Roger Albert Clark Rally

[GaryH]

The R.A.C. classic car rally is back in Leominster this year, based at our local classic car auction and starting from the high street. Here's photos of some of the cars and the "catalogue barn" at the auctions - the white car at the front is an MG TD special [ https://www.brightwells.com/lot-details/100011929 ]

Gary

 

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

On 22/11/2019 at 07:40, GaryH said:

 

 

 

 

 

The red Lancia is run by a client of mine, in fact we’re actually working on a job for him at the moment!

[Simon Marks - North Oxfordshire AO]

I was the Stage Commander on the Crychan Stage of this event on Friday (having travelled to Wales on Wednesday afternoon and set up my stage with a handful of capable helpers on Thursday).  The Roger Albert Clark Rally is a bi-annual event that is a highlight for those of us whose affections lie firmly with rally cars of the past.  Though I was based at the stage start, I watched the cars (140 or so starters) head off round a tight left hand bend and the commitment of the fastest crews is a sight to behold.  The rally is currently a straight fight between Marty McCormack and Jason Pritchard who are driving these Escorts faster than the greats did in period.  The advent of pace notes in the forests some years ago and how drivers nowadays commit to these notes is a large factor, plus 40 more years of understanding Escorts and developments within the mechanical side of the cars (whilst retaining the ethos and concept of the cars mean better tyres, better braking performance and stronger, torquier engines add a further edge.

 

Yes, the event entry is dominated by the Ford Escorts but so it was "in the day".  One highlight for me this year was seeing Gregoire de Mevius (a top class Belgian driver in the 1980s/1990s) in a Toyota Celica Turbo, rear wheel drive Group B Car.  I didn't think I would ever see another one of those in competition and there it was launching sideways into a stage in front of me!  Other cars included Ford Anglia, Cortinas, SAAB 96, 99 and 900, Volvo Amazon and  242, Porsche 911, Opel Ascona and Manta 400s, Skoda 130L, Talbot Sunbeam Lotus (as I have a road going example, I have a particular soft spot), MG Maestro EFi, Chrysler Avengers, Datsun 510, Triumph TR7V8s, Fiat 131 Abarth Rally, Nissan 240RS.

 

As I type this, the first two cars (Marty McCormack and Jason Pritchard's Ford Escort RS1800s) are separated by only thirty three seconds after 150 miles of stages (and 422 road section miles).  Fog has had quite an effect on the rally - the first Radnor stages on Thursday evening were almost impassable because of it and a combination of this, then an incident meant that only one of the two planned passes ran.  My worst ever fog drive was in a course car on a Wales Rally GB in Radnor where I was only able to get up to 35mph, following the tyre tracks of the car in front of me (I could only see 20 yards or so) and, in hindsight, that was rather foolhardy!  Thursday evening was every bit as bad!  At least when it is foggy in Radnor, you don't see the many large drops off the edges of the roads in there.  More fog in Kielder Forest yesterday evening saw the gap between the leading protagonists yo-yo as is often the case in difficult conditions.

 

There are still nearly 140 miles of stages in the Scottish Borders still to run today and tomorrow morning (with another 390 road miles).  The event is using Facebook as its major information resource  https://www.facebook.com/RogerAlbertClark/  and Twitter  https://twitter.com/RACRMC  The event website can be found at:   http://racrmc.org/roger-albert-clark-rally/index  and live results at:   http://results.djames.org.uk/results/index.php?EventID=575&e=575    

 

When you consider that a "normal" British forest rally would have up to 45 miles of stages and less than 100 link miles in a relatively short day, the magnitude of the RAC can be appreciated - 290 stage miles / 800 road miles / four and a half days.

 

If you are in the area and have a chance, go out and watch.  You won't be disappointed!   I'll be keeping an eye on things electronically today as I empty out the rally stuff from my car and return fire extinguishers, spill kit, hand held radios  and over 300 wooden stakes to the Oxford Motor Club garage!

 

Simon

[GaryH]

Dave  - I rembered that he was a customer of yours, he was first away this year.

 

Simon - thanks very much for your update and links. Roger Chilman is our local driver. I'll keep an eye on the standings.

 

Gary