3 minute read
VSCC Herefordshire Trials
24th-25th April 2021 By Peter McFadyen
Overall winner of Saturday’s trial, Jon Fleming (Austin 7 Ulster) was one of the small number of competitors who took part in both days’ events
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To comply with Covid restrictions, this year’s Herefordshire Trial abandoned its normal 2-day format in favour of being run as two separate one-day trials thereby ensuring that the maximum number of competitors could take part without needing to stay locally overnight. By using the same seven hills each day, the geographical spread of the trial was also reduced.
Around 70 cars and crews took part each day and, with the ground being so dry after a prolonged period without significant rainfall, many of them completed the event without dropping a single point. There is always a tiebreaker built into the Herefordshire Trial in the form of a
timed section on one of the hills, Dean’s Place, but this normally comes into play only in rare instances. This year, however, it proved vital in determining the result on both days.
© Peter McFadyen
Alexandra Milne-Taylor and her father, Philip carefully traversing the rocky section at the start of Pelham’s Penyard 2 in their AJS 2-Seater Sports on their way to winning a first class award
Joe Collings in the powerful 4½ litre Bentley Travelling in style – and helping to keep the weight over the rear wheels of Andrew Staples’ Ford Model A which won the Long Wheelbase Standard Cars class
On Saturday, there were eight competitors who finished the day with maximum scores and all would receive First Class awards while on the basis of their tie-break times, Jon Fleming (Austin 7 Ulster) came out on top and took the Herefordshire Trophy. The trophy for the winner of the ‘opposite’ class, in this case the long wheelbase cars, went to Rob Hubbard and his Vauxhall H-Type 30/98.
© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen
Another to compete on both days was Tim Kneller with his Bullnose Morris Oxford seen tackling the Pelham’s Penyard 1 hill
Sunday’s trial saw even more full scores, fifteen in all, with Stewart Rich and Francine Pimperton in their Austin 7 making the fastest time at Dean’s Place to win the major trophy and Charlotte Bowyer (Ford Model A) winning the long wheelbase class and the Andrew Blakeney-Edwards Trophy.
© Peter McFadyen © Peter McFadyen
Duncan Pittaway in one of the Collings family’s Bentleys
© Peter McFadyen
One of the VSCC’s leading trials drivers, Don Skelton (Austin 7 Sports) achieved a perfect score in Sunday’s trial and finished fourth overall
Russell Hennessy’s 1923 Bullnose Morris Cowley Tourer in the woods at The Hyde Halt
© Peter McFadyen
Vienna Jeavons (Austin 7 Ulster) successfully makes the optional stop-restart which is worth and extra 10 points if the hill is climbed all the way
Simon Price’s short wheelbase Ford Model A Special unfortunately dropped five points at Chandos
