SPRING 2012 The Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages Rally takes up quite a bit of space in this issue, and why not. Everybody who helped can be proud to have put on such a good event. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see in this publication, please contact me – EDITOR. The club website is updated regularly; check it out for further information and news.

Website www.bordermotorclub.co.uk Border Motor Club are also on

CHAIRMAN’S CHAT A few years ago, (in fact it’s a long time ago now), there was a Welsh comedian called Max Boyce, who was very fashionable for a short time. In contrast to the modern stand-up comics, he had a stage prop, which was a giant leek; (well he was Welsh). He also had a catch phrase; “I was there”. I think that’s a phrase that anyone who was at the first Alan Healy Memorial Rally may find themselves using in future. Those who were there on the day, (and that’s probably most of us), knows just how well it all went. I can’t give you a stage by stage report, (that may be elsewhere in the Newsletter), as I was doing a Passage Check and Time Card collection and saw hardly any action; but some impressions may be worth recounting. On arrival the quality of signs and boards immediately gave the impression of a professional event. Stages that ran on time and then ahead of schedule, helped by lightning fast stage turnarounds reinforced that opinion. Not many events can run 10 stages and finish by just after 4.00 pm. The paperwork was outstanding, and the crowd of spectators (more than for a normal club race meeting at Cadwell Park), were kept entertained by a very close scrap for the lead, an excellent commentary and a quality printed programme; things that you just don’t get on a normal rally. The result of all this was an event that seemed to delight everybody. The crews all seemed very happy, and in a crowded Cadwell clubhouse, all trophy winners stayed to collect their awards; always a good indication of a successful event. Circuit owners MSV seemed pleased, (we were graced by a flying visit from MSV owner Jonathan Palmer); which can only have been reinforced by a positive write up and picture in ‘Motorsport News’. This great success would not have happened without a huge amount of work from a lot of very dedicated people. I’m not going to mention any names, because it really was a team effort; proof that, although Border Motor Club may be small, we all work very happily together to produce professional results that other, bigger clubs can only envy. Other events are coming up soon, especially the Classic Rally in May, and all our events carry the same mark of great competition presented with a friendly face; long may it continue. The AHMR was conceived with two aims; to bring rallying back to Cadwell Park, and to serve as a tribute to a very good man who was a founder member of our club. It succeeded completely on both counts; to such an extent that there is every reason to hope that it will now become an annual event. No doubt it will grow in status and prestige, and become an established part of the motorsport calendar; but the first one will always be very special, and I for one will always be proud to say that “I was there”.

NEWS Engine theft. John Wood’s hopes of restoring a Lotus Sunbeam have been dashed after the recently bought engine for the car was stolen from his Melton Ross garage. After a 20 year break from the sport he was hoping to make a return to rallying, but given the rarity of these parts feared he would have had to put this on hold. However John traded the shell in against a Subaru Impreza and entered the Alan Healy Memorial Rally, with James Ducker as his navigator. They retired on SS3, but managed to repair the car and continue testing. Overheard at Cadwell Park Little boy and his mum going into the toilets and boy says ‘Daddy goes in that side’ Mum replies ‘Yes, but mummy can’t because she’s not a man’ Well that must be a relief to her husband! Helmets and intercom systems. The MSA Technical Department is aware of queries regarding the standards given to helmets fitted with intercom systems. Some helmets have built-in intercoms and have passed through testing and approval procedures with these in place. In particular, the department has been advised that: “Stilo put all their helmets through the relevant Snell and FIA testing with their flexible earcups in position. These are a homologated part of the helmet and are legal for all race events. These are in no way a safety issue to the wearer.” However, the MSA has seen home-installed systems for which the expanded polystyrene liner inside the helmet has been removed around the ear area to allow for a pair of aluminium-framed miniature speakers. This is totally unacceptable and voids the helmet standard, as it opens the possibility of severe injury in the event of an accident. Brands Hatch Chelmsford Motor club will promote another rally here on August Bank Holiday Monday, the 27th

building on the success of the previous events they have held there in the winter over the past two years. Expect entries to open early June, with a maximum of 80 crews. 12 Car Rally championship 2011/2012 - 7th March Table Top Rally - Nick Leuchars Results 1. John Savage/Paul Rhodes. 2. Vicky White 3. Chris Woodcock/Ade Woodcock Thanks to Nick for putting on a challenging table top rally, kept them happy/confused/ annoyed for a good while. Virtual Reality A navigator who has competed at other circuits, but never at Cadwell Park, looked on Google Earth to get some idea of the venue. He was most surprised to find it was not as flat as it looks on screen, and wondered if there was any part that didn’t actually go up or down. His comment after the rally ‘Bloody brilliant, unlike any other circuit in the country’

Border Classic 2012

Current Stage Rally Championship results

New official Roy Bell was promoted to Chairman of Border Motor Club by the commentator at Cadwell. Upon hearing this Nick Leuchars said ‘Great, I’ve been trying to get rid of the job for years!’ Sorry Nick he was soon put right, it’s all yours.

Return VAT on air ambulance fuel payments Just like any motorist the Air Ambulance Services around the country are forced to meet rising fuel prices year on year including VAT. Even though the Lifeboat Service has been exempt from VAT on fuel costs since 1977; a similar privilege has not been afforded to the Air Ambulance Services, which is why an e-petition was started by York man Ken Sharpe calling for the government to redress this, as all around the country these essential services have saved successive governments millions of pounds; all funded by charitable donations from the general public. Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s VAT bill on fuel is approx £6,000 a year which is equivalent to a full day's running costs, and would equal three life-saving missions every year for them. This e-petition now has over 100,000 signatures, which is a significant milestone, because it guarantees it will be debated in the House of Commons. Link to e-petition - http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29349 A worthwhile cause for all, but especially for those who compete in motorsport events. Link to The Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance http://www.ambucopter.org.uk/

The Flying Fortress Stages After a break of 24 years Dukeries Motor Club promoted a Single Venue Rally in March at Grafton Underwwod, a disused airfield on a private estate. Such was the success of the event at this new venue the estate management are more than happy to accommodate the second Flying Fortress Mission in March 2013, and a provisional date of Sunday 17th has been announced. The organisers have discovered 3 more concrete roads buried, one of which will enable them to increase the stage lengths. Raymond Munro's damages claim is dismissed Inverness rally driver Raymond Munro claimed he gave up rallying after he lost confidence in event notes provided for the Speyside Stages Rally in August 2004, by William Sturrock, owner of Scotmaps. The former Scottish rally champion He claimed that it was inaccurate notes about a bend on the stage which caused him to lose control of the car and crash into a bank. The original claim was rejected by a judge in 2010. Mr Munro appealed, claiming that the judge's decision was "fundamentally flawed". The appeal has been rejected by three judges of the Inner House, who ruled that the original judge was "plainly right" in his approach. The case appears to have more to do with the angle of the bend rather than the notes being ‘subjective route notes’ and not detailed ‘pace notes’. Loads more information available on the web for those who wish to read all of the details.

EVENT REPORTS TRS Stages Rally, Brands Hatch 20th January – Paul Moran/Barry Sawyer (23rd O/A, 13th in Class.) John Savage/Paul Rhodes (39th O/A, 6th in class.)

Two Border crews competed on this event, Blair Bushby was down to compete, but could not attend, so John Savage & Paul Rhodes took over his entry.

Eastwood Stages Rally, Mallory Park. 5th February – Mel Hudson/Roy Bell. 15th O/A, 7h in class Eastwood & District Motor Club secured the use of this venue for a rally for the first time, but you couldn’t see much of it for 4 stages, as there was around 6 inches of snow laid all over the place. Who would have thought it, snow in February, we’ve had it too soft for many years and to be honest it was a challenge just to get there. Some crews didn’t and one navigator made it, but the driver and car never arrived, so set off back for home. The event started an hour late as the organisers struggled to get the stages laid out, and at minute, instead of 30 second intervals. Tyres were critical in these conditions with a mixture of all sorts, some crews even had to use slicks, but the 14” forest tyres with their narrow profile used on the Premier last year worked well, leaving us 8th O/A 3rd in class. The crew of the moment were Tom Jordan / Charlotte Banner who were 2nd O/A in their Citroen C1 on snow tyres, and in front of his dad, Baz, in his EVO 5. It went a bit downhill after that, with a small spin on SS2 and an even bigger one on the next stage, where the tarmac was now beginning to appear in places, and it was getting ‘slushy.’ On SS4 there was a clean line by the time we were on stage, and most of the later runners got some advantage from this, we even took time off Rob Lowe in his 6R4. Put some wets on for the last four stages, which became the last two as the organisers were worried about people getting out of the venue as temperatures dropped. A long time since have seen so many class 4 cars on an event, 13, and there were more than in any other one, which have never seen before.

Photos kindly supplied by 90right UK Rallying Website 90right.wordpress.com

Jack Neal Memorial Rally, Blyton Park 11th March - John Savage/Paul Rhodes (8th O/A, 1st in class.) Mel Hudson/Roy Bell (14th O/A, 4th in class.) A change of date from May for this event, which probably accounted for the low entry, and was a shame for Clitheroe & DMC, as it was a cracking event on a nice sunny day. Differing fortunes for the Border crews out. John and Paul had no real problems and went on to a great finish for them.

Mel & Roy had all sorts of problems. On SS2 the front bottom arm and bodywork were damaged after collision with a tyre bale, after the front tyres ran out of grip, and tread. Managed to get to the end of the stage, and completed repairs in time for the next stage, on which the servo packed up, and made things interesting to say the least. Then half way round SS7 went off a cylinder, which was later traced to a broken rocker. Must have been the extra strain put on the engine, due to lack of brakes. Thanks to John for the loan of a lump hammer to beat the floor into some sort of shape (Just happened to have a piece of wood the right size,) and get a throttle pedal that was some use. One now placed in service barge much to the disgust of Mel. (Not for us of course, but to lend to others.)

Photographs by kind permission of Owen Morgan. Website www.maximumattackrallying.co.uk

Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages, 8th April – Hel Mudson/Boy Rell (20th O/A, 5th in class.) Phil Rowland /Phil Woodcock (27th O/A, 6th in class.) Hell/Boy Why is everybody going on about how good a day Easter Sunday was, when had to get up at some unearthly hour and journey in the fog and rain to some park; didn't look the best of conditions for a picnic. Upon arrival loads of others had the same idea, just as barmy then. Found the same three people who had looked at the yellow peril four weeks earlier to see if they could find anything different with it; and a nice elderly gentleman wanted to see if the clothing I was wearing was in fashion. Apparently FIA is all the rage at the moment, so expect to see Kate Moss in something similar soon. Next a building with lots of people who a bit of string with a label round their necks so they could tell who they were and had been penned in behind a counter. That seemed a good idea by the look of some of them, who then took loads of money off me (Now that makes Roy really miserable at any time - Mel) in exchange for a packet with bits of paper, some of which had squiggly bits on. Was there a treasure hunt for Easter eggs on as well as a picnic? At least they were coloured to keep me occupied as I have a short attention spa........ Waited a short while and got strapped into the yellow peril, which was a good idea, as somebody next to me proceeded to hurtle round this park the wrong way, as the squiggly things showed arrows on them and some sort of controls, which had to be signed for on another card to show you had been there at a particular time of day. Thought picnics were a relaxed affair, but this one was all about getting back to near where you started as fast as possible. The other concern was that the squiggly bits didn't show that this park was all up hill and down dale when you went round it, even had its own mountain, so a bit different to other places that are flat and featureless. After getting used to this for four times, the squiggly bits moved, and had to drive the other way; wish the organisers would make their mind up. The car didn't like the long bendy bits this way round as it was running out of juice to keep it going really fast on them, but apart from that didn't have any problems, and at the end of the day it finished behind 19 others, and 5th in class for car with big engines, but only 2 wheels driving them. NOTE: This is the front or back 2, not the left or right 2, as this wouldn't really work. Had ten goes but never did find any eggs, so went to a henhouse, sorry that should be clubhouse, at the end to see if any there. None to be found, but got presented with a new watch (How did they know mine had broken that day) The only problem is that there are no holes to secure it to your wrist with a cable tie, so will have to use it somewhere else.

Would I go back to this picnic area nestling somewhere in Lincolnshire despite all of this? Oh yes, roll on the Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages 2013. Pretty sure Hel Mudson will also be there. Phil/Phil First time out for the other Border crew in their hastily completed BMW. A few spins and use of the green bits at the edge of the track on the day getting used to the car, but other than that they finished the event in one piece. Now looking to get more BHP, and complete some bits that they run out of time on. Well done to you both, know how hard you worked to get the car ready – Ed

Would anybody like to suggest a suitable caption to this picture

A man was fed up of having his car broken into and having his radio stolen he decided he would remove it when he parked his car he also left a note saying there is no point in breaking in my car as there is nothing to steal. When he returned to his car it had been broken into again and there was a new note where his had left his, saying just checking.!

Selection of shots from the Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages Rally by kind permission of Rob Spence, except car 8 by Neil Cahill.