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The Champagne Rally Tour - 25-27 October
For Waldorf and Statler, the two muppets in flat caps, rallying is a serious business...
...while Mike and Lorna have time for a cheeky wave even though concentration levels are high...
...but composure has gone out the window of the GT6 as the girls try to find the pink highlighter.
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Champagne Results:
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Mike Denton-Cardew & Richard Lambley |
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2nd overall (56 cars), 1st in class
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Charles Harrison & Jonathan Hancox |
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5th overall, 3rd in class |
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Mike Harrison & Lorna Harrison |
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Louise Carrier & Pippa Inglis |
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The Regis Rally - 11 October
Team Triumph HQ, on the sunny south coast, was the logical base for this event, which started north of Arundel in
West Sussex. All three TT crews had reasons to smile before the event started. Due to a dastardly act of sabotage
on the last event, Charlie was now running on a new set of tyres on the 2000 - still a lotta roll, but now a lotta grip
too. Jonno had changed the back axle ratio on 7VC and was hoping for some less tractor-like test times. Pippa, on
the other hand, had had two new diaphragms and a coil fitted, so she was all set for a very enjoyable day's action.
The sun rose over West Sussex as we were completing the measured mile before the start, and with the mist hanging
in the valleys, it was a beautiful sight. However, there was no more time to look at the scenery after the start -
four tough regularities in the morning (and car trouble for both the GT6 and the TR4) meant that lunch was a welcome
break. In the afternoon, there were two more regularities and all eight tests (it's a shame they weren't more spread
out during the day), and the sun shone throughout.
Charlie and Chris seemed to waft and roll their way through the day without too much problem and finished second in class,
whilst Pippa and Lou had fuel problems due to crud from the tank and fuel vaporisation, but they made it to the end with
a smile. Jonno and Richard had to contend with a failed rotor arm mid-regularity and the gear lever coming off in Jonno's
hand on test, but they held their nerve (and the gear lever) and came home 4th overall to win the HRCR Clubman's Championship!
Champagne! Coincidentally, that's the next event too...
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Regis Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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4th overall (out of 50 cars), 3rd in class
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Charles Harrison & Chris Powis |
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17th overall, 2nd in class
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Louise Carrier & Pippa Inglis |
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The Cloverleaf Rally - 6 September
Based near Duxford and taking in some very picturesque parts of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, this was
the Cloverleaf's second running since its rebirth. After last year's event, we knew this one would be tricky at least.
Lou and Pip were out in Pip's GT6, on their first "proper" UK one-day event. Charlie and Chris were out in the 2000,
and this was Chris's first UK event in about twenty years. For Jonno and Richard in the TR, the pressure was on
as this was the penultimate UK Championship event and they needed to put in a good performance after the Lost Traders
(see below). Determined to be bright-eyed and ready for the challenge, they stayed in the bar till late the night before...
It wasn't long before we arrived at Bassingbourn airfield, where the "fun" started. The tests here were good,
if a little long and rather heavy on tyre wear, but we don't understand the point of tiny codeboards on cones. Turfing
the nav out of the car to do an on-foot regularity while the driver did one in the car all alone, all of this being mid-regularity
anyway and starting at a control which made Piccadilly Circus seem peaceful, was probably going to be challenging. It
was.
However, at Team Triumph, we like to add our own challenges to those set by the rally organiser, just to make things
even more interesting. At about the same time as Pip's points had closed up on the GT6 and she was being talked through
what to do on the phone, Jonno realised he had set the rally time clock to the wrong minute. By lunchtime,
Charlie had had a puncture and cooked his brakes, which were now in bits in the carpark, smouldering gently. The
clutch was also on the way out. In the afternoon, the TR was seen emerging from a farmyard, 2.5 minutes down, as the
2000 tried to enter the same farmyard. Frantic hand gestures ensued.
In all, it was a long, tough day but very enjoyable. Due to some errors with the computer programming and the wave
of queries from confused competitors, the results system went into meltdown. As we left, the results computer had
steam coming from it, rather like Charlie's brakes.
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Cloverleaf Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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4th overall (out of 33 cars), 3rd place
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Charles Harrison & Chris Powis |
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Louise Carrier & Pippa Inglis |
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The Ross Traders - 12 July
A complete Horlicks...
From TT roving reporter "Mr. Control"
All we needed was one more decent score to make it five in a row for our championship bid, and then the pressure
would be off a little for the remaining two events in September (Cloverleaf) and October (Regis). Following
the addition of a cold air box and some longer ram pipes on the carburettors, the car was running very well and was producing
a bucket load more torque lower down the rev range. Provided Jonno didn't run out of tarmac and talent (which has been
known), things were looking good for the tests. On the roads, whilst the organisers had obviously listened to fair criticisms
from previous years, the tricky nature of the navigation remained. And this trickiness was our un-doing. Two wrong
slots and two controls missed completely gave us a nice wad of points and sent us way down the order. Even so, it was
a well-organised and enjoyable event.
All we need is one more decent score...
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Ross Traders Result:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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35th overall (out of 55 cars)
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The Three Castles Rally - 5-7 June
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| 7VC waiting for the hill climb test at Stwlan Dam |
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| Willy Cave, navigating car no. 1, an Austin 7 Speedex Special |
With over 130 cars on both the rally and the tour, the Three Castles is probably one of the biggest rallies in the UK.
Well-organised and sociable, it was a nice touch to have the running order based on class, so you were able to get to know
the crews you were competing against on the tests. The rally consisted of three loops each taking a day: Anglesey,
Snowdonia and the Lleyn Peninsula. The road sections were relatively straightforward and the tests were excellent -
including three blats up the sides of mountains! The TR crew had no major disasters, other than a horse on one road
section which cost them some time, and a test pilot in the same class which caused them to collect a few more points than
they had hoped!
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Three Castles Result:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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7th overall (out of 120 cars), 1st in class
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The Hughes Rally, Kent - 1 June
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| Having just got off the plane from Australia, Mike wasn't sure which way was up... |
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| Emjo's were a big improvement in the forest |
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| The rear of the MG needed a respray after all the paint melted off |
Team Triumph put in a good entry for this event, and welcomed Mike back from Australia. 9 regularities and 12 tests
made the rally a busy one, and the reunion of the team the night before meant there were a few fuzzy heads on the day.
Mereworth Woods was the highlight - Jonno was very pleased with the performance of his new Colway Emjo's, whose sure-footedness more
than made up for his lack of ability to go the correct side of a cone, despite being told at least three times by Richard,
with increasing pitch. Charlie was not so impressed with the woods, because due to some poor planning by the organisers,
he followed a novice on the regularity section who seemed to be out for a Sunday drive and happily ignored Charlie's retina-burning
spotlights in his rear-view mirror. All three TT crews had their moments, but in all it was a pretty strong performance
in this competitive event.
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Hughes Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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8th overall (out of 59 cars), 3rd in class
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Mike Harrison & Lorna Harrison |
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Charles Harrison & Mike "G'Day, Mate" Anderson |
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The Leukaemia Rally - 17 May
Although the organisation of the Leukaemia rally can sometimes be a little rough at the edges, the South Wales team more
than makes up for this with the quality and variety of special tests, coupled with their general enthusiasm for a good day's
rallying. This event really is one for the test pilots, with only 5 regularities and 20, yes 20, special tests!
The morning was largely spent on the wet and loose in various Welsh forests, and TRs were ploughing off all over the place
- we began to wonder why we had entered such a test-heavy event in a car as nimble as the Ark Royal. Going through a
gateway, sliding sideways on full lock, just praying for some grip to avoid the post and a reassuringly expensive repair bill,
was almost the final straw, and then, after lunch, our faith was restored. 12 tests around Caerwent MOD site - mostly
tarmac, and by then completely dry! Absolutely superb, and a credit to the organisers. After that, the fact that
we missed a triangle and code board on the final regularity (5 minutes' penalty, ker-ching) didn't really matter!
Jonno has since invested in some more suitable footwear for the car, with a tad more tread...or is this just another case
of a bad workman...?!
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Leukaemia Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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10th overall (out of 29 cars)
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David Barker & David Killeen |
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The Paris Classic Rally Tour - 19-21 April
From Team Triumph reporter Penelope Pinkstripes...
What a weekend! Fun, frolics and not a hint of blue air in the
car! Many a person asked how the atmosphere is in the GT6 with Louise driving and Pippa navigating - perfectly concentrated
with a bit of giggling thrown in!
The
best bit is the girlie language:
Pippa: Take the next right at the cross
Louise: That will be a holy right then!
Pippa: When you get to that gravely
bit, stop and turn left. NO! Your other left!!!
Louise: I knew that!
Pippa: In 0.2 there will be a GREAT BIG thingy on the left.
Louise: I know exactly what you are talking about!
PP's Handy Hints:
Keep the driver on the correct side of the road by writing a pink
post-it note saying 'Wheel to Curb!' Works every time!
Learn a girly language to describe tulips
- keeps the crew constantly entertained.
Ensure you smile when getting into a
check point - makes for a good photo!
Pack your clothes in the smallest bag possible - this makes
lots of room for wine and shoe shopping in Calais!
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Paris Results:
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Louise Carrier & Pippa Inglis |
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6th or 19th overall, but who's counting?!
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The Ilkley Jubilee Rally - 6 April
Definitely a rally of two halves - sunshine and fantastic views over the moors in the morning, blizzard conditions throughout
the afternoon. How do marshals still remain cheerful?! This event is a regular on our calendar, even though it's
a long, long way from the South - always a good entry, some good test venues and (weather permitting) great scenery.
This time, the organisers threw in a long regularity too - 1 hour and 40 minutes! Luckily there was some Red Bull
on board... Some of the tests were on loose, and the Escort boys did not fail to impress and entertain, with a Mk 1
Estate winning the test trophy! Unfortunately when the 7VC crew tried to emulate, things went a bit pear-shaped as the
TR just ain't built for sideways drifting!
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Ilkley Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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4th overall (out of 60 cars), 1st in class
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David Barker & David Killeen |
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The Monet Classic Rally Tour - 15-17 March
With the usual format of tulip regularities and jogularities, and one tulip regularity with a speed table, this was a
little softer on the car and crew than the Tour of Cheshire. However, the competition was no less keen, with three
cars sharing the lead overnight on the Saturday, all having dropped only 4 seconds for the day. The PI crew were baulked
by Monsieur Volvo Estate just before one time control on the Sunday though, so they had to settle for second place, ten seconds
behind the winners on 25 seconds. C'est la vie!
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Monet Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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2nd overall (out of 22 cars), 1st in class
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The Tour of Cheshire - 8 March
Probably the best ToC yet, mainly due to one thing: Swynnerton. This army base has been used for a night section on
the Rally of the Tests before, but the ToC competitors saw it in the daylight. 18 awesome miles of loops, cones,
tarmac, loose, grass, trees, chicanes, bumps and potholes, with 13 due time controls timed to the minute, about
the same number of passage checks to slow you down in between, and a final time control timed to the second. Took
about 36 minutes - the 7VC crew had to pause at the end to let the adrenaline and grins subside. The rest of the day
was also very well organised, with a more usual mix of road regularities and off-road tests, and we were treated to the Ecurie
Cod Fillet Show of reminiscing "old farts" while waiting for the results. A great event.
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ToC Results:
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Jonathan Hancox & Richard Lambley |
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4th overall (out of 65 cars), 1st in class
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David Barker & David Killeen |
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58th overall (head gasket) |
The Kent HRCR 100 Series Rally - 19 January
Team Triumph were out early in 08 for a 100-mile regularity rally around Kent. The dynamic duo of Graham and
Allen in the TR had some trouble working out what to do with various bits of paper which were thrust at them, which
meant they racked up a few points on one section until they realised what it was all about (you aren't alone, chaps...what
is it all about...?). As Charlie's former nav Mike has now emigrated to Oz, he roped in TT's newest member, Chris
Powis, to work the maps. Apparently, Chris hasn't navigated since about 1973, but he still showed us all how
to do it properly, dropping only 33 seconds on the event to claim first prize in a very competitive field! Well done!
At the end of the rally, however, Chris was seen looking rather pale and worried. We suspect Charlie may have confessed
to how old the tyres actually are...
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Kent Results:
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Charles Harrison & Chris Powis |
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1st overall (out of 21 cars)
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Graham Bond & Allen Cherry |
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