2011 Exeter Trial

If I knew what the collective noun is for pre-war MGs is, I could have used it here. But nobody could use the lavatories at Fingle.

This year's trial will probably be remembered for the heavy overnight downpours that washed some hills clean of mud but made others incredibly difficult.

I set out for Fingle Bridge a little later than I planned and consequently missed all the bikes going through, apart from two stragglers. One of their mates in a Suzuki X90 said they were all leaking wet, though. He was thoroughly enjoying his dry clothes and heater.

Dudley Sterry's MG J2 has a supercharged XPAG engine and an MGB back axle. It still looks the part and is a very special special. Goes well, too.

Fingle was not very difficult at all. In fact, it wasn't really very interesting to watch as it was less of a challenge this year than I remember. 

A nonchalant thumbs up from Dave Turner as he and Rob Robinson-Collins make light work of Fingle.

I wanted to see Dave Turner and Rob-Robinson-Collins go through. Occasionally known as Algy and Binky, they were out for the first time with a six-speed box in their Mazda MX5. Dave campaigned this car last year but foundf the gearing too high. He subsequently also found how difficult it was too lower the back axle ratio. The potential solution seems to be a six speed box out of a later model MX5. As these have bigger diameter tyres, the lowered first gear is theoretically much better. Talking to our brave boys on a section somewhere in England (Tipley if you must know), early indications were that their cunning plan had worked. I'll hear more about this in due course, no doubt.

Eddie Holloway can always be relied upon to turn up in something special. If it's not half an Allegro (the Weeny Leaper) or three quarters of a Fiesta (the Tryagain Trycycle) it's the Silva Enigma. Expect more variations from this compulsive component composer in the future.

Fingle was in the shadows and bloody cold. The public lavatories were closed due to burst pipes.  It's still a lovely setting though. How many other places to you approach via a clapper bridge?

Clapper bridges are made by laying slabs of stone across stone piers. Examples that can take the weight of road vehicles are very rare. Love the wonky posts!

This year Class O did not attempt the main hill but I honestly don't think they'd have much trouble with it provided they got around the bottom hairpin. One or two people caught a crab here but the vast majority cleared the hill without any drama.

Running one digit ahead of my mate Adrian were Micheal and Richard Warnes in a similar British Racing Brown TR7. Note that most cars are British Racing Brown on trials - unless they are Devonian Racing Red.

I had to hang around a bit because I had offered to carry a spare wheel for Adrian Booth. He'd recently acquired a Triumph TR7 that had been offered to me back in the summer. As an experienced trials driver who knows how many spare wheels he needed and he couldn't squeeze enough in the car. So, just in case, I ended up toting his spare to Fingle. But where was he? In the end I made my way back down to the start and discovered some missed calls on my erratic mobile. Adrian turned out to be in front of the telly back home. His car had developed a terrible screech from the gearbox. He cleared Waterloo though, which for many years has proved to be his personal, er, Waterloo, but by Stretes the noise was so bad the start line marshal said he was reluctant to allow him to continue because he sounded like a failure about to happen. I think Adrian cleared this okay but decided at the top to call it a day and make for home before something terminal happened. I'll find out more dreckly without the vagaries of my ancient comms device.

Old cars impress the most. This is Alan and Matthew Bee in their Austin 7 saloon. Most impressive about this little car was the way it leaned. I could have said wobbled but that would have been disrespectful. A lesser crew would have been putting their hands out at every pot hole to steady it.

So, having been discharged of my support duties, I set off for Simms. But everyone goes to Simms so as I came up to Tipley, I stopped there instead. This was a nice sunny site with things happening. Most cars were getting up but the hill was making everyone work.

Cute car and the sun's come out but that's not why the marshals are a-flutter

The marshalling team were a cheerful bunch from the BSA Front Wheel Drive Club - that's a car club if you thought BSA only made bikes. However, they were somewhat impressionable when it came to "attractive lady triallers" and kept dropping them into the conversation. Particular favourites were the two in a very nice Austin 7 special. Marshals always find the ability to find traction highly attractive, so Emma Wall and Anneka Cowley made a big impression for all the right reasons.

When is an Austin Healey not an Austin Healey? Duncan and Eleanor Welch confuse the car spotters.

Whereas Fingle looked like it hadn't had much rain at all, Tipley was like a stream bed, a very bumpy pair of stream beds actually. It was easier than it looked though. The water seemed to have washed the slippery stuff away

James Smith and Dave Loveys - would you accept a curiously strong mint from these men? Sweeties for the officials spread bonhomie but, in the finest traditions of the MMC, don't compromise their officialacialness (good word).

After catching up with Dave and Rob, I saw James Smith and Dave Loveys in Dave's old BMW. They'd clouted a rock on Simms so hard the inside edge of their offside rear wheel was fouling the caliper. Fortunately, they had a lump hammer with them and supertuned their wheel back into trim. Dave and Rob had been having tyre problems, too, having to actually buy a new cover en route. They weren't the only ones either - after they went through I spotted a number of fresh tyres on the backs of cars as they squirmed their way off the line.

It's always difficult to chose a favourite but I think this Model A Ford was the car I'd most like to have taken home with me. Look at that zorst! Pure salt flats hot rod.

A constant theme by now was the hold up at Simms. Nobody I spoke to at Tipley had got up it and they reckoned the queue of cars was stretching back into Ilsington where parking for spectators is always a problem.

This HRG had a Volvo badge on the bonnet. Members of the BSA FWD Club told me the powerplant was Scandinavian and of about 1800cc. A few years ago I remember talking to an HRG driver who was spectating when he should've been competing. He'd had such a comprehensive engine blow up - I think he had a Meadows unit - that he'd set fire to the oil in the sump. I later heard it was all rebuilt but using a slightly more modern engine with a better chance of survival seems entirely sensible to me.

So, having consulted the local knowledge of the tractive lady trialler fanciers, I elected to walk from Tipley to the top of Simms via a muddy track called Lenda Lane. Although a bit of a hike, this proved to be  a smart move for as I arrived at the top of the section an Escort cleared it to rapturous applause. Then another cleaned it, too. However, these were the first in an awfully long time - I was told only a couple of trials specials had managed this feat much earlier in the running. In all the excitement, I forgot to notice the numbers of these cars. I suspect the Bump & Grind team as they cleared Blue Hills on the Land's End last year when so many others failed.

As the light goes, clouds of tyre smoke from Escort No.216 add to the murk.

Also, they were close in running order to No. 216, Terry Flay and Graham Sweetland, who only just failed Simms. Their efforts were nothing short of heroic, though. After 5 minutes teetering on finding a way up, they reluctantly gave in. Graham had to get out for some fresh air. He'd worked like a Trojan but all that tyre smoke was not good for someone exercising so much and his legs went. Someone in the crowd threw him a water bottle and the marshals helped him to the top of the section but Terry had to reverse all the way back down. With the crew reunited at the tea shack, everyone was full of admiration for a climb where the bouncer had literally given his all.


At least they didn't catch fire. This happened to another determined Escort Mk1 that made it almost as far. By now it was dark - too dark for me to see who this was - but if it had been light we probably wouldn't have noticed a wicked glow under the car as it bumped back down the hill. The marshals were onto it straight away and the driver gave it a quick burst with his on board fire extinguisher. The marshals told me that a speedo cable or HT lead had come into contact with the exhaust manifold where the plastic got so hot it began to drip and form flames.

Part of the problem at Simms was the liquid mud down at the start line. "It comes over our boots," laughed the marshals. In those circumstances, do or die in a good strong car was the only way to go.

In the darkness, an already difficult hill took on a new dimension. Nothing else got up apart from one Beetle although Lester Keat in his Avenger looked likely for a while. I stayed until about half a dozen cars were left to climb, for I had a long walk back in the dark to Tipley. Nothing came by me, though, so there must have been even more problems for the weary but good-natured marshals to contend with.

There was ice all over my van, too, so I was more than ready to make for home - and I wasn't even involved in the trial! I had a great day out, though, and everyone I met seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly. Here's to the Land's End at the end of April - I'm toasting the marshals and competitors with a steaming mug of tea.