms for grant aid for the 2013 training day programme will be sent shortly to all those clubs and organisations that received grant aid funding from the Training Trust this year, for return by early September 2012. If any other MSA Club or Organisation wishes to express an interest in applying for grant aid in this way, further details are available from Jennifer Carty at the MSA on 01753 765071

Wales Rally GB marshalling opportunities

There are still places available for marshals wanting to volunteer on Wales Rally GB, the UK’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship, on 13-16 September. Those wishing to volunteer on the event must be a egistered marshal with the MSA on their Marshal Registration Scheme. They should then look through the event staffing timetable to decide where they would like to marshal on the event, then either contact one of the staffing officers to enrol, or enrol online at www.walesrallygb.com if they already have a Marshal Registration Number.

MSA thanks BGP marshals

MSA Chief Executive, Colin Hilton, has paid tribute to the volunteer marshals and officials at the British Grand Prix for their efforts over an incredibly testing weekend. “The extraordinary weather of recent weeks led to challenges and problems that could never have been foreseen,” said Hilton. “With the country struggling to cope with torrential rain, houses flooded and festivals cancelled, the team at Silverstone did an incredible job just to put the event on. “When the weather was at its worst, our thoughts were with the amazing army of 1000 volunteers without whom the event just couldn’t take place. They stay out in all weathers, keeping drivers and spectators as safe as possible; we all owe them a great debt of gratitude and must never underestimate the importance of the role they play in this and every one of the 4,500 motor sport events held annually in the UK.” A free prize draw is always held to reward one of the loyal marshals for their efforts; this year’s winner was Lynn Sencicle (pictured), a course incident marshal on Hangar Straight, who wins a trip to a European grand prix of her choice next year.

National Motorsport Week hailed a success

National Motorsport Week 2012 has been hailed as a huge success as, for the second year, the Motor Sports Association joined forces with the Motorsport Industry Association not only to celebrate the UK’s position at the forefront of global motorsport but also to encourage more people to get involved at all levels. A hectic programme of promotional activities kicked off with a record 185,000 crowd attending this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and drew to an appropriate close with local team Red Bull Racing scoring a memorable victory in the Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While these two major events stole many of the headlines, they were just two highlights to book-end a week that included just about everything from MPs racing around the Silverstone Grand Prix track on an F1 simulator in the Palace of Westminster to local motor clubs organising special taster autotest events for complete novices. As the MSA’s official spokesman for National Motorsport Week, 13times grand prix winner David Coulthard played a major role. He helped push the motor sport message inside Westminster by joining the MSA at the House of Commons, where over 50 MPs were put through their paces in an F1 simulator. He also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and Radio 1’s Chris Moyles Show, plus several other major regional BBC stations including Radio Scotland and Radio London. All eight of the UK-based F1 teams supported the week by running special competitions on the MSA’s www. GoMotorsport.net website offering some great prizes including factory tours, autographed F1 components and opportunities to join race teams. There were a large number of activities on the ground, too. Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire raised nearly £500 for charity with passenger laps around the track in a selection of competition cars provided by the Darlington and District Motor Club, while Silverstone offered a 50 per cent discount on selected single-seater and supercar experiences booked during the week. For the second year running Richard Egger, Go Motorsport’s Club Development Officer, helped motor clubs across the country to get behind National Motorsport Week in an effort to bring new blood into the sport at grass roots level. His efforts resulted in a raft of different activities ranging from demo autotests and treasure hunts to marshal recruitment at the British Grand Prix. Meanwhile in Scotland more than 20 youngsters were given a taste of motor club life by taking part in an autotest at Tesco in Lockerbie, which pulled in a crowd of around 250 interested onlookers. The event was featured in the The Sun and Daily Express and generated further local press interest. One club initiative organised by Accrington Motor Sports Club, CSMA Club North West Motor Sport Group and Under 17 Motor Club NW offered a randomly picked member of the public the chance to take part in an AutoSOLO/PCA aboard a car provided by Egger’s fellow Go Motorsport RDO Steve Johnson. The lucky winner, 14-year-old Ryan Townsend, said: “I drove 10 tests, five each on track A and B. I got quicker each time and Steve was helping and encouraging me. With each run I was getting to know the car better and enjoying it more and more.” “This year’s National Motorsport Week has been a remarkable success with so much happening throughout the country,” said MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton. “At one end of the scale we had MPs racing against David Coulthard in Westminster while at the other there were lots of newcomers having fun on four wheels by participating in their very first grass autotest. National Motorsport Week has established itself as an important fixture in the motor sport calendar and we’ll announce next year’s dates as soon as possible.”

Technical/Regulations Stage rally mud flaps

ROPS welding

The MSA Technical Department wishes to draw attention to General Regulation (K)1.3.8, which states: “All welding should be of the highest quality with full penetration and preferably using a gas shielded arc. Although good external appearance of a weld does not necessarily guarantee its quality, poor looking welds are never a sign of good workmanship.” These images were sent to the MSA Technical Department and show welding that is generally nimpressive. The apparent size of the welds suggests that the tubes were either not accurately cut and the welder has arced across significant gaps, or possibly the welder has melted away the end of the tube and then ‘rebuilt’ it with weld.

The MSA Technical Department has recently received a query regarding the fitting of mud flaps to homologated ‘WRC’ spec stage rally vehicles. It was claimed by the competitor that as mud flaps were not shown on the homologation papers for his vehicle they were not required on all four wheels, and indeed if they were fitted they would invalidate the homologation. Competitors are advised that this is not the case; mud flaps are not a part of FIA vehicle homologations and therefore fitting them does not in any way contravene the FIA homologation papers. For use in any MSAauthorised stage rally activities all vehicles, including FIA homologated and ‘WRC’ vehicles, must be fitted with mud flaps in accordance with (R)48.1.12.

Historic stage rallying

A trial has been extended to allow cars for which a valid FIA Historic Technical Passport (HTP) has been issued to participate in historic stage rallying in the UK. Competitors driving such cars must present the HTP paperwork, which is unique to that particular car, at scrutineering and the car must be in full compliance with the specification set out in that document. MSA equirements for fire extinguishers also apply to these cars.

Rear bumper stud protrusion

Kart competitors are reminded that Motor Sports Council has approved the immediate implementation of the following new regulations on safety grounds: (U)17.8.9 & (U)17.13.12. Have any studs with more than 3 threads protruding from the rear of the kart covered with appropriate nuts, caps or suitable protective cover. These new regulations are designed to address concerns regarding excessive rear bumper stud protrusion.

Call for entries:

inaugural MSA Environmental Award

The MSA’s new environmental award has been designed to recognise an individual or MSA club deemed to have demonstrated a commitment to environmental responsibility and the active promotion of sustainability in the running of motor sport activities, events and communications. The winner will be decided by the MSA Executive Committee and will receive a trophy at the prestigious annual Night of Champions prize giving ceremony at London’s Royal Automobile Club in January. Entries should take the form of a letter of no more than 400 words outlining the individual or club’s commitment to environmental responsibility, and should be sent to Allan Dean-Lewis at the MSA by post or email (allan.dean-lewis@ msauk.org) by no later than 1 October 2012. Individuals’ entries must be endorsed by their MSA-registered club, while club entries should be endorsed by their Regional Association.

Team UK gets expert driver training & F1 visit

A busy few weeks for Team UK have encompassed ontrack training with one of the world’s foremost driver coaches, a visit to the British Grand Prix paddock and a stint at Silverstone’s Porsche Performance Centre. The driver training was delivered by the renowned Rob Wilson, who has worked with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Mikko Hirvonen. The national squad was then accompanied by MSA Performance Director Robert Reid and National Coaches David Brabham and Coach James Wozencroft at the grand prix, where they enjoyed exclusive meetings with Pirelli (pictured), Mercedes and Williams. Next week they will undertake three weeks of workshops and fitness training at Porsche. “The time I spent with Rob Wilson at Bruntingthorpe was invaluable,” said Formula Renault BARC frontrunner Josh Webster. “His theories are genius; they can be quite different to what you would normally do but they clearly work, as I was lapping four seconds quicker by the end. We then had a great time at the grand prix, where we had a behind-the-scenes look at Pirelli and meetings with the Williams and Mercedes teams.”

This year’s event has a large number of changes in its main locations, dates and stages, however, by far the biggest change to the rally this year is the date. It is running from

Wednesday 12th to Sunday 16th September which is 1 day longer and 2 months earlier than the usual slot.

2012 Rally Route

Cardiff ‐ Service Park

One of the biggest changes for this year’s event is the move of the service park back to the event’s host city, Cardiff where, as in 2010, the service park will be located around the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay.

Qualifying - Wednesday 12th September

The change to a qualifying session, rather than simply shakedown, will mean that a short section of Walters Arena is the venue for this new part of the event on the Wednesday afternoon.

Llandudno Start - Thursday 13th September

The cars then journey to North Wales for the ceremonial start on the Thursday evening on the promenade at Llandudno – hopefully we will have fantastic sunsets like the 2011 event.

Friday 14th September

There’s an early start for the crews as the rally starts properly. The cars leave the North Wales coastline to tackle stages at Dyfnant, Hafren Sweet Lamb and Myherin with a remote service at Newtown before completing those stages again. The cars then make their way down to the main service area in Cardiff for a Flexi service and the overnight halt.

Saturday 15th September

The crews make their way from a quick 15 minute service in Cardiff up to the classic Epynt Ranges to compete over the Crychan, Epynt and Halfway stages before returning to Cardiff around midday for their service. They then complete the same loop again before the new spectator stage at Celtic Manor Resort near Newport. This short asphalt stage uses roads around the Ryder Cup golf course .

Sunday 16th September

A return to the South Wales region with stages at Port Talbot, Rheola and Walters Arena in the morning before a mid‐morning service in Cardiff and a return to the same stages in the late morning. The final Walters Arena stage will be the event’s power‐stage where bonus points are awarded for positions on that stage. The cars then head back to Cardiff for the finish of the event on Sunday afternoon.

Gazzard Accounts

Unit 6, Clifton Business Park Preston New Road (A584) Clifton, Preston Lancashire, PR4 0XQ Tel: 01772 633777 Fax: 01772 633792

33 Acresfield Road, Middleton, Manchester M24 2WT 0161 643 0151 or 07973-816965 email : [emailprotected]

Photos Courtesy Dan Ruddick email : [emailprotected] Jolyon Harrison's Brabham BT30 Alan Watkins' magnificent Ford RS1800

Packard Bentley 42 Ltr

Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport withStephan Hill

Jaguar XJ220 Martini owned by Don Law

Brutus BMW Aero 47 Ltr

Mark Finberg's Ford GT40

Mono-Cycle

grassy moment for Geoff Lewis on his Norton Dominator 99 with Ian Cargill on the side car

Andrew Furguson's Lancia Stratos

The Independent Panel on Forestry has published its Final Report, which is available here .http://www.defra.gov.uk/

forestrypanel/reports/ The report calls for the benefits of England’s woods and forests to be re-valued for all the services they provide. These include not only areas for recreation, but also clean air, clean water, habitats for wildlife, locking up carbon, shading in cities even helping in flood reduction. Wood is the raw material for timber frame buildings, furniture, flooring, fuel, and of course paper. The report highlights the ‘triple bottom line’ that forestry delivers and calls for a revival of a woodland culture that appreciates how important trees are for people, for nature and the economy. It highlights that the public forest estate is the single largest provider of outdoor leisure and recreation in England. And it is also the single largest timber producer, as well as being a vital habitat for wildlife. Research shows that these elements are producing annual returns on investment estimated at £400 million. With over 80% of England’s woods and forests being outside of the public forest estate, the Panel is calling for more of these woods and forests to be sustainably managed to create a substantial impact. Speaking on behalf of the Panel members, The Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, said: “The Panel’s work over the last year has shown that our woodlands, managed sustainably, can offer solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing society today. We have consulted widely, visited woods and forests around the country and read over 42,000 submissions. There is untapped potential within England’s woodlands to create jobs, to sustain skills and livelihoods, to improve the health and wellbeing of people and to provide better and more connected places for nature. Most importantly, the public forest estate needs to be free from the electoral cycle, for trees have long lifecycles - decisions taken now are looking to a future that is 50, or even 100, years down the line. And the bodies managing the public forest estate and advising woodland owners need to evolve and be free to become much more entrepreneurial. We recommend the expansion of woodland cover from 10% to 15% by 2060.” The recommendations focus on maximising the social, environmental and business benefits of English woodland, so that the forestry industry will be on a more secure footing in the future. To achieve this we propose that the public forest estate should be defined in law as land held in trust for the nation so that it will always remain as a national asset. Bishop James states: “Government investment is now needed to kick start these changes which will repay itself many times over in terms of public benefit” Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mick Briant's long awaited book: 'Do You Have To Drive Like That?'

The story of the highest level of road rallying: The Motoring News Championship As seen through the eyes of one of the championship’s most successful drivers Contributions and commentary from the holders of 32 Motoring News Championship titles “Mick and l were tough competitors but we respected each other; we both know what it’s like to drive hard through the lanes. There is no one with more experience than Mick to tell the tale of the Motoring News Championship.” – Ron Beecroft – 3 Times Champion Driver “Between us, Ron, Mick and l won the Motoring News Championship an incredible EIGHT times, we have so many tales to tell. To rally in the lanes of Wales was an incredible, fantastic time in my life. Congratulations to Mick for taking the time to write such an explicit account of Motoring News rallying.” – Bill Gwynne – 2 Times Champion Driver “Rallying with Mick, and later with Steve Hill, it always felt that the quicker we went, the safer it became. To sit beside a smooth (and safe) driver at 100mph in the lanes is something that words cannot describe.”

– Dave Kirkham – 3 Times Champion Navigator

Over 300 original photographs from the scrapbooks of many famous names from the Motoring News Championship The book is finished, and will be available shortly (expected to be Christmas 2012) - type setting and printing currently underway. The book will be available direct from me. Please feel free to drop me an email for futher details.

Mick Briant

[emailprotected]

www.drhphotography.org.uk Or 07858-880511 I've just installed Norton security on my computer. Every time I login it interviews me in a gay Irish accent.

Rally of the Midlands Rally Village, was a bit of a

wash out sadly due to the continued wet British summer we are all experiencing. We arrived Friday morning to very strong winds & horizontal rain, with the area designated for the rally village resembling a quagmire at best. Local Traders/Exhibitors obviously knew the weather wasnt going to be up to much and were pulling out all morning, cant say I blamed them. It was touch and go wether we cancelled it or tried to make the best of a bad job, the latter prevailed but only just after a great team effort from all Traders/Exhibitors helping each other to erect the marquees etc. Sadly the event had no real footfall as such and with being next to the road into service many walked past or didnt want to know. But I would just like to say a massive thanks to my team/Traders/Exhibitors who worked tirelessly all weekend despite the shocking weather. My next task is the Michelin Grp B Rallye Aug 25/26th, for all Trade and Exhibitor enquiries please [emailprotected] contact me at :

Please be advised that with immediate effect, the Rallye Groupe B scheduled for 25/26 August 2012 has had to be re-scheduled. This

decision has been made due to the loss of key venues at short notice (Swinnerton & Cholmonderly), which has meant that the event could not conform to the permit issued by the MSA. The Organising Committee has sought to find alternative stages, but given the short timeframe it was decided to postpone this event to a later date. However to fulfil our promise to provide a Group B event in 2012, we have been working with another Rally Team to provide a bolt on event to their rally. At this time we have initial agreement to run a limited number of cars as both demonstration and competitive and we are now going through the formalities with the Rally Team to ensure MSA approval and all the event requirements are met. Priority will be given to all fully paid entries and it is expected that the entry fee will be similar to the Michelin Rallye Groupe B to Rallying with Group B members. Please be aware that because we cannot formally announce the event yet, this press release is vague. As soon as details are firmed up, I will release further details to the membership first, then through the website. This event is in no way a replacement to our home based event and plans are already underway to regroup and agree a new date with existing and proposed venues. Again, please see the website for updates. The Committee wishes to extend its thanks to all the people who have given the event the support and we hope that you will agree that given the short notice we have been able to provide a suitable alternative to the proposed event. Darren Fox

Dave & Julie Harwood at Road & Stage Motorsport Ltd. Whitegate, White Lund Industrial Estate, Morecambe. Happy to help with all your rally needs. Just call or Telephone, You are always welcome.

Tel: 01524 844066 www.rsmmotorsport.co.uk

Email: [emailprotected] www.rsmmotorsport .co.uk

Matthew Rudd Photography

specialise in event work be it motorsport, concerts, cycling you name it they'll cover it the length and width of the UK already they are doing events as high as the Highlands of Scotland right down to Dorset. www.matthewruddphotography.co.uk

Part Worn KUMHO Knobblies Soft or Medium Compounds

205 X 65 X 15

(equivolent to Pirelli P Zero 195X65X15) (done Approx 20 miles )

£50 each

R or L both available

Tel 07788-723721

Gazzard Accounts

33 Acresfield Road, Middleton, Manchester. M24 2WT 0161 643 0151 or 07973-816965 [emailprotected] Specialist services to the packaging industry We offer the following services to all flatbed diecutter operators with an emphasis on Asahi machines. Project, Installation, Commissioning, Training, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Repair, Spares The service team is led by company directors Peter Gabbatiss and Dylan Preston who each have more than 10 years of platen die-cutters experience and specialize in Asahi products. Unit 2 Sovereign Business Centre

Wyvern Avenue, STOCKPORT SK5 7DD 0161 476 2424 Pete Gabbatiss - 07718 809 159 Dylan Preston - 07718 809 160

Steve Price

Tel: 07814 953346 Gilnow Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 4LL

www.retro-speed.co.uk

RETRO-SPEED

Classic car and classic motorsport magazine online. Daily updates and images from the world of historic motorsport, classic rally news, motor racing, hill climbs, car trials, classic car shows and major classic car and automobilia auctions.

Usedcarparts.co.uk Solway Coast Rally Sunday 12 August.

We are running two events this year the 'www.usedcarparts.co.uk Solway Coast Rally' will be a 42 mile National B Stage Rally which is a round of the Five of Clubs Rally Championship and the Scottish Tarmack Rally Championship, and the 'www.usedcarparts.co.uk Solway Coast Junior Rally' which is the penultimate round of the Brick & Steel Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge. Support for both events comes from our long-term sponsors the Stewart family www.usedcarparts.co.uk and EUROROUTE RECOVERY. Marshals are needed for this event. If you can help please contact Stewart Robertson on 01387 850 274.

Very early days, however I’d really like both you and any of your colleagues help and support please on Saturday 20th October , if at all possible. Whilst I’ve already had chance to speak with some of you on the phone, sadly I only have email addresses for others, hence this morning’s missive. th If Saturday 20 October rings a bell, then it’s the Cambrian Rally date for this year and will once again promise a full ‘last round’ of BTRDA blast through the classic North Wales forests. After running Alwen last year the organisers are resting it for 2012 and the sad demented fools (strike that and replace with, those highly enlightened and good folks J ) have just asked if we’d consider running the main Clocaenog stage (twice) for them with, myself as Stage Commander. Therefore I’d really like your help, support and experience again so as to make this another excellent run stage. At the moment details are scarce (more info expected soon), however the proposition is A double run stage, Circa 9.5 miles long, ATC, Start, circa 25 in-stage junctions, FF & Stop, Likely to be 12 Mandatory in-stage radio points, Mid-point Rescue & Recovery, Basically using a slightly shortened version of the 2011 WRGB stage, No setup changes required between the 2 runs, The 2 longest stages of the event , 1st run FCD circa 09:25, 2nd run FCD circa 15:00, Finished circa 17:00 A big ask as well, but given something this long I’d like to also run a ‘tracking’ radio system alongside the traditional ‘81’, any volunteers ? So as you appreciate a big ask to cover this amount of classic stage, hence the early call for help. Likely Sign on time being 06:40 – 07:15, sorry for the slightly early start So as to help your travel planning, Clocaenog is to the west of the village of Clocaenog From the east, quickest access is off the main A55 around Mold to Ruthin on the A494, then B5105, up the ‘white’ (past the stop line) to Pennant crossroads and left through Nilig From the north, off the main A55 to Denbigh, then the B4501 to it’s B5435 crossroads, then down the white’ -From the south and Midlands, up the main A5 to Cerrigydrudion, then B4501 north and the ‘white’ through Pentre-llyn-cymmer, Stage access being down the ‘infamous’ dual carriageway, the start of which (public road) exit is a GPS plot of 53 03 58 N / 03 29 05 W or actual start reference being Map 116 0055 5315 if you prefer, whilst exit to tarmac is adjacent to Waen Uchaf on the OS maps (53 04 16 / 03 26 02), and circa 1 mile down the hill to the B5105. In the main this is a generally pretty smooth stage with just a couple of sections requiring a little caution in low slung vehicles, however with cuts from J5 to J21, J11 to J20, J17 to J24, and J21 to J23, so getting people in and out isn’t generally a concern. More details as and when I get them. So who’s up for what is usually a ‘cracking’ day out on what is likely to be the last run through Clocaenog before the extensive wind farm works commence ? Regards, Derek Machin

COMING SOON………………..

ROAD RALLYING AT IT’S BEST

THE JOHN ROBSON NAVIGATION RALLY 10th. NOVEMBER 2012

A CLASSIC ROUTE OVER SOME FANTASTIC ROADS SPECIAL LOW BUDGET PRICE SUPER BUFFET AND GREAT SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE AT THE FINISH FOR REGULATIONS CONTACT ;ED GRAHAM [emailprotected] Organised By Hexham & District Motor Club THE JOHN ROBSON NAVIGATION RALLY 100 plus miles on Classic Road Superb route, the best bits of map 86 Amazing “Value For Money” Low Entry Fee No trick Navigation Easy to read Road Book for Novice Crews 99.9% of route on smooth asphalt Superb “Apres Rallye” buffet Early evening start means time for After Rally Party Great Social Atmosphere Atmospheric start in Allendale Market Place For Details mail [emailprotected]

Potential Competitors need to be aware that the Organisers have to submit the number of cars taking part on the Heroes Stages Rally to the MOD by the middle of August. This is due to mod cutbacks and the person who deals with the contracts is going on holiday early in September. The Organisers would appreciate potential competitors giving them an indication that they intend to enter – obviously the organisers can not hold a competitor to this but it would help them in their planning. Please send your ‘Intent to Compete’ to the meeting secretary Rod Brereton at [emailprotected].

North Wales Car Club (NWCC) 57th Cambrian Rally, the final round of the BTRDA Championships

20th October.

45 stage miles with 7 stages including: SS1 Clocaenog Main (Sponsored by North Wales Honda) SS2 Clocaenog East Service Ruthin Cattle Market SS3 Penmachno North SS4 Penmachno South SS5 Clocaenog East SS6 Clocaenog Main (Sponsored by North Wales Honda) SS7 Great Orme (Sponsored by Conwy Council) Finish - Llandudno promenade Improvements have been made to the Penmachno Forest route following complaints last year that the stages were too rough and this year will see the event running good quality classical routes over two stages in Penmachno of lesser mileage than in previous years, each having single use only and having been regraded over the winter. Check out the website or follow us on twitter to get the latest news and announcements. www.cambrianrally.co.uk @cambrianRally

Epynt Motor Club Ltd.

EventSigns Mewla Rally Sunday 26th August.

The rally will once again be based on the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, where Rally Headquarters and scrutineering will be held. Eight stages providing over 85 stage miles will be offered on the Epynt Ranges, with the entry fee held at the 2011 level of £320. Contact details and more information as it becomes available can be found on the Epynt Motor Club website http://www.epyntmc.co.uk. Regulations will be available to download (http:// www.epyntmc.co.uk/) or please contact the Entries Secretaries, Keith and Trina Edwards, Tel 01982 551246 or Email [emailprotected]. We look forward to welcoming you on the 2012 Mewla Rally be it as a competitor, marshal or spectator.

Spadeadam MC Countdown Rally 8th/9th September

A new team has been put together for this year and a new format can be expected( a little simpler than in previous years. We want to get everybody to the finish without going OTL. The event will be based at the Howard Arms Hotel, Brampton Cumbria. With the event starting outside the Historic Moot Hall in Bramptons Market Place( the same place as this years Roger Albert Clark Rally will finish) We would like to welcome back as many competitors as possible who have competed on this event in the past together with as many Countdown virgins as feel they would like to sample the hospitality of Spadeadam’s event ( marshals will also be more than welcome) . The event will be run over 120 miles of classic north cumbrian roads, petrol will be available at approx 75 miles. Regs will be available soon

Wallasey Motor Club AVO Performance Suspension Promenade Stages Rally will run on the closed public roads of the New Brighton Promenade on

Fri 7th and Sat 8th Sept.

This event offers nearly 50 miles of smooth all-tarmac stages on the Saturday for an entry fee of £245.*

After the success of last year, we will be running the Floodlit Super Special again on the Friday night but the stage will be twice as long as in 2011. Once again, reverse seeding will be used on Friday night with crews re-seeded according to stage times before the Saturday stages.* Following feedback from competitors, we hope to introduce a break around dusk so that crews run either in daylight or darkness and after their run, crews will be released back to the service area. We hope to release the regulations and open the entries at the beginning of July. Maximum number of entries is 90 with the first 80 accepted on receipt of payment ( a split payment option will be available ) and the remaining 10 places allocated at the Organisers' discretion.* To register your interest or for further details, please contact the Entries Secretary - Tony King by pm or email: [emailprotected] Check the event web site for updates http://promrally.wallaseymc.com/ We look forward to seeing you in September

MEM MALTON FOREST RALLY Sunday 4th November 2012

Malton Motor Club are pleased to announce the continued support for their annual forest rally from MEM World Rally Team. This will be the 15th year that proprietor Chris Mellors has supported the club with various events. MEM prepare the works PROTON S2000 rally cars for the IRC and Asia Pacific Championships. The event will take place on the traditional date of Sunday, 4th November and will be based at a new start location at Dalby Forest Visitor Centre near Pickering, North Yorkshire. Six long forest stages will be held in Langdale, Gale Rigg and Cropton forests with central servicing at Adderstone Fields which is close to the start location in Dalby Forest. This new start location will enable a more compact event with reduced public road mileage whilst maintaining the usual 40 miles of stages. Regulations will be available in late August on the rally website www.maltonforestrally.co.uk Online entries will be available and requests for paper versions of the regulations should be made to the entries secretary, Maxine Leggott, 6 Meadowfields Close, Easingwold, York, YO61 3DP Tel 01347 821391 A good entry of historic cars is anticipated as the event counts for points in the Motoscope Northern Historic Championship. Historic cars will run at the front of the field. This would be an ideal shakedown for the Roger Albert Clark rally which runs in the same area just three weeks later. The event is also a counting round of the following regional championships:-ANECCC, ANCC , ANEMMC. Additional information is available from the Press Officer, Dave Holliday on 01904 763080 or Email : at [emailprotected]

Rally Isle of Man will be a mixture of classic and innovative stages this September.

The entire course and itinerary for the event has been extensively reviewed by the organising teams’ Route Committee. As a result the challenge for crews will be every bit as the tradition of the event demands, whilst offering a real spectacle. Indeed striking the balance has been one of the key ingredients, as Kris Killip, Clerk of the Course for the Duke Stages Rally section of the event, suggests. “We’ve not only looked at the overview, we’ve attempted to create a highlight within each section of each day, something that stands out for competitors and spectators alike.” It was announced in March that the centre-piece of Thursday nights opening leg (20th September) would be a spectator super-special stage on Douglas Promenade, featuring side-by-side action with cars head-to-head. There will also be two other stages without going too far from the events TT Grandstand service area. Friday’s eight day-time tests will take place across the island and will include more side by side action, with a plan in place for two of the tests to start on the same stretch of road, pitting crews against one another from the green light! It is thought it may be a first for the sport. The islands ancient capital of Castletown, a long standing friend of the event for over 25 years, remains at the heart of Friday nights action that covers four tests, though the familiar stage from Hango Hill through the town has also received a makeover! Saturday’s ten stage day means it’s no easy run to the finish ramp. As throughout the route, long main road runs will be kept to a minimum to enhance the experience for competitors and fans but also reduce inconvenience for non-rally road users as far as possible. To achieve this, Saturday morning will feature double usage of roads on two stages, another first for closed roads events on the island. It all builds to a traditional fitting finale with a dash down Glencrutchery Road to finish at the TT Grandstand on Saturday afternoon. The crews will most certainly have earned any champagne and silverware that may be coming their way! “Almost every stage includes an element of what competitors would describe as classic Manx rallying,” says Kris Killip. ”Druidale, The Mines, Castletown and the Classic for example are all included. Some of them may be in a different format, but the roads that give this island its unique place in our sport are still what present one of its ultimate challenges.” • Regulations are set to be published in early July as entries open, however a pre-registration facility has been made available at rallyisleofman.co.im for anyone planning to participate in whatever capacity. • Rally Isle of Man is able to accept entries from nonUK/Irish license holders as it is registered as a National Event with Authorised Foreign Participation (NEAFP). Competitors who make wish to take part on this basis should contact the Rally Office in the first instance. • To help take the stress out of booking arrangements, the rally has teamed up with specialist trip planners Isle of Man Events Limited (iomevents.com). They’ll be only too happy to look after the planning for your entire trip, covering travel and accommodation, with great prices.

RALLY OF THE TESTS 8th-11th November

This years event run by the Classic Rally Association is now well on the way in planning and further information will be on the link below in the very near future. The event will start with a prologue around Torquay on the Friday evening before a day of tests and regularities in Somerset and Devon followed by an evening section of time controls before ovenight halt in Bristol, the next days action starts over in water in wales with test and regularities working up to a lunch halt at the Royal Welsh showground then onto Epynt for tests and regularities, over to Machynlleth for supper halt and then an interesting leg back to the overnight halt at Llandrindod Wells. the final day gets underway with a number of tests up through the middle of Wales to the Chester finish on Sunday afternoon. In my role as clerk of the course with the able help of Antony Preston we think we have a great route planned and i would like to thank all those i have been in touch with for their help and guidance, going forward we are looking not only for competitors but, clubs and individuals who want to get involved marshalling on the event and i would ask in the first instance you contact me by e mail so we can get you involved in this returning classic event. http://www.classicrally.org.uk/

Pacemaker Rally August 18/19 2012 sponsored by Rob Smith Rallying Ltd

Knighton Motor Club Ltd Start and Finish in Knighton 110 Miles 95% Tarmac Maps 136/147/148 regs : www.knightonmc.co.uk

RALI GOGLEDD 11th/12th AUG 2012

This year’s event will see some new and old faces on the organising team for the 2012 ‘Rali Gogledd Cymru’. A route has been drafted consisting of 120 miles, 4% being un-metalled roads with minimal neutral sections to establish a maximum possible mileage for standard sections. The route will hopefully see some exciting roads that have not had use since the early 80’s and in the hope of opening some new smooth whites. A new start venue has also been confirmed in the locality of the Rhyl area, which has a great all round facility; large function room, dining facility, etc. As the weeks progress we hope to keep you up to date with the latest news on our club website http://www.rhyldmc.co.uk Finally, we would like to take the opportunity to thank Mr. John Leckie, Old Stables Garage, for his continued support in sponsoring this popular event.

Todds Leap Challenge Rally 1 - 17 August 2012 Todds Leap Challenge Rally 2 - 18 August 2012

Website: www.ulsterrally.com

General Information

Approx mileage: Rally NI and Ulster Rally 125 stage miles Challenge Rally 1 43 stage miles Challenge Rally 2 37 stage miles Rally HQ: Antrim, Northern Ireland Start: Antrim Town Centre Finish: Junction One Shopping Park Surface: Asphalt (County Antrim and County Londonderry)

Overview of the event

The event is based again in convenient town of Antrim with the Service Park located at the popular Junction One Outlet Shopping Centre. Many of the acclaimed classic stages have been retained but with significant variation to challenge new and past entrants equally. The event provides the only opportunity for the best Irish and British championship drivers to compete against each other head to head.

Tyneside Stages Rally Otterburn

Sunday 12th August

Regs are now available for the Tyneside Stages rally which takes place on Sunday August 12th on Otterburn ranges in Northumberland. The event is once again organised by Alnwick and District Motor Club and Berwick and District Motor Club, sponsored by Wilkinson Maintenance and Alba Water. The event is a round of; 2012 REIS Get Connected MSA Asphalt Championship 2012 ANECCC S.G.Petch Stage Rally Championship 2012 AS Performance North of England Tarmacadam Championship 2012 Borders Rally Championship 2012 RAF MSA Rally Championship Overnight camping will be available at Otterburn Leisure Centre for competitors, service crews and marshals. The regs are available at http:// www.alnwickmotorclub.co.uk/tyneside-stages-rally

The Merrick Forest Stages Rally

has announced a major new sponsorship deal with leading Wigtownshire businessman Ian Broll. It will allow the rally organisers to forge ahead with their plans for the September 1st event, which will be based in Wigtown for the third year running. Ian is already closely involved in the local rally scene through his association with the Port William crew of Fraser Wilson and co-driver Steven Broll. The pair compete in a Group N Mitsubishi EVO 6 in the MSA Scottish Rally Championship of which the Merrick is the penultimate round.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all contributors - a big thanks to the Championship Compilers Matthew Field Chris Woodcock Les Fragle Anne McCormack Les Fragle Dave Barratt

Road Rally Stage Rally League Marshals Individual None Race / None Rally

September 23rd

Stobart Rail Pendragon Stages Kirkby Lonsdale MC www.klmc.org.uk

(not an easy job keeping track of all those events and competitors from so many different clubs) A Special mention of gratitude to ALL THE PEOPLE WHO SEND IN REPORTS, Jokes, Photographs, Information, reports etc

Terry Martin, John Gorton, Alan Barnes, Andrew Gardner, Paula Swinscoe, Matthew Rudd, Chris Lee, Sam Bartlett, Bill Chadwick, Daniel Coverdale, Steve Hudson, Ross Miller, Nigel Worswick, Nial Cook Paul Buckel, Geoff Bengough, Tom Byrne, Jem Dale, Steve Butler, Ed Graham, Andrew Komasa, Chris Paskin, Russell Hayes, Stu MacMaster Antony & Georgia Shiels Mike Taylor Ian Grindrod Joe & Tim Cruttenden, Hazel & Steve Johnson, Joseph Lewry Bryan & Matthew Gibson, Malc Graham Allen Durham of Pro-Tec Dan Ruddick Bill Wilmer Gemini Communications Keith Lamb (Gemini 9) Ian Davies (Gemini 23) Peter Langtree (Gemini 48) Tony Jones (Gemini 58) Steve Coombes (Gemini 5) James Swallow, Phil James of Pro-Rally, Andrew Shepherd, Duncan Littler Tony King (WMC) Sue Carter of Carter Sport, Neil Johnson & the Lancashire Telegraph, Paul Brereton ‘the Barrow Taxi’ Dan Hurst DRH Photography Jon Suter JMS Photographic Rachel Bourne Bourne Photographic Arron + Stuart + Lynn Newby of TEGSport,

and last but not least, Chairman / Secretary/ League Compiler / Individual Championship Compiler (& complaints manager) - Les Fragle The intention is to publish this Magazine on the last Thursday of each month. It will be emailed to SD34MSG Delegates to distribute to their Club Members. (Deadline for copy Tuesday 28th August for the September edition which is due out on Thursday 30th August 2012).

PLEASE Email Reports etc. to

Maurice Ellison at :

[emailprotected]

NB : The Editorial team reserves the right to do their job as Editors and may amend articles and reports as they see fit

2300Club Ltd

The Mullard Trophy Road/Historic Rally

29th Sept 2012 Mullard Trophy Rally

The 2300 Club are pleased to announce that the next event that we will be organising is the Mullard Trophy Rally. This will be a Navigational Road Rally of between 120 to 150 miles. The route is yet to be finalised, but we can tell you the following details: · Date: 29th September · Start:10:00am Bay Horse Pub, Skipton · Finish: 17:00 (approx) Bay Horse Pub, Skipton · Maps reqd: OS sheets 97-98-102-103-104 Food will be available at start (Bacon Butties) and finish (Bar Meals) Lunch halt Pie and Peas available, plus bar facilities. To register interest in this, please send an email to: Ian Grindrod : [emailprotected]

Malc Graham / Charlie Woodward - Highwayman Rally - SD34 ... - M.MOAM.INFO (2025)