Gavin and I talked about entering the Castle Combe Stages, but with life having got even more busy, we weren’t quite sure how we could get a car ready in time with entries opening five weeks before. As I’d driven last year we’d said Gavin would drive, but we haven’t touched DVY since Epynt. We decided we would enter in Fly instead as we needed her ready for Debden, and so our plan was made. It seemed a shame to miss out on an event 35 minutes from home as not needing accommodation is a luxury, so we wanted to make sure we did enter.

Fly still needed a few things to be ready, such as a spanner check and moving extinguishers over from DVY, but aside from her new PAS failing at Debden she was in good shape. It turned out the controller for the PAS had failed and so Gavin sent it back to the manufacturer (it’s under warranty) whilst also buying a replacement part on eBay, as it wasn’t clear if we’d get the part back in time (we did!). With that fitted, Gavin undertook scrutineering and got our documentation on Friday and we were good to go. Fly had a slow puncture which was not ideal, thanks to John Davies and team for sorting that out for us.

Gavin had been checking the weather all week and he said it was due to be wet, and it certainly was! We started the day on wet tyres and stayed on them all day, having found a good spot in service between another Tavern member and SOCC members. Our day didn’t get off to a good start, as the bonnet started coming up on my side on SS1. I suggested we stop at a marshal, Gavin thought we should carry on, but it was apparent down the straights it was lifting too much and we were having to back off. We looked for the marshals closest to the stage and stopped (thanks to them for helping) but lost time. It turned out the pin was in but the clip wasn’t fully down, so new clips are now on order.

We went 45 seconds quicker on SS2, unsurprisingly, and had a good run for SS3 and SS4 (a pair of stages, going quicker again on the second pass) whilst dodging various hay bales, tyre stacks and bits of bodywork that were appearing – and a slow moving Micra that was poorly! In the afternoon, the stages were reversed and although it started to dry up, the perimeter track was getting slippier after various cars went off and we decided to stick with wet tyres rather than moving to slicks. We had a few lock ups but no major moments to speak of, and were sitting third in class. SS5 and 6 went well (we forgot to record SS6!) and we used the time after SS6 to see if our spotlights were pointing vaguely in the right direction ready for the night stages.

SS7 was run not in the dark but equally it was not run in the light; sitting in the queue to start the light was fading quickly. We had a good run, so there was just one stage left which was a repeat of what we’d just completed. I was counting Gavin down and with about 9 seconds to go before we were due to start, the stage was stopped as it was blocked. There was a short wait (15 minutes) whilst a car was recovered, and I said to Gavin to start Fly up as we could see recovery vehicles moving and I was worried we might have to start quickly. Sure enough we were given a start time about 20/25 seconds away so “game face on” and off we went for the final stage. The perimeter track was the slippiest it had been all day and Fly was twitching a little, but we had a good run round to finish.

Fly didn’t need anything all day, but the tow car didn’t want to start which wasn’t ideal. A quick jump start and she was happy again, and we were home by half 7 which is a luxury. Sunday was spent washing Fly and unpacking ready for whatever we decide to enter next.

We finished third in class, 15 seconds behind 2nd in class; they’d also had an issue on SS1 but we knew stopping had really not helped us as we lost more than 15 seconds! It was an enjoyable day out and having not been sure I’d make the event due to two different illnesses in the run up, I wasn’t feeling my best and was relieved to have made it, and to finish.

Onboard videos: SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5, SS7, SS8.

Photos by M&H Photography

Having enjoyed double driving on an Autosolo at Curborough last year, Gavin and I decided to return in Muriel for 2025. The event is always well run and worth the journey, even if an early alarm clock on a Sunday is not always so welcome!

The event had two tests, both run six times. I had bought some new A539s for the event for the front wheels so when the depth tread was checked at scrutineering I smiled, as they still had the knobbly moulding bits on there. I said to Gavin I’d drive first, and I warned him that there wasn’t much grip and I was having to work hard. He drove, and the first bend he needed to brake? Off we understeered into a cone… oops!

The tests got drier as the day went on which was welcome, and our times were getting faster. There were supposed to be six in our class but for reasons unknown, three didn’t turn up on the day so it was Gavin, myself and a MkI Escort. By the afternoon I had a healthy lead of 14 seconds over Gavin (not helped by his cone penalty, although I was quicker too!) and knowing I’d never won my class before on an Autosolo, I said to Gavin it was time to start trying a little less hard so I didn’t get a fault and mess it up… He started to take time out of me, but it was worth it as I held on to win the class (and later discovered I’d been second or third ten times on Autosolos before, as well as a lot of lower positions!).

It was an enjoyable day and well run event with me winning the class and Gavin finishing second. Videos of our fastest times on each course: Suze Test 1, Suze Test 2, Gavin Test 1, Gavin Test 2.

Gavin and I had been talking about whether to enter Debden or Rushmoor Targa Rallies in November, as originally both events were due to be on the same date. Rushmoor then moved, and after some consideration, we decided we would enter Debden (which proved to be the right choice when the Rushmoor event moved to Bramley, not a venue I enjoy!). At the time of entering, it was the right choice, but sometimes life happens and it then started to seem like a bad idea…

Fly’s MOT was due to be in the middle of October, and she was still in need of some TLC following the Mid Devon Targa when we’d snapped a spring. Gavin had identified some welding and other bits she needed, and so for several weeks every spare minute was spent working on her. Then life happened, and our time was needed elsewhere with family stuff, so he had to move her MOT back a couple of weeks; whilst Fly is MOT exempt due to her age, she still always has an MOT. This meant her MOT was due to be three days before the event on the Thursday, which wasn’t ideal. We hadn’t heard anything by 4pm so checked online and she had failed – some small things (a side light out) but also on emissions, which was a worry. This was the first time she’d had an MOT since her engine rebuild. A call to the garage (who were about to call us!) and it turned out she’d been running on three cylinders.

Gavin said we should withdraw but we talked through our options, including using another car (none had been re-prepped and checked) or trying to get Fly running. So, a very late night working on Fly and starting again at 7am (around work!) and she was still running on three cylinders. We left her with the garage and asked if they had any ideas/could try anything (handily one of them used to race F2 stock cars and knows Pintos) and around 4.30pm on Friday we had an MOT – they’d used a blow torch on the spark plugs, which was a new one on us, but she was back to running on four cylinders and she’d passed her MOT. We both took her for a drive up the road and all seemed well, so on Saturday we loaded up and headed off ready for the rally on Sunday.

The tests used familiar parts of Debden, but as soon as Gavin pulled off the line for Test 1 we both knew something wasn’t right, as she was back to running on three cylinders. Gavin completed the first loop of three tests and we got back to the paddock, but there was no time for us to look or try anything so off I went to drive the same three tests. Having a bad issue with my right wrist, which is now happening with my left wrist too, Gavin had added power steering (PAS) to Fly to try and make it easier for me to drive her because it didn’t seem feasible otherwise. Unfortunately this failed within a few bends, but when it did work it was great! It just meant a long and painful day.

Partway around my loop, every marshal we saw told us we were being called for an extra noise check. We went to it and were on the limit, but then were being told we weren’t allowed to run, which I did query given we were at the limit but not over it. We said we knew we had a misfire and we had a solution but needed to be able to undertake that and after some discussion about whether on the limit is allowable or not, we were told we were allowed to continue “but to expect extra checks later.” We then got back to where we’d parked only to find another official, this time telling us we had to go out earlier than our due time on our timecard… then another official (who’d been there when we had the noise check) came to repeat the conversation we’d just had at the noise check. At this point the clock was ticking and we were being told we couldn’t run and we had to go out early and we just wanted to try and rectify things. We tried blow torching the spark plugs (yes we’d taken some kit we wouldn’t normally carry!) but there was no luck so we changed them for some old (but good) ones with a quick wire brush before putting them in, and off we went again. We were now running out of sequence given they’d asked everyone to go early, but we were running on four cylinders again.

Our second run, for both of us, was better with Gavin’s best improvement being 27 seconds and mine being 25 seconds. Having checked the results, I found one of our earlier times was 21 seconds slower than what I’d recorded (and what was on our timecard) so I queried it and it was amended. Even without issues, Gavin had beaten the bogey on four out of six tests and I’d beaten it on two out of six as well, with Gavin setting the fourth fastest time on test 4.

The afternoon loop was the same tests but in reverse, and Gavin was on it with the fastest time on Test 7, 2nd on Test 8 and 3rd on Test 10. My times were steadily improving throughout the day, I was getting more confident in Fly and my times were getting closer to Gavin’s, which was pleasing. Having to remember to dip the clutch for the handbrake and remembering I can “use the rear to steer” is all different but I’m getting there! I just had one faux pas where I tried to welly her round, and understeered into a pile of gravel, but at least Andy was there to capture it… You can also spot the bush Gavin picked up!

We finished the day 3rd in class and 4th overall with Gavin driving, and 2nd in class and 16th overall with me driving which was pleasing. Looking at the calendar we’re not sure we’ll make any Debden events next year, but it’s 175 miles from home so also not the easiest for us to get to and made for another late Sunday finish to get home.

Photos by M&H Photography

With the Exmoor Targa cancelled, the possibility of travelling to Yorkshire the weekend before became a lot more feasible. The Ilkley Historic is one of the few events to run a Clubmans event alongside the main event, and the Ilkley also opens it up to more modern cars which gave me the chance to drive. Muriel is a 1994 Micra, with the K11 shell coming out in 1992, but for Historic Road Rallies she’d need to be a 1990 shell (the K10) hence not being old enough for the full HRCR Historic events.

Whilst the main HRCR event started on the Saturday evening, the Clubmans section was Sunday only. We travelled up on the Saturday and passed noise and scrutineering (having changed Muriel’s normal Brantz trip to the Scimitar’s one, due to Muriel’s giving a speed readout that’s not allowed) and got through without any issues. The “new” Brantz trip hadn’t been working when we loaded Muriel, so we were pleased and relieved to have identified and rectified the issue ahead of the event as without a trip things would have been difficult. We didn’t have any pre-plotting, so we went to our hotel and had a good carvery for dinner.

Our event had nine tests and six regularities totalling around 80 miles. Neither of us had done this event before and we didn’t quite know what to expect. We started with two tests at Bramham Park, and what a treat that was! Gravel, flowing tests which rewarded commitment were very enjoyable. I was a little scrappy on the first test, and just three seconds off the bogey on the second test. This took us into our first regularity of the event which was on private land; being on private land meant the “controls cannot be less than two miles apart” rule didn’t apply, so we knew we had to be on our A game. Our navigation for this was tulips, the same as the main event, and we were delighted to only drop eight seconds across 7.5 miles and six controls, which was second best across the two events (best was six seconds dropped). One control was particularly difficult with needing to take slots hundredths of a mile apart at the right times to find the controls in the right order, so an accurate trip was important, and we were pleased to get this one right.

From Bramham (only visited once during the day, sadly for us!) we had a second regularity, where we dropped a disappointing eight seconds across two controls; post event we still think one of the optimum times was out by five seconds, but it didn’t make a difference to our result. We then headed to Rufforth Airfield where we had two tests which went well, although a working handbrake would have helped. It is always good to get to the end of a test and the marshals say we looked quick, but we didn’t know how we were doing compared to others. We were 11th fastest on Test 4 across the two events. Tests 5 and 6 were the same and used an interesting yard with gravel and we were 9th fastest on Test 6 across the two events, so we seemed to be doing ok. At the finish of this test the marshal called me a “hooligan driver” which at least showed I was trying!

Another regularity, and this time we dropped 10 seconds across four controls, which was again second best across the two events. This brought us to the lunch halt, where we found out we were leading the Clubmans event by 12 seconds – a pleasant surprise! There was a long way to go though, lots of rain and many more miles ahead. From lunch, the fourth regularity was 23 miles, with five timing points, and we dropped 13 seconds which was our worst regularity of the day compared to others competing. From here we had a test at Pateley Bridge Showground which was good fun with a lap and trying to be brave but neat on very wet tarmac whilst fighting some understeer. It was only run once, we would have been happy to have had another go!

Regularity five came next with three timing points and four seconds dropped for us, again second best across the two events (best was three seconds). We then headed to Coldstones Quarry which was a very interesting venue; by this point everything was drenched, but there was also heavy fog. This meant needing to be brave and not being able to see each manoeuvre so although we had a couple of lock ups, we had a good run through as this venue was used twice. 8th fastest on Test 8, across the two events, was our best of the day.

This left one last regularity, which had another three timing points. We knew we were having a good day, and having had some really bad luck when navigating on historic rallies seeing very good potential results slip away to become ok results, I really hoped that wouldn’t happen! We dropped five seconds across the regularity, which was second best across the two events. There were several regularities on the Sunday where the navigation/information for both the main event and the Clubmans was the same and this was one of them, so it was good to have a direct comparison.

We headed to the golf club for dinner, and to await results. A 12 second lead at lunch can quickly disappear, and we had no idea how we had done. It turned out we’d been extending our lead all day, to win the event by over a minute; the Classic & Sports Car article called it “a commanding win!” We’d been best on regularities in the Clubmans all day, and quickest on the tests, which was extremely pleasing. I’d chosen to run winter tyres which worked really well, although on the Saturday I’d had a little doubt seeing how many people were running knobbliles. I’d had a bad cold in the week so it hadn’t been the best of preparations, and although being north of Leeds at 8pm on a Sunday night and needing to be in the office for 8am on Monday makes events/travel hard sometimes, it was worth the effort.

After two second overalls this year as a navigator, I was chasing a win; I just hadn’t expected it to come as a driver…! The event was a real team effort and Gavin was faultless in the left hand seat, and Muriel didn’t miss a beat all day, so we’re very pleased with our result.

Images (in order from top left onwards): Chicane Media (two), Phil James, unknown, Stephen Lancaster, unknown, Ilkley & District MC, my own

Having retired from the Goodwood Stages in December 2023 in DVY, it’s been a long and slow road to return. On that event, we’d lost fifth gear, blown the engine and had a small oil fire; and they were only the headlines. We’d hoped to be out in DVY in March 2024 on the North West Stages, but that didn’t happen for reasons outside of our control, and we got her engine back in August 2024. We entered the Rixy stages in December 2024 but with moving home and some family events, we had to withdraw, and it took us some time to find something we wanted to do. We settled on the Mewla over the Bank Holiday weekend in August, as it’s not too far from home, pace notes are always fun and why not?!

I’ve never co-driven over Epynt so I ordered the notes whilst Gavin spent lots of time getting DVY ready. Aside from the obvious bits, she needed a new plumbed in fire extinguisher, and there were some other improvements we’d identified (as well as putting her through an MOT). The Mewla is 55 stage miles in a total route of 120 miles, including 6 miles of new closed road stage mileage and the opportunity to do a one pass recce on the Saturday.

After a good recce on Saturday, we went to noise and scrutineering before returning to our accommodation for the night. SS1 and SS2 went ok, with the exception of Gavin finding the handbrake didn’t lock the rear as expected so we went up a bank on a hairpin – yes, it was captured on camera! However come SS3, it was immediately apparent from where I was sitting that Gavin was feeling happier and was pushing on more. The closed road parts of the stages before getting onto the ranges were interesting, as was the linking of various bits of stage to create more variation as the day went on.

We kept getting quicker as the day went on and improved on our seeding, and DVY didn’t miss a beat; she needed some fuel, but aside from that and tyre pressures / torquing nuts she wasn’t touched all day. Gavin has worked very hard on prepping her over many months, which got more intense in the last few weeks, so I’m pleased for him (and us!) to have a finish in the bag. Servicing with friends / fellow Tavern members is good, the sun shone and we had an enjoyable date out.

Now we need to plan some more events…

Videos:

External footage from various stages, thanks to Pescara Productions

Onboard, SS3

Onboard, SS4

Onboard, SS5

Onboard, SS6

Onboard, SS7

Photos: my own, Race & Rally Photos, JMS Photography