After the long off season through winter, the last time I competed was the 16th of October at the BTRDA grand final, and with spring in the air I got the car out and gave it an annual service, oil/ filter and ignition parts. It didn’t really need much else apart from a track rod end which it failed its MOT on. One of the good things about using a standard car is there’s no really expensive parts, I bet the season’s spend to keep it going was under £160 and a couple of hours of my time.
Drove it round locally just to get a feel for it again even went to a classic car gathering and the stage was set, roll on 2023 season and the first weekend away in North Wales. Kicking off with Bala MC’s Derwydd Trial on the 15th April.
The weather wasn’t kind. It rained all week leading up to the event, but as luck would have it Saturday was forecast dry and sunny. Had to load up Friday afternoon in driving rain though, sat waiting to see if it would stop but it had no plans to. One loaded onto the trailer one last job…put the light board on, normally take a minute but one side was dead. There’s an old farmer’s expression of if “it’s not broke (******) , don’t try to fix it”). Which I should have adhered to. Like a fool I had decided to tidy up my light board and screw the number plate a bit better and while doing that I somehow managed to drill the wire inside clean in two. Lucky I had an old spare one kicking about but had to do all of this in hard rain and I got soaked!!
Saturday morning sunshine and smiles, the 2 and a bit hour drive passed quickly and it was nice to be driving though the Welsh countryside and once at the venue it was great to start catching up with all the regular people who I hadn’t seen for many months. After the normal pre-event formalities we all set off up a steep farm track to where 8 sections awaited us.
The sun may have been out but the ground was soaking. Wales is good for early season events as the fields are tough and rugged and seem to recover well from getting muddy. Out on the sections my day seemed to be going quite well, grip seemed to be plentiful and I got separated from the rest of the class so just pottered around ahead of everyone. Some bits were steep, some parts were very muddy and some parts were rather lumpy but all was good. The sun was out. I was enjoying myself and I kept my nose clean assuming it was going to be a low scoring day.
After 16 sections we stopped for lunch. I was one of the first to come back and grabbed myself a burger from the BBQ put on by the members of Bala MC. Munching away I was unaware what a morning I had had. Wasn’t until someone asked in passing how many I had dropped and I said 6 and he suggested that was a good score by using 4 and 3 letter words. Turns out I was miles ahead in the older FWD class which definitely came as a nice surprise. My nearest rival was on 25!
It was far from over though, RWD mounted championship stallwart Barrie Parker was right behind me on index, less than one percent it was reckoned….so as we headed off into the afternoons altered sections it was still all to play for.
I was still holding my own but the gaps in scores between myself and the chasing pack were very narrow even losing the odd mark, still in front but the bigger the gap the better the index.
Had a better round 4 but would it be enough? Barrie had had a good afternoon too. Loaded up and waited for the results…didn’t really want to look, I kind of expected the worst, nothing wrong with winning the class but overalls wins are nice and few and far between for me. But somehow I had managed to stay in front for a first overall. And by a mere 1.06 % on the index. I don’t know what the factors would be but that tight could well be 1 or 2 marks won or dropped could have made the difference.
Ever so happy with my days of motorsport, a group of us headed off to the pub for a meal with a few drinks and a night’s sleep. I was raring to go to Sunday’s event, the Peter Williams Trial.
The weather was not as enthusiastic as I was, raining on us. It was forecast to stop mid morning but hung on till lunchtime. I was first on which kind of made me the guinea pig for the morning. Running first you get to show fellow competitors either the right or wrong way to attempt the section. My day didn’t start well, I lost 6 marks to a few people on a steep little bit. Not the best start. It really didn’t feel like it was going well, massive scores slipping and sliding all over the place. Dropped an 11 on hill 8…..can’t think the last time I was writing double figures! Thankfully I wasn’t alone in my sizable score sheet, I was still in touch after round 1 and got a whole mark less to lead the class at lunch.
The rain had turned to drizzle and pretty much stopped, which was nicer but the ground was soaking and the more cars that went up the sections the more grass disappeared and turned to mud. I had a good 3rd round picking my way through the sections stretching out a slight lead over the others. Round 4 was good as well, I didn’t gain anything but more importantly I didn’t lose anything.
The index again fell in my favour and I won overall again….I’ve never done a double before, again narrowly beating Barrie from the RWD class.
A fantastic weekend and season opener….I can’t lie, made better by 2 wins…walking on sunshine me…happy happy. Took the car to the jet wash once I got home and treated it to a wash and put it away ready for NEXT weekend’s event.
The Ivinghoe Trail held by Falcon MC is quite a long way south near Dunstable, 3 hours 15 minute away. I set off at 5.30 full of hope and promise. The weather was meant to be awful and I drove through masses of heavy rain but as I approached the venue it was looking dry. The drive down was made more interesting by loads of modified and unusual Japanese cars on their way to “Japfest” at Silverstone racing circuit. Towing a Kei car covered in stickers was getting attention as they passed.
Turns out I should’ve gone there!! Fellow competitor Mark Hoppe had brought his 3 door Alto out for the event, and I was hoping to have a good day competing against him in the same car and the rest of the class, it’s always more interesting when every mark counts and there is something to play for.
I feel I ran out of luck or talent or both….recently I’ve had a good run, won a load of cash at poker, won £20 on a scratch card and back to back wins on the car trails. It all came crashing down…reckon it was the weight of my inflated head!!!
Couldn’t seem to find grip anywhere, I was either matching other people’s scores or losing handfuls of marks to them. By the end of the first round 18 away from the front of the class, no way I am getting that back. Round 2 was a very low scoring round which made me 4 times worse than the guys on 0.
By lunch break I was a whopping 22 marks off the pace and stone cold last in a class of 6. Wondering where it had all gone wrong.
The afternoon was more of the same I carried on to the end but must have been one of my worst outings in years. The final damage was 46 at the back of the class to 4 marks dropped and the event winner newcomer to the championship Tim Dovey.
Old enough to accept an off day or a mistake but gaps like that do leave you wondering what happened? Writing this on Tuesday the 25th of April with the southern double weekend starting Saturday the only thing I can think to do is swap tyres, maybe the ones that were great in the mud of Wales were not as happy on the long lush grass down south.
I met up with family after the event and had a meal at a local pub, my cousin lives close to the venue. Setting off from there I was expecting a clear run home but that wasn’t to be…. various hold ups meant I didn’t get home till just before midnight…unloading the trailer in the dead of nights not fun everything you touch bangs and clangs!! After the highs of Wales the lows of Dunstable was a day to forget.
If you’ve made it this far I’d like to take this moment to thank organisers, marshals and everyone who make these events happen, I know it’s a lot of work.
Rupert North
