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Garstang and Preston Memorial Road Rally MORE REPORTS COMING SOON HONEST The Tour of Mull 2003
When some months ago I agreed to do Mull I thought it would be nice to do a report for the newsletter, not having rallied for four years. At the time I had no idea how difficult this first paragraph would be. By now I am sure we all are aware of the death of Susan Cameron on the Friday night section of the rally. I know all KLMC members extend their condolences to her husband Duncan who was driving at the time, as well as her family and friends The story of this years Mull -no make that an epic, starts with a phone call from Ian Curwen during the summer “would I like to do Mull”. My reply of course was “Yes but I will have to ask Catherine” (Catherine’s note- Paul, Richard and I all immediately said “go for it” which was easy then but as the day got nearer…) Ian had just bought a well set up Escort and was looking to equal Tat Thwaites. The stakes changed slightly when with a month to go Ian announced that he’d just bought Steven Joel’s Impreza instead , all of which was Ok be me! (Never tried an Impreza before). Then came the bomb shell. The day before we left for Mull, Ian phoned up to say he was on his way to Westmorland General hospital to sort out a problem with his eyesight. A few hours later he was back on the phone with the news that he had been told not to drive for 6 Weeks due to blisters on his retina. Would I like to drive? Desperately!! However, not knowing Ian that well I thought it best not to trash his new car before he got to drive it. All this left me with new Nomex, helmet and Competition Licence and no driver. A call was made to Entries Secretary Pete Kenyon and a note placed on the Tour of Mull Website Within a few hours of arriving on Mull I received a call from Keith Hall (Gareth Williams having pulled out). So I was back in an Impreza seeded at 33. One complication was that Keith was not going to be on the Island until very late on Wednesday which left very little time for a Recce and me with time on my hands. ENTER PAUL Paul and Jake had been due on the island on Monday but a storm had caused Caledonian McBrayne to cancel the last boat of the day. Arriving at our cottage, the van cried enough and promptly shed its cam belt at the bottom of the lane. Great! It was towed in to McKays garage in Tobermory leaving all the spares on the side of the road to be ferried up the lane by Catherine and Richard. As they were very busy, McKays ordered parts and lent tools but we had to do the work ourselves. (This ended up with Catherine commandeering Tat on Thursday afternoon in the pouring rain to help as I was out on my recce- finally). On Friday night the usual Kirkby suspects lined up alongside the other competitors. Dougie Hall/ Steve Egglestone definitely in with a chance of winning assuming he kept it on the road. As always Tat wheeled out another immaculate Escort with Dave Robson alongside and Paul Miller /Helen Davies in the Sierra Cosworth and Peter Monkhouse/ Graeme Hewer in another Mk2 Escort. Reserve entries Rick Fry/Steve Thompson were given an entry but with a blown head gasket on the way to scrutineering, they failed to start. Friday night section was the same as last year. Dougie Hall only got to the lochs before putting the EVO off (although he was able to carry on to win the Trophy Rally next day). This stage also claimed Paul Miller. After losing my place on the notes on the first stage and also second gear, things didn’t look too good. Without a spare gearbox, Keith needed to nurse the car a little!! (If that’s going gently, I’d like to see maximum attack!!) At Craignure service, Tat came in complaining of oil leaks. (Catherine’s note – whatever Paul complained about there was no-one to hear being at the back of the field – next year can I chase for someone higher up please!) Although we had reached Bunessan, the vast majority of crews were still behind the tragedy that was unfolding on SS3. This led to the organisers cancelling the rest of Friday night’s stages. A lot of quiet reflective crews gathered both at Salen and later Tobermory. At the request of Duncan Cameron, the rally continued, although Saturday was shortened to avoid the accident site. I think that everyone was 100% behind the difficult decisions that the organisers had to take. Some (although few) crews felt that they could not continue in the circumstances. Understandably, this included Peter Monkhouse, one of the first on the scene. Saturday’s four stages put paid to Tat’s hopes with a broken half shaft and we lost fifth gear, despite which we were now setting top 10 times! Paul and Jake continued without any real problems leaving just the two Kirkby Crews in the event. Meanwhile at the front, McKinnon and Duffy were battling it out with John Price clinging on to their shirt tails. The Saturday night section was as planned, including the now famous 21 mile stage. At the big jump at the end of Griburn, Keith took it flat and by all accounts- it was high! I had the bruises to prove it and I was amazed that the car landed on the road and carried on as if nothing had happened. On arrival at the last stage, I told Keith all the usual co-driver things about not throwing it off, etc. None of which he probably listened to. I was more than happy to finish 17th overall – my best ever Mull result and equal to Keith’s best Mull result. What would it have been with 5 gears and a full recce? Keith’s comment at the finish – “I wanted to give Miles confidence after his accident by getting a finish!” Paul and Jake finished yet again netting championship points- 73rd overall -an improvement on last year. Having celebrated our Silver Wedding privately on Thursday, we had a “do” at the Mishnish on Monday for anyone left on Mull that knew us. A good night was had by all (well us –well OK -Catherine!) Thank you to all who turned up.
Miles Whitelock
I knew for several months before Miles agreed to do Mull that this was going to be the year of his return to rallying and I guess that I always knew that it would be on Mull. When he was in hospital after his last Mull, all I needed to hear was that he would not rally again. When his doctor in Glasgow told him a year later to “find the longest, toughest rally and enter it” I could have knocked him off his chair. However, time moves on and I soon realised that he missed his rallying and if truth be known, so do I. That’s why the boys and I said “go for it”. (Mind you, we only told our staff a week before and my mum even later- our biggest critics). When he finally took the decision to enter, I thought that he would probably be in so much pain at the end of the event that we would have to prise him out of the car and he would never want to rally again. The problems with Ian meant that all buoyed up to do the event then suddenly not competing was a big blow (or was it relief?) Neither of us knew how the other would cope. One thing is for sure- everyone has been surprised that I let him compete again – but well, life’s for living isn’t it? When the boys (including Richard) got stuck in Oban and went to a night club to keep warm I couldn’t help but think things were not going to plan even though it meant we got an extra night to ourselves – no car problems to solve, just socialising. (There was a lot of that this year. With a good Kirkby turn out, the MacDonald Arms was back to its usual place as KLMC headquarters). When the van broke down I thought I should stop thinking anything! In some ways I was quite pleased when Keith called. Someone who didn’t know too much of what had gone before might just help the situation. I have to admit that as I drove Miles to the start I was in tears (OK I am a softie really!) Because I was chasing for Paul I wasn’t able to see him off the start line- perhaps as well really as I would only have taken his photo. (He later told me that every time I took his photo that week it felt like his last photo shoot – nothing different for me as I always take photos only this time he noticed). Once he had started, strangely I was OK. A team of people round the island called me and Miles himself to say what was happening which helped and when they started setting good times I was as enthusiastic as ever. I also had a job to do chasing for Paul and Jake which kept me busy. The events of Friday night certainly made an impression on us. However, we both know that in the same situation, we would have said carry on. A call from a Sunday Newspaper looking for a story 10 minutes before Miles’ start time on Saturday afternoon made me quite cross as I later found out that they had already been through the press office and had taken my mobile number off the 2300 club website request for a drive. No comment! All the scrutineers, Miles and everyone we spoke to, said that Paul should go out on slicks – about 2 hours before his start time. How glad I was that I decided to stay in Tobermory and see Miles and Paul over the Saturday afternoon start line. It started to rain. This was one of very few times that Paul called me Supermum – I had his other tyres ready in the chase car. If I’d gone to the stage start to watch he would have been on slicks so this was a good call. As most of you probably know we were celebrating our Silver Wedding Anniversary too. Miles really excelled himself with flowers, chocolates, champagne and even a new diamond. We renewed our vows on Calgary beach in between the recce and finished with a party in the Mishnish on Monday. Just what we had planned! 25 years ago we marshalled on our honeymoon on Mull so I should have known what to expect really. Thanks to all those who sent us cards, came to the party or helped in any way. (And yes- it’s the first time I have ever been to Glasgow without buying anything – I was decidedly quiet on the way home – can’t imagine why!) Cath Whitelock
P.S. At the end of the event Miles wanted to go round again. So I guess I’m back to where I was four years ago! (But the grin on his face and the glint in his eye made it all worthwhile). Oh and Keith’s comments – have I really met another Mr. Cool?
Disclaimer: Whatever Mike Kirk saw me do or heard me say is probably perfectly true and I make no apologies (I think!)
After baling the mud out of the Peugeot after the Malcolm Wilson, it was back onto tarmac for the Centenary Stages at Weeton Army Camp. With war being declared that week it was a credit to the organising team that the event was able to run. There was a problem on the way to the start, with two drivers in the service van we wrong slotted. With dad busy at work, I had to drive my own van and trailer and I’ve never reversed a trailer before. This meant that we circled a roundabout whilst ringing for directions from navigator, Jake because I did not want to get stuck. Thankfully he answered or we could still be there.
The first stage went without problems except we discovered a hole in the top of the petrol tank. We set a reasonable time against the cars in our class which was good considering the foot wells were filling up with petrol. (Perhaps I was driving faster to get to service to fix it?) On stage 2 things went a bit wrong when on the second lap the gear stick came off in my hand. After a lot of panic we managed to get it jammed in third. Unfortunately, the marshal who offered to shut the bonnet forgot the pins and it flipped up but thankfully did not break the screen although we couldn’t really stop because of the gear problem. A good job we were near to the finish.
At service Eddie Meek, our service crew came up with an ingenious idea to butcher an axle stand to make a gear stick as the spare was the only thing still on the shelf in my garage. When this didn’t work, we went out on the next 2 stages with it jammed in second, got a puncture and went off as well for good measure. (Thankfully no damage). At the following service a neighbouring service crew helped us fabricate a gear stick from the broken one. This worked and we started pulling some time back, although by this time we had realised that we were never going to be leading the field. On stage 11, the gear stick snapped once again. This time we could only get 5th gear which was not ideal for Weeton. When we arrived at the finish without a gear stick for the second time that day, it caused great hilarity amongst the marshals. Not to be beaten at this point of the day, we jammed it in second and attached mole grips for emergencies and finished the event to a round of applause from the finish marshals. Needless to say we were last! Thanks must go to Ed for keeping the car mobile despite all the odds and Goodfellows, Cockermouth for the tyres.
Ken Skidmore/Dave Barritt won the event from Duncan Taylor/Stephen Graveson 2nd and John Stone/Lee Carter 3rd. Kirkby Competitors Jim Brown/Rick Forster finished 6th, Ian Rooke/Katy Mashiter 19th, Mike Dunning/Edward Dentice 22nd and Paul Whitelock/Jake Carlin 33rd. Andrew Ludlam, Neil Davies and Shelley Rogerson all failed to finish. Paul Whitelock. Catch up with us at www.pwrallying.info
Changing the suspension and rebuilding the car after Mull went on (as ever) until the early hours of Friday morning before the Malcolm Wilson Rally. Only I could leave the keys to the petrol filler in Mum’s car just as we were ready to go and then find she had gone to Asda. Even worse was bumping into Fritz as I frantically searched the Supermarket like a lost boy. However, we were ready and scrutineered successfully on Friday night. With Jake’s parents living in Cockermouth, we had free parking until the next day when we would be running at car 99 near the back of the field. I only panicked slightly when I opened the curtains on Saturday morning to find it was snowing hard, although as the day progressed we did not see any on the stages, thankfully.
Armed with new forest tyres from our sponsor’s Goodfellows of Cockermouth we headed for the start. Our first problem was the newly fitted tyres were fouling on the newly sprayed bumper – this may have been due to the twenty coats of paint I used to get it to look right. Dad attacked the bumper with a hacksaw (makes a change from the usual hammer) and we were set to go.
After the start ramp in Cockermouth main street the first stage was Hobcarton. We were a bit nervous as this was our first time on gravel but it was really good fun apart from one hairpin where we hit some rocks which pulled the anti-roll bar down to dig into the ground. Fortunately it had fallen the right way and we were able to carry on although a little noisy through Coomb and Wythop with no further problems to service. With only 10 seconds separating the fastest time of Steve Petch (3.32) on the first stage from the rest of the top 10, we were only slightly behind (on a sundial) at 5.18
The service crew were a bit wet to say the least. Rumour has it that they will be joining Malcolm Wilson’s team next year because they got a garage to service in. No matter, I’m sure our Jaffa Cakes tasted nicer for being wet! With the anti-roll bar fixed, we headed off into Grizedale.
On the start line, the intercoms packed up. By this time we were beginning to realize that the car leaked. (Understatement!) On a fast right hand bend we hit a puddle/ocean which immediately dropped the engine onto one cylinder. Stopping to investigate the smell of petrol and restart the engine we discovered that the distributor cap was full of water. We dried it out and the car started and was running fine. In our haste to make up time, we were catching a Sierra when the same thing happened again. Jake was most surprised to find the water coming from behind him and mud covering the inside of the windscreen. The leak was obviously quite big. We had to stop again but this time next to some marshals who had some WD40 and this solved our problem. A lesson learned – carry WD40! We felt quite lucky to survive this stage with only a maximum as it claimed about 30 cars in one way or another. The next stage went without problem for us but we did see fellow KLMC members Eddie/David Meek parked up with a broken alternator.
Back at service, most people were going home as we arrived so we certainly had plenty of space although we did not really need much except baling out and re-fuelling. Returning to Hobcarton, we found that it was even more rutted than the first time around, one of the disadvantages of being at the back. Coomb followed again with only a couple of ‘moments’. By this time it was going dark so as we entered Wythop for the last stage we needing headlights, one of which seemed to be pointing in the wrong direction. This certainly made the ‘big dipper’ interesting. Looking forward to our chat with Bob on the ramp at the finish we were gutted to find that he had gone to the pub! Unfortunately, with the maximum on Grizedale it put us right down the field, with a final finish of 87th o/a and 10th in class, only 24 minutes behind eventual winner Malcolm Wilson.
Dougi Hall/ Steve Egglestone finished a very creditable 3rd o/a. Wayne and Neil Sisson were 7th o/a and Dave Shuttleworth/ Steven Perry were 28th o/a. Graham Gaskell/ Shane Sephton pedalled their Nova to 62nd o/a and Chris Powis/ Shelley Rogerson 80th. (Sorry if I’ve missed anybody).
Thanks to Goodfellows, Jakes Parents for the lunch, my parents and Richard for the service, Rodders alias Andrew for keeping Dad company in the chase car and getting me home from the pub on Saturday night, Mike Bainbridge for help with preparation and Julie at Road and Stage for solving our last minute problems. Extra thanks to Mum for washing everything! Hopefully our next event will be Weeton (Yes I know its Mother’s Day and I know we’re busy at work!) Catch up with us at www.pwrallying.info
Beginner’s Mull (Or our first stage rally, first time on pace notes, first time driving the car…)
I first visited Mull for the rally when I was two years old. It was obviously something in my blood, as although I have been back to watch a few times since, I was not going to be happy until I was competing myself. Sounds simple when you say it quickly. However, everyone, including my parents told me that it was a big undertaking (how was I going to pay for it?) and generally tried to put me off my dream whilst in the same breath saying they were right behind me. I had bought a Peugeot GTI especially for this event during the summer with the plan of giving it a shake down on Weeton. This was not to be, as no sooner had I put my entry in than I blew the engine. Also, Weeton was cancelled and we were struggling to find an event close to home. This was just as well really as Dad was still rebuilding the car on the Island! We were fortunate enough to get a sponsorship deal from Goodfellows Tyres (Cockermouth) and combined with help from Heaves Hotel and Crockery Crisis (and Mum and Dad!) we sailed off to Mull armed with three weeks wages and a full credit card. Arriving on Monday, we drove up to Tobermory. Jake, my navigator thought we had been exaggerating about the narrow roads until we got through Salen and onto some real Mull roads. The first night was spent in the pub planning our strategy to get Dad back up the hill. I knew that leaving Mum at home might be a problem! Using Dad’s old notes, we found that they worked well (although this was not at speed and we weren’t sure what would happen as we got faster). Gaining in confidence, we headed off down the island, only to have a puncture. This was to be repeated on the next night at Bunessan on the new stage, right of the bottom of the island. With no spare, panic set in. Unable to contact Dad (as he was p*****!) Mum worked out what we should do (from Kendal) and we hitched a lift with another crew out on the recce. (They made their Renault Automatic Diesel Espace do things that we did not think were possible) and we were back in the pub in no time to help Dad up the hill again. By Thursday night we only had the Hill road left to do and we got another puncture. Bad luck comes in threes! (Thanks Peter). With noise completed, even with the rev counter and fuel pump packing in on the way out to Scrutineering, we were able to get through. As Mum and Richard were by now close to Oban, they were dispatched for last minute spares and the car was ready to go by our start time. I must explain at this point that my dream was to drive over the Start Ramp in Tobermory - At car 155 I did it but I was a bit more nervous of the stages to come. Once we were on the start line though the adrenalin kicked in only to find that we had to run the first stage non competitively due to spectator problems. Calgary Bay was to be our first stage. However, after just three miles things came to a halt once again when an Astra parked itself on the Armco blocking the stage so once again we had to run through non competitively. We moved on to stage 3 where we set a blistering time of 13.15 which was only 4 minutes behind the then leaders, Dougie Hall/Gareth Williams. We arrived at Service to be greeted by all of our Service Crew. (Eddie Meek had arrived on the midnight boat and literally had time to put on his overalls before we arrived – thanks to his Mum and Dad for their efforts to get him to us). As always it was raining at Craignure and we were very grateful for the awning loaned by Norjac. (Thanks Phil). We appreciated Peter Gorst staying after servicing for Tat Thwaites/Dave Robson if only for company as there were no real problems with the car. The final four stages of the night went without trouble although we did feel sorry for all the marshals who had to wait for us. One leg down, two to go! Saturday afternoon was something new to us as we had never driven in daylight before (and we had an Escort Cosworth behind us). Naturally, on Mishnish Lochs we were caught and passed within a few miles of the start. Depressing but at least I could stop worrying about him. On the next stage, Calgary Bay, we had the small problem of starting on the wrong notes. It was quite unsettling to find Jake flicking through reams of paper for a good four miles. Once he found the right book, things started to make sense again. On the next stage, we were passed by a 1300 mini (yes we were going that slowly!) and an MG ZR. We appeared to be going backwards quite quickly. At service in Tobermory we had no problems other than the petrol cap keys being in Dad’s pocket (and he was in Dervaig!). Fortunately we had enough juice to get us to emergency service at Dervaig. On the second run over Mishnish Lochs, the red mist came down and I thought that I could take a medium fast right over brow a bit quicker than last time. The back end stepped out and we went sideways down the road, hitting a wall which spun us round into a hedge and gatepost. We continued to the end of the stage with no bumper or lights. Mum, Richard and Eddie were dispatched to collect the bits, only just rescuing them from a departing mini bus. This was lucky as the lamp brackets were attached for the night section. Dad patched the car up at emergency service with lots of tape and tie wraps. On Calgary the second time (with the right notes) we were three seconds slower, although it was just after the off. The last stages of the afternoon went OK and we managed to fix the bumper and lights at Craignure ready for the night section. (Thanks to Tat’s team for helping Dad and Ed with that one). By this time we were looking forward to getting back into the dark but it started with the longest stage of the rally. We were actually catching a car at this point which gave us a confidence boost. Mishnish Lochs followed where we passed two cars (OK one was upside down in the middle of the road and the other was broken but no matter – we passed something!) After a quick service, we set off on the last stages of the event. With only 1 second between us and the RS2000 in front, we decided to push a bit harder. We took 29 seconds off him on Loch Scridain despite having a big moment but skill (?) avoided an accident. Griburn followed where we took a bit more time off him. The last stage of the rally was the Hill Road and Glen Aros. We drove the hill road like a couple of granddads but pushed a bit harder over Glen Aros. We were disappointed to find that being so slow on this stage cancelled out all the time we had gained over the RS. BUT we had finished and we were not last, being 12th in class and 83rd overall. We enjoyed the celebrations on Sunday night and got suitably blathered but at least we managed to walk our way home (round by Mishnish Lochs!) Somehow, the dream was not quite enough and I’m working on next year!!! AND I’ve got my all four off photo for the bar wall at the first attempt. Move over Dad! Thanks to Ed, Dad, Mum, Richard, Mike, Darry at Goodfellows and Phil Wright And anybody else I have forgotten. Oh - and Jake for putting up with my snoring for a week. Check out www.pwrallying.info for photos.
Paul Whitelock
With Morecambe car club running their 12 car series again this year we felt that it would be a bit of extra practice for us both. At the start we were only given one grid reference: TC1.So we did not know what to expect until then. We were seeded at car 4 and arrived at TC1 (just out side Quernmore) to be handed an A4 sheet with the whole route marked on a photocopied map. So we set off and soon realised it would be a relatively easy night. We had a slight over shoot just before TC 3(I was letting the photographer get a good shot) On arrival we had no fails and no time lost. A short section alongside the motorway down to TC4 just out side Calder vale followed. Unfortunately we cleaned it and booked in one minute early (my fault). Another short Section followed to the Beacon Fell Country Park. Again, no time lost. Then came the longest section of the night: a big loop up to Abbeystead which was 20ish minutes long and we cleaned it. Things were looking good until 2 miles from TC7 we made a wrong slot of about 2 miles which meant we dropped 7 minutes but no fails. The last section back to Quernmore we cleaned we arrived back at the Lancaster leisure park and had a good hot pot supper while we waited for results. We were quite surprised to get 4th overall and 3rd in class with only 9 minutes dropped but no fails. Knozzer and Neil Harrison won dropping no time and with no fails. (back to top of page)
Garstang and Preston Memorial Road Rally After 14 months with no events we were looking forward to finally getting back on the lanes. As always it was a mad rush to get the car ready with it finally rolling out of the garage at 12.30 on Friday night. On Saturday it was an early start to go spectating on the Malcolm Wilson rally. With it snowing hard we feared the road rally might be cancelled but fortunately it did not affect us. With a long drive down to Chorley via Blackpool to pick up Jake, we arrived at scrutineering and promptly failed. With the rush the night before I forgot to check the left hand side brake light so we bribed our way through by hitting it hard to make it work. Our start time came at 2336 with the route being issued at the start. With only 30 minutes plotting before the first control the pressure was really on. At the start we had plotted to TC 4 but a route amendment meant that we went straight to TC 7 so we would get a bit more plotting time there. TC 1 to TC 3 went with out any problems as we dropped only 3 minutes, however on the next section it all went wrong when we arrived at a triangle and inadvertently turned left instead of straight on (we were trying to impress the crowds) thus getting our selves a bit lost. We then met cars coming towards us confirming our mistake. After about 20 minutes (please don’t laugh) we got ourselves sorted out and back tracked. Fortunately the spectators had gone. So, back on route we arrived at TC 4 very late. All our extra plotting time had been used with the wrong slot and so we booked into TC7 32 minutes late. Between TC 8 and TC 9 things got worse with Jake being a little ill (good job for electric windows) so we the made the decision to cut to petrol to try and salvage something. We only had 5 minutes at petrol and we were on the move again.The next 5 time controls went well (for me - Jake was still as white as a sheet) only dropping 2 minutes and 1 fail. On the next section we dropped 8 minutes due to a marshal in the wrong place at the previous control. TC 21 to 25 we dropped 12 minutes but no fails. We then had a 42 minute road section down the motorway so Jake was able to plot the rest of the route and have a rest. The last section was very fast with only 7 minutes to do it in and 2 code boards and a passage check meant it would be hard to clean it. With the local police force out we decided to drop the pace a bit and cruise to the finish. However there was a nasty slot right (last spectator point)200 yards before the finish and we half missed it( we where sucked in by a man posing as a marshal) we did a quick 3 point turn( an excuse to look at the young ladies who were stood on the wall!!) and in to the finish. We arrived at the finish and booked in a minute late (never let the driver work out the times). We were treated to cold bacon and sausage sandwiches while we waited for results. In the end we dropped 1hour and 4 minutes and 16 fails due mostly to the cut we made. We finished 6th in class and 19th overall - not bad considering. Our next event will be the Witch Way Rally at the end of April and I am looking for a navigator for this event (no, I haven’t kicked him out – girlfriend’s birthday!) See my advertisement elsewhere in the newsletter. The following week we also fitted in a 12 car run by Morecambe car club in which we fared rather better, finishing 4th overall and 3rd in class. We have put a report on our web site www.pwrallying.infoPaul Whitelock (back to top of page)
As we are planning to do a few stage rallies this year and to try and shut me up (for a while) my mum and dad bought me a day at Howard Patterson rally school. With a two and a half hour drive down( and across) to Lincolnshire, going through every weather condition imaginable, I was shattered by the time I got there. After a short introduction to Howard Patterson and the tutors we split in to two groups, one on tarmac the other on loose. I ended up on the tarmac first. Our instructor Rob Jenkinson (ex carting champion) gave us a guided tour of the stage first slowly then at speed!! Then it was a short wait while the others had a go then helmets back on for my turn to drive. After about 10 minutes I was getting quicker (if still only driving with one hand) and braking far too early! After a short break it was a timed lap. I set off on my warm up lap very steady, gradually building up the speed but as he got the stop watch out the red mist came down and after telling me that he wanted a clutch and car left for every one else to have a go, I calmed down setting a time of 1.06.8 almost 2 seconds quicker than any body else that day. Then it was on to the gravel( oh no!!). At first I was nervous about going on the gravel but after about two bends (!!) that feeling had disappeared and it was a great comfort to see my instructor Mike Reed (Runner up to Richard Burns in the 205 challenge) stamping in the foot well. After about ten minutes I had really got the hang of it and then the stop watch came out. On my warm up lap I hit several cones (trees!!). On my timed lap things went much better apart from the last four bends. They were like two chicanes joined together. I came in to the first bend in style (or lost it depending on your attitude!!) and with my instructor telling me to "quick sort it out" ( it was only a small fence but it was getting bigger!) some how the car came around (entirely due to my skill of course). I was told it looked very impressive (from a distance). The watch stopped on a time of 1 minute dead. My instructor said that my car control was "very very good but it needed to be on the timed lap" (I think he has stopped shaking now). However I was only second fastest by 2 seconds so when both times where added together I finished second by two tenths of a second on the whole day. Oh well never mind. (anyway it was raining on my run).. It was a fun day out and I would recommend it to anybody. It was good just to have a thrash in someone else's car and not have to worry about breaking it. Needless to say I got back in two hours!!!!. Our next event is the Garstang and Preston Memorial Road Rally. A report will follow. Also we have recently launched our web site. It is not the best but will keep you up to date with our rallying exploits www.pwrallying.info (back to top of page)
Just a short report to say how we fared on the Witch Way rally the first round of the C.M.S.G road rally championship for 2001.With ice and fog from the word go it looked as though it was going to be a challenging nights sport. We were using the Clio for the first time since the PRO-PREP fitted roll cage was installed (Thanks Tat). In the first few miles we met several cars wrapped around various gates and posts which made us concentrate even harder. Ten miles into the event on a long up hill left, a large grass bank decided to jump out in front of the Clio. Using all of my skill i.e. Shutting my eyes and swearing we proceeded to demolish the grass bank and ended up back on the road with a suspected puncture. Jake was sent to investigate and confirmed the slippery conditions by falling flat on his backside spilling money and clipboards everywhere with various expletives about the conditions, he then confirmed a snapped wishbone, meaning instant retirement. A quick call to dad and he set off with a spare. After a hour of waiting he arrived and wishbones were swapped and we limped home. All dad had to say was "its cautioned on my map!". When we got home we hopped in to Jakes mini and went out to watch. Arriving at Kirkby Motors (petrol) just as the leaders arrived. We waited for Peter Gorst and Ian Knowles to come in . They arrived with front, middle and rear damage to their Nova and retired OTL. Other Kirkby Competitors Neil Mahsheter and Geoff Crabtree retired after an altercation with another competitor. Stuart Newby and Paul Holmberg, were the eventual winners in the Impreza from Carl Hawkings and Ian Tullie in the Nova. Stuarts time showing 40:25 dropped and Carl’s of 49:28 shows what a tough event this was. PS Due to the scarcity of Clio parts (in my price range anyway) I am keen to collect any bits (particularly un-snappable wishbones) that any members have for sale. Please contact me at the hotel 01539560269 or e-mail me at paul@pwrallying.info. (back to top of page)
I thought that it was about time KLMC heard from the pen of Paul Whitelock and Jake Carlin, intrepid rally crew and hotelier’s sons. After my whole life spent watching my Dad rallying, now that he’s retired (or that’s what he’s told Mum, anyway) I thought that I would have a try. Road Rallying being the cheapest way to start (and what I had been brought up on) I decided to enter the Eastwood Trophy in my Renault Clio. My friend Jake was also keen to compete. Having very little experience, we decided to attend the KLMC Navigational Classes. We found this a great confidence booster and with a little more help from Dad ( i.e. we nicked his maps, potty and romer) we started out towards the back of the field at car 35. After an hour of plotting, it felt very strange to be behind the wheel at long last. We set off into the night. The first five miles were to be the longest we will ever do. We were very unsure of what we were doing - talking about it is one thing but this was real life. However, we both knuckled down and found that we were keeping up with other crews and not making any major mistakes. At petrol, the cashier laughed at me when I didn’t fill my tank fully - "we are a budget crew" was my reply. Thankfully, we did not run out on the second leg. Jake’s cool attitude to Wrynose and Hardknott proved he was the man for the job, although we did have problems with control boards at this point. Also, whilst following Stuart Newby over the very fast Birker Fell, he decided to stop at a code board and we had an emergency brake test, missing him by inches. At the finish, we found ourselves 5th in class and 27th o/a (LAST!!!) Undeterred, we put an entry in on the Westmorland. This was to be our first plot and bash and a huge test for Jake. After missing Bretherdale completely and arriving at the next control behind car 28 (us being car 32) we thought it was going to be another long night but a quick blast round Hardendale settled our nerves. After negotiating several fords, we were glad to finish without drowning out. We finished 4th in class and 27th o/a again (1 higher in class and not last this time!) Having thoroughly enjoyed this event, we decided to seriously try for the CMSG Novice Championship. The Countdown saw us using the first stage of the Pirelli. I really enjoyed full handbrake/opposite lock this time. At the end of the section, we pulled into the control behind car 1, Paul Schatz. This was a bit worrying for Jake, as he was sure he was right. We were both very relieved to find that Schatz had had problems, so Jake was right - TRUST YOUR NAVIGATOR! We later came unstuck, when after a wrong slot, I reversed into a ditch and got stuck, making us OTL. When we eventually got to the finish we found that everything after petrol had been scrubbed and we had been classed as finishers. 2nd in class and 11th o/a (and not last again!) With two round of the championship left, we were lying second in the Novice Championship, so put entries in on both events. First was the Cock of the North. We were looking forward to getting the Championship leader on our home ground. We knew that no one else could catch us for second but we wanted first. We attacked the four tests at the start of the event as if our lives depended on it. Finding the next section starting above Kendal, we thought our luck was in. However, it was not to be, as we snapped the cam belt and bent two valves near Bowland Bridge. Fortunately, when I rang Dad for a tow, he turned out to be only a few hundred yards up the road so we didn’t get cold and wet (unlike frozen marshal Mike Kirk who we had seen earlier on our travels). At the finish, we realised that the championship leaders, Mark Binney/ Richard Morland from Eden Valley had not turned up for the event and we still had a glimmer of hope. However, on Sunday night, when we assessed the damage, we decided that it was too much to repair in the time allowed before the Hexham on the following Saturday, so we regrettably pulled our entry. A disappointing finish to our championship hopes but second will have to do for this year and we hope to be back in action for the Harry and the Ivy Rally at the end of the month. Oh and if anybody has a spare Don Barrow romer they don’t want, see us at the club night - we’ve used all Dad’s now! Paul Whitelock. (back to top of page) Sign our guestbook and tell us what you think of the site
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