Photo: Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 1
Sept/Oct 2015
Officers and Committee Members CHAIRMAN
Matt Nichols ..........................07989 601774
VICE CHAIRMAN
Chris Dymock.......................(after 6pm) 0117 9394265
TREASURER
Paul Hemmings .....................0117 9566045
COMPETITION SECRETARY
Paul Parker .............................01275 843478
SECRETARY
Vickie Tubb ............................
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 Longcroft, 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
Pete Hart ................................0117 9372611 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.
May The Force ............. 6 Dave Greenslade drives a Force PT.
How Close is Close .. 8 How close is 0.01s really?
Fantasy F1 ..................... 9 The scores after the Japanese GP.
999 Show .................... 10 Some thoughts from our members who helped out.
Wiscombe .................. 14 Reviews from competitors at our only Hillclimb of the season.
Llandow Track Day .... 20 Our members only track day.
Claire’s Mini Advs ...... 24 Claire Tooth’s latest Motorsport Exploits.
Rallyday ........................ 29 The UKs premier rally show.
Georgie’s Page ........... 31 See what our club mascot has been up to.
Drive By ...................... 32 Chris Dymock talks about something or another.
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Chairman’s Chat Matt Nichols
W
elcome to the autumn edition of Driving Mirror. This is the first copy Scott Boulton will have edited after taking over the reins from Andy Laurence who needed a little bit of breathing space in his life. I think we can all emphathise with that and of course the one guarantee with Scott in charge is we won’t ever be short of great pictures. Andy, thanks for getting us all the way here and in colour. Welcome on-board Scott, good luck with our magazine and please feel free to make it your own. Included this month are reports from Wiscombe Hillclimb, the Emergency Services Show Autotest at Hullavington, Essence of Dyrham display and Llandow track day. Unfortunately I didn’t make the first two but as I was organising the latter two I can definitely share with you how they went. Our Essence of Dyrham display at Castle Combe’s Autumn
Classic went down a storm and after twenty three of the twenty five who had pre-booked attended we filled remaining gaps on the generous sized pitch by inviting other suitable cars to join us as they drove past looking for somewhere to park, great fun. Llandow was, by comparison, definitely a game of two halves beginning with the first issue of the day; a broken down lorry on the M4 between Celtic Manor and Newport Tunnels, great. I’d suggested in my final email briefing for anyone running late to ring and needless to say that whilst sat in the same queue my phone didn’t stop. Still that was nothing compared to the weather forecast that predicted the aftermath of a storm hitting the circuit at precisely 2:00pm, something causing concern to those who had made it on-time if we were going to be delayed getting underway. A quick
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conversation on arrival with track owner Jon agreed an approach combining two drivers briefings, the first to get those present underway, along with an open pit lane to maximise time spent out on track. Now as someone showing clear signs of OCD I don’t mind sharing with you that I must have updated the ‘Llandow Track Day’ page on our website nearly one hundred times, mainly trying to match people together by putting them into like groups whilst keeping shared drives two groups apart. In all that obsessiveness not once did I contemplate an open pit lane and if you’re not clear on what that means and you like driving a car around a track then I think you’ll like it a lot. Basically the pit lane is opened for cars to go out in the morning, in our case just after 10:00am and then only closed at 1:00pm for an hour at lunchtime and again at 5:00pm when the event is over. That means the only restrictions on how many times you can go out and stay out are down to the number of cars on the circuit (maximum ten at Llandow), fuel levels, brake temperatures, mechanical breakdown, an incident or in the end driver fatigue. Other than that you can quite literally fill your boots and I’m happy to report everyone did. We drove round and round all day long following each other, overtaking when appropriate and generally having a riot. In between times we exchanged notes, compared lines and helped out in the paddock. In the end my arms wouldn’t let me continue in the TVR past 3:00pm but others, fitter or with power steering, carried on until the end or at least until they had nothing left in their tanks. Very well done to Sandy who was last man standing. We finished in the end at 4:30pm and unbelievably the rain didn’t arrive at Llandow but instead slapped everyone travelling east in the face once back across bridge. I suspect Alex Millard was hit more than most given the absence of any weather protection on his Sylva Stylus.
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Club Nights 3rd November Quiz Night 1st December AGM and Buffet 5th January Club Night
Overall the day was terrific fun, relatively relaxed in that everyone could decide how much or little they wanted to do and feedback was extremely positive, good stuff; I do like it when we give something back, subsidising the event in this case, we should do that again sometime.
Matt Nichols
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hey say all good things come to an end. After ten years of competing in the ‘Evo Half’ it’s time for a change of direction, it’s clear that the car either needs a very large upgrade or someone else driving as I’ve stopped getting any faster in it!! It’s not gone out to pasture though as it could easily make an occasional guest appearance if the new car is unavailable….more of that later. I spent the early part of the season contemplating what to do in 2016, one option was a one make series like the BMW Compact Cup but I still love sprints and hills and was looking at where to go in the paddock. Realistically it was only going up to either Sport Libre or the Racing Car classes, but I’ve seen
Treloy Sprint? Err, hell YES! I then spent far too long looking at Youtube videos trying to get accustomed to Treloy as it’s somewhere I’d never been before, but also looking at Simon’s other videos to try to understand what I was letting myself in for. Fortunately I got to try out the seat / pedals / belts etc at the Dick Mayo Sprint including a very slow trip round the paddock to make sure I was comfortable. It so happens I fit perfectly which is brilliant. So the Treloy weekend came around and me, Simon and his son Joe (who is the Chief Mechanic at six years old) made our way down to Okehampton for our overnight Travelodge stop. A quick pint was quaffed at a rather
Photos: Claire tooth
how much ‘Faff’ goes on and wasn’t sure if I could run either on my own, it’s certainly a lot more effort than the ‘arrive and drive’ nature of the Lancer! Then out of the blue Simon Clemow offered me a drive in his Force PT. For those who don’t know it’s very light single seater (only 315kg) with a 1400cc Hyabusa engine which makes 200bhp at the wheels … so even with a driver on board it’s a true 500bhp / tonne car! It turned out his regular partner Martin has had enough and he was looking for someone to share the car and how about a test drive at the
bizarre local pub before getting our heads down and the final hour run down to Newquay in the morning. The forecast was looking VERY wet leading up to the event but fortunately the storm seemed to blow itself out overnight and we arrived to a wet track but no rain. 1st job was to walk the track which is much better than it looks on the videos, there are a lot of cones but it does make sense and most of the apexes are visible before you get to the corner. After that was the task of getting the car ready, wet tyres went on, fuel in etc. It then took a good ten minutes of me faffing
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around with the belts, I got to grips with them as the day went on but at first they were a bit of a nightmare. So the time came to line up, I was really nervous, probably the last time I was this bad was my first time at Wiscombe Park. Anyway I lined up and drove a steady lap just concentrating on the gear changes (sequential gearbox), brake feel and wooaahhhhhhh the performance!! The car had made a real impression on that first outing and I was keen for more! 2nd practice and this time it was pretty dry but we left the wet tyres on, I squeezed the gas on much more and felt much more of the car, and felt quite happy with the time. It was such a steep learning curve but the car is so well sorted and with the feedback it offers you get a ‘feel’ surprising quickly. Then a bit of a disaster … we put the slicks on for the 1st timed runs and as I lined up in the queue the heavens opened, proper full on monsoon. Now I was expecting no grip but in the following 80 seconds my eyes were out on stalks, I’ve never driven a car where it was so unpredictable as to which direction we were going. I was really concerned about being caught but luckily the next car was also a single seater on slicks. We swapped back to wets and Simon posted a 55 second run, although FTD at that point was a Westfield who sneaked in just before the rain! The lunch break gave the track time to dry out and although there were some wet patches it was mostly dry so the slicks went back on and my first go in dry trim. The car felt fantastic, I managed to get away from using the clutch on the upshifts but found I was riding the clutch when going down through gears but a very useful learning lap. I improved again with a 46.59 against Simon with a 41.44. A quick discussion about which gears to be in around the track would be helpful with the next go. The 3rd timed run came round with a completely dry track and also a bit of sunshine. I felt reasonably comfortable with the car so
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took Simon’s advice on board and put in a better lap, although I was still not releasing the clutch properly on the downshifts. This one was a 44.53 compared to Simon’s 40.92. The 4th run was a bit of a mess, I went up into 4th gear instead of down into 2nd at the chicane and didn’t clock it as the engine laboured it’s way out of the corner. Lesson learnt….
So the final run (7th go of the day!). We had another chat about where I could go quicker, so with all the previous knowledge going round in my head I set off. The car felt great, especially around the back where the lateral grip is something else … flat out from the final chicane to nearly maximum revs in sixth gear. Another big improvement, down to a 42.48 compared to another best from Simon of 40.81 (just pipped to the class win by 6 hundredths). All in all a brilliant experience and great day out, massive thanks to Simon for trusting me with the car, so much so that (barring holidays etc) we are doing a full season next year. I have a feeling I’m at the bottom of a very large learning curve, it will be fun trying though!
Dave Greenslade
Just How Close Is Close?
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e live in a world of data analysis and targets, most of which goes over my head, though there is one area in which I tend to show interest. Sprinting and hillclimbing has always focussed on times and target times which competitors analyse to find those elusive 1/00ths so as to improve their position in class or beat a PB. Time is fairly easy to measure when we use years, weeks, hours or minutes. Anything smaller can be difficult to translate into an understandable form. Quite often I check my times and note that I am, e.g. 0.47 secs. behind a competitor; but what does this look like?
At the end of August, Geraint and I competed at Loton Park and it is here that my data analysis took a different approach. The course has 4 timed sections, a speed trap and a blast to the finish. Over the weekend, a BMW M1 proved to be a difficult car to catch, but Sunday saw this dominance end, thanks to the Subaru and Geraint. Whilst watching Geraint tackle his final run, I mentioned to his girlfriend that he needed to keep a sub-60-second time, which he promptly did. The BMW was the final car in class and completed the course 1/00th of a second behind Geraint. She smiled, but I knew the 1/00th meant nothing to her. The class printout showed all the section splits, so with a bit of help from Geraint, we have translated them into another format which Joe Public can appreciate. At Cedar Straight (which isn’t straight at all) the split showed the Subaru was 0.07 behind the M1 at 86 mph. 86mph ÷ by 2.2 = 39.1 metres per second 39.1m/s x 0.07secs = 2.74 metres / 9 foot, or the height of a normal ceiling. The BMW covers ground very quickly but isn’t as agile as the Subaru on the twisty bits, and these await you at the end of Cedar Straight. A long upward sweeping left off camber, over a hump into a sharp right, a small kink, then a blast to the finish. The Subaru claws back time here and needs to, as the BMW will start to take it back once the track straightens. Over the finish the Subaru was 0.01 in front of the BMW at 90mph, and using the same format: 90mph ÷ by 2.2 = 40.9 metres per second
40.9m/s x 0.01secs = 0.409 Metres, 409mm, 16 inches or Subaru rim size
So 1/00th or 0.01 or 400mm or 16”, take your pick.
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Andrew Meek
Fantasy F1: Japan
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Emergency Services Show
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ad good fun taking passengers for rides at the show, there was quite a bit of demand, people seemed to really enjoy getting thrown about in the MX5, some were treating it like a fairground ride with arms in the air etc which was amusing, Many requests from passengers to
do big drifts and doughnuts and I did not want to disappoint, so I let my inner teenager run wild‌until the responsible grown ups told me to behave, so I had to put him back in the box, oops sorry.
Sandy Smith
Photos: Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 10
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mazing opportunity to play about in the car without a clock running, so a spin or two adds to the fun rather than ruins your chance of a pot on the day. More drifting than a normal AutoSolo, but for the purpose of raising awareness of grass roots motorsport it does the job very well. I will definitely be back next year.
Alex Millard
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hat a fantastic day, the GO Motorsport AutoSolo passenger rides were a great way of promoting the idea of local club Motorsport at an affordable level. The team laid out a super course and with a queue of paying members of the public all day long all the drivers were kept busy. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and every passenger left with a smile. Andrew Bisping was superbly capturing the passengers enjoyment in a "Tony Mason" interview style by putting a microphone in front of them as soon as they exited the cars. As a driver it was a great chance to practice and tune my driving skills and the trusty Impreza did not let me down despite doing more than 25 passenger rides (yes I counted the discarded tickets in the car), always at speed and sometimes at some very strange angles of attack. The Impreza was supposed to be driven home but I had ruined a complete set of tyres so we had to change them for the journey back to Bristol. All I can say is it was totally worth it!! I was grinning all the way back. Well done to every one involved in raising nearly ÂŁ1000 on the day, I can't wait to be back next year!
Jeff Benstock
Photos: Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 12
I
have some extra cone rash marks on my car and completely took one out!
Phil Oliver
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Wiscombe
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t's always good to go back to Wiscombe for the 5 clubs weekend as long as the weather is good, which luckily it was. It was a welcome, but unusual double drive for Dad as well. As usual it was well run and provided it's share of interesting results. Saturday was a poor day for me with a 4th in class and pretty rubbish time. I'd love to have a good excuse (car, weather, slight mist on my visor, .... etc ) but really it was just an off day. Sunday was a bit better after I had a few strong words with myself about
saturday's performance. The hill was in really good condition and produced some good times. I was half a second off my PB but at least heading in the right direction and I am on 2 year old knackered tyres! (excuse mode kicked back in too!) Dad had a mixed weekend, but I think he enjoyed being in the saddle for another event. Thanks as always to everyone involved in running it.
Simon Clemow
Photos: Scott Boulton (jackflashphotography.co.uk) 14
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clubs Wiscombe was my first venture into the "proper" hillclimbing, after having only had a quick taster at Castle in Cornwall a few weeks before to get my eye in. Anyone that won't do Wiscombe because it is too "scary" should really try it before dismissing it, it is not as bad as it looks. It is a great adrenaline rush, and I will be first to
sign up for a return several times next year. I have officially got the Wiscombe bug of chasing times after just a few runs, ha-ha. A huge thanks to all involved in both days, the whole weekend ran faultlessly and was a credit to the entire team.
Phil Tucker
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returned my Subaru back to nearly std. condition for Wiscombe this year, after my worst ever results last year. The sun was out, the track was dry and super efficient organisation meant a swift start at 8.30. A4 was really competitive as usual, so I kept an eye on Dave Greenslade and Trevor Mc Master as my yardsticks. The Subaru worked well with a 6/14 on Saturday and 4/15 on Sunday and a PB of 44.52, I smiled all the way home. Brilliant organisation kept the weekend flowing and nice paddock banter added to the enjoyment.
Andrew Meek
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had a great weekend, not too successful as I found (with hindsight a week later on the rollers) I was down on torque by quite a bit. I had earlier indulged in a new ECU to compliment my rebuilt 4.3 TVR Engine. Unfortunately, as the installation was progressing, the installer’s rolling road became unusable, so I ended up with a “generic” map with the new ECU. The engine ran much sweeter and smoother, but didn’t get close to my previous PBs despite a cracking weather
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weekend!! Great organisation and cheerful Marshals made for a Classic weekend for 5Clubs. Roll on the rolling road!!
Trevor McMaster
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Fedden Trial: 8th Nov 2015
The deadline for submissions for the Nov/Dec issue of Driving Mirror is
At 11:02, the field of sporting trials vehicles will ascend the steep hills. This discipline of motorsport is unlike any other.
4th December 2015
Lead Marshal: Mike Cole cole.mike@btinternet.com 07980 416075 | @mcole7617
Send a few words and preferably some photos to scott_boulton@btinternet.com
Le Jog Marshalling and Christmas Dinner Get Together Bristol MC have volunteered again this year to assist with a special test of the Lands End to John O’Groats Classic trial organised by Hero Events. For the past two years we have assisted with this event by providing a marshalling team of about 15 people for their special test at Gordano Services. It is a similar type of test to our AutoSolos with numbered cones set out on a sealed surface.
Our involvement takes place on the afternoon of Saturday 5th December, finishing early evening. After all the cones are cleared away we will then retire to a local eatery for dinner and Christmas cheer. If you would like to come along please let Ady Taylor know at: ady_tayloruk@yahoo.com 07957545432. Further information about Le JOG: http://www.heroevents.eu/Events/LeJog/2015/
Allen Classic Trial: 29th November 2015 A gaggle of classic cars will depart from Hinton on a tour of the hills of Bristol. Each test will prove the cars’ climbing ability. To cover all the hills, we need a large number of marshals. It will only take part of your day.
Lead Marshal: Mike Cole cole.mike@btinternet.com 07980 416075 | @mcole7617
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BMC members Llandow Track Day
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reat track day, lots of track time and good track manners displayed by all. I got to play a bit with the car and discovered that my old knackered tyres provided a lot more grip than the 'good' tyres I replaced them with, which I had thought but nice to prove it. The MX5 is good fun when the front end has more grip than the rear as I found when I mixed the sets on the axles, happy days. It was a little disappointing when I ended the day back on the good tyres, the car was full of understeer, really lacking reliable grip. I must have done laps into triple figures, my poor tyres, they'll be changed soon as after all that work out I had another track day 2 days later on them. I took many members out for passenger laps in the MX5 at Llandow too, some quite surprised how quick it could go, I was quite surprised they were brave enough to get in!!
Sandy Smith
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y first trip to Wales where it stayed dry all day! While the track is relatively short it provided a great learning opportunity, sharing passenger rides with other BMC members was the key to understanding their lines, which builds confidence and reduces lap times. Braking through the chicanes rather than before (thanks James Hurford) and using plenty of curb
(thanks Sandy) all make a significant difference. Whilst timing equipment was forbidden, times from the onboard camera showed a massive improvement from 54's at the start of the day to mid 47's with a passenger by the end.
What do you mean there was a corner there???
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Alex Millard
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fter my day at the Emergency Show at Hullavington just 3 days earlier and the prospect of 3 different drivers using the car I was a little unsure if the Impreza would be up to the task. But myself, Mark Benstock and Peter Dickinson headed over to Wales to enjoy what turned out to be a "bucket list" day. The weather forecast was dodgy but the closer to Llandow we got the brighter the weather became. We were caught in some traffic in the M4 early on that delayed other members by more time. When we arrived at the venue, there were a few BMC members already setting up. Llandow is somewhere I have never been to and I have really missed out. It is a great compact venue with a track that is challenging and very enjoyable. We had a drivers briefing and it was decided that an open pit was the best option. We all got to drive as and when we wanted and there was never a queue. The driving standards had been explained in the briefing and everybody adhered to them. As the day was solely BMC members firstly there was a great atmosphere in the paddock, everybody seemed happy to lend a hand or offer advice and the track discipline was great. Faster cars were allowed to pass easily and safely as everyone knew they could trust the driver being overtaken not to do something daft; a sight all too common on public track days at places like Combe! During the day Dave Foreshaw very kindly offered me a drive in his freshly rejuvenated Westfield. He is very trusting!... he had only got it running a couple of days before. After some minor seat and harness adjustment "possibly due to my cooked breakfast at the circuit cafe", I snuggly fitted in. I have never driven a Westfield before and it was quite an exhilarating experience, the car felt so precise and direct and even with the my somewhat out of practice driving style I was able to feel every input I made and see the reaction instantly in the car. Quite simply brilliant! Thank you Dave.
Unfortunately Dave suffered some mechanical gremlins later on during the day, so the car had to be loaded onto the trailer, I hope I didn't contribute to them.
Jeff Benstock
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wo months into the ownership of my first MX5 it decided to dislike itself and take itself off to a mechanic for a month. I wasn't too happy about this naturally, it didn't even ask. So I had to rely on the kindness of my fellow MX5 drivers to give me my first taste of Llandow. A big thanks to James who let me borrow his car and to Phil, Alex and Sandy for giving me drivealongs around the circuit. It was great fun and very interesting comparing everyone's styles and gave me an insight into how to drive the track. It'll only be a few days now before she's back on the road and hopefully in a good state for longer this time.
Andrew Maxwell
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Claire’s Mini Adventures
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s some of you may remember, I finished off my last article with the prospect of two months of revision and exams to look forward to before any more motorsport, having narrowly failed by 0.2 seconds to match Dad’s time at the excellent Hullavington Sprint. With exams finally over (what a relief!), the next thing on the cards was my Christmas present – Gurston Down Hill Climb drivers’ school. It was also the first time I would have driven Katie (my Mini) with its newly fitted limited slip diff. Gurston is a great place and somewhere I now want to try in anger. The diff would take a bit of working out though. According to Ollie, it is like a woman, because it’s unpredictable and can’t ever make up its mind. Don’t know what he is talking about myself!! First proper event was the BARC Llandow, which is a favourite. This marked the start of our attempt to do five events in four weekends, three with Dad double driving! I managed to knock off a bit of time from the May event, getting the feel of the car again and finishing ahead of Peter Styles in his Suzuki Swift. This was to be the full-on weekend as the following day was Llys-y-Fran hill climb, a new venue for me, with Dad double driving. The next morning, after a night in a top of the range Travelodge, we made our way to furthest West Wales. However, when we tried to start Katie, she refused to play.
Absolutely nothing; despite being perfectly fine when driven onto the trailer at Llandow. Dad worked out there was no spark, but was scratching his head for the cause. At this point we have to thank Richard Hearnden, with assistance from Dave Greenslade providing a telephone helpline from Clay Pigeon! The combined effort deduced the electronic ignition module was at fault. At this point, Richard, who lives 10 minutes away from LYF, dispatched his son home to
Photos: Mark Tooth collect a box full of distributors. Dad and Richard then built one good one from three and Katie was running again in the nick of time to make final practice (thanks to the organisers for letting us get to the start line!). That is something that makes club motorsport truly special - the amount of effort everyone puts in at a time of crisis. In the end I still managed four runs thanks to a timing failure and got to within 1.5 seconds of Dad, so I came away happy. Dad won the class, beating Richard into second. He did publically thank him at the
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prize giving, to a big round of applause! By recommend by the way!). Castle is quite the way, LYF is fantastic; you need to give it a short, but very steep, a bit like a Cornish go. version of Shelsley Walsh. First practice didn’t go well when Katie fell off the cam on I was amused by a comment from an changing to second after the very steep start elderly spectator to his friend as Dad drove line, but things had improved by the first Katie to the assembly area for me to hop in. timed run when I went two tenths quicker As Dad went past, accompanied by the whine than Dad. For the first time I was ahead! of straight cut gears, the gentleman said ‘that Mini sounds absolutely knackered’! Dad said I For the final timed run Dad (who was should have told him that it has cost quite a running first) went a second quicker. lot of money to make it sound like that!! After another night in the Travelodge (and a really good curry in St Clears), we drove home on Monday in torrential rain, only for the wipers on the van to stop working – this weekend was not going to plan. However, Dad managed to fix them and Katie was taken straight back to Ollie to sort out our lash up!
(apart from this one as it is Mark)
Thinking I had no chance of matching that, I arrived at the top to find I had gone two seconds quicker, beating Dad by a second on this relatively short hill and finishing 5th in a class of ten. Was I happy or what!?! It made the effort of the previous few weeks all worthwhile. We stayed to see Phil pick up his trophy for second in class and to celebrate stopped in McDonald’s for tea on the way Weekend number four was Castle Hill home – we know how to live (Mark Benstock will be proud)!! Climb in Lostwithiel. Phil had entered both days, but how did we manage to get from me The final event of this hectic period going down to support him, to me and Dad was to be the Prescott members’ day on 8th both entering the event on the Sunday?! August. For a change for us at Prescott the
The following weekend was the Dick Mayo Sprint at Castle Combe, and with Katie now back on song I managed to go seven seconds quicker than last year and very nearly beat another quick Mini whose driver decided not to associate with the rest of the class, parking at the other end of the paddock!
We drove down on Saturday to spectate, stayed in a nice cottage overnight, and dined on proper racing driver food – Co-op ready meals (curries highly
sun shone and we had a lovely spot in the paddock under the cherry trees. To carry on from the previous weekend, I was ahead of Dad after the first timed run, with a time of 58.22. For my last run, Phil gave me some
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top advice regarding utilising the benefits of the diff at Ettories – “nail it early and the diff will pull you into the apex”. Well it certainly pulled me in – right over the grass! To add to my woes I missed a gear on the exit from Pardon, so a completely ruined run. All that remained was to run up the hill to watch Dad. It looked a good run, but the clock stopped on 58………………..24. I had pipped it by two hundredths of a second …………to the relief of Phil!! What a brilliant end to a hectic few weeks. Thanks to Dad (who I don’t think really minded being beaten?!), Ollie, Richard and everyone else who helped out. To cap it all, the following week I got my exam results and an offer to study Physiotherapy at Keele University, my preferred choice. That will mean a bit less motorsport, but Dad is taking Katie to Prescott in October to get a bit more practice in!
Claire Tooth Big Ed says: Mark, better get used to this!
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love Rallyday, it was the first motorsport event I ever photographed, all the way back in 2008. There’s always loads to see and do. Display stands with modern and classic rally cars strewn everywhere stretch from Quarry Corner, through the paddock and back out to Westway where the smaller clubman rally stage is running. Andrew Bisping was there flying his Go Motorsport flag and running an AutoTest demonstration in Parc Fermé. On track action runs all day with regular track sessions, clubman only sessions, and a 3+hour long feature stage where drivers get to hoon their car around 3/4 of the circuit through artificial chicanes (often sideways and in a cloud of smoke). The only breaks come when they switch to the 4x4 demonstrations which happen infield. Down on the rally school track there were people being taken out for quick lap passenger rides whilst some impressive 4x4 machines were having a whale of a time playing in the mud a bit further on. The event attracts rally enthusiasts from all over the globe, not to mention 1 or 2 rally stars such as Russell Brookes, Elfyn Evans and some bloke called Ari Vatanen??
There were regular interviews with the stars on a stage in the paddock throughout the day, usually followed by meet and greet autograph sessions. Although there was still a lot of stuff going on it felt (to me anyway) that there was less this time than in previous years. There were no drifters, rallycross demonstrations in the rally school, no parades, fewer stands around Quarry and the new solar farm impacted on the 4x4 infield action rather dramatically. With that said what was there, was awesome, and more than made up for anything that was missing. Ok, there may be a reason the rallycross cars didn’t return.
Rallyday 2014 Strolling around the paddock and looking at such cars as the Lancia Stratos, Delta and 037, Ford RS200, Audi Quattro, Metro 6R4 and so on, never gets boring. On more than one occasion I was so wrapped up in just getting close to the cars and having a good nose around, that I forgot to take any pictures of them. Don’t worry, I did take plenty of pictures still, some of which can been seen on the next page.
Scott Boulton
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(Yes, that is a 70 year old man doing doughnuts on the track!!)
The Benstocks’ old Astra
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Georgie’s Page
Georgie meets original Stig, Perry McCarthy!
He also enjoyed a grand day out at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic with Matt and Julia Nichols
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Drive By TV advertising. Funny how certain adverts become instantly memorable (job well done, that agency) and even develop a following in their own right as their 20 second-long stories evolve; witness the affection a bunch of Russian speaking, African rodents has won with the viewing public despite the majority never once visiting the website of the insurance search engine in question. Or the success of the ‘will they/ won`t they get it together?’ advertising campaign involving a pair characters dancing around their obvious feelings for each other whilst imbibing mugs of freshly stirred instant coffee (remember that one?). The latter advert, of course, coming from an era when this great nation wasn`t as risk averse as we are today and car adverts could portray some element of dynamism even if the car on the screen actually handled in reality like a bowl of soggy custard in an earthquake. Remember being presented with the remarkable spectacle of a Morris Ital, a car not exactly renowned for sportscar-like
Chris Dymock
handing, storming from an upmarket garage and proceeding to run rings around a German saloon with a three pointed star on the radiator grille and a tagline of ‘faster accelerating than a Mercedes’? (I think I read recently that the Merc they were referencing was the favoured Berlin Taxi of the time, a 2.5 non-turbo diesel, in which case the tag line could equally apply to a very young Chris Dymock as he cycled to school) Which brings me to that series of adverts screened in the late eighties which gave us a smug loser walking away from some epic lifestyle failure or other and then smiling as they reach their car, all to the memorable tagline of? Yep, you guessed it, ‘if only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen’. Given the recent revelations about Volkswagen`s, somewhat creative, method of emissions testing of its diesel engines in America, that old tagline must be coming back to haunt the world`s largest manufacturer of automobiles. As I write this,
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the head of Volkswagen has already fallen on his sword and the American legal community must be sleepless in eager anticipation of potentially one of that nation`s greatest litigation settlements of all time. One can only imagine the all-pervading sense of gloom that must be the VW boardroom at the moment, and the top knobs must be desperately trying to find the automotive emergency first aid instructions as the group`s share price continues resembling a fair impression of an elevator with the cable cut (perhaps a good time to consider buying VW shares maybe, if you`re feeling brave?). At least the rest of the world`s car manufacturers can sleep easily. Yeah, right… Still, as my old mum used to say, as I stood bruised and bleeding after yet another cycling incident, ‘you only have yourself to blame’. Okay, that`s enough of the modern world; I`ve recently found time to at last catch up with my Christmas presents and have been reading a couple of rather good books about the early post-war racing heroes, Duncan Hamilton and Peter Collins. If ever you wanted an antidote to the anaemic outpourings of the (admittedly, contractually neutered) current formula 1 drivers (Kimi Raikonen excepted, bless him), then immersing yourself in a well written book about the racing drivers in an era when driver safety probably amounted to little more than a hope of being thrown clear in the event of a prang is just the tonic. Duncan Hamilton`s autobiography ‘Touch Wood’ is a stonking read and the first few chapters alone detailing his childhood, teenage trips to Brooklands, learning to fly and his subsequent escapades after joining the Fleet Air Arm at the start of WW2 would make for a great book in their own right. Hamilton`s writing of his racing career, however, is a brilliant insight to the racing of the late forties and early fifties; full of
anecdotes, utterly hilarious in places and a fantastic foil to our modern, politically correct ‘don`t do anything and wrap yourself in cotton wool’ society. His telling of his 1953 Le Mans win in a C-Type Jaguar shared with Tony Rolt must rank as one of my favourite racing stories of all time. The C-Type was modified for the ’53 season with the installation of Dunlop disc brakes and triple, twin-choke Webber carburettors, and it was quickly realised that this was likely to be an award winning combination. However, after a c*ck up regarding a change in the regulations relating to practice sessions and dedicated practice cars, a protest by the Ferrari pit was upheld and Hamilton and Rolt found themselves disqualified despite the fact they weren`t involved. Our dejected heroes returned to their hotel to drown their bitter disappointment and embarked on what became a marathon all-night session and which was still going strong when their wives appeared for breakfast. A short time later, William Lyons turned up and broke the news that a special enquiry had given them the go-ahead after the payment of a 25,000 Franc fine and they were back in the race - with just six hours to the start. Hot baths and serious quantities of black coffee did little for their condition and, battling sleep deprivation, neither felt up to racing for another 24 hours. It was Hamilton who decided that a double brandy would be just the medicine required and he was quickly joined by Rolt; et voila, a full recovery and the rest, as they say, is history. Hamilton retired from racing in 1959, and given that he managed to crash just about everything he ever flew or drove (I`m not joking, you really do need to read this book), I would think an alternative title for his autobiography would be ‘Bl**dy Lucky’!
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Peter Collins biography, written by Ed McDonough, is a season-by-season, race-byrace account of Collins` career and which was tragically cut short with his fatal accident at the infamous ‘Green Hell’ Nurburgring circuit in 1959. Whilst the format of this book might, on first acquaintance, seem like a potential cure for insomnia, nothing further from the truth is the reality. It is a riveting read and you can`t help but be impressed with Collins` rise to fame as one of the ‘golden boys’ of early post-war racing. Particularly interesting is Collins` early career racing 500s and the constant battle keeping these fragile machines a) running and b) on the circuit. From 500s he progressed to F2, saloon and sports car racing and was rapidly making a name for himself as a very competent endurance racer. The list of his contemporaries reads like a roll call of the greats, including; Moss, Abecassis, Salvadori, Behra, Ascari, Fangio and, of course, Mike Hawthorn, to name but a few, and crowds of 50,000 to over 100,000 weren`t uncommon at events during this era. Collins raced at all the circuits we`re familiar with today and an awful lot more that have fallen into obscurity over the years, as well as numerous sprints and hillclimbs every season, setting several class records in the process; busy then. Collins often raced 500s and saloon or sports cars in different classes at the same
Date 30 October 2015 31 October 2015 03 November 2015 08 November 2015 12 November 2015 29 November 2015 01 December 2015 04 December 2015
event and raced at the first event held at Castle Combe circuit - put on by some organisation calling itself the ‘Bristol Motor Club’, apparently! Of course, not all of his rivals mentioned in the book went on to have illustrious racing careers, I mean, whatever happened to a couple of chaps called Bernard Ecclestone and Colin Chapman …? Anyhow, I can heartily recommend these books. Even if your personal interest is modern motorsports - F1, Touring Car, Rallying or whatever - you can`t help but be impressed and entertained as you absorb the sheer ‘work hard, play harder’ lifestyles of the generation of racing drivers for whom the fatal loss of fellow competitors was an every season occurrence. Finally, 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.
Chris Dymock
Event Autumn NavScatter Supercar Saturday AutoSolo Club Night Roy Fedden Sporting Trial Karting Challenge Allen Classic Trial Club Night Driving Mirror Copy Deadline 34
As you no doubt know by now the magazine has a new editor (and if this is the first you’ve heard about it, what have you been reading?). I’ve never done this sort of thing before and have already started making some
small changes. As this is a magazine by, for and about you, I would really appreciate any feedback and ideas. Also if you have an experience or random thought that you think is interesting, please consider jotting down a few words about it and sending it in. Chances are if you find it interesting, others will too. It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be deep, just something that you think others might like to read. Photos are good too, if you see something you like or want to show something off: take a snap and send it in. My tenure as editor is only temporary and will be over by the start of 2017. Andy Laurence found that he was juggling too much and wanted to find a replacement. A replacement was found but they couldn’t start until
2017 due to existing commitments. So I (being the hero that I am) stepped up and accepted the challenge burden honour. So if you’re not a fan of the changes I make, don't worry, it’ll soon be over. But in the meantime I would still very much like to hear from you. If you would like to get in touch, my email is: scott_boulton@btinternet.com
Scott Boulton 35
OFFICERS & COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ EMAIL Pete Hart Paul Hemmings Chris Dymock Richard Marsh Paul Parker Mark Benstock Vickie Tubb Matt Nichols Mark Tooth ZoÍ 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 36