2025 Tamar Trial

 

That's not just the early morning sunshine that's so dazzling - it's the level of preparation on some people's cars. The CMR Special of Jon and Calvin Moores could be too shiny to get muddy... (not)

2025 saw a great deal of activity on the Arkley-MG but not much actual action. After a Did Not Finish on the Exeter and the Edinburgh and a Did Not Start on the Land’s End, I thought I might try a little drive in the country with Sally. The 78^th Tamar Trial, run by the Launceston & North Cornwall Motor in memory of Peter Cooper, started from Maunders Yard in Launceston on a glorious autumn morning.

In recognition of this Indian summer, the L&NCMC had raised everybody’s minimum tyre pressures on almost every hill. Frinstance, the first hill, Petherwin Old Hill had a minimum tyre pressure of 18psi for us in Class 7 and a restart on a sneaky deviation but, as the start line marshal said, we didn’t have any problem getting away. Only a couple of hills had no limit so we knew the organising team were on the case when it came to conserving precious metals and trophy silver.

After a series of reliability issues, I was happy to make the start. After replacing the clutch cable and rear dampers, fitting a new cambelt and having the rear axle straightened and strengthened by Adrian Booth, my brave little car had been dogged by an intermittent and impossible to anticipate failure to start. In the weeks preceding the Tamar, I chased down all the earths I could find and the Arkley-MG began to respond to treatment. Another minor issue went away, too. The tell-tale lamp on the dash indicating when I engaged reverse gear also began operating again. I took this as a good sign that starting could now be relied upon.  

For the first Observed Test, we had to start from line A and stop at line B in thirty seconds without any artificial aids. Last year, with Graham Beddoe, I’d adopted the “elephant” technique from Gregory’s Girl and that had worked well. This year, Joe Caudle on the stop watch, said our thirty elephants equated to thirty-one seconds. That meant we incurred a one second addition for whatever our time on Observed Test two might be. Maybe we’ll try Indian and not African ones next time. At the other end of the scale, Adrian and Michael in Ade’s TR2 got over-excited and completed OT1 in just 17 seconds. They didn’t get 17 seconds taken off their time for OT2, however. They got it added on. It was any difference from the standard time – more or less – that incurred any penalty.

The queue to enter Combedown Woods with the Norton Selwood's Beetle in the foreground

In Combedown Woods near Horsebridge, we had a series of tight sections and no less than 16psi on Starsky. I took some air out of the front tyres here in a bid to improve our chances of steering. Team Robson were officiating here and were probably as surprised and delighted as I was to get away from the restart as the Arkley-MG dug in and found its way out as if it remembered it from last year. A minor problem was that we later discovered we’d gone the way out but that did not diminish our good cheer. The Twister was another matter, however.  That sharp right-angle bend was where I stopped last year but on The Firs, my little car dug in again and valiantly climbed to the top after the loop around the trees at the bottom, becoming airborne at one stage, much to the delight of Sally.

Unfortunately, the green Reliant Scimitar of Simon Whiley retired here with a lot of negative camber on the offside rear wheel and Norton Selwood’s beautifully prepared orange Beetle developed a chronic oil leak. We saw him later marshalling on New Langleys like the real enthusiast he is and heard that the bash plate had bashed the sump.

Near Liddaton, we had another series of three in a steep wood. There was a delay before Cory Climb here as Stuart Highwood in another Reliant had problems, and we had to shuffle around them on the approach track. In the queue, I had a chat with Nick Symons about is Singer Chamois. This has a non-turbo Subaru engine and is a definite candidate as a future Vintage Thing. Ahead of us, newlyweds Mr & Mrs Shaw ascended with no problems in their MX5 – complete with wedding ribbon – but Adrian and Michael in the TR2 went off ploughing and had to be towed out by a V8 Land Rover which sounded gorgeous. After a slippery lower section, Cory Climb curved up to the right before bearing left and blasting up to Nigel Cowling at the top. We got there but, in all the excitement, became a little disorientated about our way down again.

The MX5 of Pat and Jill Shaw on the approach to Cory Climb. 

On OS 7 we were fine until we tried to follow the sharp right – just like The Twister before – and on Little Cory restarts for earlier classes had been scratched because – lo! – the LNCMC had found some mud. In fact, they found so much they’d given up on the restart for earlier cars. Running as No. 76, we were the first Class 7 for the higher restart and couldn’t get away. In fact, we needed progressively longer run ups at it and a lot more beans to get out of the section.

On Lee Quarry, the car just bogged down before we even got in sight of the deviation for Classes 7 & 8 and I think we might have scored 11. I was aware that there was a slight hesitancy on the road and sometimes the car was reluctant to idle. Also, probably because of the warm weather, the orange warning lamp indicating that the electric fan had cut in was on much more often.

OS 10 was Angel Steps with a tyre pressure limit of 16 psi so I didn’t hold out much hope. In charge of car control, we found Gareth White, who checked our tyre pressures. We watched Danny and Sam Gamble come back down after trying it in their Reliant-powered Liege and I told Gareth we’d also see him dreckly again. He eschewed such a defeatist attitude. I was pleased to reach the restart this year, which hasn’t happened that often, but, after smoking the tyres, failed to proceed any further. Gareth took off his cap and respectfully held it over his heart when we saw him again as we followed the failure route.

At the rest stop at The Fox & Grapes pub in Tinhay, I took the opportunity to check the water on the car. I switch the cooling fan on anyway when we’re in the forests but it was operating even on the open road sections. Normally the airflow above 20mph is sufficient but twice recently, the radiator fan wouldn’t switch off at all. Uncle Adrian suspected a sticky relay. He was also getting a little warm, himself, and kept the hood up on the TR2 for some shade. Those of us with less hair and more face applied sunblock. The water level was fine so we assumed it was just warm ambient air. At least it was switching off as well as on.

Once Sally and I were fed and watered we proceeded onto Park Impossible for our best climb ever on this section, managing to get to the restart and beyond on 14psi.

For the 11 miles or so to the next special test, the fan was on a lot. After the test, an MCC style affair with lines A, B and C, we had a new section for me, Avallon Orchard. We caught up with Age and Michael here who had attended a field trial here in the summer. The course was a dried-up marsh at the start and then lush green grass all the way up to a deviation for Class 6, 7 & 8 where we were supposed to turn sharply left. However, the car said nope. Instead of turning, we trickled serenely straight on with front wheels optimistically on full lock, much to the amusement of the Rubys who were marshalling. At least it didn’t bog down again, I suppose.

Two Class 8s at the start, the Hollier Mountaineer of Arnie Martin and Phil Thomas' Dutton Melos, which is now modified beyond what's permissible for Class 7

By the time we got to Crackington, the fan was on all the time but I had a funny feeling it was switching on unnecessarily. The orange tell tale lamp on the dash flickered a couple of times as if trying desperately not to come on. I was disappointed not to get away from the restart on Crackington, even on 12psi and frying the hides.

Two sections at Trehole were only a short distance away but the approach to them was a very steep and slippery hill into the valley. Pat Shaw helpfully signalled to us to come down gingerly. The first one had a Class 7 start line more akin to a restart line. We got up to it but failed to get away on 14psi in the sticky mud. Trehole 2 was a different matter. I went down to 10psi here because we could. Team Robson were in charge again here and the Arkley-MG decided to show off a bit in front of friends. It trickled nicely round the tree and then turned up the hill. We were dazzled by the low sun but the numbered poles were silhouetted up to the skyline. I kept it in and we bounced onwards and upwards until Matt Robson shouted we’d done it. We didn’t drive out the top through but turned in by pole 2 and trickled out and down.

We pumped up our tyres with Gill and Pat and then Age and Michael. They had all cleared Crackington and made a better effort on Trehole 1 than we had.  

The approach to New Langleys amused Sally. The L&NCMC do a very good job of signposting and we came through several empty fields, empty apart from just the right number of white arrow posts. Finding these remote sections was like being on a treasure hunt run by a secret society.

New Langleys in all its glory

In wonderful sunshine, we saw Greg Warren make a great climb in his Mk2 Escort. He got around the left hander and lined it up for the final hill but came to a halt. He kept it in long after I’d have given up and his lead-footedness paid off. I think everyone watching was bouncing up and down. Passenger Beth Carter must have been working very hard. When it came to our turn, we got off the restart but couldn’t get around the sharp left-hand bend so came up on the winch.  

Danny and Sam Gamble from Ilkley & District Motor Club on Trevilla in their Liege

Trevilla can be a sting in the tail, very tight and with a restart on tree roots for us but this time we got away and the Arkley-MG did that chugging thing on tickover round the tight bends so I was very pleased. We watched a few more good climbs after that and Sally pointed out that this was the first event she’d completed. Glad to have done just that, we motored on to the finish at Hallworthy to sign off and have a chinwag with our mud brothers and sisters. The TR2 had a flat – only on the bottom, though – so used the hydraulic system on the Arkley-MG to get it off the ground properly.

And rest. The car park at Trevilla begins to fill up as competitors become spectators to see how their chumrades fare.

On the way home, the orange tell-tale for the fan was on most of the way and it was doing that announcing flash thing, as if clearing its throat before blowing air over the motor. Unfortunately, there remains a terrific oil leak on the gearbox and to replace that seal the engine will have to come out. I’d also like to get it set up on a rolling road so there’s a lot more to do before we try another long-distance classic trial and there will typically be what we used to call in the dockyard “emergent work” emerging.