NOVEMBER 2012 Happy Halloween Sevenoaks and District Motor Club Ltd PRESIDENT: John Symes VICE PRESIDENT Vic Elford

Curses! I was hoping to be able to report on a successful Weald Trial on 21st October and include some pics elsewhere, but the decision to cancel the event the day before was confirmed by the Sunday being one of the most miserable, dank and dark days of the year. There’s no doubt that all of the venues would have been a tad more than challenging and so whilst disappointing it was the right move. Hopefully the work behind the scenes by Chin, Andy Kilby and our friends at Maidstone & Mid Kent Motor Club won’t be wast- ed and we can have another go next year.

Unfortunately the loss of the Weald Trial does mean a lost opportunity for those hoping to earn their marshalling points for the Speed League and Rose & Crown Championship but fear not dear speedy people, there’s always the 12-Car rally on Friday 9th November and then the Trial at Chapman’s Hill, Meopham on Sunday 11th November and I hope to see many of you helping.

November’s social night at The Bell, Kemsing on the 21st will incorporate the Speed League Forum and the Autotest series awards. So, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding our sprint & hillclimb series, or even if you are new to motorsport and want to know more about the classes in use and why there are differences in classes at different events, then The Bell is the place to be on the 3rd Wednesday of Novem- ber.

I would also welcome a lot more chit-chat on the club’s online forum – there will also be more up-to-date information on specific events, such as advising the cancellation of the Weald Trial. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, but I do know that many of you haven’t even registered for it. Along with the website itself, it is a valuable source of information so do please use it.

The dates of our proposed events should be being submitted to various Associations and the MSA as I write and we don’t expect to massively change things in 2013. We will have some scatter, 12-car and 20/20 rallies for you – some organised by us, others we are invited to by other local clubs. There will also be Car Trials for those that think that traversing the muckier lanes of Kent on rallies doesn’t get their car any- where near muddy enough. For those that prefer to have a much smaller tread pattern on their tyres, we will be back at North Weald for AutoSolos and Sprints and of course we will also be back at Crystal Palace again to see if we can maintain the great reputation that this special event has achieved. We also expect to be back at Brands Hatch for another summer season of grass autotests – such fun and yet so good at learning how to handle a slippery surface.

We also regularly send some people down to the finish of the London to Brighton Veteran Run – contact Chris Scudder if you want to come along, although you will have to be quick this year as it happens on 4th November. Additionally, we help on the Sunseeker Rally near Bournemouth but I think the regular date of early February is changing to later in the year in 2013. However there might be something else we are involved in early next year – watch this space for more info soon.

So, plenty to do, lots of fun scheduled at my end – how about you? Editor Sue would love to hear from you with your plans, reports on events and maybe some pics too. Don’t forget we also have a fun competition with the “Acorn on Tour” so make sure you take a copy wherever you go (or print the front page and take that if you are all-electric) and send us some funny or odd pics with your Acorn. ANDY ELCOMB Sue,

Hope your weekend went well at Brands.

Attached from Debdon last year, Jim being his usual attentive self (he really is the only reason I started sprinting)

I only managed one event prior to the Weald, it should have been two but sitting in Jims kitchen at 7am watching a monsoon develop and the fact that Jims TR8 was poorly we decided not to go! Dr Mabb had been extremely busy with Mike Druce Smiths engine change and as mentioned sorting out Jims poorly TR8 which needed urgent brake attention but it still didn't stop me calling on him. The TR had developed a really annoying "tap" no it wasn't dripping! Tony got out his sensitive pole and stuck it in! He can hear anything with that thing! well almost as on this occasion he wasn't sure. Even Mr Lock had a listen! So there I am with this annoying and horrible sounding tap, it really wasn't a show stopper but it just bugged me. Tonys advice was to run until the end of this season then we would rebuild. Did I listen? NO! I went in search of a replacement RV8 3.9 that I could just bolt in! The existing lump returned approx 195 BHP after being fitted with 4.2 Cerbera injectors and re mapped by Mark Adams and Tom at Austec Racing. Surely it would be easy to find a suitable replacement? well no it wasn't! a Griff 500 5.0 litre was available but the breakers wanted £4,000 for it with no guar- antees! Suddenly I stumbled upon a Chimera, it had a rebuilt 4.0 lump and was available at a sensible price but it was in Wales! Now I have nothing against Welsh people but the owner was a complete nutter, he had no idea who I was but started sending me jokes about THE WELSH!! "What do you call a sheep tied to a post in a field? A leisure centre" !!! Should I go or not, well I needed the engine and he had given me the number of the garage that rebuilt it and said to say it was for the mad Welshman. It was indeed still under warranty and just what I needed. Now who do you find at 24hours notice to drive all the way to Wales and back? My ex wife's Husband of course!!! (Thank you Mrs Walford) Kev and I left Kemsing about 6.30am in the luxury Vauxhall Astra Van we arrived some 5 hours later and parked up at the address we were given. A cosy little estate with Garages out front that nobody appeared to use. Now if there are any animal lovers reading this please do not take this the wrong way. There we were standing in the street waiting for the car to arrive when at the top of the road coming round the corner came a Chiwawa with what looked like a trailer behind it!! Well we both just started to chuckle until it came a little clos- er. This poor dog obviously had back leg problems as it wasn't a trailer it was like a chariot! It was bloody massive and it seemed as much as the dog could do to keep it moving! Needless to say Kev and I turned our backs to inwardly burst out laughing so as not to offend the owner or indeed the pooch! I digress, round the corner rumbled the Chimera, now bear in mind the "Mad Welshman" bit. The TVR door opened and out stepped a pair of leather like trousers adorned by a man who looked like the hippy chap from the Arriva ad- verts. The day was getting worse! Come in for a coffee? well ok we had just driven for nearly 5 hours, in we went. This isn't my house he said its my mates!!! Noooo it cant get any worse! He was like a salesman on crack! he just couldn't stop talking!! Oh and the mugs looked like the sheep had been using them! Kev checked the paper work as its his job, he ownshttp://www.vogue-cars.co.uk, unashamed plug done! We looked over the car not that that was really a concern had a drive and did the deal. We stopped for petrol and bear in mind I own a TVR I could not find the boot lid switch to access the fuel cap!! Kev to the rescue and rings a TVR garage for guid- ance. And so there it is my new engine, all I have to do is get it them both out and swop over! Now Tony Mabb had already warned me it was a big job but I didn't think it was THAT bigger job, well it was as the engines had to be stripped back to block and head as TVR don't build things the same! I finally got to sprint last weekend the day after Tony and I visited Austec for Tom (Austed Techno dude) to check mapping and fine tune. 227 BHP and a very neat curve! (see attached) A last minute call to Keith Crocker who kindly accepted my late late late entry found me at the Weald the next day with Russ Mike and Martyn. A sensitive subject this but something that none the less happened. The MSA apparently changed the course on the morning of the sprint, I don't want to know why but suffice to say it was done for everybody's safety. The course change was challenging as 43 out of 50 (7 said Garmin was preferred)will tell you after the first practise. This is not directed at anybody as I am a mere whipper snapper when it comes to sprinting and knowledge of the game so its just my opinion. The course was as it was, it could not be changed as I understand it so we just had to do our . best, with that said isn't that the idea anyway?? Moving on, how do you tell a Lady who wants to have a go with your pride and joy anything other than of course you can! Seriously Sue it was all my pleasure watching somebody have a little thrash of my PAJ. It gave you a smile and a few of the marshals, you know who you are you orrible lot!! For the amount of work you put into it you bloody deserve it! Looking forward to the Auto Solo in the 23rd where another Lady, my daughter Sophie, will be in charge of my pride and joy. If I may finish Sue with a personal thank you to Tony Mabb (Dr Mabb) and Kev- in Walford for helping me GET BACK OUT THERE cheers dudes

CLIVE LETHERBY

Q. What do you call a monster that has been locked in a freezer all night?

A A cool ghoul! SEVENOAKS AND DISTRICT MOTOR CLUB 2012 AWARDS DINNER

Once again this popular event will be held at :

Hadlow Manor Hotel, Goose Green, Hadlow, Kent, TN11 0JH.

On Saturday 2nd February 2013

Invitations and menu choices will be available in the December Acorn.

Our venue will require final numbers in advance and seating plans have to be organised so please be sure to reply no later than Friday 18th January 2013

JOHN SURTEES TALK

"The Friends of St Johns Church in Meopham are holding an evening with John Surtees as speaker on Friday 30th November. Tickets are £35 and its almost Black Tie, so smart attire is requested.

I hope to be going, as are a number of Brands Hatch instructors, and tickets are available by telephoning 01474 813106 and speaking to Pam, or leaving a message.

Should picking the tickets up be awkward, then fellow club member Bob Nicholls will be happy to help as he lives in Meopham. Just let me know and I'll put you in touch.

Sounds like an interesting evening out - anyone want to join Bob & me?"

ANDY ELCOMB S&DMC SOCIAL EVENT CALENDAR Contact Rosemary or Nigel Mead, Tel.No.: 01892 832420 e-mail : [email protected]). Please contact The Bell if you will be purchasing food, Tel.No.01732 761550.

WEDNESDAY 21st NOVEMBER SPEED LEAGUE FORUM & AUTOTEST AWARDS At The Bell, Kemsing. WEDNESDAY 19th DECEMBER SEASONAL NOGGIN AND NATTER With a complimentary glass of hot punch and a mince pie! At The Bell, Kemsing. TUESDAY 1st JANUARY 2013 NEW YEAR'S DAY WALK Once again to be kindly organised by Christine & David Balderson. Details TBA. WEDNESDAY 16th JANUARY NOGGIN AND NATTER At The Bell, Kemsing. SATURDAY 2nd FEBRUARY S&DMC 2012 AWARDS DINNER Hadlow Manor Look out for Invitations & Menu Choices in the December Acorn.

WEDNESDAY 20th FEBRUARY NOGGIN AND NATTER At The Bell, Kemsing.

WEDNESDAY 20th MARCH QUIZ NIGHT At The Bell, Kemsing. CAN YOU RECOGNISE THIS PERSON?

This baby aged 20 months - this is where it all began - both the cars and the posing...... Note the trendy Singer Chamois Coupe that he used to ride around in, in the back in his carry cot!!!

WELCOME TO THE NEW MEMBERS

ALEX PETERS

SHANE NEILL 2012 SO FAR PART 2

So we did get to go to Carfest, both North and South, really enjoyable events, as most will know a brainy idea by Chris Evans to raise money for Children in Need. South was at Laver- stoke farm, near Basigstoke, which is run by the Shekter family, where they produce products organically from Buffalo. They also have I think the third largest abattoir in the UK. I had spent 3 days staying at a very flash hotel in Sion Park, where even with Ford paying I re- fused to order fillet steak at £35, plus veg, they also had the nerve to charge £15 for wifi on top of a rumoured £300 a night!! [and you couldn’t read in bed because of the crappy but styl- ish lighting….] Ford were using it as a base for 3 days of presenting the new Focus ST to some press, it is cost effective to them as it is in walking distance of the press garage. The guys and gals of the press drove the STs down to Longcross, where they were allowed to give them a good thrash around the perimeter track and the snake, with 3 of us keeping them company. I was also teaching handbrake turns and J turns using the last remaining [of 6] Focus ‘’STs’’ from the Sweeney movie. These were not in fact genuine STs as they predated production, so they were Ecotecs with ST trim etc, and a chipped engine at about 200bhp [the ST is 250], still pretty good. The new ST is a splendid car, quick and agile, and still perfectly acceptable as an everyday car. Some journos were happy to be given a quick ride, so we all had a good play… Traction on, in sport mode, and off. Actually it is a good TC system. No TC on a Granada though.. The team

TV in tiles to bathroom… Straight from Longcross to a much cheaper but nicer hotel near Basingstoke, and then in the Thursday to set up, a different Jag to the one at Goodwood, this time no room for j tirns so the ABS fuse was left in, and the traction turned off, the ‘’Ediff’’ then works like an LSD, and allows doughnuts, but without the benefit of a handbrake to get it started, so left foot on brake and wind it up, and steer….. then try to control the slide, not so easy with an auto, which occasion- ally changed up…. Then up the starlight a rolling burn out, which in the wet for some reason the box had got to third [at maybe 45mph = lot of wheel spin] despite me pulling the silly paddles… [they are on the wheel, so once you get on opposite lock you have little idea of which is up and which is down… ]

Some wonderful cars on show, Ford had taken the only GT40 that had been registered to Ford since new, then it packed up with what turned out to be ignition pack failure, they also had a 2013 spec Mustang [660bhp, and a live axle – didn’t get a go]. Sunday afternoon Paul and I went up to Dunsfold, as he was doing a display for Wings and Wheels on the bank Holiday Monday, we were there in time for some good air displays.

I went home to run the stop line on the Brands stage rally…

A few weeks later an early Friday start saw me off to Cheshire for carfest North [at Cholmondley Castle], unfortunately the venue didn’t suit us, and basically Paul did some 2 wheeling, and I smoked some rubber. But we had Petter Solberg staying in the same hotel and doing demos in a Fiesta WRC. Matt ‘’The Dig’’ Lucus was there [he has worked with us on Top Gear] doing runs with the JCB dragster, that was noisy!!

Some baker chappy about to be frightened!!

After that a complete change of course, every year I help Preston Ayres with the marshalling of a charity cycle challenge this year we did Luxembourg to Versailles, 500 miles for 4 person teams. http://www.extra-mile.org.uk/ 8 teams of marshals put up and take down around 300 arrows a day… Load of photos here. [Steal what you like] http://www.extra-mile.org.uk/ 1st and 2nd of October sees the A team convene to start rehearsals for this years Top Gear Live we have these….. This is £186k worth….

We are doing a 6 car routine, 3 of them are left hand drive and 3 right… they are not very quick, and the short wheelbase seems to make them ‘’odd’’

A retrimed Toyota iQ 1300.

Instead of car football, sidecar polo is planned….. The ‘mallet’ is powered by two compressed air rams, certain leg breaker I think!!

STEVE STRINGER THE JIM BATE TRIAL

11TH NOV YES THIS IS THE CORRECT DATE!!

THE SECRETARY OF THE MEETING, TO WHOM ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SENT, IS

ANDY ELCOMB, THE COTTAGE, DEANS HILL, BREDGAR, KENT, ME9 8BB

[email protected]

SCATTER RALLY THURSDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2012

MAPS 178 AND 177

Easy navigation, fun and great pub, good food, if you want to eat before.

PLEASE MARK YOUR DIARY

I WILL EMAIL YOU LATER WITH MORE DETAILS

ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT ME ON

[email protected]

07736 396439 or 01634 250888

The 2012 - 2013 12 CAR RALLY SERIES A series of seven 12 Car Rallies which will comprise the following events: Friday, 12 October 2012 (B18 Promotion) Friday, 9 November 2012 (Sevenoaks Promotion) Friday, 7 December 2012 (Croydon Promotion) Friday, 18 January 2013 (Eastbourne and Ram Promotion) Friday, 15 February 2013 (Blackpalfrey Promotion) Friday, 15 March 2013 (Bexley Promotion) Friday, 12 April 2013 (Central Sussex Promotion) “WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?”

These were my opening words to the man who was ruining my shot at glory. My second-choice opening words, I hasten to add. The original set were decidedly less polite. Let me take you back an hour or so, and give you a peek into the head of the self-appointed, self -afflicted, most frustrated man in motor sport. Sitting behind the wheel of a car you know is more capable than your opponent’s, whilst being roundly thrashed is an intensely humbling experience. However, before the humility sets in, a number of other feelings and emotions are queuing up – anger, embarrassment, ridicule - each vying for a chance to push your stressed mind right over the edge. Back a little further, perhaps. It’s obscenely early on a cold August morning; any resident living close to the North Weald air- strip is being treated to the aural delights of the growling automotive exotica pouring into the area. That’s talking it up a bit. My Puma’s rasping engine could barely be heard over the rumble of the wonderful Lancia 037, parked to my left. This is my second ever sprint event - having popped my motorsport cherry at the excellent Crystal Palace sprint a few months earlier – and I was raring to go. The car was ready (by that I mean that nothing had fallen off recently), I was ready (ditto about nothing had fallen off) and the weather looked like it might just hold out to give us a fine day. The track layout had changed slightly since the pre-event published map and I think it fair to say that confusion reigned. I’ve no doubt that to the competent driver there was a clear route around the airfield, through the cones, all the way to the finish. I was in the 80% who made up their own path and was rewarded with a big fat “DNF” on the timing board. Excellent, well done James. Two practice runs later and I’d spectacularly failed to register a time. On the plus side I had given myself 3 different, but equally lovely, tours of the airfield. After a guided tour of the route in a very capable Audi A3, in my first proper run I managed to stumble across the correct path and finally set a time. Not fast, but I was moving in the right direction. Fortunately, now both figuratively and literally. Wandering across to the timing board, I noticed that the other Ford Puma had posted a faster time. 2 seconds faster. Hmmfph. That’s a bit gnarling. Let’s see what I can do about that… A short while later, after run number 2, I got the answer. Very little. Despite me putting in a lap that I was sure would overturn the difference, a 2 second gap remained. Frustration was tap- ping me on the shoulder. At this interval I should perhaps point out that mine was no standard Puma. Ford took the trouble of creating a limited number of Racing Pumas. More horsepower, stiffer suspension, better brakes. Right now, the only thing limited was the driver. My new-found nemesis, Martin, was fielding an utterly standard Puma and, on paper, I should’ve been wiping the floor with him. Reality really does suck! There was nothing for it, I needed to understand where I was going adrift. Calmly, I wandered over to Martin, who is a thoroughly nice guy, and I asked what I needed to do to improve. That’s the wonderful thing about this sport, the open-ness and camaraderie of the competitors.

Can you see Fernando Alonso giving Kimi Raikkonen tips on how to overtake him? No, me neither. Martin seemed only too happy to point out where to brake and better lines to be had around the roundabout. He also remarked that this wasn’t his second event, so perhaps I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. All advice firmly on board, I strapped on the helmet, pulled on the gloves and fired up the engine for what was, surely, the defining lap. At the starting line I mentally ran through each twist and turn, knowing I could do nothing but improve. The light went green, I was off. 100 seconds later, I was back. Still behind Martin, but happy that I’d done all I could that day. There’ll be another opportunity and I’m not going to rest until I’m faster. I learnt a valuable lesson that day: In the battle between enthusiasm and experience, the victor doesn’t need a Racing Puma.

JAMES PUGHE

DISTRICT DORSET GOES TO PRODRIVE

Through local motor club Salisbury & Shaftesbury Car Club, I recently went on a factory tour of Prodrive in Banbury. First we started in their Heritage Centre, which was originally their first workshop. You had the Rothmans Rally Porsche 911, and Metro 6R4. Then lots of rally Subaru’s (including Richard Burns Safari winner), a 2003 Le Mans Ferrari 550, and the 2007 Le Mans class winning Aston Martin DB9. There was a Lola Aston Martin LMP1 car from 2010, which has just been brought by one of its drivers, for a cool £1 million. Also there was the one off Prodrive P2 coupe (with Subaru mechanics) road car, very pretty, pity it never got any further.

Knowing you’re a motor club Prodrive will let you open the bonnets, and sit in most of the cars. You can also take photo’s in most areas. We then went round the rest of the site, the bodyshop, the machine shop, the engine shop, the Mini WRC rally shop, and the Aston Martin race shop.

There were lots of Mini and Aston Martin shell’s being built up into competition cars, with the Aston Martin GT cars having their own aluminium front subframes bolted to the front bulk- head to take the engine, and suspension. In the Mini rally shop, there was a just restored original Prodrive rally BMW M3 (E30) for a historic rally driver. It was delivered new to a Russian driver, who used it for a few seasons before putting it in a barn in Russia. Then recently he found the barn keys wondered what was inside, and got a surprise when he opened it up to find his old rally BMW he’d forgotten about (as you do).

In the engine shop there was Aston, and Mini engines everywhere. On one of the 2 dynos there was a rally Subaru engine, that had just been rebuilt for an Irish rally driver, at a cost of £60,000. They told us they set up engines to run at a certain temperature climate, and will swop engines to suit that events particular climate. Prodrive have their composite shop in Milton Keynes, (hello Suze) with other sites in China, and Australia for the Ford Falcons in the V8 Supercars series (the wiring looms are made in Banbury). In the car park it is the rule, that all the cars are reversed parked, as this is the quickest way to your next destination.

It was a great evening, and what our guide Jackie did not know about Prodrive or cars was not worth knowing. Prodrive run these tours in weekday evenings. There was a dozen of us, and you would not want too many more people. For our Wednesday night tour that started at 4.30pm, it cost £22 per head (it gets more expensive for the end of the week), and we finished about 8pm. I have passed the contact details to our esteemed Chairman to look into a Sevenoaks visit, I would strongly recommend it. CHRIS DENNIS EVENTS LIST

Multi-venue Stage Saturday 03.11.12 Sutton & Cheam MC Tempest NB Rally

Sunday 04.11.12 Falcon MC Car Trial Guy Fawkes NB/CM

Sunday 04.11.12 Sporting CC of Norfolk Car Trial CM

Sunday 04.11.12 Eastbourne & RAM MC 12 Car Map 199 CM

Single Venue Stage Sunday 04.11.12 Green Belt MC/Wickford AC Snetterton NB Rally

Friday 09.11.12 Sevenoaks & DMC 12 Car CM

Jim Bate Sunday 11.11.12 Sevenoaks & DMC Car Trial NB/CM Trial

Sunday 11.11.12 Chelmsford MC Gymkhana Woodbridge CM

Wednes- 15.11.12 Maidstone & Mid Kent MC Scatter CM day

Saturday 17.11.12 Eastbourne & RAM MC Regularity 12 Car East Sussex 100 CM

Sunday 18.11.12 Buckmore Park KC Kart Meeting Buckmore Park NB

Sunday 18.11.12 Maidstone & Mid Kent MC Brian Lewis Car Trial Otham NB/CM

Sunday 18.11.12 Green Belt MC/ Wickford MC Multi-use Stage Rally Snetterton NB

Friday 23.11.12 Chelmsford MC 12 Car CM

Sunday 25.11.12 Blackpalfrey MC of Kent Regularity Run CM

Friday 30.11.12 Sporting Car Club of Norfolk 12 car CM

Sat/Sun 01/02.12.12 Chelmsford MC Road Rally The Preston NB

Sunday 02.12.12 Eastbourne & RAM MC 12 Car CM

Thurs- 13.12.12 Sevenoaks & DMC Scatter CM day

Sunday 16.12.12 Eastbourne & RAM MC 12 Car Map 199 CM

Sunday 16.12.12 Buckmore Park KC Kart Meeting Buckmore Park NB

Saturday 29.12.12 Sutton & Cheam MC Multi-use Stage Rally Longmoor Loco NB THE MARSHALS POST/ BEYOND THE GRAVEL TRAP

So, the August sprint. What can you say? It’s probably best to say nothing, it seemed to be a frustrating day for the organisers, marshals and competitors alike.

The following weekend was supposed to be Oxford Motor Clubs Bullnose rally but unfortunately there was a fire during the setup for the event which meant it couldn’t go ahead Fortu- nately the only damage was to property, so although the rally could have been cancelled under better circumstances it could have been far worse. The next weekend saw me heading back up the M40, though this time I stopped in Northamptonshire for the Silverstone round of the F3 GT Championship. Saturday was tough due to the event being held on the Grand Prix Circuit meaning that the marshals were stretched and spread thinly. Post 13 was mine for the day, the centre of Luffield. This meant I had to be on my toes as the cars went round behind me so I couldn’t see all the track I was responsible for at once! This was the first time I’d used the new style digital radios too so that was another challenge which I had to overcome. Once they were working correctly they were good, all the convenience of a radio with what turned out to be the simplicity of the landlines that they used to have. All new technology takes some getting used to but especially on the Sunday they seemed to work quite well. My only gripe is that you can’t hear the conversations between race control and the other posts, not a massive problem but it’s always handy to know what’s going on elsewhere on the track, it can give you an early heads up of problems with certain cars or if another post is asking for a safety car. I had a reasonable day, several spun and continued at Brooklands, a car in the gravel at Luffield centre and a bit of contact to report. Sunday I was posted to Chapel where I found a Post Chief and another flag marshal which made life a little easier. Apart from a couple of spin and continued we only had one real visitor on the day, a F3 car that had run wide coming through Beckets and ended up in the gravel just in front of us. The weather was hot and sunny all weekend with the added bonus of winning a fiver in the marshal’s raffle.

The following weekend I was back at Brands for another MSVR meeting on the Grand Prix loop, another warm weekend this time spent in the shade at post 15, on the exit of Hawthorns. Sat- urday was very busy with just me and a trainee on post. Unfortunately running the same weekend as the Goodwood Revival meant the marshals were spread thinly and it didn’t help that there were a number of no shows on the day. Saturday was busy as I had to flag and do post chief duty’s as at Silverstone the previous weekend. We had a couple of incidents during the day mainly involving the Radicals. During practice we had one come into the barriers backwards quite heavily, fortunately the driver was declared ok after being checked out by a doctor and the car, although damaged pretty badly made a reappearance later in the day. During one of the races two of the Radicals touched and one ended up in the gravel. It all happened so quickly that I missed the number on the other car. Fortunately there was a photographer there at the time so after dealing with the driver in the gravel I was able to find out the number from her. The only other incident during the day was when one of the Sports 2000 cars broke down on the apex of the corner. Fortunately the driver managed to move it onto the grass on the exit of the corner so all was well. The Sunday was much quieter and we also had another marshal so things were a little less stretched. Apart from calling in a few technical faults and sweeping up some glass the day passed without incident. I was pleased to win the marshals raffle though, the prize is a drive in a Formula Palmer Jaguar up at Bedford Autodrome which I’m really looking forward to.

Unfortunately I missed Barneys AutoSolo earlier in the year so I was determined to make it up to North Weald for the September fixture. The rain was present again though so I didn’t miss out completely! It was tough day for me; I was too slow on the second test meaning that my times didn’t count and I made a silly mistake on the third test, resulting in a wrong route. Not the end of the world but it’s never helpful, I have no-one to blame but myself though. All in all a very good day though nice fast & flowing tests, the only improvement could have been in the weather!

During the week I helped out as my Church ran its second leaders conference, this one invite only. Around about eighty leaders turned up including four from Elohim Church in Leicester- shire where I spent my time on placement and a Pastor from another Church in Leicester who was a student at the college last year. It was a good few days, I love serving at leader’s confer- ences, I work with some great friends, serving some wonderful people. The days can be very long and hectic but it’s always a great atmosphere.

A couple of weekends latter I went to Maidstone and Mid Kent’s AutoSolo at Sittingbourne Football Clubs Stadium. There isn’t the room available as at North Weald so the tests were a lot more compact and twisty in order to keep the speeds down. The compact nature of the tests gave one significant advantage though, you could easily walk the test two or three times so I made the most of the opportunity, after all I hadn’t paid my hard earned dosh to get lost! I was pleased to go quicker at every attempt, I started each test reasonably gently, just trying to get the route sorted in my head first, pushing harder as I settled in. I have some changes I’d like to make to the car but there is still more to come from me, much more! The day was mainly dry although it did rain hard a few times, once over the lunch break. The food was good, served in the clubhouse and brilliant value. All in all a well recommended event. PHIL FAWCETT

The tongue weighs next to nothing, but few people can hold it BRIGHTON SPEED TRIALS The Brighton Speed Trials have been running for over 100 years, for following initial thoughts of such an event in 1902 the first event was held in 1905 on Madeira Drive, Brighton. It is claimed to be the first motorsport event to be held in the UK on a tarmaca- dam surface. This first event was entitled “Brighton Motor Week” with a number of races being run over a 3 day period. Initially the competition was run westward from Black Rock towards the Aquarium. With over 400 entries cars were classified according to rolling chas- sis price running over a flying start kilometre, whilst the motorcycles ran in handicap races over a standing start mile, the handicap taking into account engine capacity, weight of machine and weight of rider. During this first event three world records were broken. The next event was not run until 1923, organised by Brighton & Hove Motorcycle & Light Car Club, rather than the Town Council who had organised the first event in collaboration with the Royal Automobile Club. Two years later a police ban on racing on public roads came into force so no more use of Madeira Drive for speed trials until in 1932 someone woke up to the fact that Madeira Drive is not Public Highway but a private road owned by the Town Corporation. Now known as Brighton & Hove Motor Club the event they organised in 1932 had a claimed audience of 100,000. War was the next interruption, the Speed Trials resuming in 1946 using a 1 km course. Brighton Speed Trials is not a drag race event but a straight line sprint, there is a difference. A sprint is defined as an event in which cars run individually over a course exceeding 200m in length and in which the relative performance of the competitors is assessed by timing them over a given distance. A drag race is defined as a race between two cars over a flat and straight course of 440yds with a minimum braking distance of 800 yds, and a minimum width of 50ft. A drag strip is billiard table smooth, not a description that can be applied to Madeira Drive! Nevertheless in 1963 Americans Dante Duce and Mickey Thompson demon- strated their dragsters at the Brighton Speed Trials taking on the UK’s Sydney Allard in his home built dragster. Dragsters ran within the event until 1974 when both the police and the RAC decreed such was not to continue. 1980 saw a reversion to a ½ mile standing start format and the following year the change was made to running singularly rather than having two cars running together, albeit starting in their own time. In 1994 the course was shortened to 1/4mile and remained so ever since with a 2,000cc limit on racing cars. There have been different sponsors over the years but it was in 1991 that Frost Cars Ltd made their debut as sponsors. Without the en- thusiastic support of Willie Frost, who not only sponsors the event financially but also prac- tically, contributing to the organisation and enthusiastically promoting the event, it is fair to say the Speed Trials are unlikely to have survived to be the event it remains were it not for the generous input of the Frost organisation. The other key figure over probably the last 30 years plus is Club Chairman Tony Johnstone, universally known as “TJ” he has had to deal with many a crisis and threat to the event. This year he was telephoned at 4.00am to be told by the police “The Speed Trials are cancelled”. Needless to say it was TJ who turned things round and got the event underway, adapting arrangements to suit the situation. It has to be the first time that a motor sport has been threatened by an exclusion zone set up following what was being treated as a murder scene. The exclusion zone cut off over half the paddock! Vernon Williamson and his wife were in the middle of the exclusion zone and ordered by the police to not step out of their motor home! Fortunately things were scaled down and the exclusion zone dismantled. Having travelled from Edinburgh to compete in the event, Vernon would likely have been a touch irritated if he’d had to remain isolated all day and unable to take his runs! Brighton Speed Trials is a unique event, there are many competitors who have done the event every year for a great number of years. Quite a number of these guys come a fair distance, one motorcycle competitor travels from Belgium each year. The bike boys are something to behold many of their machines go back to the 30’s and whilst they are quick the modern bikes are simply awesome. It is a very social event at a totally unique venue. You might not get much “seat time” but the unique nature of the event is its charm and attraction. THE FINISH LINE – IS IT ALL OVER? Andy Webber’s comment in the October Acorn about incidents taking place after the finish line struck a note for they do happen. Undoubtedly the course design always contributes to manag- ing the risk that is inherent in any motor sport and that includes “slow down zones”. The perfect “slow down zone”, whatever the type of event will not on its own mean that the area is free of incident. There are two other very significant factors which apply to both cars and motorcycles. It is fair to anticipate that as a vehicle crosses the finish line the throttle will be wide open, the competitor being intent on completing the course in the minimum time period and the timing does not stop until the vehicle reaches the finish line. With throttle wide open the entire power train is “wound up” driving the vehicle forward. Close the throttle to slow down and the system goes through a total torque reversal. In simple terms, throttle open the engine is driving the road wheels, close the throttle and the road wheels are “driving” the engine. The torque running through the road wheels and transmission is totally reversed. Such torque reversal means the vehicle is inherently less stable. The effect of torque reversal can be eased by closing the throttle in a controlled fashion rather than allowing the throttle to snap shut. Applying the brakes is another factor for if there is an imbalance in the braking system again vehicle stability is impaired. How many times have we seen someone lose a vehicle under heavy braking? Torque reversal not only affects the vehicle stability it can also effect the integrity of the power train. As an example on more than one occasion drag race vehicles have suffered transmission component failures at the point where the vehicle has just crossed the line and torque reversal has set in. Flywheels have exploded, transmission shafts sheared, clutch mechanisms disinte- grated etc. The second factor is the nut behind the wheel or hanging onto the handlebars. Quite simply the vehicle crosses the finishing line and the competitor relaxes, run is finished, job over, but its not. The run is finished when the vehicle has been brought to a safe halt and until then the competitors attention needs to be 100% concentrated on controlling the vehicle. JOHN SYMES

MY FIRST EVENT WAS CRYSTAL PALACE

Well last year was my first as a competitor in my old e21 BMW. My first event was Crystal Palace, which was a terrific way to spend a Sunday, followed my Goodwood, Brands Hatch and Lydden Hill. I also did a few trackdays, when time and funds allowed, so I guess I was well and truly bitten by the sprint bug.

This year, although I have not been able to compete as often, I made a switch to a slightly newer and more powerful BMW 325i. I am fortunate that my good friends at Pristine Body- works in Essex help me prepare and maintain my car, as I doubt I could manage on my own since breaking my neck, back and pelvis back in late 2004. Not only does their help mean I get to compete and have fun, it also allows me to use my car to raise awareness and dona- tions to Cornwalls Air Ambulance, who saved my life. It's great to be able to do something to say thank you.

So, with the new 325i ready my first outing was a shake down at a Brands Hatch track day. It was soon pretty clear that performance was a step up from what I had grown used to in the 316 but the handling was also far more forgiving and inspired confidence. In fact, I soon beat my personal best lap time (not that we ever time ourselves on track-days do we?) and put in consistent 59 second laps. I was pretty happy with that, given my relative lack of experience and talent.

I was fortunate enough to spend the whole of May down in Cornwall but came back specifi- cally to compete on both days at Crystal Palace. My partner thought I was crazy to head back as the weather was absolutely gorgeous. There was never and question in my mind though and driving through London on the Saturday morning I was really looking forward to the coming days sport. There's something pretty surreal about seeing race cars drive through London's streets at dawn and fortunately for me I only had a 20 minute journey before being shown into the pit area. There can't be many pit areas in such a beautiful setting and when the sun came up it was lovely and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Add that to the eclectic mix of wonderful cars and it's pretty hard to imagine a better venue. Being my 2nd year at Crystal Palace it was really nice to see people I had met the year before. The friendly atmosphere is one of the things I really enjoy about sprints and Crystal Palace in particular.

Signing on, drivers briefing and before you knew it we were heading across for the first of our practice runs. On the first run I took things easy so that I could refresh my memory of the track layout. I still felt like I needed to pinch myself as it's not really all that long ago that not only had I lost everything, I was told I may never walk again yet there I was com- peting in my own BMW race car.

The whole weekend was spent talking cars with like minded people, whilst sitting in the shade of the trees on a gorgeous Spring day. The timed runs were the icing on the cake and I was quicker this year, than last. One of the great things about Crystal Palace is that it lets spectators get close to the cars, the drivers and the action. I would be lying if I denied enjoying being able to compete in front of the crowds. It's a terrific showcase event and always runs like clockwork. S&DMC should be very proud and the volunteers deserve our appreciation and thanks. It's only early October and I'm already looking forward to next years event and seeing some of the same people I've met over the past 2 years.

Getting back to the here and now, I'm currently less than 2 weeks away from the final event I can do in 2012, at Lydden Hill. I was last there at the end of 2011 in my old e21 BMW and loved the place. I found it to be very much like the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, in as much as it wasn't very long but it was very technical. I love circuits with elevation changes and hope to get to Knockhill some day.

I have a trackday booked on Sunday, in an effort to remind me of the track layout, but also because my experience of having a new, much more powerful car is pretty limited. I'm probably not the most talented driver out there (much as I might wish otherwise) but I still want to do the best I can without taking too many risks. People often ask if the accident I was in comes to mind when I drive on circuits or in sprints but the honest answer is no. Fortunately, I have no memory of the accident whatsoever so am able to still enjoy driving. I'm not sure anyone, who does what we do, thinks ''what if?''. We all take risks when we get behind the wheel and push our cars to explore their and our limits, but I guess it's how we manage those risks? I love being able to enjoy motorsport and consider myself to be very lucky to do so.

I really hope that now I finally have a competitive car I may be able to enter a championship in the next year or two. I also want to enter some hillclimbs as I have yet to do that. My budget is limited though, so I may have to save a while longer first. Either way, I plan to carry on com- peting when I can and doing track days to enjoy my car. Hopefully I will see you guys there doing the same.

MARK BROWN FUN CARS

Recently I competed at Maidstone MC’s Autosolo at Central Park in Sittingbourne in my trusty MX5 and had a tremendous time! On a slightly gravelly carpark round fairly tight twists & turns that little car came into its own and gave me one of my best results in years. So, if you are wondering what would be a cheap, fun, simple car to play in – why not give the MX5 a thought? You can get one with MoT and maybe some tax for as little as £500 at the moment – bargain! I quite fancy trying the “5” on some Trials next year so will be jacking the suspension up over the winter and seeing if it will go up slippery slopes as well as it goes round corners.

ANDY ELCOMB SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Hi Sue I took these as a reminder to everybody that the more care that is taken with safety equipment the more likely you are to walk away, the seat is still in place, the roll cage is intact and not come in and the seat belts held when it all went wrong at 100 plus MPH, the driver has bruising from the belts etc but otherwise is in good health. The incident happened at a sprint and not on a race track so we must not be complacent. If you wish to publish them then that is good, if not don’t worry, the car is being broken if anyone needs some quick Mini bits.

JOHN KEMP BRIGHTON SPEED TRIALS

Saturday 8th September dawned a beautiful day for this years Brighton Speed Trials, but it turned out to be no ordinary day, first for stiff competition and second for other unfortunate events. Competitors arrived at the Madeira Drive access only for marshals to di- rect them towards the Black Rock entrance due to an ongoing overnight Police incident having closed off the first quarter mile or so of the Paddock.

Competitors in my class (Handicap) were directed to the holding paddock area at Black Rock where our scrutineering took place and only half hour or so delayed we ran in convoy back down to the start area. My practice in my Mazda MX5 Mk2 1.8 achieved my initial aim of getting below last years standing quarter mile of 17.01 and did a 16.77 so i was a happy boy. Fellow 7oaks member in my class Lee Champion in the Kit Car based Sylva Phoenix R1 achieved a practice time of 13.65.

After practice runs the Police tapes had been removed and we were able to return and take up our designated places in the main paddock which thankfully gave us access to the cafes etc for essential bacon rolls/fish and chips. After practice handicap class runners lined up in number order for our competition runs, I im- proved to 16.53 which after deducting the 5sec handicap gave me a time of 11.53sec and 16th in class out of 43 starters which is my best result over the number of years I have been doing the event - just need more power for next year.

Lee Champion did a splendid 13.44sec best which after deducting his handicap of 4.00sec gave him a time of 9.44 and first place I believe. Meanwhile David Balderson in Class C2 (Road going series/specialist production 1400 - 2000cc) was giving me close competition in his dual fuel MGF and achieved a competition timed run of 16.31. Andy Webber in the same class in his Lotus Elan plus 2 did an excellent 14.50sec. Marc Hanson in his MGSV in class C4 over 3500cc achieved 15.25sec. Darren Tyre in Class C8 achieved a 14.10 in his 2litre Austin Healey Sprite.

Sadly towards the end of the second runs for the motorcycles a sidecar outfit had a very big accident failing to stop at the end of the course and apparently hitting a barrier resulting in a fatal accident to the female passenger and the male rider being in a critical condition in hospi- tal. Very sad and all thoughts and wishes go to them and their families. The results i believe were declared after the abandonment of the final run and may remain provisional as after one run. (See full and final results on www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk)

If there can be a lighthearted end to such a day a local passing airborne seagull decided to leave a 'deposit' on the shoulder of my overalls whilst i was tucking into my lunch time fish and chips which believe it or not is said to be goodluck!!

RUSSBURTONMOTORSPORT.. ACORN ON TOUR NIAGARA CANADA 2012

HARD ROCK CAFÉ WITH MY MOUNTIE!!

ON THE MAID OF THE MIST BY THE HIGHEST RATED RAPIDS IN THE WORLD

AND BY THE FALLS NATURALLY, ACORN HAD A BRILLIANT TIME, BIT WET AND SOGGY AT TIMES THE SWEENEY CAR CHASE

The Jaguar's 5.0 litre engine is spinning at 5000 rpm, but we are doing 3 mph. Over the next 10 minutes, the engine speed barely changes, but our velocity oscillates between zero and 50 mph with the frequency of a graphic equaliser playing thrash metal.

Welcome to the car chase from The Sweeney. This isn't the footage you will see in the film, but a re-enactment using the same drivers, the same cars and the same stunts – so pretty close then (and rather more convincing than the attempt made by a certain TV programme). The venue is Chris Evans' CarFest at Laverstoke Farm in Hampshire, with a single lane road lined with straw bales.

The sequence begins with a maximum-wheelspin start to please the crowd and then there is a succession of ever-tighter donuts, the Jaguar engine bellowing in fury at its inability to turn 503 bhp into forward motion. By the final donut, we appear to be rotating on our own axis. Then it is off down the straight with the Focus ST in close proximity. At one point, Paul Swift (son of stunt legend Russ Swift, and now heading for legendary status in his own right), is reversing at top speed with the Jaguar a few feet behind. The ST pulls a J-turn (a reverse handbrake turn) and accelerates away facing the right way. Inside the Jag, I can see that the choreography is stunning. The Jag hits the brakes the nanosec- ond the Focus starts its J-turn. At first I think this reflects astonishingly quick reactions by Steve Stringer, the Jaguar driver. Then it occurs to me that humans don't have reactions that fast - the couple of tenths of a second it takes to react would have put us in the back of the Ford. Steve later explains that he can't wait for the Ford to start spinning. Paul always steers very slightly the other way before the J-turn and that is the signal that he is about to spin around. That is seriously impressive: Steve is reacting to something that has not actually happened yet in order to keep the closest possible distance between himself and a car that goes from almost 30 mph in reverse to zero and back past 30 mph, all in a few seconds.

Later I am asked if I feel sick after my ride. Not at all. Like all top drivers, the stunt team are very smooth in how they operate the controls – they are effectively making a car dance, and dancing is not about sudden movements. It looks ultra-dramatic from the outside, but on the inside, all you see are fluid movements as the cars are coaxed into losing grip. It's about making the car glide across the road surface – just not in the same direction as the tyres, or at the same speed as the wheels.

STEVE STRINGER

Q. Why did the Vampire get fired from the Blood Bank?

A. He was caught drinking on the job. SEPTEMBER AUTOSOLO NORTH WEALD

Last Autosolo...... We entered the Historic class and Sophie my daughter dual drove the TR6. I just wanted Soph to enjoy herself as did everyone else. After the first run we both recorded a healthy WR, healthy you may ask well Soph didn't know that was for wrong route and World Record sounded better! I must just add that as she pulled off I felt a lump and a feeling like she had just won a gold medal! Who ever it was that was standing next to me sorry to blurt out all those emotions!! Anyway she recorded a time for her second run and the screams of delight or fear were heard as she crossed the line. We were having some technical problems which were highlighted later in the day, anyway for Sophs third run after strapping her in I watched with Tony and Steve, first half she was flying, down to the bottom corner and out on the loud pedal...... ops a bit to much and spins!! Without any hesitation she pulled it in and continued recording a time some 7 seconds quicker than previous with the spin! Plenty of laughter and praise from the guys which was lovely. Meanwhile Mr Fryer and his TR6 where quietly going about their business, so well in fact that he was faster than me! Then the monsoon came which rendered gazebos and tents alike horizontal status! The start line was wiped out and the gazebo rescued. The next round followed which was run anti clock wise, Soph and I have since seen a medical expert who agrees that neither of us have a left side to our brains as we simply could not go backwards and find our way, this trick usually reserved for Kev Walford!! We then had to bow out, failing brakes inefficient wipers and a car steering like a pencil decided that was enough. Tony AKA Dr Mabb has found out the reason for the pencil effect, suspect plated LSD set for competition and not fast road! A quick glance at the times and that Rob Fryer was still at it eventually winning the class, a great effort from Rob assisted by my CV jointed drive shafts which of course made all the difference!! Well done Rob :-) Soph really enjoyed the day and now wants a crack at sprinting in the TR6!!!!! I was the proudest Dad ever but know there were several other proud Dads as well on the day. Thanks guys and girls for helping her and putting on the day in such trying conditions.

Cheers

CLIVE & SOPHIE LETHERBY BUMP, BUMP, BUMP

A man was walking home alone late one night when he hears a BUMP... BUMP... BUMP... behind him.

Walking faster he looks back, and makes out the image of an upright coffin banging its way down the middle of the street towards him ... BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...

Terrified, the man begins to run towards his home, the coffin bouncing quickly behind him ... faster... faster... BUMP... BUMP... BUMP.

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him.

However, the coffin crashes through his door, with the lid of the coffin clapping ... clappity- BUMP... clappity-BUMP... clappity-BUMP... on the heals of the terrified man.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.

With a loud CRASH the coffin breaks down the door. Bumping and clapping towards him. The man screams and reaches for something, anything ... but all he can find is a box of cough drops! Desperate, he throws the cough drops at the coffin ...... and of course ...... the coffin stops!

Maidstone & Mid Kent Motor Club Ltd The Brian Lewis Car Trial To be held at

Stoneacre Farm, Otham, Kent. Sunday 18th November 2012

Chris Browne, Oakwood Gate, Bexon Lane, Bredgar, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8HD.

Tel : Mobile: 07802 357514, Email: chrisbrownebuilders.co.uk SIDEWAYS IS THE BEST!

Marshalling at the Rallye Sunseeker in Dorset last February was great fun but I didn’t realise there were added benefits until I received an email out of the blue in July from Chief Marshal Les Sansom saying I was one of the lucky ones whose registration card had been drawn to win a prize of half a day’s tuition at the Bill Gwynne Rally School near Silverstone.

My involvement in motorsport and the club has been (and still is) on the non-participation side but I do enjoy a bit of marshalling on occasions. Knowing that Derek has always had a hankering for doing Stage Rallies I was magnanimous enough to offer him my prize (well, we did do the service area marshalling together, with other SDMC members) but agreed to go with him.

Eventually the date was fixed and we set off the afternoon before for a night in the nearby Premier Inn ready for an early morning start (I don’t generally do early starts and we certainly don’t do camping!). The Rally School is at Turweston Airfield so we all had to meet at the Hold- ing Point and be escorted across the airfield to the School which turned out to be a small wood- en building in the middle of nowhere.

There were five of us for the morning session and another five for the afternoon. On arrival, the drivers were given a very comprehensive briefing by the instructor, John Davenport, who ex- plained how the day would proceed. Everyone was issued with a very flattering (not!) helmet liner and a helmet with driver-to-instructor intercom and then John took each person on a couple of circuits of the gravel track to show them what he – and the Mark II Ford Escort – could do. This was mainly a case of going sideways round tyres and doing handbrake turns which John did with great expertise. As it had been very dry, the course was extremely dusty and so it was quite easy to get the car sideways.

Then it was the turn of the prize winners to have a go and I was enjoying watching everyone doing circuits of the track with varying degrees of success when I realised one of the prize winners (I won’t name him to save his blushes) was about to leave us – it turned out he was a rather large gentleman and was unable to get into the rally car seat with the harness on. Much to my surprise, I was asked if I’d like to have a go in his place!

With a certain amount of trepidation (I’ve never done any competitive driving and certainly never been off-road apart from when I was learning to drive eons ago in the New Forest!) I agreed and was kitted out with my helmet – and fetching liner. I was somewhat apprehensive as John climbed into the driving seat and then, in a cloud of dust, we set off around the circuit getting very sideways with him executing amazing handbrake turns. I thanked John but said I didn’t think I’d be able to do that in a month of Sundays – but he’s not a man to take “no” for an answer and told me he was confident I’d be able to do it. I’m glad he was – because I certainly wasn’t!

So when it came to my turn to drive I set off sedately but with John’s encouragement, started to try and get the Escort sideways – with a modicum of success. Eventually I decided to throw caution to the wind and really went for it. I lost control going round one set of tyres, saw a corn field looming, over-corrected and, demolishing a set of tyres in the process, found myself on collision course with a mound of earth in the middle of the circuit. Thankfully I stalled at the point and John, ever the gentleman, got out of the car and retrieved the tyres which I had spread over a fairly large area! By this time I was getting the hang of it (I thought) and on my next two runs, managed to get (according to John) a good flow around the S-bends and, with his help, executed a few reasonable handbrake turns.

Would I do it again? Possibly! But I have a certificate to prove that I have completed the course satisfacto- rily so the next time Sebastian Loeb is unavailable, maybe Citroen will give me a call. In my dreams ……. SARAH LANE

AND HERE’S DEREK’S VIEW OF THE DAY

We started off with a very informative and humorous briefing. John gave us each four of his best laps, looking extremely in control whilst giving an informative commentary on what he was doing and why. The car was a Mark II Escort; great! Although I ran a Mark I years ago, it brought back fond memories and once I got into the driving seat, it didn’t take me long to get it sideways – and get it back, first time with a hydraulic handbrake. What a useful piece of kit! It makes handbrake turns a lot more predictable and precise.

I had great fun and never having had any professional tuition, I now wish I had – years ago. Maybe I might not have made so many mistakes and learnt to go a lot quicker.

To anyone wondering about trying this, I urge you to give it a go. You won’t be made to feel inadequate and the emphasis is on having fun which is, after all, what motorsport is all about.

Many thanks to Bill Gwynne (who paid us all a visit at the lunch break), John and all the support team, who got us belted securely, made sure we had a comfortable driving position and gave great advice and encouragement and to Les Sansom for arranging everything so well.

If you’re wondering about volunteering to help with marshalling at the Rallye Sunseeker next year, wherever the club is asked to provide support, then surely this is the best incentive you need.

MORE PHOTOS ON NEXT PAGE SARAH LANE

CAPTION COMPETITION 3 THIS MONTH CROSTHWAITE & GARDINER.

HI NIGEL,

A note of thanks to you and John for arranging yesterday's excellent visit to CROSTHWAITE & GARDINER. Unfortunately no Auto Unions in workshops though a Mercedes provided opportunity for a close up view. I have no engineering skills that I can claim though I have an eye for detail and the detail is ex- quisite. To think the cars per date WW2 is simply mind blowing as to how they built the originals. The size of the fuel lines tell their own story!

Maybe Lewis was impressed by this heritage when he signed for Mercedes but I think the dol- lars and image rights were more likely the case!

C&G are one of those amazing British engineering companies that few have heard of, have no signage at their historic workshops and yet are probably the best in the world at what they do.

Thanks again and best wishes,

ANDY FOYLE

EASTBOURNE & RAM MOTOR CLUB

Present

EAST SUSSEX 100

REGULARITY RALLY

Saturday 17 November 2012

A daytime regularity rally

The entry fee is £30.00. Entries can be emailed to [email protected]

Ian Pinder

21 Astaire Avenue

Eastbourne

East Sussex

BN22 8UN

Tel (M) 0787 9072374 (H) 01323 749580 SPEED SPEAK

As you read this in early November all the events from the 2012 Speed League will be complete. I have a full set of (provisional) results for the 2012 season. ***All the championship tables might not be included as the date of the last event means it’s very tight to get these tables processed and submitted to out Acorn Editor; I’m sure Sue will fit in as much as possible***. If there are any errors or omissions please let me know, I am human I will make errors.

Some competitors are yet to qualify as they have not done any marshalling at SDMC events in 2012. So in line with the championship regulations, these people stand to be excluded from the final results at the end of the year when they are ratified. So please do get out there and marshal if you can. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that at almost every event this year the marshals and organisers are volunteers, taking their time to help out so the events can run. There are a number of events that SDMC are running over the winter months and it would be great if some of us were out marshalling or helping with the event in other capacities.

On November 21st I will be hosting a Speed League Forum at the Bell, Kemsing. This is an opportunity to discuss your experiences from 2012 good and bad, plus discuss changes you might like to see for 2013. Typically it’s a fairly laid back affair, I hope to see you there.

Russell Giddings -Speed League co-ordinator.

2012 HILLCLIMB TROPHY

Rounds in Average Score Best 3 Score Total 1 David Balderson 10.0 10 1 2 Russell Giddings 0.0 0 1 2 Derek Lane 0.0 0 1 2 Jim Giddings 0.0 0 1

2012 TOURIST TROPHY

Rounds in Average Score Best 5 Score Total 1 David Balderson 9.3 37 0 2 Chris Fulke-Greville 9.0 18 0 3 Chris Berrisford 9.0 9 0 4 Darren Tyre 8.0 8 0 5 James Silk 7.0 7 0 6 Jim Giddings 4.0 4 0 6 Tracey Niel 4.0 4 0 8 Russell Giddings 0.0 0 0

OVERALL 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP

Trophy/ Average Best 10 Qualified? Score Score Rounds in Total 1 Chris Fulke-Greville 11.0 113 11 2 Jim Giddings Y 10.8 97 9 3 David Balderson Y 9.0 94 11 4 James Silk Y 9.0 90 10 5 Darren Tyre Y 11.6 81 7 6 John Rawlins Y 9.3 56 6 7 Jeff Wiltshire Y 9.2 55 6 8 Derek Lane Y 6.0 36 6 9 Lee Champion Y 10.0 30 3 10 Stephen Thompson 5.6 28 5 11 Chris Judge Y 8.7 26 3 12 Ian Crocker 11.5 23 2 12 Graham Pryme Y 11.5 23 2 12 Michael Druce-Smith Y 11.5 23 2 15 Stephen Stringer 9.5 19 2 15 Clive Leatherby Y 9.5 19 2 17 Tracey Niel Y 4.5 18 4 18 Russell Giddings Y 8.5 17 2 18 Chris Berrisford 8.5 17 2 20 Robert Wadsworth 5.0 15 3 21 Andy Elcomb Y 12.0 12 1 22 Ross Martin Y 11.0 11 1 23 Andrew Actman 9.0 9 1 23 Julian Pring 9.0 9 1 23 Martyn Ellis 9.0 9 1 23 Russell Burton Y 9.0 9 1 27 James Kelly 5.0 5 1 28 Stuart Giles 2.0 2 1 29 Nigel Patten 0.0 0 0 29 Darren Clayden Y 0.0 0 0 29 Jeff Bryant 0.0 0 0 29 Tim Cartledge 0.0 0 0 29 Colin Robbins 0.0 0 0 29 Jim Bryant 0.0 0 0 29 Charlie Golding 0.0 0 0 29 Kirby Boggis 0.0 0 0 29 Mark Cheevers 0.0 0 0 29 Daniel Bramwell 0.0 0 0 2012 LOCAL TROPHY

Average Best 6 Score Score Rounds in Total 1 Chris Fulke-Greville 11.4 75 9 1 Jim Giddings 11.6 75 8 3 Darren Tyre 12.2 73 6 4 James Silk 9.2 61 9 5 David Balderson 8.9 57 7 6 John Rawlins 9.3 56 6 7 Jeff Wiltshire 9.2 55 6 8 Derek Lane 6.0 36 6 9 Lee Champion 10.0 30 3 10 Stephen Thompson 5.6 28 5 11 Chris Judge 8.7 26 3 12 Ian Crocker 11.5 23 2 12 Graham Pryme 11.5 23 2 12 Michael Druce-Smith 11.5 23 2 15 Stephen Stringer 9.5 19 2 15 Clive Leatherby 9.5 19 2 17 Russell Giddings 8.5 17 2 18 Robert Wadsworth 5.0 15 3 19 Tracey Niel 4.7 14 3 20 Andy Elcomb 12.0 12 1 21 Ross Martin 11.0 11 1 22 Andrew Actman 9.0 9 1 22 Julian Pring 9.0 9 1 22 Martyn Ellis 9.0 9 1 22 Russell Burton 9.0 9 1 26 Chris Berrisford 8.0 8 1 27 James Kelly 5.0 5 1 28 Stuart Giles 2.0 2 1 29 Nigel Patten 0.0 0 0 29 Darren Clayden 0.0 0 0 29 Jeff Bryant 0.0 0 0 29 Tim Cartledge 0.0 0 0 29 Colin Robbins 0.0 0 0 29 Jim Bryant 0.0 0 0 29 Charlie Golding 0.0 0 0 29 Kirby Boggis 0.0 0 0 29 Mark Cheevers 0.0 0 0 29 Daniel Bramwell 0.0 0 0 BRANDS HATCH SPRINT

Courtesy of Colin Shipway

TASTER EVENT