Welcome to the April 2010 newsletter! Hello everyone, Well the new rallying season is well under way here in the U.K and yet, incredibly, we are yet to attend a single rally‌ but strangely we find ourselves busier than ever before! We currently have a number of projects on the go, from reprep work on the Shallcross 205 to completing the 106 Rallye project which is off to Bosnia. An exciting ongoing piece of work is the preparing of the Peugeot 504 coupe which will be contesting the London to Cape Town Rally in 2011. To get you into the spirit of things we have compiled a feature on the legendary car. We currently have a selection of cars available for hire, two MG’s, two Citroens, the Classic Peugeot Sedan and the Saxo racing cars - please contact us for the most competitive rates around. Thanks for reading
Dave
The James Shallcross case book The trials and tribulations of James and his 205 continue, and on his most recent outing James took Dominic Hodge along for the ride… this is his story;
2010 Mechanics Trial Having been a long time colleague of Dave it was with some surprise when he asked if I would like to do a “Trial”. Dave has been working on the 205 of James Shallcross who regularly competes in this “alternative” form of motor sport and James needed a passenger/ navigator (large sack of spuds is closer to the truth) After recovering from the shock of seeing a 205 raised to the maximum we headed to Stonehouse where signing on and scrutineering were. To be a passenger, it costs the princely sum of £1 for lifetime membership; this must be the bargain of the century in Motor Sport terms. The first test was in a muddy field. After suitable modifying the tyre pressures (this is a major part of trialling) we began. From the start you proceeded across a line, reverse behind the line, up a small bank, round a bollard and stop across the same line. Sounds simple but in a field that most cars would have got stuck in this was not at all easy. As the passenger it is your job to clean the wheel rims and remove the valve caps so that the driver can re-inflate the tyres to the correct, road going pressures after each test and yes I got dirty – every time! The second test was up a steep wooded bank, I just could not believe that we could even get up, let alone be told, “Oh there is a stop and re-start on this hill”! James was relaxed and said “oh this is a doddle Off we start up the hill, a quick stop half way up, and smoothly off again cleared the summit no problems. The next test had a stop on a very tricky hairpin; James again excelled himself and completed the restart successfully. At the end he did admit that there was a slight hesitation that could be a potential fail. Further tests, I think 19 in total, took place in different locations between Stroud, Cheltenham and Cirencester. We had great success with a clean hill. Having watched at least four other vehicles failing this test and therefore being able to clean the hill was a great feeling. I would like to thank both Dave at Ti and James for allowing me to have a fun day in the glorious sunshine, yes it was sunny all day. I must add that I think that James reduces the average age of most trials competitors by 20 years. Will I be taking trialling up? – not yet - however I can see the attraction and it was great to experience first hand a very different form of motorsport.
Bosnia beckons – part two – George Nickson is now all set for his road trip of a life time, having collected the little 106 Rallye from the workshops in Mid March. Dave and the gang have been working on ensuring that the car is up for the task ahead and with safety in mind have added a bolt in roll cage, four point harnesses, upgraded brakes all around, an additional spare wheel and a new exhaust system. And judging by George’s face when he came to collect the car, we think he approves! George has quite an adventure planned, and was kind enough to show us his itinerary… From the UK he plans to catch the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. From there it is a quick (read seven hour!) blast to Macon! The next day he will cruise to Valdeblore with the world famous Col du Turini the next scheduled stop a day later. After playing on some of the best driving roads in Europe George will then head to Torino and then on to (hopefully) sunny Roma! This is as far as George has planned his trip as he has two options from Italy to Bosnia – either a long haul ferry crossing or a 23 hour road trip! Either way, we can’t help but feel a little bit envious, and wish him and the little 106 a safe journey!
Peugeot 504 coupe With the Peugeot 504 Coupe being prepared for the London to Cape Town Rally which begins on New Years Eve from beneath Big Ben we thought it would be good to do a bit of a feature on the history of this car‌ The 504 was originally built in 1994 for the 1995 London to Mexico rally using a Gartrac sourced shell. Built for John Leppard and Nick Starkey the car ended the marathon event sixth overall and third in class. In 2000 the pair then tackled the London to Sydney Rally, which would turn out to be tougher than expected. At the end of the open UK leg the Peugeot was lying 11th overall, but then an incident on a transport section in Europe saw the car drop down to 89th position! By the time the car was loaded onto the ship to Australia John had hauled it back up to 34th overall. But then, in the middle of the Great Desert the suspension broke (as a result of the earlier crash in Europe) and the pair had to limp out of the section slowly! John and Nick eventually finished the rally down in 50th position overall Gogi Sira Singh then campaigned the car on a number of East African Classic Safari Rallies. In 2003 Gogi was co-driven by Iqbal Sagoo, who was making his navigating debut! The pair finished 23rd overall that year. In 2005 Gogi returned, this time with Manjeet Singh Degun. Early in the event they survived a collision with an antelope but the damage resulted in a blown head gasket. After skipping a couple of sections in order to rebuild the engine back in Nairobi, the pair rejoined and eventually finished 25th overall! In 2006 Peugeot Sweden hired the car for the Rally of the Midnight Sun. With Gert Blomqvist at the wheel and Lena Lindberg on the notes, with the pair finishing third overall on this classic event!
For 2007 the engine was upgraded to a 3 litre V6 and Gogi teamed up with fellow Peugeot 504 driver Uwe Kurzenberger. However an ambitious start to the rally almost ended in complete disaster. An optimistic approach to a particularly rough section on the opening day saw the front corner destroyed and Gogi was forced to reverse out of the section! This incident cost the pair five hours in one day! They eventually recovered to finish 34th overall! With the original four cylinder two litre engine now back in the car it is once again being converted to left hand drive. This time David Williams will use the gorgeous coupe to tackle the London to Capetown Rally which gets underway on New Years Eve. As no service vehicles are allowed there will be a few modifications made to ensure that the car is as reliable as possible and that any spares necessary can be carried on board. 1995 2000 2003 2005 2006 2007 2009
London to Mexico London to Sydney Safari Classic Safari Classic Rally of the Midnight Sun Safari Classic Neath Historic Rally
Results 4 cyl/ RHD 4 cyl/ RHD 4 cyl/ RHD 4 cyl/ RHD 4 cyl/ LHD 6 cyl/ RHD 6 cyl/ RHD
sixth overall 50th overall 23rd overall 25th overall third overall 34th overall DNF