By Andrew Parr

For the sixth round of the Clubman’s championship, the HRCR joined the HERO Challenge series for Friday evening and Saturday around the lanes of Monmouthshire. An entry of 34 crews assembled at Chepstow Racecourse for scrutineering and documentation; the organisers thankfully finding shelter for scrutineering as Storm Amy was doing her best to dampen enthusiasm. It was therefore surprising to see the racecourse being watered even though the storm was providing a natural supply.

Handouts of the first two Regularities were given 20 minutes before each crew’s start time. Plotting time was therefore at a premium but thankfully could be done in the comfort of the Premier Foyer.

At 6 o’clock, the very smart Cortina of Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor lead the field directly into the Prologue with the first test on the gravel tracks of the racecourse. Not wishing to avoid the obvious horse racing puns, this languished under the title of “Night Mares” although it didn‘t give any bad dreams to Nick Bloxham/Emily Anderson who galloped their yellow Escort around, beating the bogey of 2:50 by 13s. Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor took second fastest on 2:51. Anyone who put a wheel into depressions in the track was rewarded with a tidal wave of muddy water over the car, something that was to become common as the evening wore on.

Nick Bloxham and Emily Anderson (Ford Escort) blazing an early trail for others to follow around Chepstow Racecourse.  Photo by Paul Freeman

Crews then dived straight into the second test; being much the same charge around the gravel but with a tight hairpin right to give a different finish. Although at first glance the test diagrams suggested the same code boards would be used on both Test P1 and P2, a read of the instructions revealed those on P2 were on the opposite side. Once again Nick and Emily blitzed the test at 2:47, 8s under bogey, again followed by Paul and Martyn with a time of 3 minutes dead.

A short run northwards to the first of the evening’s regularities took crews into the lanes of Monmouthshire, both daylight and rain falling fast. Together with storm debris, conditions from now on were to become decidedly tricky. The route was defined by a series of spot heights although the instruction to avoid a place of worship caused some head scratching as the precise location of the map symbol was ambiguous. Common sense prevailed and times at the relevant controls were cancelled. Niall Frost and Amy Henchoz were off to a storming start, dropping just 1s over the remaining controls. Four crews shared the second spot on 2s each; King/Vokes, Engel/Dunkerley, Garnish/Bell and Morris/Wales.

Test P/3, the last of the evening, was at the Monmouthshire Showground in the valley of the River Wye. Memories of Marku Alen were stirred by its title of “Maximus Attackis”, an aptly named blast which again saw Nick Bloxham and Emily Anderson beat everyone else with a time of 3:50; having a 17s margin over Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor and 19s to Niall Frost and Amy Henchoz. As this test involved a central loop, there was the unfortunate result that cars on  the first part of the loop met the headlamps of those on the second. Visibility in the dark and rain was bad enough as it was.

Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor (Ford Cortina) chased hard on the evening section.  Photo by Ian Skelton

The second Regularity started a little way south of the Showground. This was defined by a series of map references with arrive and depart directions and, in conjunction with use of whites, followed a tortuous route over the hills and valleys south towards Chepstow. The complexities of the route together with half a dozen speed changes ensured penalties in double figures even for the top crews. Indeed, most crews used their Joker, the last control causing most trouble. Honours went to John King and Matthew Vokes on 34s, just 5s better than Frost/Henchoz with Dyas/Taylor third on 59s.

A return to Chepstow Racecourse signalled the end of the Friday evening leg and showed Nick Bloxham and Emily Anderson in the lead with a total of 10:10, followed by Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor 24 s behind. Niall Frost and Amy Henchoz lay in third overall on 10:45. Crews were then able to dry out, find sustenance and thence to their accommodation in readiness for the morrow.

With much relief, Saturday dawned dry and sunny, although Storm Amy was much in evidence with strong winds throughout the day. Peter Engel and Mark Dunkerley welcomed the sunshine as their Sunbeam Rapier had lost a wiper. Fortunately they carried a spare in the boot so disaster was averted. Similarly in wiper trouble had been Dave Morris and Jac Wales, their MGB wipers getting out of phase so one had to be removed for bad behaviour.

Half an hour of plotting time was allowed for the four regularities given out at the start and then the action resumed with another gallop around the gravel tracks of the racecourse. A slight change to the start position of Test 1/1 being the only difference to Test P2 the previous evening. With experience gained from the earlier running and the benefit of sunshine, this proved to be a swift baptism to the day’s entertainment. Nick and Emily continued their Friday performance by setting fastest time with 2:58. However the big blue Volvo of Payton/Fieldhouse was only 2s behind, Frost and Henchoz third on 3:07.

The tarmac expanse immediately north of the racecourse buildings provided the setting for Test 1/2. This was a fairly open run around the cones and caused “Neigh Bother“ to many, but a few faults to others. Nick and Emily continued their run of fastest times, beating Peter Higton and Ryan Pickering’s MX5 by 3s. Philip Wood/Kelvin Phipps in the Porsche 924S and Garnish/Bell in the Fiesta tied for third spot just 1s further back.

Peter Higton and Ryan Pickering (MX5) prior to the diesel incident!  Photo by Paul Freeman

A short transit northwest from Chepstow lead to the first regularity of the day. A linear herringbone defined the route, which turned out to be a circular tour into the top corner of map 171. Thank goodness it wasn’t a circular herringbone defining a straight route! Four speed changes were the order of the day and Mark Goodwin/Anthony Davies went round with a loss of only 4s. Three crews tied for second spot on 5s: Dyas/Taylor, Frost/Henchoz, and Crooks/Duerdon in a Nova GTE running at number 32.

Sadly, this marked the end of Phil Cheek and Anji Martin’s rally with major electrical gremlins afflicting the MGB. Almost nothing was left working but it is hoped their stead will not have to be put down.

A transit through Monmouth and north east up the A40 took crews to the start of Regularity 1/2, “Daffaluke”. Where do they get these names from? A westward departure close to Whitchurch followed map features, seven speed changes in a total of about 10 miles keeping crews on their toes. Messrs. Garnish and Bell did best on this with a loss of only 6s but were closely followed by Bloxham/Anderson on 7s. Two seconds further back was a tie between Higton/Pickering and Leonard/Murphy in the Jetta.

The Regularity ended at Peterstow and a couple of miles took us to the morning coffee stop at the Red Lion where a fine array of cakes were to be had. A generous time allowance ensured crews left slightly heavier than when they arrived.

Suitably refreshed, it was straight into two tests at the Ross-on-Wye Livestock Market. Test 1/3 was a half minute affair around cones on the hardstanding north of the auction shed. Six crews shared the fastest time of 39s. Test 1/4 used a convoluted route looping around the five grassed islands south of the shed and then cones to the finish. This had a bogey time of 1 minute but David Ward and Tim Sawyer whipped the Fulvia around in 58s to “Rattle the Cattle”; being 1s faster than Messrs. Dyas, King and Leonard.

David Ward and Tim Sawyer (Lancia Fulvia 1600HF) beat all comers on Rattle the Cattle.

It was then time to retrace the route back passed the Red Lion (no stopping for extra cake!) to Regularity 1/3 which was the most northerly point of the event. A series of four grid square pictures had crews following a winding route from Orcop to finish on the B road near Broad Oak. Top honours were shared between King/Vokes and the Binsteads on 5s apiece.

Lunch was taken in the palatial surroundings of the Monmouth Golf Course, a Victorian pile previously the home of the Honourable C. S. Rolls. A small display case detailed his untimely demise when the tail broke off from his Wright Flyer. That’s worse than wiper failure in a rally car on a wet night! Peter Higton stopped for fuel just before lunch but unfortunately added diesel to his MX5. That scuppered their lunch as it was spent draining the tank and refilling with the proper stuff.

The final Regularities were handed out but thankfully didn’t give the navigators indigestion as they were a straightforward jogularities. Regularity 1/4 was a shortish affair defined by crossing grid lines and wound its way southwards. Niall Frost and Amy Henchoz proved to be the most accurate on 5s.

Niall Frost and Amy Henchoz (Volvo 142) accurate and consistent throughout.  Photo by Ian Skelton

A final test punctuated the Regularities and comprised an attack on the access roads of Cefntilla Court, another Victorian Manor House and once the home of a Mr. Bailey. Is that why the test was called “Billy’s Blast”? An amendment at the start reduced the bogey time to 1:30 but this wasn’t enough as 11 crews managed to be even quicker. Although it didn’t affect the results much, it was good fun.

There was now “No Escape” from Regularity 1/5, a 12 miler starting just west of Usk and working its way anti-clockwise to finish overlooking the river valley at Tredunnock. The usual suspects of Dyas/Taylor, Bloxham/Anderson and King/Vokes all losing just 2s over the three controls.

It was then across the river and up the other side to the finale of Regularity 1/6, the longest of the event at nearly 16 miles, and 39:07 if all was spot on. Later runners had clearly got the hang of it by now with Miles Fieldhouse belying his youth to guide Martin Payton around with a loss of just 6s over five controls. Dave Morris and Jac Wales were in hot pursuit on 8s.

It was then only a short drive back to the Racecourse with a welcoming bar and meal. As usual there were stories of success and “if only”. The A40 of Jeff Wincott was not responding to the reins, a replacement steering box being needed, while the Heaney’s TR6 had developed an ever increasing appetite for oil.

All crews breathed a sigh of relief that Saturday had stayed dry and sunny to appreciate the lanes of South Wales. This must have been a great relief to the Marshals, especially those out in the appalling weather of Friday.

 

John King and Matthew Vokes (Lotus Elan) take the win after a mistake by Bloxham/Anderson on the final reg. Photo by Ian Skelton

The results team quickly crunched the numbers to reveal that John King and Matthew Vokes galloped to a well deserved win, 17s ahead of Niall Frost and storming Amy Henchoz. Despite their lunchtime trauma, Peter Higton and Ryan Pickering came up on the rails to clinch third place. Nick Bloxham was as quick as ever in the yellow peril to be fastest on the tests while Matthew Vokes was best on the regularities.

Congratulations are due to all medal winners and to the organising team for an enjoyable event, and especially to the stalwart marshals without whom we wouldn’t have been able to have our fun.

Photos in the Gallery by Ian Skelton