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29/03/04 - After far too long I've managed to update the website (just a house move, job move and new baby to deal with in the interim!). So, the original page is below. No changes. But, I've added an update page here with a little on what happened since. More as I get round to it.
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HRCR Newcomers Road Rally Championship 2002
OK, I’ve finally found time
to put together an end of season report on my first season rallying the Volvo in
the HRCR Newcomers Challenge
(http://www.hrcr.co.uk/roadrally/index.htm).
A good season which resulted in me winning the Beginners Class (N2)
Championship!
This all started in February 2002 when my Dad and I bought a 1966 rally prepared Volvo Amazon.
(Feb 2002)
The car had only had two owners for the first 31 years of it’s life before being sold to Mr. Barton of Cheshire who modified the car sufficiently to compete on the 1998 Monte Challenge (http://www.carnet.co.uk/rallyoffice). It was actually used as a video car, with a professional documentary of the event entitled 'Not the Full Monte' being filmed from the navigator's seat. How they managed to do this AND compete I have no idea.
We bought the car from Doug
Wright, by which time the total modifications included the fitting of a half
roll cage; competition seats; full harnesses; a Belmog trip; Leda suspension;
adjustable Konis; twin downpipe sports exhaust; 60A alternator (dynamo still
fitted); and a rebuilt gearbox with competition overdrive. The engine has had
little done to it other than larger needles in the twin SUs and an airbox from a
Jag – quieter than pan filters and a little more efficient. There's plenty
more I can do here - the works 122S's were putting out around 170 bhp, and I
understand 230bhp is a possibility for the lunatic fringe. In present guise I
reckon it should put out around 100bhp. Since then I have also fitted a full
‘sump guard’ which is actually a solid steel engineered plate fixed beneath
the engine and gearbox. I say ‘engineered’ as it is a work of art with lots
of intricate welding and access holes required to make it fit. Before you ask, I
have no idea who made it – it came with the car, it certainly doesn’t help
the terminal understeer as it weighs a ton! Taken a fair old bashing on those
'smooth' whites though.
So, to the rallying. First of
all, I should stress that my Dad and I were complete novices so we booked a day
with Don Barrow who put together an excellent mix of theory and practice giving
us a comprehensive overview of rally navigation. Before then we honestly
didn’t have a clue about being OTL at MTCs or what ‘Wrong Slotting’
entailed. Now at least we know what it’s called when we do it!
Next it was off to Ross-on-Wye
for the HRCR organised rallyschool day. Another worthwhile investment of a day
of our time. We learned more about the navigation – particularly concerning
the format of the HRCR type events, along with some useful tips on car
preparation. We also had the opportunity to talk with some of the HRCR
organisers who had plenty of useful advice.
So, armed with all this
knowledge and an almost arrogant amount of confidence we entered our first event
– The East Anglian Classic. Easy? Err…not quite.
The East Anglian Classic - 25th/26th
May
I now look back on this and
wonder what possessed us to choose this as a first event. A full weekend of
rallying including loads of tests, pre-plot, plot and bash (in many guises) and
not forgetting the night section which also included tests! For two complete
beginners we really did have only the smallest chance of actually coming away
with a finish. Of course, at the time we thought we could win it. Hmmm.
To be fair, it wasn’t that bad a choice for a first event as there was definitely a bit of everything thrown at us. We certainly learned a great deal as a result, including why it is a bad idea to try to open the Amazon's door with the ignition key at 11pm on the Friday night before the rally. It broke. There was no spare. We couldn’t do a great deal with what little of the key remained and after much ferreting around with a variety of tools we had to accept defeat. It looked like we wouldn't even make the start!
A call to Rob Henchoz
of nearby Amazon Cars confirmed he could source a replacement
ignition barrel for Scrutineering the following
morning. We set to work removing the old one
and ended up drilling it out. Oh how we laughed. Thanks to Shon Gosling and his
Transit Van of tools this wasn’t too much of an ordeal and we drove to
Scrutineering the following morning using a screwdriver instead of a key. As
promised, Rob met us there with a replacement barrel which was easily fitted in
place and the world looked fine once more. Of course, the next hurdle was just
around the corner – the rally itself.
(Shon with his drill....at 11pm)
The initial instructions weren’t too hard to follow and before we knew it we were sitting in car number 33 in a queue of Amazons at the start.
(At
the Start in Norwich)
Shon popped his head through the window to wish
us luck and tell us that the first section was a neutral (i.e. not competitive)
and meant we would probably have the route information for the first competitive
regularity (RTC1) given to us as we left the startline. Dad would then be able
to plot this whilst I drove to the Regularity Start some miles away along a nice
easy section of dual carriageway. That was the plan. However, for whatever reason
we drove to RTC1 believing we didn’t have this information yet and that it
would be given out there. You can see where this is going can’t you….
So, we’re at RTC1 and the marshal counts us down. 5….4….3….2…1….GO! We go, and 100 yds up the road stop again when we realise we have no idea whatsoever about where we are going! A frantic search through the paperwork reveals we had indeed been given the route information at the event start, but not recognised it for what it was. Time for plot and bash with no chance of keeping to time. The atmosphere in the car was now a little, er, strained.
We battled our way through to the lunch halt just in time to clock out with no time for even a sandwich. How we laughed.
Next up were a series of simply superb 'Tests' at West Raynham airfield. Tests involve ragging the old girl around a series of obstacles against the clock. As the pictures show, these tests all involved challenging and fast driving on a mix of surfaces. I certainly enjoyed a few hooligan moments and as this was the first chance I'd had to throw the Amazon around I was quickly learning how to tame the atrocious understeer. A few more Regularity sections followed and next thing we knew it was evening and we were back at the hotel preparing for the night section. Time for a little R&R before setting out once more. Time also for a debrief on where we needed to improve. We weren't last though!!
(West Raynham Airfield)
We fluffed the night section big time and finally gave in when we arrived at a time control to find they had packed up and gone home. We were over 45 minutes late by this time, so I wasn't too surprised. It was 1am and we were shattered anyway so time to head back to the hotel. On to the main road and…er….we went the wrong way so spent a further 15 minutes heading towards Cromer before we realised the mistake. Topped off the day perfectly!
(A rare moment on the correct route during the night section)
The next morning consisted of tests at the showground and, although we were officially OTL and therefore out of the rally, we decided to do them anyway. Nothing really to report from this except that we had a good laugh (much needed) as we careered around the cones. Once completed we spent half an hour or so chatting with other competitors and then headed for home – 200 miles away. Nice.
(At the Showground)
(Back Home)
Overall thoughts: a good rally, well organised and lots of friendly people and excellent marshals. As for us – could do better…. :-)
The
AB
Motorsport
Half-Night
Well, with one event under our belt we decided a night rally would be an entertaining encore. It was. Entertaining. The thing is, with a night rally, speed is everything. The times on the Timecard are best described as optimistic, and the best finishers are those who visit all the controls with the least lateness penalties. We didn't know this, so we set off at a comfortable pace and got well and truly lost. This time the problem was 'All Roads' navigation at night. We were finding it increasingly difficult to tell a farm gate from a track and struggled as a result.
Not much else to report really. We were car 48 and started at 23.48. We made the finish after cutting some of the final controls and managed 14th in the Historics section. No awards this time but a nice handful of points. A good deal more experience too.
Summary - another enjoyable and well organised rally. See www.matlockmotorclub.co.uk for more details.
The
Targa
Rusticana
Based in a hot and dusty Builth Wells, this was a fabulous Welsh rally. Due to work commitments my Dad was not able to spare time for this one so an old school friend of mine, Sean McGuire, stepped into the 'seat-with-no-pedals'. It was his first ever event, but he'd prepared well and we were both relaxed enough at the start. We were car 41 so had time to spare after the first car had departed. Tests first, followed by a few regularities where we made a few minor errors. As our competition were of a high standard, we had a good finish but managed only 11th in Class. Given that this was Sean's first event I thought this was an exceptional achievement.
Memorable bits - the 18 mile Regularity through Hafren Forest. Anyone who's tried to maintain a 30mph average on twisting forest tracks will understand! A superb rally.
Regis Rally 2002 - 12th October
After the dust of Wales we found ourselves on the outskirts of Chichester for the start of the Regis Rally. Starting as Car number 42, Sean was once again in the Navigator's seat. We had a pretty good rally, very enjoyable, and finished 35th overall, but importantly we finished 3rd in Class!! Time to start stocking the trophy cabinet! Obviously, we both thought that this was a fantastic event. Memorable bits - the tests at Tangmere airfield and the regularity driving DOWN the Goodwood Hillclimb. Oh, and getting an award. Marvellous.
(Photos courtesy of Tony Large Photographic © )
Palladwr Rally 2002 - 3rd November
Pleased with our performance, and our teamwork in the car we put in an entry for the Palladwr Rally. Based near Wells we drove over on the Friday night in one of the most intense rain storms I've ever encountered. Now, the heater matrix on the Amazon leaks but not as much as the windscreen surround does! The end result was a wet leg from the knee down and a car which can best be described as offering limited visibility. All very amusing.
The next morning broke damp and early, although the rain stopped just before the first car was away. Richard White and Clive Kirby in the Healey 3000 where here too and I managed time for a quick chat before the off. We were both driving for the N2 Championship and were close on points. Wishing each other luck Richard set off ahead of us for the first test. It was a genuine shame to see him at the side of the road soon afterwards having retired with brake problems. From then on it was an uneventful day's rallying but the navigation and the roads were both tricky. Both me and Sean were working extremely hard for most of the event but felt we were getting nowhere. As it happened we were doing fairly well, but after a particularly hard grounding episode towards the end of the event the propshaft started making noises I was hoping never to hear. It sounded like the world was going to end! Fearing the disintegration of the universal joint at any moment we stopped to check for damage but there was no way we could properly examine the underside of the car on a muddy country lane so we decided to limp to the finish and cut a few controls. Expecting to be towed the 100 miles or so home, the somber mood in the car was made worse by the disappointment we felt due to our perceived poor performance.
As it happens, the propshaft was fine - it had just wedged a few rocks between it and the floor of the car. Fortunately the propshaft was stronger than the rocks and no major repairs were needed. So, as car 51 we finished 33rd overall but a respectable 8th in Class. More points which were all the more satisfying due to the negative perception we held up until the finish.
Memorable bits - apart from the propshaft episode, the 'regularity' around Worthy Farm (The Glastonbury Festival site) was a giggle. A couple of miles of fast muddy farm tracks and the odd disused railway. I was certainly glad of my solid steel sump guard!
Ilfracombe Rally - 7th/8th December
Time for another night rally! This would be the last event of the year. When I get a chance I'll add an overview of this event too.
Contact me at: Damon@damonandrachel.co.uk
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