2026 Tamar Trial

The Arkley-MG in action on Legacy Hill (Photo: Vince Feeney)

Last year’s Tamar Trial won the ACTC Trial of the Year Award and for 2026 the Launceston & North Cornwall Motor Club sought to improve the event even further.

 

For years, there’s been growing criticism that trials are becoming more focussed on giving the top flight competitors a severe challenge. That’s fine except some of us have been finding a few observed sections too extreme. In some events, anything less than a Class 8 special is unlikely to see the top of a hill and that puts people off. Some sections have been car breakers.

From left to right, Jon Moores' CMR Special, Simon Oates' Liege, Paul Watson's Dutton, Nick Symons Singer Chamois and Ryan Tonkin's Class 4 Beetle.

 

This year’s Tamar Trial took steps to address this. It still targeted the national contenders with hills of appropriate difficulty while giving the rest of us the chance to clear a section but still feel we’d been challenged appropriately. The organising club achieved this by using different hills for different classes. It also recognised that conditions were particularly dry after the exceptionally long, hot summer and implemented some clever tyre pressure limits on the day, which were so finely judged you could tell they’d been set by experienced trials drivers.

 

The start and finish this year were both at Wilsey Down, which helped those who trailer their cars and bikes to the event. Scrutineering was again by Hillman Imp enthusiast Ivor Davey and Sally and I arrived in time to see Simon Knight and Garrick Royle set off in their Class 5 flathead-powered Dellow. Simon had re-engineered the bracket for his Panhard rod following his Edinburgh Trial and the other Dellow of Peter Bullen and Sam Lovegrove had attracted the attention of a film crew. Sam had said he’d rebuild the car’s MG gearbox if Peter got the car out of its shed and – sure enough – here they were, displaying splendid patina (the car not its crew).

 

Simon Knight's Class 5 Dellow

Nick Symons had also damaged his car on the Edinburgh. His Subaru-powered Singer Chamois (a future Vintage Thing I hope) suffered a collapsed H-bracket on its front suspension. This is where the front damper mounts to the car and he’d had to retire, running clear and with just two hills to go. I was pleased to see them back in action so quickly. Nick said Corkscrew was the roughest section he’s ever seen in all his trialling career. He was photographed, getting some serious air under the front wheels.

 

The first section for the 2026 Tamar Trial was a new one to me, Pilsamor, sub-divided 12-0. There was plenty of grip here and no hold ups. Adrian Booth and Pat Shaw pulled up to say hallo after they’d completed their run but seemed to have something on their minds. Was there something about the section they weren’t telling us?

On the way into Pilsamor, we saw this. Anyone know what it is?

 

Yes. After a straightforward climb there was a sudden deviation up the bank and the unwary – like me – could run wide and drop a point.

 

Our descent was unintentionally spectacular. I was in first and using the engine braking when I gently pressed the foot brake pedal. It went straight to the floor. We began to gain speed so I grabbed the handbrake and the car slewed towards the bank on the left. I held on to the handbrake and steered into the skid, hoping we didn’t turn over. We had a quick glimpse of Paul Watson and Paul Francis who were following us down the hill before the car around again to face back down the hill. By then, I’d realised that the brake pedal wasn’t in the middle of the footwell, like my daily drivers, but offset to the right. I’d pressed the clutch pedal instead. All I had to do was release the clutch and press what felt like the accelerator next to it and normal braking service was resumed.

The special test at Ashleigh was a tilted variation of the traditional A, B and C lines but with slalom cones after the start and then we were on to Angel Steps.

This year Angel Steps was for motorcycles and Class 7 & 8 cars only. We had a minimum tyre pressure of 16psi. Class 8s couldn’t go below 18psi. This was a smart move as in previous years other classes either struggled up or struggled down, often with punctures. We were the first Class 7 on the hill that day and had our tyre pressures eagerly checked by the waiting marshals.

The only time I’d climbed Angel Steps before was without a restart on the Pop Up Trial. Some years I hadn’t even reached the restart line. However, this year conditions were dry and although just as bumpy on the ascent, I could see a massive wheel rut on the left just up from our lower restart line, cunningly placed to trap the rear wheel of a Class 8 special with their slightly higher re-start line. I kept right and stopped low on our line and we got away. There was still a bit of crashing and banging afterwards but the Section Ends boards went by and we saw the top of Angel Steps the way it should be seen. Sally and I were euphoric.

Changing a wheel on the TR2 on soft ground (Photo: Sally Livsey)

Not far away was a complex of hills in the quarry and woods near Coryton. The Robson Family were marshalling on Timber Track and we had a restart, which we did ok, but at the top we found Adrian Booth and Darren Wilton had picked up a puncture, maybe from snapping a branch on the way in? Anyway, the knock-on wheel spinners were rotavating their way out of the section and after a little shuffling they brought out their hydraulic jack, a recent replica of the one in the back of the Arkley-MG.

Cory Gully was just for motorcycles and Classes 7 and 8 were exempt Little Cory because we got to do Stan’s Steep. We had a deviation and 16psi here and managed the restart.  After carefully exiting over new concrete near the farmyard, we went on to our old stamping ground of Lew Woods. We couldn’t get away from the restart on Sunnyside. Over rough roots, the car jumped out of gear twice. From then on, I checked I was in gear before trying to pull away.

We’d had an added incentive to clear Sunnyside because we’d lent our tow strap to the recovery team to haul out Greg Warren who’d almost made it out but had become wedged between trees and ruts. Phil Francis was also super keen to lend a rope but that may have been just to get to walk the section beforehand. Maybe I am being uncharitable. Gaining any sort of advantage in the circumstances never occurred to me, of course.

Failing to proceed on Legacy Hill, despite Sally's bouncing. (Photo: Vince Feeney)

On Legacy Hill, we ground to a halt on the deviation and, although we cleared Higher Lee, I took a wrong turn on Lee Quarry under the watchful eye of the polizei (Paul Jones). I had to stop to find the right way again.

 

However, on Park Impossible we saw the top of the section for the first time! We had the lower restart for Class 7 and a limit of 12psi but found grip among the rhododendrons. Being surprised and delighted to find myself up there, I almost didn’t see the sharp left turn back down the hill. Sally was on the case, though.

The Dellows before the film crew descended upon them

 

Our lunch stop was at Proper Ansome Café in Launceston and the pie was delicious. We didn’t have time for the crumble, though. Simon Knight and Peter Bullen were being interviewed by their camera crew so I doubt they managed any refreshment.

Filming of the Dellows was almost upstaged by this purple Austin A40 hot rod, belonging to the partner of Proper Ansom. Even without the engine running, its carb can suck in small children 

Bertie’s Walk was a normal special test but with a target time of exactly 30 seconds, no more no less. I suggested counting elephants, (Polyphants?) which had worked well in the past but Sally’s were very long elephants, more suited to a relaxation tape than motorsport, and we did it in 50 seconds. Sal was mortified.

 

We scrabbled out of Athill and also through Maxworthy where Team Robson were in charge again. Good to see Uncle Adrian has rebuilt your axle, Matt.

 

We failed Crackington on the Land’s End Trial earlier this year but were delighted to get away without problems this time. John Turner on the start line said it had still caught a few out who would normally have made it.

At the foot of Trehole (Photo: Sally Livsey)

 

Shortly afterwards we were on the Ward’s farm for Trehole 1 and 2. After our gyrations on Pilsamor, I was very careful coming down the approach to the bottom of the valley. We were restricted to 10psi on Trehole 1 and although sticky at the top we burned our way out, again for the first time ever. Nick Symons broke his driveshaft bolts at the top but had just enough length on them to carry on.

 

We then looped around again, carefully down that tricky hill again, to Trehole 2, which turned a sharp right before going up and over the tree roots and then a sharp left up the hill. I threw the car at the bank which looked surprisingly dry and we scrabbled out again, wheels spinning on the damp grass further up. That was another first for us, as well.

Waiting for New Langleys, the final section. Those Beetles were almost too shiny to trial. Almost

 

By now, we realised the dry conditions were working in our favour and so did the organisers. They imposed tyre pressure limits for Class 7 of 16psi for our re-start on New Langleys. I didn’t care if everyone else was benefitting from good grip. We were enjoying ourselves. I hoped we wouldn’t get a ride on the New Langleys winch but, although we cleared the re-start, we didn’t get much further.

 

The Class 8s and motorcycles had their own final hill – Right Turn Clyde – and this was the decider for the event. It’s a shame it should all come down to one hill and one restart but this seems to be the only way to give these guys enough of a challenge these days. Simon Groves was the one who got away and won the John Dell cup as a consequence.

Two very happy competitors - Simon Knight and Garrick Royle

 

At the finish, we had a meal with Simon and Garrick. They, too, had thoroughly enjoyed themselves and had only scored 6 on Trehole 1, which was enough to win Class 5. They’d done a fantastic wheel stand on Trehole 2 by all accounts – lots of air, lots of sky – but managed to do a Dick Bolt and kept steering just on the rear wheels. Principal witnesses to our spin on Pilsamor, Paul Watson and Mark Francis, hit a tree with their Dutton and still finished but Adrian and Darren in the TR2 had had to retire due to punctures. Pat and Gill Shaw in their MX5 finished, despite Pat having so much wax in his ears from sea swimming he couldn’t hear the engine revs!

 

I told Nigel Cowling and Simon Riddle why I reckoned they’d excelled themselves this year. All the marshals were on top of their game, too. It was great to see the top of sections like Angel Steps and Park Impossible for a change and we didn’t break anything. We didn’t even get a puncture.