Driving mirror nov dec 2015 by BristolMC

Photo: Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 1

Nov/Dec 2015

Officers and Committee Members CHAIRMAN

Matt Nichols ..........................07989 601774

VICE CHAIRMAN

Pete Hart ................................0117 9372611

TREASURER

Vickie Tubb ............................

COMPETITION SECRETARY

Paul Parker .............................01275 843478

SECRETARY

Paul Hemmings .....................0117 9566045

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

Zoë Tooth .............................01454 329231 49 Bowling Road, Chipping Sodbury BRISTOL BS37 6EP

MAGAZINE EDITOR PRESS & PUBLICITY

Scott Boulton ........................01454 852959 Kate Boulton .........................01454 852959 159 Long croft, Yate, BRISTOL BS37 7YN

SOCIAL SECRETARY

Andy Laurence ......................07825 953858

WEBMASTER & PRESIDENT

Allen Harris ...........................0117 9421204 9c Southfield Road, Cotham BRISTOL BS6 6AX

AWARDS SECRETARY

Dave Greenslade ..................07966 540842

LEAD MARSHAL

Mike Cole...............................07980 416075

CMSG REPRESENTATIVE

Mark Benstock ......................01454 311712

ASWMC REPRESENTATIVE

Mark Chater

CHILD PROTECTION OFFICER Richard Marsh .......................(after 6pm) 07786 068830

COMMITTEE

Chris Dymock.......................(after 6pm) 0117 9394265 Chris Buckley ........................07946 482169 Ady Taylor .............................07957 545432 Mark Tooth ...........................01454 329231

www.bristolmc.org.uk 2

This month in Driving Mirror Chairman’s Chat .......... 4 Matt reviews our recent events.

Super Solo .................... 6 Zoë and Nick report on the Supercar Saturday AutoSolo.

Roy Fedden Trial ........ 8 Tony Streeting recounts on this year’s trial.

1st Year of Racing........12 Matt tells us how he found his first year of circuit racing.

Allen Classic Trial....... 16 Pete and Carlie compare this year’s trial to 1995’s.

Fantasy F1 Results ..... 23 Find out who won this year’s Fantasy F1.

Georgie’s Page............ 24 See the latest exploits of our club mascot.

Drive By ...................... 26 Chris Dymock’s special waffle, full fat version this time.

2016 Calendar............ 30 See our calendar for the next season, please note some dates may change.

Chairman’s Chat

“The Boss” by James Brown

don’t know about you but the recent Allen Trial blew me away, quite literally. As someone who came to it as something to do for your club during the winter months after all the sprints had finished my view has now changed, and radically. The Allen is an incredible event and this year ran a full entry with competitors travelling the length and breadth of the country to take part. It would appear our reach goes far and wide when it comes to the Allen, which is terrific news for BMC. All we need now is more club members to get involved in the organisation and one day perhaps even take over the reins from Mark, Pete, Tim and Carlie who, let’s face it, deserve a break and perhaps even the opportunity to compete on the Allen once again themselves. It’s a big ask, but if that sounds like you, please let me know. 2015 has been interesting at times for

BMC; we’ve had challenges with dates (Dick Mayo and Family Sports Car Day) the weather (Chepstow AutoSOLO and Family Sports Car Day) and dust (South Glos Show). Somewhat ironically the latter two on consecutive weekends, serving as a reminder of how random the UK weather can be at times. We’ve also run our first track day at Llandow, first sprint at Hullavington (with BPMC), inaugural MX5 Challenge and two very successful AutoSOLOs at Chepstow race course. The two Nav Scatters, Karting event at Wroughton. Wiscombe Hillclimbs, Essence of Dyrham display and Great Western Sprint also all ran very well to top off what’s been a very good year. The even better news is that next year is already looking stronger, for instance all of our dates at Combe have been agreed and contracts signed which should mean (you can

never be 100% sure) we attract all the championships we had hoped to get this year. The AutoSOLOs are booked at Chepstow, the first now on Saturday 5th March after Phil Oliver reminded me the original booking was on Mothering Sunday, whoops! Hullavington has also been re-booked, this time for July, and as well as the usual sprint in May we are also considering a Llandow track day again. Our two Navscatters are also still expected to run as normal and the plan is to hold an educational event on the January club night to show people what to do and hopefully boost the number of crews who take part. All of which leads me onto asking you a question; is there anything we’re missing or not doing quite right? It is something we discuss at meetings but the committee don’t hold the monopoly on good ideas, those can come from anyone. Please have a think and let me know what you’d like to see BMC do in 2016 that we’re not planning to do already and my promise to you is that your idea will, at the very least, get tabled at a committee meeting and feedback given on any decision made. Talking about meetings on the run up and during our EGM I was reminded of the true dedication of some BMC members. Take Phil Rumney for instance, who has been involved with the club for some considerable time, held every major role except Treasurer, and only now decided to step down as Vice-President to give someone else the chance; Nick Rainbow as it turns out. There’s good reason Phil never got to be Treasurer, that’s because Paul Hemmings has been performing the role for 38 years, incredible, only now moving across to become Secretary enabling Vickie Tubb to take over. Other significant milestones include Dave Harris who has been involved with the Fedden for fifty years and Chris Bigwood who celebrates sixty years of BMC membership in 2016. They’re not alone I’m sure and as we have an awards ceremony in February due recognition is clearly appropriate and deserved.

Club Nights 5th January Club Night 2nd February Club Night 1st March Club Night

To think Scott Boulton was only going to look after the club magazine for one year, shame on you Scott (Big Ed says: *sigh*). This just leaves me to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year; I hope you get everything you wish for, me I’d just like some talent behind the wheel please. In the magazine this month you will find details of both trials, Supercar Saturday AutoSOLO, my first year of circuit racing and the unique view of the world that is Chris Dymock’s Drive By article plus of course lots of lovely pictures courtesy of our editor, may his rein be a long one.

Matt Nichols

Me Right Round” Supercar Saturday Autosolo “You Spin by Dead Or Alive

t’s October and time for another Supercar Saturday, organised by the Stroke Association to raise funds for their charity. This year the event was a week later than usual meaning that the clocks had changed, but by lunchtime any onlookers would have thought that it was the middle of summer judging by the number of people wearing short sleeved t-shirts and sunglasses. Even the chocolates in the gazebo were starting to melt!

cake sale our event raised £550, which will be matched by the Royal Mail (thanks to Clerk of the Course and Royal Mail employee Nick Rainbow) to produce a fantastic total of £1100 to help stroke survivors. The day was a great success and enjoyed by all, with the Stroke Association so far having raised over £12,000 from the track action of Supercar Saturday. A huge thank you goes to everyone who worked hard in helping with the

Photos: Mark tooth

The fine weather was good for business though as the BMC Taster Autosolo attracted 16 novice participants, some of whom were ‘regulars’ together with others who had never tried this particular type of motorsport before. There were also plenty of people of all ages keen to give the course a try as a passenger with one of the Stigs, our guest Stig Alan Wakeman proving to be a very popular choice in his Nissan Micra. Congratulations to Aran Large for achieving FTD in a Mazda MX5. In addition to a very tasteful trophy(!), winner’s certificate and bag of sweets he was also rewarded with the blagged prize of a ‘lucky dip’ passenger ride of the circuit, on this occasion in a Radical SR3, which he found most enjoyable. Most importantly, together with the proceeds from another fabulously fattening BMC

organisation of the event on the day, and also to all the bakers in the wider BMC community for producing so many delicious cakes.

Zoë Tooth

hat fantastic support from the BMC of the Stroke Association’s Supercar Saturday, especially the ladies running the tent. (Admin, Cakes and the hard sell!!!) Where would we be without them. This year we had a new set of Mentors in the driving seats. They all stepped up to the start line and took the task in their stride. Judging by the smiling but weary faces at the end of the day they seemed to enjoy the experience. We must not forget all those who marshalled the event either time keeping, ushering the public between the Admin and their rides and those providing the eyes on the course. I thank you all your contribution, it is very appreciated.

After the MSA expenses had been taken out Bristol MC made £550. Royal Mail agreed to match fund this as the Stroke Association is our chosen charity for this year so we handed over £1100.00 to this great charity. For the die hard Autosoloists, see you in March at Chepstow.

Nick Rainbow

(the new Autosolo Clerk of Course)

Photos: Scott Boulton and Jeff Benstock 7

“Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne

his event returned to its “new for last year” venue in a wood adjacent to the Old Down Country Park between Thornbury and Almondsbury. Dave Harris & I are still testing out the potential of the terrain to create challenging but safe and “do-able” sections for the Trial and we were pleased that we found some new sections and some more future potential in the venue. We impacted more than we should have on the livery business that is also run by the landowner but have sorted that out and will be using the Paddock field in a much more considerate way next year.

As for the event, we had a slightly disappointing entry of 24 with 23 starters. Roland Uglow (Car 14) (Hope you have a pic, Scott (Big Ed: Yep )) won the event with passenger Laura Wilks losing only 28 marks over the 27 sections of the event. It was a very emotional day for Cornishman Roland as we found out that he had been desperate to win ? our event after numerous attempts as his father Roland Laura -in-law won it in 1952! No wonder he has been one of most loyal supporters over the years and we hope that continues for many more.

We had a great spread of scores from 28 up to 161, which goes to illustrate how difficult it can be to get the difficulty of the sections just right and the wide range of car & driver abilities, and we had no tied scores this year – the first I can remember. The lead changed hands throughout the event with Roland only 7th after Round 1 and 3rd at the lunch break. His passenger’s father, Andy Wilks, was leading the first 2 rounds with John Fack second and we were anticipating quite a battle in the afternoon round. As it turned out Roland dropped only 2 marks on one Hill (one of the Clemow sections) and finished 8 marks clear of Peter & Liz Fensom in 2nd place. John Fack had mechanical problems and fell back to 13th place having to take a maximum 12 score on 4 hills. Andy Wilks dropped to 5th place losing 25 on the last round having only lost a total of 18 in the previous two. The best Blue (intermediate) class competitor finished in a brilliant 6th overall and the 2nd Blue was Richard Sharp who came down all the way from York for the event. 1st Green was Dave Hailes in 15th on a score of 101.

So, the Awards were as follows:ROY FEDDEN TROPHY

ROLAND UGLOW

ALEXANDER DUCKHAM TROPHY

PETER FENSOM

1ST CLASS BLUE

MIKE BAKER (6TH Overall)

2ND CLASS BLUE

RICHARD SHARP

1ST CLASS GREEN

DAVE HAILES

2ND CLASS GREEN

ALAN MURTON

ROY FEDDEN BOUNCER’S TROPHY

LAURA WILKS

There was also a Team Competition with us having been asked to again host the Inter-Association Challenge. As with the last time we ran this a couple of years ago, only the West Midlands and South West Associations entering 2 teams each. AWMMC finished 1st & 2nd with cumulative totals of 130 & 148 and ASWMC following on 160 and 247.

I was so pleased that the worst of the rain held off until the end although an extra half an hour or so at the end before the rain arrived would have been a bonus. Thank you to Dave Harris in what he thinks was his 50th year as Clerk of the Course and to his wife Eileen, Mark & Jeff Benstock , Merv Walters, Andy Michelmore and Ady Taylor for their help on the working parties & setting up and particularly Pete Hart in spite of his Allen Trial commitments & Chris Buckley sandwiching time between trips halfway around the world. It was particularly helpful as regards the working parties as I was somewhat limited in what I could do following my first operation less than a month before the event. Thank you also for those who marshalled on the day and yet again providing a very high standard of marshalling. It was an excellent turn-out – a lot more than most Championship events get these days. I have had so many compliments from competitors at the end of the trial and on e-mails since the event varying from “very pleasant and helpful and very welcoming” to “the best marshals of any trial in the country” – high praise indeed. Very well done and thank you very much. One Competitor from Bradford (with the car with jigsaw pieces on) had left home at 4.30am and got home at 9.30pm said that it was worth every mile of that journey and asked me to pass on his thanks to you all. Similarly, Richard Sharp travelled down from York and said that it was worth every mile! As last year, instead of a Marshals draw we decided to provide bags of chocolate bars for each hill and that seemed to be well received. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and great New Year.

Tony Streeting

Photos by Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 10

“The Race” by Yello

’ve been involved in motorsport for most of my life, initially as a scrutineer at Castle Combe circuit, as well as a competitor in Hillclimbs, Stage Rally and most recently sprints. During that time I have prepared and campaigned a number of cars (not very well) and also had some of the very best presented to me. As two claims to fame I was part of the team that established the Castle Combe Saloons and also once scrutineered all the support races at a British Grand Prix (I found one empty fire extinguisher after examining 300 of Europe’s finest including British Touring Cars and Renault Spiders). That last claim meant not only was I paid to be there for the weekend, I also got a free camping pitch, cycled down the pit lane in the evening and watched the F1 race itself from a Marshals post. I did however manage to cut myself shaving when the GP cars first started up on Saturday morning. In all that time I’d never actually competed in a circuit race, not that is until I found myself on the 5th row of the grid at Thruxton on Sunday 5th March 2015 in my first HSCC 70s Roadsports outing driving the TVR 3000M. Obviously it takes a bit of work and expense to get there, more on which later, but if you are ever in two minds or have half a thought this might be for you, don’t delay and let me know, maybe we as a club we can do something together. The only other thought is not to get too carried away believing you’re going to win first time out, especially if the championship you are thinking about entering has been around a few years. Lesson Number 1 – When the red lights go out, unless you really do go for it, in a competitive car and you’re extremely talented, you will get left behind. At Thruxton I did go for it but my success off the line confused me somewhat so I was pegged straight back down the order and all before the first braking zone. In the case of HSCC 70s it was also about not being fooled by the amount of white hair and unlikely looking physiques stood next to relatively standard looking cars in the paddock. Yes it was true that everyone on the grid, with a few notable exceptions, did appear to be (ahem) quite mature, but they also loved their cars, not inclined to bin them unnecessarily and as I was to discover bloody quick with it. I would go as far to say that even competing in sprints in class C3, a lead car from the HSCC 70s would have every chance of winning and that’s with an original induction system, standard brakes, and minimum weight restriction

applied. The level of competition is that high. Lesson Number 2 – Are you really there to win or just have a good time? When you watch cars you feel you should be able to beat drive away from you whilst navigating the fastest circuit in the UK (Thruxton) that boasts the fastest corner in the UK (Church), you find your ego leaves your body at the same rate as other bodily fluids might if your faithful steer suddenly let go. I wasn’t offended, I was just left in awe thinking, how are they doing that? But then in racing anything can happen. For instance TVRs might not have the best rep for reliability but this year, give our 3000M its due, it did manage to finish all six races entered which resulted in a full signature card and therefore no ‘X’ on the back next year. Leading me onto something else I discovered which is even though other drivers can make better starts and pull away, reliability of cars can also become a factor which can leave them vulnerable later on. Car preparation is clearly key and although the Tiv finished there were re-occurring issues with the rear lights not working at Scrutineering, which was an unwelcome faff, especially at a rain strewn Snetterton, who needs that? The fix in the end being to tie wrap the rear loom firmly in position. There was also an issue with fuel starvation in the last few laps of each race which was resolved by fitting a larger tank and correctly plumbing in the swirl pot. All of which just leaves resolving overheating on hot days, a bigger rad being my only thought as the temperature climbs each lap. None of those problems revealed themselves at sprints of course because lights aren’t mandatory and so not checked and the time out on track is greatly reduced which can mask underlying issues. Lesson Number 3 – A 20 minute race is just that and so although everything you do from qualifying to making a good start and general on-track performance all clearly help you progress, a lot of other things can happen; and so not only is it possible to plan moves over a number of laps, you can also grab opportunities as they arise. By race six I even managed to overtake someone who appeared to be napping immediately following a waved green flag which signified a race restart after a safety car incident. This being the major difference to speed events, you know exactly where you are at any point in time because the evidence is all around you, or in my case a long way in front. Which is the biggest challenge and main transitional point, dealing with other cars at close quarters who seem to take great pleasure in getting themselves in the way. If this was golf, not that I play

much golf, you might be inclined to shout out ‘excuse me sir, you have just walked across my lie’. One minute you’re climbing all over the back of someone and the next you’re defending by taking inside, inside, inside lines everywhere. Rarely do you find yourself carving a perfect groove lap after lap, as someone will invariably try to nip up the inside and take the place from you. After a number of races a pattern also emerged where I ended up alongside the same guys each time. This meant I learnt their driving styles and where they would give room and where they wouldn’t. That learning proved invaluable because it meant I could drive much closer to them and not sit back as I had been doing. In fact I also learnt that doing the same with another ‘X’ person could force an error by looming large in their left or right hand door mirrors, especially whilst approaching a corner. On the topic of mirrors I purchased a very large one to fit inside the car shortly after testing at Thruxton on the Friday when out at the same time were Le Mans GT cars who, even in the TVR, appeared to go underneath as they flew past. This is highly recommended, as are looking out for waved blue flags which are your friend, as long as they are being shown there is another car close by, you may not be able to see it but it is there guaranteed. Then there is the camaraderie in the paddock. I travelled all the way up to Croft on my own for a two day event, but I wasn’t on my own, there were at least two people helping me unload the car as soon as I arrived on the Friday. All before a string of enthusiastic Geordie TVR fans descended, some even taking photos of the race and emailing afterwards, priceless. I did also receive advice from fellow competitors on the fuel starvation issues and boiling brake fluid, although strangely only after both races had finished.

I hope sharing just some of my favourite aspects of circuit racing gives you an insight; especially the fact you have time to recover situations and you are racing each other all the time. That you know exactly where you are, it’s obvious and in the case of the HSCC 70s dicing with a variety of cars all with quite different handling and performance characteristics driven by some really terrific people. If circuit racing is of interest to you then please let me know because with enough support from within the club it could well form part of our future plans, you never know.

Go on then, how much does it cost? The summary below is for an eligible car with a race seat and roll-cage fitted (I also already had the correct helmet, gloves and overalls):

Item

Cost

Half Day ARDS (Completed once)

£300.00

HANS (Mandatory from 2016)

£200.00

FIA Approved Race Shoes

£180.00

In-Date Seat Belt (5 years use)

£130.00

In-Date Extinguisher (Service every 2 years)

£100.00

Medical (Completed annually if aged 45 or above)

£100.00 (Only takes 10 minutes as well)

HSCC Annual Membership

£150.00 (Makes £20 for BMC a bargain)

Entry Fee (Average - one or two races per event)

£250.00

Race Car Fuel (15mins Quali + 20mins Race)

£50.00

Tow Car Fuel (Average)

£100.00*

Accommodation (Average)

£100.00*

Miscellaneous (There’s usually something)

£75.00

Total

£500-£600 per event + Overheads above

*Keep it local and costs drop to £300-£400 per event, or £15-£20 per competitive mile if you’re negotiating at home.

Matt Nichols

“Lowrider” by War

hen it started and finished at The Crown at Tolldown and for the last three years the start has been at The Bull about a mile down the road at the bottom of Hinton hill. Then the weather was sunny and dry resulting in 9 cleans with Dean Partington in his DP Cannon winning on special test times to complete his first of four Allen victories. This year conditions were wetter, windier and muddier resulting in a win for Nick Farmer in his Fugitive with a score of 2 and each class appearing in the top 10. Many of the sections used today are the same but then all sections/hills were on public roads hence the title ‘Allen Classic Road Trial’. Since then local councils, in particular Banes where most of the hills are located, in their desire to improve the state of these roads have made many unsuitable for our purpose. Two such hills are Burledge, which now has a TRO on it and is open for our use, which stopped all but 19 cars in 1995; although even now a carefully placed restart can catch out some of the most experienced trialists in its upper reaches. Last year Big Uplands, which stopped 25 in 1995 and has sometimes been deemed too rutted to include or included only for class 8, was repaired and this year it was climbed by all on road pressures and even used as an escape route when the neighbouring Little Uplands had to be cancelled as a rotten tree was swaying precariously by the restart in the strong wind. With time, rain and runoff these traditional hills should regain some of their former glory. The addition of sections on private land has therefore become inevitable. The misnamed Ubley Wood (although some managed to hit a tree this year!) at the end of Travers has provided the trial with up to 4 sections on its

claggy slopes on top of The Mendips for a number of years. This year however only 2 sections were used but they included the dreaded class 8 restart which seems to favour long wheel based cars. This year a new venue, Fry’s Bottom near Clutton, provided 3 wooded tracks and potential for the future once promised improvements in access occur. Despite some delays these appear to have been well received by the competitors. Many of the competitors and some of the cars used this year were competing in 1995 and before. These include class winners Dudley Sterry in his MG J2, who was second in class then; and Dave Haizelden in his VW Golf, who has several class wins and one overall win in 2004. Some have moved from production car classes to class 8 for specials. Others have moved onto marshalling and younger members of trialling families have taken over. Looking at the entry lists, whilst Beetles and Marlins are still as popular, the sports car class (5) has seen a marked change with only 1 MG midget in a class now dominated by two very competitive Scimitars and Suzuki X90s of varying degrees of modification and success. In respect to Bristol Motor Club we, now and then, provide most of the marshals and a few of the competitors. The main trialists in the club being heavily involved in the organisation of the event. Although in recent years both Pete’s Marlin, who usually has to be content to sit in the garage and listen to the competitors passing by on their way to Section 1, and Mark’s Beetle have been used by other club members. The biggest changes have however been in organisation and administration due to developments in technology. Then over 200 Regs were posted out along with all Final

Instructions and Results, that was a lot of stamps. This year all but 12 sets of regs went by post the rest were e-mailed out. Whistles and hired radios were used on every hill, now only one hill uses whistles, due to personal preference of the marshals that have run that hill since 1995. Officials used large cumbersome hired phones to communicate; now sections are run by club radios and officials use their own mobile phones.

Pete and Carlie Hart Simon Woodall on Big Uplands in 1995

1995 class 1 (Front wheel drive)

2 (Pre 1941) 3. (Rear wheel Front Engine)

4. (Small Rear engine) 5 (Sports car)

6. (Large Rear en-

gine) 7. (Modified + Kit cars) 8. (Specials)

2015

Competitor & car Terry Coventry Mini Tim Whellock Austin 7 Ian Moss Escort Ken Green Beetle Richard Cullen MG Midget Graham Brasier Beetle Julian Dommett Dellow Dean Partington Cannon

score 21

0 3 0

4 0 0

Competitor & car Dave Haizelden VW Golf Bill Bennett MG J2 Matt Facey BMW Craig Allen Beetle Aaron Haizelden Scimitar Andrew Rippon Beetle Dudley Sterry MG J2 Nick Farmer Fugitive

score 3

8 4 3

3 8 3

Photos by Steve Kilvington (sbkmotorsport.com) 18

Steve Kilvington

Photos by Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk)

3 Simple Rules for Trialling

Rule 1: Bring a car.

Rule 2: Make sure all doors are shut.

Rule 3: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t panic if you get stuck, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always someone to help. 20

Fantasy F1: Final Results

teams took part in this year's Fantasy F1 and it was a tight battle the season through. Three teams ended up identical with just bonus points separating them after qualifying in Abu Dhabi. For much of the season, Andrew Bisping held a slender lead and at the end of the season, he had scored the most points. However, it was not to be as Mark Tooth had chosen his bonus scores well and this jumped him from third place to the lead.

The top 6 teams were separated by barely more than 1%, which makes this championship tighter than any race in F1. Thanks to everyone who entered; perhaps a few more will enter next year? The 2016 season is just 3 months away...

Name

Points Bonus Total Driver 1

Driver 2

Team 1

Team 2

Mark Tooth

3139 80

3219 Hamilton

Alonso

Mercedes

Ferrari

Louise Hemmings

3146 60

3206 Hamilton

Button

Mercedes

Ferrari

Andrew Bisping

3163 40

3203 Vettel

Bottas

Ferrari

Mercedes

Andrew O'Malley

3138 60

3198 Hamilton

Raikkonen

Mercedes

Williams

Phil Tucker

3138 60

3198 Hamilton

Raikkonen

Mercedes

Williams

Sandy Smith

3138 40

3178 Hamilton

Raikkonen

Mercedes

Williams

Matt Nichols

2860 20

2880 Rosberg

Perez

Mercedes

Williams

Julia Nichols

2788 20

2808 Hamilton

Grosjean

Mercedes

Red Bull

Dave Greenslade

2712 60

2772 Hamilton

Bottas

Mercedes

Toro Rosso

Claire Tooth

2670 40

2710 Rosberg

Grosjean

Mercedes

Red Bull

Chris Dymock Short Back and Slides

2502 40

2542 Ricciardo

Massa

Mercedes

Williams

2342 40

2382 Alonso

Hamilton

McLaren

Mercedes

Mike Cole

2262 60

2322 Hamilton

Rosberg

Williams

Force India

Georgieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Page Georgie celebrated his birthday by watching the Allen Trial

Mmmm, cakes!!!!

Georgie and his old pal Marshal at the Stroke Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Supercar Saturday He loved being at the Roy Fedden Trial

I can beat that!

BATH TIME!!!!

Drive By

inally, another Chris Dymock observation of an historical detail to help put a little perspective to your life. On June 6th 1944 the Allied Expeditionary Force successfully invaded occupied Europe and promptly spent the following 13 months comprehensively trashing the entire place from end to end. Now, the order for the invasion was given the previous day by the Allied Supreme Commander, General Eisenhower, after receiving an update which suggested a suitable gap in the recently rotten weather would be available that evening and lasting for 24 hours. So, given that the Chief Meteorological Officer advising General Eisenhower was Royal Air Force Group Captain, James Stagg, then surely that must make D-Day the greatest Stag(g) do in recorded history? Still think your pre-marital lads weekend in Budapest was epic? Okay, so not exactly ‘finally’ in this instance, but after having the above ending of

“Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin

my previous Drive By scribblings cut off in its prime by an errant software glitch (we’ll believe you, Mr Editor…) I thought you might like to have the whole thing to read. Anyhow, as I write this, we’re only four weeks or so from Crimbo, and yet another twelve months seems to have gone by at a speed the Bloodhound SSC project would be proud of. Looking back it’s been another brilliant year with Bristol Motor Club and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my usual commentating role at our sprints and classic car gathering held at Castle Combe circuit, together with my season opener doing microphone duty at our annual awards day held in February – who knows, I might even have the correct list of winners for the next awards day and avoid being shot at by our club Chairman like this year’s event? (Water pistols only, thankfully). Club Chairman Matt Nichols and I put on our annual ‘Motorsport & mayhem’ quiz in November and hopefully the quiz teams had a lot of fun as they worked through Matt’s

degree-level F1 question round and then constructed elastic band powered model cars to try them in a competition to set the greatest distance travelled. We were a little concerned about having enough track length available for the elastic band powered cars after we read on the kit boxes that the Guinness Book of Records for these is around 7.5 metres and, given that we are one of this nation’s premier motorsport clubs, we must surely be capable of potentially setting a new world record? Unfortunately, the teams ended up slightly short – by about 6.5 metres – but the level of competitive spirit demonstrated as they lined up for their runs was right up there with anything I’ve ever seen in F1, and that also included a hugely impressive list of excuses. And talking of Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has done us proud this season and we have another British, Triple World Champion to add to the illustrious list of greats. Personally speaking, although it wasn’t exactly the most riveting season, I’ve really enjoyed the F1 races I’ve managed to catch up with and the battle for dominance between Lewis and his team mate every race, together with the fortunes and failures of the midfield teams, has been truly fascinating. With more improvements inevitably appearing next year, we must surely be getting closer to the lap times set in the preenergy recovery system days and it’s slightly staggering that fossil fuel consumption per race has reduced by over a third from the internal combustion-engined only cars of the previous era. A portent of things to come perhaps? Off on a different track for a moment; back in October I was fortunate enough to catch up with another of my interests quite by accident when, as Lynnette and I were relaxing in the garden with a fresh brew and a slice of rather scrumptious, just out of the oven homemade cake (you’ve just got to love

this unseasonably warm weather thing), we became aware of the noise of a quite obviously low flying jet. Looking up and what were we presented with? Oh yes, only one of my alltime favourite aircraft approaching – an Avro Vulcan bomber. We were subsequently treated to three circuits by the Vulcan, passing directly over the house each time, and it transpired this unique cold war warrior - the only flying example in the world and star of the UK’s longest ever bombing mission when one of them flew several thousand miles from Ascension Island to rather rudely remind the Argentinian military of what was metaphorically rapidly rolling down the hill towards them (and we all know the adage of what rolls down hills…) when it cratered the runway at Port Stanley airfield on Falkland Island prior to the main seaborne invasion by British land forces - was on a farewell tour of the UK as the cost of keeping it airworthy (around £1.5m a year and all privately funded) had become prohibitive. This incredible delta-winged bomber has been a firm favourite of mine since I was enthralled by the positively primeval, chest rattling roar of it at full throttle at every airshow I ever attended as a youngster, and it still looks incredibly futuristic despite having first flown as far back as 1952. In addition to impromptu visits by classic aircraft, classic cars continue to feature in my world, and although I didn’t get to the BMC display at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic event thanks to a last minute work requirement, I did thoroughly enjoy this year’s Dick Mayo Sprint and the larger than normal contingent of classic cars competing. Mind you, given the appalling weather conditions the following day for our annual Family Sports Car Day event and the doomladen predictions for the effects of global warming, perhaps a new interest involving classic boats might prove to be a very useful

hobby… Still, as we enter the fallow winter period, at least my subscription to cable television can brighten up my evenings as the number of car related programmes being screened appears to have increased considerably over the summer period, and I can now relax watching a considerable number of shows involving either various bunches of assorted Americans rebuilding classic cars or wielding vast arrays of lethallooking tools as they expend even vaster budgets creating some amazing (and some so very-not amazing) hot rods and custom cars, or shows such as Wheeler Dealers where somewhat more dignified Brits set about bringing near expired classics back to the open road. Not to mention the new, Chris Evans led, revamped Top Gear show arriving next year – should be good, hopefully. Returning to the subject of the rapidly approaching festive holiday, I’m seriously contemplating starting an online campaign to get rid of Father Christmas and have him replaced with a new institution of some sort? Why? Well, I believe that after an adult lifetime of asking Santa for the same single present every year - a Ferrari 250 GT SWB; it`s not a lot to ask for - and then excitedly looking out every Christmas morning only to experience bitter disappointment as, yet again, my dream car is nowhere to be seen, is a fundamental failure of epic proportions and must surely highlight it`s time for a major overhaul of the existing regime? We would expect any other organisation that failed so utterly comprehensively in its prime (indeed, only) mission statement to be replaced forthwith if it`s customers were treated with such contempt and yet, for some unfathomable reason, we persist in holding faith with the same should-have-been-pensioned-off-yearsago duffer? Come on people, gather your pitchforks and light the torches, it’s time for the revolution!

Whoops, forget everything I’ve just said; Lynnette’s just reminded me of the old geezer’s get-out clause (see what I did there?) of his requiring twelve months-worth of good behaviour from myself to be eligible – not a chance in hell of me ever achieving that, according to her… And finally (hopefully, Mr Editor, Sir…), after recently attending the English National Ballet’s presentation of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ with Lynnette, if you’re intending to visit a posh event at a theatre over the Christmas break, here’s a few observations from my visit to help you avoid the same ‘oh, for God`s sake’ death-stares from your other half. a. “Of course you can bring some snacks” does not mean rock up with a bucket of fried chicken and proceed to discuss the merits of the various local fast food outlets. b. The intervals are not called ‘half time’. c. “Better out than in!” No. Just no. d. It may be Romeo & Juliet, but don’t bang on about the lack of classic Alfas on the stage. e. It`s ‘Dancing’, not ‘Prancing’. f. Shouting out “behind you” is ONLY done at Pantomimes. g. Do not try to wager with those seated around you on the leading man dropping the leading lady. h. Oh, and if you’re attending an opera, the rather large leading lady does not resemble ‘a frigate in full sail’. Have a great Christmas and see you next year!

Chris Dymock PS. My favourite character in Formula 1? Toto ‘Arnie’ Wolff, just for the interviews - brilliant impression.

MX-5 Challenge

2016 Calendar Date 5th January 29th January 2nd February 12th February 21st February 1st March 6th March 19th March 1st April 5th April 3rd May 7th May 3rd June 7th June 19th June TBC June 3rd July 5th July 23rd July 24th July 2nd August 6th and 7th August 12th August 3rd and 4th September 6th September 4th October 7th October 28th October 29th October 1st November 13th November 27th November 6th December

Event Club Night Winter Navscatter Club Night Driving Mirror Deadline Awards Presentation Club Night Chepstow AutoSolo The Great Western Sprint Driving Mirror Deadline Club Night General Meeting + Club Night Llandow Sprint Driving Mirror Deadline Club Night Chepstow AutoSolo Endurance Karting Event Hullavington Sprint Club Night The Dick Mayo Sprint BMC Family Sports Car Day Club Night South Glos Show Driving Mirror Deadline 5 Clubs Wiscombe Hillclimb Club Night Club Night Driving Mirror Deadline Navscatter Supercar Saturday Club Night Roy Fedden Sporting Trial Allen Classic Trial EGM and 30 Buffet

“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones

2 down, 6 to go. The first issue seemed to go down well despite a couple of small hiccups (Sorry Mr Dymock for cutting you off). A big thank you to everyone for the feedback, most of it was very positive, the rest of it was

from the aforementioned Mr Dymock so I ignored it. I have to say that I’ve really been enjoying this editing business so far, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the result just as much. The 2015 season is now over for the BMC so the next edition will probably

be quite slim. I would really love it if some of you would consider sending in some notes and photos of things you’re doing in the off season; tinkering with your car getting it prepped for 2016 or maybe you’ve attended an event and you’d like to share your experience. I would also like to thank everyone for such a great year; 2015 has definitely been one of the best I can remember and a large part of that has been this club and everyone in it. I do hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas

whatever you are doing and I look forward to seeing you all in 2016, and I hope we can make it an even better year. Merry Christmas.

Scott Boulton If you would like to get in touch, my email is: scott_boulton@btinternet.com

OFFICERS & COMMITTEE MEMBERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; EMAIL Pete Hart Paul Hemmings Chris Dymock Richard Marsh Paul Parker Mark Benstock Vickie Tubb Matt Nichols Mark Tooth ZoĂŤ Tooth Allen Harris Andy Laurence Dave Greenslade Kate Boulton Mark Chater Ady Taylor Mike Cole Scott Boulton Chris Buckley

peter.j.hart@btinternet.com paul@phemmings.freeserve.co.uk chris.dymock@intoheat.co.uk r_marshy22@yahoo.co.uk britishsprint@paulparker.f9.co.uk benstock.mark@yahoo.co.uk vickie.tubb@hotmail.co.uk matt@classiccarsdriven.com mark.tooth@tiscali.co.uk membership@bristolmc.org.uk allen@harris-bristol.com andy@andylaurence.co.uk davegreenslade@zoho.com kate-boulton@virginmedia.com mark@chater.demon.co.uk ady_tayloruk@yahoo.com cole.mike@btinternet.com scott_boulton@btinternet.com cbuckley@slb.com 32