The usual formula for the event and the usual full house. 284 entries made up of 109.m/cs, 12 chairs, and163 cars.
The Ace of Clubs at Lewdown was jammed solid with cars at 3.00 a,m. on the Saturday morning, 63 of them starting from that point, but very few of them TMC Members. Of those that were there we saw Ed Scobey at the start and again, asleep, at breakfast. He probably went on to collect his usual First Class Award though we didn’t see him after breakfast and the results aren’t available yet. Former Comp, Sec, TMC Brian Grainger was there, as also was his father, but Brian was lined up for the famous Triple Award if he could bring off a First Class this time. After the inevitable night’s flog around the roads of Devon – breakfast halt was at Countess Wear where the remarkable choice of “all or nothing” was offered. lst Hill was Tillerton, a rocky rutted “shorty” that shouldn’t have given anyone any trouble. I think they put that one in just kid you. Next was Waterworks, at Hennock, with its stop and start test. When we got there the holes dug at that point by the Moggies looked pretty awe-inspiring, but worse than that was succeeding part with its huge chunks of rock littering the rock – it was rather slippy too. Gay Greenwell had rammed the bank and yours truly accomplished the first stage of demolishing the exhaust system.
Fingle had been cut out for all except solo m/cs due to the machinations of the Dartmoor National Park Committee and the various self righteous groups that want to ban anything that doesn’t eat hay. These people really are getting to be pests.
Waterworks was followed by Simms, which this year was at its most diabolic. Little or no room to get moving before the corner and everything covered in the most slippery slime imaginable. It failed 80per cent of the entry and we went along with the majority finishing ignominiously at the end of the tow rope after getting about three-quarters of the way up.
Back then to Countess Wear and a round-the-pylons Autotest before pushing on to Stretes with its “axle cracker” test and another Observed section where we completed the demolition of the exhaust system. This hill also produced a few failures, chiefly among cars that bounced themselves to a standstill on the undulations (ridges). Waterterloo followed, easier this year, no mud and just a good blind provided one could keep on the track. Meerhay with its Stop and Restart wasn’t easy as it was located at a very steep spot and, though most got away in the time allowed, the permitted 3 seconds ticked by with alarming rapidity.
The real “Baddy” though was reserved for the last. Knowle Lane when we arrived in the dark looked like a car dump. A Special (Dellow?) had just been carried – YES, CARRIED – down the hill it had broken its rear axle and just about completely torn it off and a Mini was also being pushed along having parted with a wheel in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. That done, it left just the run in to Weymouth and the Final Time Control at Vogue Motors before reporting to the Gloucester Hotel; to claim a second-class award and bemoan the state of Simms over a very welcome noggin or two which in turn were followed by an excellent dinner.
Brian Granger duly claimed his Triple and must be the first TMC member, past or present, to collect this most coveted award – a truly magnificent effort. “And now it’s roll on, the Lands End at Easter!”…….
Ed Note : I have copied this report from a TMC ‘Miss Fire Magazine’. The text is as was written. I do not know who 83 Dcb is. Some of the comments are not necessarily how things are today. Jenny
