Engine Punk

Great shot - despite rain and gloomy light - of Peter Stobbs on Jab and Left hook. (Photo : Paul Jones) I marshalled on this year’s Camel Classic, since I’ve had the engine and gearbox out and in with the Arkley-MG to replace some oil seals. First spell of duty was on Jab and Left Hook, which I remembered as having a difficult restart but finding it took some time. Like all cats looking grey at twilight, all trials sections in the forest look the same when its dimpsy. It only really became apparent when one walked up a turn off from the main track in Hustyn Woods that the course markers became visible.   Fellow marshals were Matt Tyrell and Laurence Payne and we had walkie talkies because there was no clear line of sight. All solo bikes and car classes 5-8 had to do the restart. I was interested in everyone’s technique. The choices were, stay low on the flatter approach and get out of the greasy mud or get as high as possible and risk not getting away where the hill got steeper...

  At the start of this year's Camel Classic, l to r, Simon Oates' Liege, Aaron Haizelden's John Deere Special, Emma Wall's Troll and the VW Special of Adrian and George Marfell For this year’s Camel Classic, the lovely Sally was to have been my passenger. We have entered the forthcoming Exeter Trial and had thought of a gentle drive out in the country with the Arkley-MG to get used to things. Instead, we entered the Camel Classic, which is nothing like a gentle drive out. At least, she would be able to experience tree roots motorsport at first hand and see the sort of sections we could expect. The first hills on the Exeter would be hidden by darkness. Perhaps that might be helpful. The sections on the Camel Classic are spectacular to the point of intimidating and I knew there would be a lot of reversing back down again.  Anyway, poor Sally developed a shocking cold a few days beforehand and had been in bed for three days before the Camel Classic. Even if she recovered...

At the start, everything is clean. Watto's VW Imp is in the foreground while to the left is the Class 7 winning Beetle of Joe and Gary Browning The Camel Classic was postponed from February this year but the wait was worth it for many forestry sections were now available, having been out of bounds to all for some time. Representing the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain, Mr Graham Beddoe and I weighed up our chumrade’s machinery on the morning of the trial and marvelled at the high standards of preparation. After a slap-up binge at The Borough Arms, we set off in the Arkley-MG for Hustyn, an old MCC hill on the edge of St Breock Downs. The original section was metalled long ago. Legend has it a doctor insisted upon it to make his life easier visiting patients. Today’s Hustyn lies in the woods to the south and was part of a network of sections for this year’s Camel Classic, beginning with a holding control at the top of the first section where successful climbers pop out of t...

Gareth entered the 2018 Camel Classic and is seen here in his Marin V8 with Roger Hancock's buggy and event scrutineer Adrian Booth Gareth White’s Marlin runs a Rover V8 and its custom zorst means you usually hear it before you see it.  Marlin Roadsters are typically based on either Triumph or Marina components and evolved over a long production run from 1979 until the present day with the drivetrain out of BMW 3-series. Along the way, the Marlin Roadster also used Ford Cortinas and Sierras as donors, growing slightly in the process to accommodate the wider track. Not so many V8s were built, however. Most common seem to be the Marina B series variety and with the back axle from a Marina van they make tough trials irons for Class 7. They’re nimble enough for the twisty bits and have a reasonable power to weight ratio. They are also very robust. Marlins don’t need much modification to be competitive in Class 7 but they usually sport 14 inch wheels and twin spare wheels and external...

Early morning scrutineering in the car park at The Borough Arms For this year's Camel Classic, I was passengered by none other than the redoubtable Nigel Cowling, who is usually marshalling somewhere or marking out trials sections. He'd bounced for Simon Riddell when he owned my car so knew what it was capable of. He also has extensive navigating experience. A feature of the Camel Classic, which is organised by the Camel Vale Motor Club, is the large number of entries from the Stroud area. I have found that Stroudians(?) are drawn to the area even for our Hillman Imp club meets so regard Stroudites(?) as honorary Bodminians (not to be confused with Bodminium, which is a rare isotype of Kryptonite). After scrutineering at The Borough Arms, we had to wait until a start time of 0942. This year the car classes ran in numerical order, whereas last year the Class 8s started first. Just like last year, though, it all ran very well to time but we had plenty of time to admire th...