Northern Road Rally Championship

BULLETIN NO. 10, DECEMBER 2003

  Like last year, the 2003 season reached its climax with two events on consecutive weekends. Not the ideal scenario, a clash with the Preston probably took one or two possible entries from the final round, but there were still plenty of awards up for grabs and plenty of contenders out to try and grab them! Here’s how things developed…

29^TH / 30^TH NOVEMBER – RND 12, MAPLE GARAGE BEAVER RALLY, BEVERLEY & DMC

At 43 crews, probably the biggest entry this event has had in recent times (excluding when it ran as the Inter-Association event in 1997). It goes to show that you don’t need to send out 500 sets of regs to get a good entry – all our championship contenders got a flier through the post and those who wanted paper regs got some, so this sets a good example for future events I think. There have been no complaints from anyone, any way.

The start was at Maple Garage, Sproatley, as it has been for as long as I care to remember. One of the many benefits of this venue is that the first competitive section can start ‘on the forecourt’ – they don’t do so every year thank goodness, as it puts car 1 under an awful lot of pressure when the first bit of nav comes through the window. You never know if the course car has deliberately turned the wrong way just to fool you!!

The format of the event followed the successful trial of last year – divided into thirds with two petrol halts, to allow the marshals to move between controls. There was a very good turnout of marshals as well as competitors – if they had known so many would turn out, they could probably have slotted some more time controls in and made some of the sections extremely tight indeed. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the reason the current format was devised was because the event has traditionally been short of marshals…Anyway, they found something for everyone to do and the competitors would find numerous secret checks during the first third of the event, many sensibly observing stop and give way junctions too. This did cause a little confusion, as the route checks (code boards) referred to in the navigation were still in place as well as the secret checks. This was stressed at the drivers’ briefing, but numerous crews still missed at least one board, thinking that it had been replaced by a manned control.

The first third looped Eastwards before heading generally North up map 107 to first petrol just off the A165 at Leven. It included ten standard sections and one regularity, on which everyone would drop time. It always helps if you realize which is the regularity section when you start it, rather than half a mile from the intermediate control….that was my excuse, others disappeared off into fields, six of the first ten cars missed a code board and championship leader Malcolm Holdsworth retired when Richard became ill in the early sections….local ‘Dream Team’ pairing Tim Rodgers & Mike Ogram held a two minute lead at this stage from Geoff Henman & Lee Burgess with David & John Tubman in 4^th and Abe Shenker & Steve Brown in 5^th, just seconds behind. A link section then took us onto map 106 for the remainder of the event, on the very fast roads over the Wolds.

Six standard sections and two regularities made up the middle loop, in my opinion these regularities were a bit too quick – ‘nuf said here, I expressed my concerns to the Clerk of Course at the time. Of the ANCC crews, Trevor & Chris Faulkner ‘went off into a field’ on this section, but otherwise all our surviving contenders reached second petrol at Shiptonthorpe (not the ‘usual’ BP garage). Tim & Mike had extended their lead to nearly four minutes, even though it was Guy & Charlie who were quickest on the second card. Very few route check penalties on this card and the majority of crews only dropped time on the two regularities, so the placings were still very close, a single mistake could cost a handful of places…

The last card included one further regularity, down the classic Millington Pasture and seven standards, STC35 proving to be the tightest with all but eight crews dropping time. Former championship contender John Pickavance put his Escort ‘through a hedge’ while defending Champion Driver Gav Smith rounded his season off less than gloriously, attacking a kerb in his own unique style, leaving some explaining to do when he took the shopping car back home to Mrs. Smith…Tim & Mike completed a well deserved victory by dropping least penalties on the last card, to come home more than five minutes clear of Guy & Charlie, who did well to climb back up to 2^nd after an early missed board. Team Tubman held onto 4^th, with five cars less than a minute behind them. 5^th place was enough to take Jon Lawson into the lead in the Drivers’ championship and Chris Pringle to equal 2^nd in the navigators, level with Mr. Ogram. In the Semi-Experts, David Howell & Stephen Taylor proved to be the pick of the Ripon crews with 2^nd in class, ahead of Bill Chadwick & Alan Edwards. Also 2^nd in class were Craig Whitehead & Lee Hudson in the Novices, a  result which would nearly secure the championship novice awards unless something unusual happened on the last round.

Looking down the results, a few things stand out: 2^nd to 16^th places were separated by just over 11 minutes, while there were only six fails among the 36 finishers: I think this reflects a well set event, with navigation that was time consuming to plot rather than difficult to solve, enough to test the experts but also give the novices a chance. A few lessons learnt from 2002, with the grass triangles a little easier to cope with and no advanced black spots, so no need to disturb the Stewards’ breakfast this year! Well done to the Beverley team and thanks to the long list of marshals, which included Simon Bentley and Ian Beech, both of whom were actually non-starters on the entry list.

6^TH / 7^TH DECEMBER – ROUND 13, CIVIL SERVICE RALLY, CSMA (NORTH WEST)

While the three championships had roughly equal numbers of contenders on the Beaver, the ANCC was definitely the best represented on this event, with 12 crews in the entry of 27 against 8 SD34 and only 6 ANWCC, although their last trip to Clitheroe in September probably put a few of the Welsh lads off. There were a few amusing mis-spellings on the entry list, which I feel are worthy of comment: David Tubman is obviously off to take up professional golf in America next year – presumably his correct full title should now be Davis Tubman IV, or something similar? David Howell gained an ‘s’, Jon Lawson an ‘h’, I lost an ‘i’ as usual and Simon Bentley’s name was completely mis-spelt, it didn’t even begin with the same letters – oh wait a minute, it really was Paul Taylor in the navigator’s seat of Terry’s Pug! Sorry Paul there’s no award for most retirements with different drivers in one season…hope your ‘Other Halves’ had a better night out on the town in Blackburn. Next up was Bill Charnwick – obviously he had to use a pseudonym as the Chadwick name is too notorious around his home district of Pendle – and finally Carl’s long lost brother, Bernie Hawkins – well, they both drive white Vauxhalls!

Where were we? Oh yes, at a rather plush establishment called Eaves Hall, the CSMA Country Hotel just North of Clitheroe. If there was a prize for most splendid start / finish venue, this would have won it hands down – I thought I’d have to take my boots off before they let me in and it even made Neil Bye think twice about stubbing out his fag ends on the lovely white tablecloths… With nothing on the maps before the start, the drivers’ briefing left people a little uneasy about what was in store, although this has been true of all our trips to Lancashire this year. A 10.30 start saw a long run out onto map 102 to the first standard section near Longridge, the first handout at least giving a few quiet zones and a rejoin point to fill in a few of the blanks.

From here three route cards would lead us North East, back onto map 103 to the first halt, at Tosside. This would have been a fuel stop too, but the garage lost its petroleum licence just a couple of weeks before the event, leaving more time for coffee and bacon butties for those who wanted them! The navigation used tulips, grid squares, a herringbone, spot heights and grid lines and proved quite tricky. With different font sizes and instructions not always in the order you expected, you had to make sure you read everything. The section was made up of five standards and one regularity, with lots of code boards, a couple of secret checks and a noise test en route. Unfortunately it was littered with additional quiet zones, in place for a very valid reason I know but on some sections it was very confusing - a piece of paper was thrust in front of you to sign, reminding you of the penalty for breach of noise or spot lights in such areas, but not telling you where they were – so you set off, thinking you were in a quiet, only to find the ‘Q’ board a couple of miles down the road. While most of us (hopefully!) appreciate the reasons we have to have quiet zones, but the way they are presented to competitors is something for C of C Steve Johnson to look at for next year – plus, having a ‘Q’ in a section timed to the second is a definite no-no, in my opinion.

Each route card featured an enormous warning about quiet zone procedure and the penalty for breaching it, unfortunately one of our crews was deemed to be in the wrong and was excluded from the event. I think exclusion is a bit harsh for the first offence, but the organizers were up front about it so you knew what you had to do (or not do!). Bill & Alan were not the only crew at fault, very sportingly they went out and marshaled for the rest of the event, unlike the car who was excluded for excessive noise, who stormed off making even more noise, off route, apparently. I won’t get on the soap box about noisy cars at this point, but the stance they take on this event is an example to all event organizers, who have a duty to protect the sport as a whole, as well as looking after their own patch. The fact that Steve has had a letter of praise from a resident who was previously an objector, shows what can be done with the right approach.

We then embarked on a further seven standards with another regularity in the middle, on the classic road rally territory West of Settle on map 98. A map (?) check made the last section down Clapham Common and through Gisburn forest (staying on the Tarmac this time) quite tight, this being timed to the second for use only if any results at the finish were tied. Fewer quiet zones ensured this section ‘flowed’ a bit better for the drivers, for the navigators there was nothing they hadn’t already seen, although it was still tricky, many crews picking up time at STC18 as well as the regularity just before it. Back at Tosside there was more coffee and butties available, plus the results from the first card too study, showing the exclusions mentioned earlier and that Terry & Paul had retired with head gasket problems.

The third time card saw cars re-seeded to run in the order they arrived at Tosside, not a new idea, but one that hasn’t been used in our region for a while. Three short standard sections took us to Hellifield, where a fuel stop had been arranged when Tosside was lost. Unfortunately nobody turned up to open up and serve, so a course car was dispatched to Skipton to locate a 24 hour garage. After a bit of a delay there was then a remarkable 25 car convoy along the A65 to fuel up at Cross Hills, on map 104 (which we didn’t have!) before rejoining the correct route back on 103. One or two of the less thirsty cars had not gone to Hellifield and so completed the whole route, only they know what was on route cards 9 and 10! The trip over Lothersdale Moor featured a regularity to the second, followed by a very tight standard section up to Kelbrook, cleaned by only two crews. North West through Barnoldswick to the next MTC, where lateness was sensibly extended by half an hour due to the time lost at the fuel stop.

The final card was a relatively short one, four standard sections looping South of Pendle Hill. Five crews cleaned this card and in fact there were only two changes of overall position between cards 3 and 4 – one decided the winners of the event. Carl Hawkins & myself were deemed ‘not to have visited’ a secret noise check in one of the closing sections, the resulting 5 minute penalty dropping us to 2^nd, behind surprise winners, local crew Gary Gee & Jason Crook. Last year we received a similar penalty, again on one of the closing sections, for driving off when the marshal had signed our card. Apparently we were supposed to be held for a couple of minutes, even though he hadn’t told us this at the time. Fortunately last time it made no difference to the result, so we didn’t complain. This time it did, and we felt (no, still feel) that were penalized unfairly, but we didn’t want to stoop to blue book waving so when our initial query was rejected, we didn’t argue.

For the record, this is what we did wrong…we came across a PC board, where presumably said noise test should have been taking place, we stopped, but there was no marshal present so we carried on. Apparently we were supposed to have waited again, a marshal would then magically appear (a bit like the shopkeeper in Mr. Benn, presumably), hold us to carry out a noise check (just after a ‘quiet’ zone, very sensible), sign our card and then let us go….

I am putting a radical proposal to the MSA for how manned controls should operate, so in future, if you come across a control board and can’t see a marshal anywhere, stop the car (in the middle of the road, so nobody can get past), get out have a cup of tea and stretch your legs, have a pee, etc. Eventually a marshal is bound to appear in the manner mentioned above, or failing that by parachute, to sign your card. He will, of course, then disappear again, so that the car behind you has to wait for the same amount of time that you did. This seems far better than the ridiculously old-fashioned idea of the marshal being on duty 15 minutes before the first car is due, until 30 minutes after the last, with the course opening car making sure he is in the right place and ready for the first competitor. After all, that’s what the blue book says, so it must be a load of rubbish…

Anyway, the important business on the morning was which of the ‘Boys from the Wall’ would have bagged the driver’s championship: Malcolm Holdsworth came home 5^th overall with ‘reserve’ navigator Richard Todd on the maps, stepping in for Holdsworth junior who was still suffering from the viral infection that resulted in the non-finish on the Beaver. This would increase Malcolm’s score by 12 points, but would it be enough? Mr. Lawson only had to finish 8^th to secure the title, regardless of Malcolm’s result, but as we looked down the order, where was he? 8^th, 9^th, 10^th….no, 14^th – was this enough? Jon himself didn’t think so, but with six non-ANCC crews ahead of him, he still scored 15 points to finish with 235 points to Malcolm’s 233. I should say that the reason Jon & Chris were down in 14^th was because of a 30 minute penalty for a missing signature at a time control (even though there was no doubt that they actually visited then control). It would have been tragic if this had decided the outcome of the championship.

So many congratulations to Jon on a hard fought and well-deserved title, commiserations to Malcolm but well done for making such a good battle of it – all in the best spirit you will see, they are both great ambassadors for our championship. Not bad for a couple of old ‘uns!

2^nd overall for Carl moves him up to 4^th in the drivers’ standings, his highest position all year, when his focus has been firmly on the ANWCC championship, after he came a very close 2^nd in 2002. This result was enough to secure him that title after a season-long fight down to the final round, to go with the East Mids that he won on the Cossack, so consolation for not being able to fit enough ANCC rounds into a hectic season. An excellent 3^rd overall gives Dave & John Tubman their highest score of the season, rounding off an impressive run of results to take them to 9^th and 10^th in the leagues. I reckon they will be up there fighting for top five awards next year. Another crew with their best score of the year was Dave Chapman & David Taylor, 4^th overall on the event unfortunately just missing out on championship awards in 6^th and 7^th respectively after being in the top five for most of the season. 6^th overall was also a season’s best for David Howell & Steve Taylor, clearly enjoying running second car on the road after not needing the petrol halt! Unfortunately this was not enough to lift David to the 1^st Novice award in the championship, Steve narrowly missing out on 2^nd too. But that’s it I’m afraid chaps – you are definitely experts from now on!

The remaining expert crews both managed a big wrong-slot each, Andy Beaumont’s & Mike Petch’s twelve minute excursion at STC9 extinguished Andy’s feint championship hopes, but a good run from then on took them to 9^th overall and 3^rd and 4^th in the championship. Well done to both of them, their season took a while to get going but it was great to see them take their first win together on the Three Swans and they are now respected as a quick crew anywhere, not just in East Yorkshire. Stan Featherstone & Mike Ogram lost fourteen minutes at STC6, but a missed code board further dented their hopes, they ended up 13^th, their worst result of the season. Stan just held on to 5^th overall in the championship though, not bad for a guy who, at the start of the year, was only planning to do the Ryemoor and the Wilfs! Mike meanwhile held onto 3^rd in a very close finish for the navigators’ awards. Well done to them both. Final mention among the experts goes to Richard Holdsworth, who was out marshalling but managed to Hold On (LOL?!) to 5^th in the championship.

In the combined Semis / Novices class, Craig Whitehead & Lee Hudson took the win and the championship Novice awards too, well done to them. 3^rd in class was enough for the 2^nd Novice award for Adam Roper, in what has been a mixed season for he and Bernie.

The end of the page is coming up fast, so I will round off by thanking all the CSMA for a well run event, a very professional effort to overcome the difficulties they faced both before and on the night with the fuel halts.

Competitors on the CSMA should have received a questionnaire with the results, I have included another blank with this bulletin, if you did the Ryemoor, Witch Way or Hall Trophy I still need more of these returned.  5^th January is the deadline, remember these decide the award for best event as well as giving valuable feedback to the event organizers.

Don’t forget the ANCC Prize Presentation evening on Friday 23^rd January at Whitcliffe Mount Sports Centre, Cleckheaton. Everyone is welcome and it’s free to attend. It is planned that a number of us will be going for a curry afterwards, drop me a line if you are interested as I will be reserving tables in advance.

I hope you have all enjoyed the championship again this year, if you want to do it all again, there is a 2004 registration form with this bulletin. In the meantime, have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.                                      Iain

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS

2003 AWARD WINNERS