Clubmans Beginners Road Rally Championship Round 1 Dansport Historic Rally.

The inaugural Beginners Championship kicked off with 4 of the 22 registered crews making their way to Chesterfield to take on the Dansport rally. While most crews had some previous experience, navigating directly from an ordinance survey map was a step up from their previous events. Reserves, Toby and Alison Sleeman did not know they were competing until a 10 a.m. call from the Clerk of the Course got them leaping out of bed to head rapidly up to the start in their Fiat 124.

There was quite some apprehension as the crews headed into the darkness of the Saturday night section. Despite the muddy roads and persistent rain, all 4 acquitted themselves well over the 2 regularities, split by a tricky loose surfaced woodland test. A couple of earlier competitors demonstrated how unforgiving the drop offs were, providing a cautionary lesson for our beginners. The quickest beginners through the woods were David Coxon/Pete Hawkins, bravely pushing the big Healey between the trees and ditches. The Dixon’s MGB and the Singer of Woodcroft/Webster posted identical times on both the first regularity and the first test. The Dixons just edged it on Regularity 2 to take a small lead into the evening halt.

David Coxon and Pete Hawkins Healey 3000 performed well on the tests.  Photo by M&H Photography

Bright sunshine, caressing the beautiful peak district landscape, greeted the crews on Sunday morning as they tackled 4 more regularities and another 8 tests. Coxon and Hawkins were clearly revelling in the loose surfaces, being consistently quickest on the tests, including cleaning test 9. The Fiat and Singer were close behind swapping honours as the day went on, Woodcroft locking the hydraulic handbrake necessitating a quick fix mid test. Meanwhile, on sighting the lens of Andy Manston, Toby Sleeman gave it a “little extra” sending the Fiat perilously close to a fence (naturally on Alison’s side of the car).

Despite the antics on the tests, it was the performance on the regularities that determined the beginners’ honours. Great teamwork in the MGB with an excellent job by Liz on the maps & clocks gave the Dixons the early lead in the Beginners Championship.

Mike and Liz Dixon (MGB) 4th on the Clubmans Run giving them an early lead in the Beginners Championship.  Photo by M&H Photography

The opening round was a great success with all 4 crews embracing the challenge of a thoroughly enjoyable event.

Martyn Craske