95th Exeter Trial 2025

Arkley-MG all set for the 95th Exeter

This year’s event saw me entered again as part of the Team Inappropriate massseeve but also I had chosen as my running chumrades those dirt -dashing do-badders from downtown Doublebois, Adrian Booth and Darren Wilton in Age’s Triumph TR2. Add in Age’s sister Gill and her beau, Pat, in Katy the MX5 and I felt comfortably surrounded my fellow enthusiasts. In the navigator’s seat for the first time was my belle, Sally Livsey. Sal was supposed to have been with me on the Camel Classic but had been ill. How she would find an overnight, long-distance classic trial in January would soon be revealed.

I had also volunteered to be a travelling marshal, despite many of my trialling viewing this as a kiss-of-death if I hoped to actually finish any event.

First time out for Nora, the TR2

On the eve of the 2025 Exeter Trial, I fitted a new battery isolator switch. This was because, twice in the week before, the Arkley-MG had occasionally suffered from an inappropriate lack of electrons. Waggling the isolator switch with the ignition on, woke up the fuel pump and ignition light. Another waggle sent them back to sleep again. I had a new switch in stores from an earlier project and, when I heard that one of the Hillman Imp club circuit racers had retired from a race with a kill switch fault, I decided the universe was trying to tell me something so I fitted it.

Front tyre wear had been an issue throughout 2024 but for my last event, the Camel Classic, Uncle Adrian had adjusted the tracking using his tried and tested equipment, instead of those new-fangled laser things. Due to the increased ground clearance and consequent angle of the track rod ends, the toe-in and out of the front wheels can vary somewhat on bump and rebound. Eventually, we hit upon something like a happy medium and I fitted an old pair of front tyres that hadn’t worn unevenly yet to see if we’d hit the toe-in sweet spot.

I picked up Sal from her house on the way and we met up with the rest of our gangs at Haynes Motor Museum for the start. Team Inappropriate Cars consisted of Neil Bray with Simon Robson and Roger Ashby with Sian Davis so you can see we were in illustrious company. Team Inappropriate Bikes were Lee Sample, Ollie Brooks and Douglas Todd but we didn’t get to meet them because they were two hours ahead of us.

From Edinburgh, the Citroen AX of Chris Morison and Colin Strachan. These are suddenly rare cars.

Just before our start time of 0203hrs, we strolled out to the car in the icy car park only to find that with the Arkley-MG wouldn’t start. With the ignition on, if I thumbed the starter button the charging light went out and the starter remained dormant. I let Adrian and Darren know and we waggled leads in the light of head torches. Age shorted across the solenoid under the bonnet and the car burst into life. Quickly we set off for Windwhistle handbrake test and the first observed test against the clock.

In the queue, I stopped and started the engine but it all worked.

On to Underdown, which I thought might impress Sally just for its precipitous approach. She thought it was great and loved her first section. Wrapped up in old ski gear, thermals and a sheepskin, she was quite cosy. To keep the heat in, we travelled at night with the hood up.

At Musbury control, she had the presence of mind to ask if the rest of our gang had gone through yet, while I fuelled up. None of them had. Wondering if some calamity had befallen them, we drove on to Waterloo. James Shallcross was the starting marshal and he hadn’t seen our chumrades go through, either. Sally enjoyed our first restart for Class 7 and we were just re-inflating out tyres when a steaming TR2 pulled up behind us. We’d overtaken them when we’d pulled out of Underdown. Although Age and Pat both cleaned Waterloo, the TR2 had suddenly got very hot.

After a quick council of war, we towed the TR2 with the Arkley-MG up to the main road. By now, no more steam was coming out of the header tank and, after a suitable interval, we filled it up again with our drinking water bottles. Adrian decided to skip the next hills and make for Greendale where we hoped to meet up again and see if this was an isolated problem.

During the night, Sal discovered what active and interesting lives inanimate objects can lead under cover of darkness in a trials car. We lost of all sorts of things from time to time but couldn’t imagine them being far away and – sure enough – somewhere in the footwell or under the seat was some small object of desire.

The Dutton Melos of Peter Duckworth and John Buckley. We caught up with them at breakfast and they said it was snowing for their journey home to Stockport. 

Sally found Normans Hump without any problems and we chatted to Sam Lindsay and a few others in the queue. Our restart was on the flat cross roads which is part of the approach to Clinton, which I remembered from last year was very rough. Some cars only got round the corner and had to come back down again. When it was our turn, we saw why. There were massive ruts and the little car swung from side to side as well as bouncing up and down. Sally loved it and was delighted when we struggled through and fought our way across the Class 8 restart which looked horrible in our headlamps. We battled our way to the top and she could barely contain her excitement.

“It’s like being in a boat!” she exclaimed.

We had another special test at Wiscombe Park, which I know from many VSCC speed hill climb events over the years, and then proceeded to Rill Path. By now, it was getting light. We were running over an hour and a half late what with our rescue mission and the queues.

Stretes continued our nautical theme. It’s designated as a BOAT and Sally was immediately intrigued. Her parents lived on one – a boat not a Byway Open to All Traffic – so I asked if she’d ever heard the any superstitions about rabbits? She hadn’t but I can remember some old salt telling me as a young tacker, very seriously, “Never say rabbit on a boat.”

Fortunately, we were nowhere near a BOAT when I asked her this but we were on an icy stretch of downhill highway where those that had gone before had made improvised signs to warn us.

We arrived at Greendale almost at 10am. There was no sign of the TR2. We subsequently found out Adrian and Darren had arrived but retired to make their way home. Without the side screens or heater, it was bitterly cold in their cockpit but until then the longest journeys had been around the industrial estate at home for MOT and weighing.

We had to bag a table first at Greendale and then place our order for a waitress service. We weren’t used to that. Breakfast was really good and prompt but we did not shorten our break. The approach to Tillerton Steep was also icy and – well – steep. An extra marshal had been drafted in, especially, to warn us that a section of black ice lay ahead. We were not to descend the hill until the car in front had passed a conspicuous pothole, which, I suppose, could have been used to stop a sliding car if we hadn’t been so well forewarned.

In the daylight and with the roof down, we felt much more sociable and we chatted to Sam again and the Cundys and the Keats in the Golf and Avenger.

Nonchalantly waiting for the black ice at Tillerton, Ian and Alan Cundy with their superb Mk1 Golf

Sam Lindsay was passengering in Julian Lack’s DP Wasp. He said they failed Clinton but, as their engine had some varying compression readings, they put that down to reduced power. Normally they have something like 200bhp on tap from that Toyota mill.

In front of us was none other than Duncan Welch in a borrowed X90 and we discussed strategies for approaching the Class 7 restart. I tried going low but despite marshals willing us on and lots of tyre smoke we couldn’t get away. With a run up, we went crashing up and out of the section. No surprise there but maybe I ought to have tried to go high. Duncan asked what lateral scope there had been but I’d been thinking vertically not laterally.

I got the restart right last year, though, but don't understand how.

The course closing Fiat Panda rounds up the VW Type 181 of Arne Michaelson and Sascha Neudörfer from Seelze near Hanover. 

Fingle is something of an old friend but the lavatories were locked up. There was another wait here. The marshals said there were many walkers on the hill and not many places for them get out of the sunken track between corners.

Tom and Rob Butcher with their very clean Twingo (apart from the mud)

I marvelled at the variety of machinery. There was a very standard looking Renault Twingo crewed by some most excellent adventurers and a lovely old Buckler.

Carl Talbot had entered this lovely Buckler Mk V in Class 2 

The roads around Fingle and Wooston were spectacularly dusted with frost. Sally was really enjoying the road miles between sections. We are going to have to go back in the summer again to enjoy some of the views. She described Fingle 1 as “uphill slalom skiing in a car” and Fingle 2 as “a lovely drive up some rapids”.

We looped around and came passed the track leading for Wooston Steep on our way to Seamans Borough, an odd name for a muddy track in the middle of nowhere. It’s not even a BOAT but a forest track.

We disappointed to meet a strangely ebullient Garrick Royle at the foot of Wooston. The engine of his Skoda had seized at full chat and had come to such an abrupt stop it had torn off cables and HT leads. “It was sounding great until then,” he said. I’ve seen videos of it and it does. I fear it might be terminal but sincerely hope it isn’t.

Seamans Borough was for Classes 6,7 & 8 only. Fortunately, we didn’t have to do the restart, which looked really boggy. Paul Jones in his Beetle found it irresistible, though, and got away!

When I came to pump up the tyres, I felt there might be a slow puncture developing on the near side rear. Compared with the other hills, Fingle had been quite stony and I although I’d driven gently up Sally’s “rapids” I wondered if more air might have been better.

Approaching the Drumbridges roundabout on the way to Lenda lane holding control, we heard a loud scraping noise form the offside rear when taking left handers. I pulled in for fuel and a look inside the drum. There was a lot of grit inside it and the gap at the top was very much wider than at the bottom where the drum was rubbing against the brake backplate.

If I look thoughtful in the mirror, that's because I am. John Turner's 2CV lurks in the background. (Photo : Sally Livsey)

John Turner in his 2CV was also fuelling up and wandered over to see if we were okay. I showed him what I’d found and we concluded that, so long as nothing was leaking, everything was fine so on we went.

However, half way across the roundabout over the A38 a very kind lady in a Discovery flashed us and pulled alongside to tell us our nearside rear was “proper flat”. We ruined the cover getting off the road but as I changed the wheel the course closing Fiat Panda pulled up behind us.

Changing a wheel doesn’t take long on the Arkley-MG but we missed the turn for Lenda Lane and on our return someone warned us that we were losing coolant. I stopped again but everything seemed okay. There were massive puddles along the lane so that might have been what they saw dripping. Anyway, by the time we got to the holding control it was deserted and going on to Tipley we ended up behind the course closing car.

The course closing Panda

There was another queue here and we chatted to Paul and Charlie Merson in their Class 8 DP Wasp and to Christian Brand and Lothar Panzram in their Beetle, all the way from Germany. They told me there is nothing like the Exeter Trial in their home country. There are so many restrictions on motoring in forests for instance. I get the feeling that might happen here in Blighty one day but until we shall enjoy doing what we can while we can. I wish I’d thought of opening the bonnet of the Arkley-MG to show them the VW Passat engine it’s got.

All the way from Deutschland, the Beetle of Christian Brand and Lothar Panzram

I gather both German crews didn't know each other beforehand and only met on the trail. If they could get Marc Shafer and Enno Schmidt back into trialling, they could have a German team! 

The delay was due to the MGB of Jonathan and Tim Layzell suffering a double puncture on Tipley. This took a long time to sort out. Eventually their towing eye and bashplate came away and they retired.

We got up Tipley but then we didn’t have a restart, unlike Class 8. Paul Merson said he regarded Tipley as his nemesis much as I regard Tillerton Steep as mine. I think the only chance I get for a gold on the Exeter is when they scratch Tillerton….

Other competitors were not so fortunate on Tipley. We moved ahead of some and no longer had the course closing Panda snapping at our heels. Our friends Ray Goodwright and Michael Brooks were marshalling on Tipley and counted at least twelve punctures for the cars. It was very rough but at least I was prepared for it and didn’t over-drive the section, letting our little car do its thang. Michael was struck how many bits and pieces of cars and bikes there were when he walked down once the section closed. Those of us who got up found some big muddy puddles on the way out.

Donkey Trot almost caught Graham Beddoe and me out last year. It gets bumpy near the top and you can see the traffic on the road beyond so the instinct is to throttle back but you mustn’t because it’s so boggy just before the section ends. The stop line marshals willed us on without us bursting onto the main road or getting themselves run over.

We had thirty minutes for tea and cake at Ilsington but when we came out to the car there was a pool of oil coming out of the offside rear hub and it was obvious we couldn’t go on. Pat and Gill were also there, having been delayed as well with two punctures. Pat took the decision to miss out Simms and Slippery Sam and head for the finish at Newton Abbot. We saw the course closing Panda for the last time and waved them off before I deployed our spill kit for the very first time.

Spill kit deployed

I called for recovery and Sally suggested we sent the car on to Adrian’s workshop while we took a taxi to our hotel and the finish so we could attend the club supper. The AA and their sub-contractor Highfield Recovery were amenable so we took our rucksacks and made our way through rain and sleet to the warmth of The Carpenter’s Arms in Ilsington. Here a very friendly local organised a taxi for us.

We made it to the club supper and returned by train from Newton Abbot on the Sunday.

Neil Bray and Simon Robson made a heroic climb of Simms and put in for a gold. Roger and Sian are probably on for a Silver because Ian Moss flew up Simms. I heard only 9 cars got up. It must have been slippery in the emerging wet conditions.

As for the Team Inappropriate bikes, Lee cuddled the bank on Simms and wheelied off the restart on Slippery Sam so put in for a Bronze. Fred got a coveted Finisher’s Certificate but Ollie claimed a Gold on his wife’s Beta. That was despite forgetting his gloves. Fortunately, Uncle Lee had a spare pair.

Sam Lindsay told me Julian and he nearly didn’t get through scrutineering. They had no reverse lamp. Frantic effort followed.

“After taking apart most of the wiring and back end of the car (toolbox is in the engine bay) and shorting it to make it work for scrutineering, we got in the car to start the trial and the reversing light worked. Jules then realised that 3 different people (me, him and one of the scrutineers) had all been putting it in fifth, and not reverse… the worst part is the gear pattern is on the top of the shift knob!”

If you think about it, that’s a daft place to put a shift pattern – you’ve got yer hand over it. I had the same problem in my XR4X4 backalong. I thought I had lost reverse gear entirely. On Ford boxes like that it’s forward for reverse, if you get my meaning.

Sally thoroughly enjoyed herself. She kept awake all night for the first time since she was a teenager. It seems the TR2’s overheating problem is electrical and not mechanical or hydraulic. The fan and thermostat weren’t talking to each other. As for the Arkley-MG, the axle may be bent but it can be bent back again if you know the right skilled people.

We'll be back on the hills again dreckly (Photo : Sally Livsey)