The Fulford Cup Trial February 1986


The Fulford Cup Trial 9th February 1986 reported by Arthur Vowden

A last minute entry had been made for the Fulford Cup this year resulting in the allocation of number 100 in the running order right at the end of the field. I am never sure if an early number is better than a late number there being pros and cons for both although I expect the weather is the most important deciding factor. One advantage was that a later start from home could be made in the Sunday morning as our start time was 10.30 a.m. The entry had been made with the Midget for class 4 with Jenny as passenger, but after the problems encountered on the Cotswolds Clouds where the star gears of the differential fell apart on Sandford and then all the teeth on first gear falling off on Nailsworth Ladder (last attempted in 1958 with a Morris series ‘M’ in a B.M.C.L.C.C. trial) it was decided that Dean and I would do this trial in the buggy with me driving.
After the experience of being towed home from the Cotswolds behind Greg Warren’s Escort for 120 miles on the end of a short tow rope in lousy weather conditions which culminated in a near blizzard over the top of Telegraph Hill on Haldon it was decided to become a little more civilised and travel down to Launceston in the comfort of the tow car with the buggy on the trailer.
Sunday started with a very hard freeze and a lot of snow in evidence around Torquay. Problems were encountered in trying to get into the Capri as the doors were frozen solid. The drive down to Cornwall was very pleasant with the sun shining through although it was not strong enough to thaw the ice off the car. After leaving Plymouth and heading for Launceston the snow was left behind so all looked well for a good days sport. On arriving at the cattle market we witnessed the last of the motorcycles being flagged away by Les Connett Secretary of the meeting. The buggy was quickly unloaded and spares (no diff or half shaft as is the case with the midget) tools and food stowed in position. With artic clothing donned we were ready for the off, not so G. Benton in the other buggy who was having trouble de-freezing the fuel line which result in him non-starting.
A quick look at the special test (did this mean we could have incurred 12 penalty points as the regs. prohibited viewing of all observed sections) saw Bob Ray doing his usual car park wanderings and a slow time while Lester Keat was very neat and quick in his crisp sounding Avenger G.T. The first section at South Petherwin looked innocuous enough but contained a restart that caught a few napping, John Clarkson in the Gregory Special and Greg Warren in his Escort to name but two. Lewannick Old Hill was for the solo motorcycles only so we pressed on to Knighton after having to stop to back off the adjustment on the brake pedal as a pressure build up in the hydraulics caused the brakes to bind on. Knighton with a fast flowing ford caused no problems with only one competitor stopping at 9 although rumours were afloat that Dave Keat had incurred a 12 penalty for viewing the section – I suspect it was a leg pull by Dave to wind the rest of us up. Park Impossible saw a long queue of cars at the bottom so we knew it was in good form. Dennis Greensalade running in front of us again suffered his mysterious engine misfire when the Panther stopped at 10 the misfire causing him to retire. Hans Viertel in his 1500 Beetle made a spirited climb to 2 equaling Colin Chidley’s climb in his 1500 Beetle, so when our turn came we knew that we had the right power unit behind us to have a good attempt at reaching the top. With Les Connett giving us the all clear we were off and around the right hander and up through the wiggle to the upper reaches where sufficient grip was found through the leaf mould to enable the section ends board to be cleared giving us the only clear climb of the day. The next hill Sallerton (I’m sure it was called Saladin last year) turned out to be the most difficult of the trial and the hill that decided the overall winner. Dave Keat made an excellent ascent obtaining the only clean of the day and left the ‘rest of us floundering around on the polished surface of the ramp between the 9 and 7 boards.
A good section was chosen from the many on offer at Littery Down and required plenty of power to attain enough speed to clear the rock outcrops on the steep top part of the section. Coryhill was another easy looking hill but required carefull placement of the car at both the start and restart if a clean was to be achieved. Stuart Deacon incurring a 12 here.
Eastcott Down 1 proved very demanding with its fierce right hand hairpin immediately after the start and saw only 2 front engine cars John Clarkson and Lester Keats and 3 rear engined cars Dave Keats, C. Carlyon and the buggy cleaning. Eastcott Down 2 saw all the top runners rounding the left hander at the top of the section to attack the grassy loose soiled tree rooted run out, a 3 being the norm although Leroy Bray surprisingly incurred a 6..
Lee Woods 1 was a very similar situation to Eastcott Down 2 with a sharp left hander at the end of the section to slow competitors down before tackling the steep incline, Leroy making amends here by reaching the 2 marker along with Colin Bird in the MG J2. Lee Woods 2 presented few problems Bob in the Midget managing a clear this time after breaking the diff on this section in the Tamar.
In Sydenham Woods special test 2 had Robin Moores in attendance. The test required care as the ground was frozen hard causing overshooting of the lines. The last section gave a slight catch in the tail to the trial. Cookworthy was quite a straight forward section but ended with a turn out of the lane into a field which proved too difficult for a lot of the competitors but not Pete Moores and Barry Smith in their standard pre-war MG midgets.
So it was back to the finish at the Stable Bar of the White Horse Inn to sign off at 4.00 pm. All in all a very enjoyable days trialling with Dave Keat taking a very good win and turning the tables on Lester to keep the Cup in the family for the second year running.
Arthur.

Photo Dave Keats on Sallerton. Click to enlarge[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]