Engine Punk

Tim Kary in the Imhof Special and Rob Robinson-Collins in the ex-Imhof Allard J1 at the Heritage Trial on 4th July 2021 I was delighted to re-acquaint myself with the Imhof Special at the Heritage Trial in 2021. Tim Kary is the current owner and really knows how to drive this historic car which I first came across in 1993.  I had recently started a new job and moved to sunny Andover in Hampshire. Having checked out the local car club, I arranged to meet the club president at the club workshops during his lunch hour. Picture the scene – an old army Nissen hut on the edge of Salisbury Plain. The interior is dark but orderly. This is the workshop of the local car club. And there he is, Il Presidente!  He wears overalls over his office clothes, complete with shirt and tie. He’s sitting in the bare framework of a very small sports car while he files some tubes in the cockpit. He may have been making engine noises before he heard the door open. Binky (aka Mr Robert Robinson-Collins)...

  The Gregory Special and Cannon of Ian and Nigel Moss The first ever Heritage Trial took place on the 4 th of July this year at Blackmoor Farm, near Woolminstone, south west of Crewkerne in Somerset. This event is intended to tempt out the older types of trials cars that could still give a good showing in ACTC and MCC trials but with a much lower risk of damage. The Alf Foster Special is just the ideal sort of car for this event. Sorry about chopping off the top of your head, Richard but you suddenly stood up straight Recent changes in the trials class structure put the Candidi Provocatores Allard J1 in Class 5 instead of Class 7. This would mean less restarts which are punishing on elderly drivetrains. It would even be in Class 2 if the Allard ran on cross plies but the available treads don’t offer much grip and are expensive. Also, we damaged the Allard’s axle on Warleggan on the John Aley Trial, completely without a restart. Still managed to finish, though - stance! Tony Mar...

A sense of occasion at the start after 100 years of motorsport organised by the Launceston and North Cornwall Motor Club The Launceston and North Cornwall Motor Club put on another challenging trial again with the 35 th Launceston Classic trial on the 30 th May. Last year it was postponed due to bad weather and the club did a great job in squeezing the 34 th trial in just before the national lockdown occurred. After the Pop Trial and the President’s Trial , the LNCMC took us back to Lew Wood and Eastcott Down where they had cunningly fashioned some really nadgery sections to make up for the dry conditions. They managed to find some mud but pressure washing the car off later that sunny evening took much less time than usual. We’ve almost got used to the paperless signing on but this was my first trial with a bouncer. Bouncers, you’ve been missed! Take a bow for that daring young man on the trapeze, roll bar and windscreen frame, Mr Graham Beddoe. During the winter lockdown, I’...