2025 Land's End Trial

Patchy coastal fog wasn't forecast at Blue Hills 2 this Easter but tyre smoke was.  Richard Hayward suffered a blow out but may have cleared the section otherwise.

It was a huge disappointment to not even make the Bridgwater start of the 2025 Land’s End Trial after all the work on the car. I drove the car up in heavy rain but making steady progress with the Arkley-MG’s single speed wiper. I fuelled up in Cullompton and the new fanbelt squeaked as I started and pulled away. No problem, thinks I, I have two 13mm spanners about my person for this very purpose. As soon as I was at Sally’s place, I made the most of the dimpsy daylight and adjusted the fanbelt. However, the alternator’s cooling fan was just touching the adjustment bracket. Then one of Sal’s friends wanted to move her car and instead of a “Vroom!” I got a “click, click, click” and a suddenly shy ignition light.

“Bolleaux” as our continental neighbours might say.

It wasn’t having it. It didn’t wanna went. Sally’s niece and nephews were staying so we pushed it out the way and up the hill ready for a bump start and had some pizza. I phoned the AA who said their sib-contractor would be with us in about an hour and a quarter but he was there in less than thirty minutes. I explained the symptom and he stuck a battery pack on it. Immediately, the electric fan came on. I then remembered that it did this before when the cable snapped on last year’s Edinburgh. There was no way of turning it off except to disconnect than or isolate the battery. However, the car now started.

This is what needed sorting out after the Exeter

The AA man was an enthusiast and told us we could now go to the ball but the car had done this before just as we were set to leave Haynes museum on the Exeter. Adrian Booth had earthed the main supply terminal in the engine bay with a screwdriver and we got our happy sparks back. Ever since then, we had enjoyed proper job ignition instead of a half-hearted machine gun impression and the ignition or charging lamp going AWOL.

This was the sleeve Adrian Booth came up with to stop that sort of nonsense happening to the axle again.

It felt providence was telling me something. My experience of intermittent faults is that you ignore the second time at your peril. Providence is telling you something. Ignore it and the third time will be in the dark when its raining and – oh I dunno – at the head of a queue of your mud brothers and sisters in a sunken lane. So far it happened within reach of Age’s magic screwdriver and outside a friendly house.

I isolated the battery and stalked inside to message the rest of Team Inappropriate and the other Travelling Marshals that I wouldn’t make the finish.

The following morning, the fan didn’t come on again and the engine burst into life. On that full tank of E5, Sally and I drove back to mine without any issue. Not knowing whether to be happy or frustrated, I put the car in the garage and switched it off. Immediately I tried it again and “click, click, click”. Providence and the car were trying to tell me something. 

Anyway, we jumped in my other two-seater and tooled down to Blue Hills to meet up with Sally’s rellies and spectate.

Morris Garages Old Number One, a factory "special" using the best bits of an ohv Bullnose Morris. 

 

In this way we got to see MG Old Number One, which we wouldn’t have otherwise, and my walk from the carpark was punctuated by meeting people who weren’t expecting to see me sans voiture.

Old Number One fascinates me. Out of quite unlikely mass-produced components rose this sporting marque, inventing along the way the classic British sportscar, small and light and responsive even if it wasn’t the fastest.

We chose to stand above the restart at Blue Hills 2 and stayed there all day watching the different approaches. The bikes could go between two massive wheel ruts just below the restart box but only one or two cleaned the section. The best ones made a controlled wheelie up the left bank slightly and then turned off and down it for a little giddy up.

Ian and Alan Cundy in their Golf

None of the cars could get up the section until the Cundys in their Class 1 Golf but they had the preferential restart and more of a run up.

We waited eagerly for someone to get up. Richard Hayward in his Escort estate came so close but a tyre popped as he gave his covers a Viking funeral. Mac and Patrick Taylor in their Marlin tried hard but their white clouds looked more like steam than tyre smoke.

Ryan Eamer in his Cannon showed us how it could be done. Approaching slowly, he read the section and chose to go high in the restart box rather than low, forfeiting the chance of a run up but getting well away from the huge holes dug out by previous competitors. It worked. His car leapt like a gazelle from one bump to the next.

Calvin Moores and Alan Ede about to climb out in style

Calvin Moores was the only Class 7 we saw get up. He just nailed his foot to the floorboards and gave his tyres no mercy.

I had time to change cameras as the J2 gamely fought its way out of Blue hills 2.

Liege Lord Simon Oates made it look easy. He stopped with his rear wheels in those nasty ruts but hopped away like the Easter bunny. 

What of the rest of Team Inappropriate? The bikes went down to two after John Reeves dropped out after leaving his rucksack behind at Barbrook but Lee Sample was clean apart from falling over on BH1. We saw the Robson family have a crack at BH2. They failed Cutliffe which was really rough, and messed up the restart on Crackington but at least finished the event had a good event and finished So did Neil Bray and Simon Robson even after repairing a collapsed rear wheel bearing just before the start! I gather they cleared everything except BH2, which, of course, Sally and I witnessed.

Pat and Jill in the MX5 got towed up Blue Hills but finished and Adrian Booth was clear until Blue Hills so is up for a Bronze Award. He's quietly pleased with the way his TR2 is going but bashed one of his special domed rear wheels on a stone on Warleggan.

The Mersons approach BH2 in their Shopland

I remain clueless on what my approach to be on Blue Hills would be but look forward to simply making the start and maybe the finish in my next event.

Paul and Charlie didn't take as long as Calvin and with less tyre smoke.