Seven HRCR beginner crews made the journey to Bury St. Edmunds, bringing total number of entrants on the run to fifteen. Sadly, Harry and Dick Baines, who were first reserve, didn’t get to turn a wheel in anger, as remarkably, none of the 60 cars across the whole event pulled out before the start.

Beginners were thrown into the deep end with the full-on nature of the event. The compact route meant little time to relax, with regularities and tests coming thick and fast. The intricacy of the marked maps added an extra layer of challenge.

Kennedy/Lunn set down an early marker in the imposing Volvo 142, edging the Batchelor’s TR4A by just 20 seconds on the first timecard. At about this point,the 142’s engine mount broke in half. A ratchet strap was swiftly deployed to stop the engine wobbling about too much.  On their first event in the Amazon, Budwig/Hawken were a close third. Despite spirited test times, the Wilcock’s little Volvo 343, on their first HRCR event, was a touch less accurate on the regularities, leading to a detour up and down the A11. All our beginners, along with most of the run crews, were penalised for missing a secret passage check.

Simon Kennedy and Nick Lunn (Volvo 142) had an eventful EAC to say the least but managed second overall.  Photo by Andy Manston.

Meanwhile, Dixon and Poulton were having a bit of a nightmare, struggling with a pottie failure taking them into parts of rural Suffolk that others didn’t get to see. Their problems were compounded with the Fulvia overheating, eventually leading to an early bath. The Sleeman’s in their beautiful Fiat 124, were also wrestling with those tricky marked maps.

As Saturday came to a close, positions remained unchanged, but the Sleeman’s Fiat developed a wheel bearing issue leading to another early departure. Their run of luck continued on the journey home, when a trailer wheel made a bid for freedom.

A non-rally related incident overnight led to the retirement of the Wilcock’s leaving our 3 remaining crews to continue with the frenetic pace on day 2. As they became more comfortable with the task, all 3 crews regularity performances improved markedly. Their Sunday test times were also consistent and impressive, especially as tests were a bit rougher and in places, becoming rutted for the latter cars. All enjoyed the exhilarating passage through the trees in the Park Farm test. Despite following a “no heroics” approach, Kennedy’s ratchet strap gave way on one of the tests, so a replacement was quickly deployed to get the car to the finish.

A solid performance from Dave and Jackie Batchelor (TR4), third overall on the run.  Photo by Andy Manston.

The consistent pattern continued with our 3 finishers all close but all holding their positions throughout the day. There were smiles all round at the end of an enjoyable event, with Kennedy/Lunn leading our beginners and taking 2^nd in the run, chasing hard throughout the event, the Batchelors took 3^rd , while Budwig/Hawken won the award for 1^st beginner.

 

All photos were generously supplied by Andy Manston who sadly passed away two days after the event.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.