Torque Talk The magazine of Durham Automobile Club - Durham Auto Club
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Torque Talk
WEBSITE ADDRESS: The magazine of Durham Automobile Club
WWW.DURHAMAUTOCLUB.CO.UK January 2018
Our Championship winning competitors of 2017
Club nights October to December Durham Auto Club now meet every Wednesday at 8:00pm at the Honest Lawyer Hotel (see address and web link below). Honest Lawyer Hotel, Croxdale Bridge, Croxdale, Durham, DH1 3SP. http://www.strhotels.co.uk/honest-lawyer-hotel/ Durham Auto club Website http://www.durhamautoclub.co.uk Forthcoming Events Durham Automobile Club Annual General Meeting This meeting will be held on the 24th January at the Honest Lawyer. Please if at all possible attend as it is key to the running of the club. There will be a buffet following the meeting. January 24th AGM Honest Lawyer 7.30 for 8pm Start ALL WELCOME followed by Buffet. February 14th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer (date TBC) February 24th Karting night organised by Whickam See article in magazine, on website and Facebook for more information March 14th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer March 21st ‘OLD’ COMERS NIGHT!! (ALL welcome, members, non-members & EX members!!) Social get together and buffet night. **Come along! Its FREE** March 28th Club Navigational Series Briefing and Help night See Social Sec report in magazine for more details ALL WELCOME
Editorial Hi Everyone and welcome to 2018 and the new season! I have decided that after this year I will pass on the baton as far as editing the magazine is concerned. To assist with this transfer, if you are in the least bit interested in being the next magazine editor, have a word with me or send me an email and I will spend some time with you to get you up to speed. Also, don’t forget the Annual General Meeting if you would like to get involved with the running of the club. It’s going to be a busy start to the year, so don’t forget about the Dinner Dance. Tickets have been selling well so get yours before they sell out! Now that the craziness of the last few weeks running up to Christmas is past (just out of interest, M&S sold 1.1 Million Turkeys across all its stores!), it’s time to focus on all things motorsport! I can’t wait for the new season. As I said in my December Editorial, I’m really looking forward to my trips to the World Endurance Championship at Silverstone, the BTCC event at Croft and thanks to my Son, the World Rallycross also at Silverstone. As much as I would like to, I don’t think that I will be able to fit in Le Mans this year, but it’s definitely on the cards for next year. This is probably the better bet as it will be the finale of the season following this and next year’s super season. It will be good to get to these events, but I would also like to do a bit of competing. Things are progressing nicely – up to now! – as far as renewing my racing license is concerned. It’s all down to the medical profession and my ability to pass the ARDS written test. One of the biggest issues up to now is getting all the documentation required but with a bit of luck I will have all the necessary bits of paper by the end of the month. A racing license will cover me for most events I’m interested in, but there again, I may just have to do the rally driver bit as well. First things first though. I haven’t even considered cars or what I would like to do because if I can’t get my license then it’s all a bit of a waste of time. However I still like the idea of something rear wheel drive. I’m not ruling out front wheel drive, but I think I would prefer something that I’m used to. Another thing that is absolutely paramount is the car has to be as safe as possible – that’s a promise to Mrs Hall that I wouldn’t dare go against! Looks like our club members who ventured out over the Christmas holidays had a really good time. I well remember doing a hill climb on Boxing day or the day after at a farm just before Lanchester. Muddy didn’t cover it and a set of Kleber mud and snow tyres and a lack of skill ensured that I didn’t have to trouble the awards ceremony! However one of the best Boxing Day’s I ever spent was with Fred Henderson at the Garage at Ainsley Street. I think it was 1978 or 9 and we installed the link boxes, bars and rear axle to convert the CCC Chevette from torque tube live rear axle to four link. It was one of those days when just about everything went right, and the work wasn’t a chore but good fun! It made a hell of a difference to the car as well! There was however some sad news between Christmas and New Year. Two crew members were killed on the Loco 2 single venue stage rally held at Bramley Camp near Basingstoke, Hampshire and I would like to pass on my and the club’s sympathy to the family of the crew involved. Details of the accident are pretty sketchy, but that isn’t important at this time. It’s just sad that two guys lost their lives doing something that they thoroughly enjoyed. It is a fact of life that when we compete in motorsport we are competing in a “safe dangerous sport” and things can and do go wrong with sad and tragic consequences.
On a lighter note, I had the misfortune of watching the latest Formula E race the other day, and I have to say that I am still totally underwhelmed by the series. Porsche, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes among others have thrown their weight behind this series in place of WEC, DTM and various other works backed series. Why? Manufacturers go racing to do one thing – sell more cars. If people like myself don’t watch then their investment is for nothing. Maybe it’s a tour de force from a technical standpoint? Not really, the cars can’t do the full race on a single charge so drivers have to change cars at the midway point. Maybe it’s to show how fast and reliable electric cars can be? Try explaining that to Audi which had two failures on the same car in both qualifying and the race. Maybe it’s less expensive than doing the DTM for example? Well flying cars, a team and all the associated spares around the world is going to be a lot cheaper than travelling around Germany isn’t it? For me I’m afraid, I just don’t get it! Another series which I’m beginning to run out of enthusiasm for is Formula 1. Again I don’t get this hybrid stuff, drag reduction systems and the multi element front wings, strakes, gurney’s and the like. The first time I saw an “up to date” Formula 1 car in anger was at Silverstone in 1989. Mansell came around Club Corner, fully committed in the Ferrari, V12 wailing like a banshee, sparks being thrown up from the skid plates and the deft application of opposite lock by Mansell – absolutely brilliant! For 2018 we have the addition of ….. Halo! The cars are stuck to the road just like the old ground effect cars, and you don’t even have the noise of the exhaust to keep the interest up. There are concerns that F1 is losing its appeal yet they can’t or won’t see the reason for the problem. TV coverage on a payment basis and cars that are not that desirable to watch. The other thing is that we now no longer have drivers in F1 that could be called characters! Everyone has to tow the corporate line at the risk of losing sponsors or getting into trouble from the team. I well remember Keke Rosberg standing on the grid of the British Grand Prix. He had no time for hangers on, spoke his mind, flicked his cigarette end away, got in the car and blitzed the opposition. Great stuff! It’s not all bad though as the lower Formula and Grass Roots Motorsport is still doing relatively well in a depressed marketplace. However I suspect that Dave Richards the new head of the MSA will have a sizable in box on his desk! Sad to see that Dan Gurney passed away. He was notable for quite a few things including being the first driver in F1 to wear a full face helmet, and also gave his name to the Gurney Flap, a small piece of aerodynamics that had a major influence on airflow. He also gave Porsche their only win in Formula 1 as well as being a champion in Indy Car, Nascar and Sports Car racing. In the sixties, he headed up All American Racers and had notable success well before Penske in the seventies and now Haas GP flew the star spangled banner. I did mention that it would be good to have some insight into what everyone who competes in DAC would be doing this year, but up to now I haven’t received anything. Hopefully I can rely on your good nature to let me have some reports of your exploits over the coming months. Finally, another reminder for the Annual General Meeting next week. It is your opportunity to put forward suggestions, see what the Officers and Committee have been doing, and generally provide a platform for discussion. Happy New Year and good luck if competing!, Marty
Chairman’s report Before I start my Chairman’s ramblings I would like to wish you all a very successful 2018 in all of your motorsport disciplines. My 2017 rally season was a mixed bag for me. As you all know by now, I won the North of England Tarmacadam Rally Championship sitting alongside Rob Snowden and I also won Class 2 in the SG Petch Stage Rally Championship sitting alongside Ben Cree. Unfortunately Ed Todd and Team Fury had a poor start to the year in the GTM with 1 retirement on the Christmas stages at Croft. Andrew Hutchinson sat in with Ed on the Jack Frost stages at Croft and unfortunately retired after the rear wheel parted company from the car, launching it sideways into a straw bale. Andrew was bruised and winded but I think he really enjoyed the experience in the Wee Beastie. My last rally of 2017 with Ed was the DCC Ingliston stages, where we were sitting 6th overall on the final stage, only for the gearbox to jam the whole transmission, spinning us around by 180 degrees and blocking the stage. We managed to limp home to finish 21st overall. I did say last year, that if the Wee Beastie didn’t buck up its ideas it would be replaced by a “newer” model. Well Ed brought out his Brother’s Mk1 Ford Escort for the 2017 Christmas stages. However wrong tyres, a misfire, a misting windscreen and a bent axle didn’t help Ed to play with his “new” toy. Ed finally posted a good time on the last stage helped by Shona Hale in the Co-Drivers seat. I hope to see Ed post some good times in the Mk1 Escort at the Jack Frost stages on 21 January. The 2017 DAC AGM will be held at the Honest Lawyer on Wednesday 24 January. This magazine will be published before the AGM so I hope to see you all there. What an amazing year for the club, we have achieved so much in 2017, which can only have been done with the support and commitment of the Committee. I hope you will join me in thanking the Committee members for the hours they put into the club. But you also had a role to play in Durham Auto Club success in 2017. So now I ask all DAC members to continue supporting our success into 2018. I have to say a big thank you to Peter Sewell who will step down from the post of Chief Marshal. Peter has done a great job during his term and I’m glad he will remain on the committee for 2018. But we now need somebody to fill this important role on the Committee. If you are interested please let me know. We still have the vacant role of Secretary and we also need to plan a replacement for the role of Magazine Editor. Marty Hall has done an amazing job to launch the Torque Talk magazine and provides a great read every month, but he will step down from the Magazine Editor position at the end of 2018. So please take a few moments to consider if you would like to help run the club. It doesn’t take a lot of your time. Also you don’t need to be on the committee to organise or run an activity. If you would like to run an event, let us know and we will discuss your ideas with you. Our Social Secretary is now planning the DAC events calendar which will be listed in this magazine and on the DAC website. The preparations for the Dinner dance in February are nearly complete and we still have a few tickets left. If you are collecting an award or just fancy some good food and company, please get in touch with your Social Secretary Pam Broom. I have had some requests from members of the Committee to pass onto the club members.
For the new club championship Gordon Dundee would like to know if you have done any events or
marshalled. If you don’t inform Gordon you will not be recorded for championship points.
If you would like the Club to hold different events, then please contact your Social secretary Pam
Broom and we can consider adding your request to the DAC event calendar.
If you would like to see different articles in the magazine or would like to hear some different
reports from other members, then why not send us your reports or information to be added to the
Magazine / Facebook / Website. We know our club members are competing so why not drop us a
small report.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a small report, anything written or pictures will be good.
To register for championship points send your results/attendance to Gordon Dundee
gandjdundee@gmail.com.
To add events to the DAC calendar contact your Social Secretary Pam Broom
pam.broom@btinternet.com.
Any magazine pictures / reports or information can be sent to Martin Hall
martinhall49@gmail.com.
Andy Brown
Chairman of Durham Automobile Club
SOCIAL Secretary’s Report Happy New Year to everyone who I have not seen or spoken to as yet. I hope it is a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous one for all of us. We finished off the ‘old’ year with our Christmas Auto Test on 29 th December at Ebac.....’ AND IT SNOWED!’ Oh Boy! How it snowed...Around four inches came down. When we arrived there was a good covering on top of ice in places and by the time we were set up it was snowing hard. It made for some interesting times and some entertaining – if not fast- competition. Grip was a problem not only for cars but also for people with several folk hitting the deck throughout the day! I was wrapped up well and quite cosy inside my layers, the biggest problem I had was keeping the check sheets dry. I was juggling pen, clipboard, stopwatch and umbrella at times. ...We had a good turnout of entries but were short on marshals, but we managed and it was a great day. I know Peter has written a report and results are included from Gordon elsewhere in the magazine. 2018 already looks like being a busy year for the Club with the AGM on 24 th January, the Dinner Dance on 10th February, an interclub karting night on 21st February and a Social Night and Buffet on 21st March. Details of all these are to be found on other pages as well as the website and facebook pages. Also please keep an eye on your email in boxes as Andy or I will be sending up dates from time to time. APPEAL FOR RAFFLE PRIZES:........ We would like some good raffle prizes for the DINNER & AWARDS NIGHT. If any of you can help by donating something, be it a voucher, wine, or some other gift we would be most grateful Please let me know ASAP if you have something for us! NAVIGATIONAL EVENTS and Championship news! As some of you know we have over the last few years been running some low key Navigational /Fun nights once the lighter nights arrive. We want to keep these nights fun and to appeal to everyone. They really are suitable for everyone to have a go at and as they are low speed and involve driver, and passengers ( as many as you can legally carry! They are suitable for families and friends. For anyone who has not had a go at these before it really is fun and we always finish somewhere where food is available afterwards. Points will be awarded for ALL finishing positions so the more events you do the points will count to your final total. There will be 6 – 8 rounds made up from Treasure Hunts, Scatters and Regularity/jogularity events running from April to October. On 28th March at the Honest Lawyer everyone will be welcome to pop along to the Club Night and we can take a look at each of the event types, how they work, what you can expect, what you need to do and know. Navigational skills are useful to have –we all know SatNavs are not always the answer! Those of us at the Club that do these events and organise them are more than happy to share our knowledge! DAC really wants to encourage more members to get involved with events of all types and to enjoy good social interaction. It really is fun..COME ON give it a try! Pam.
DURHAM AUTOMOBILE CLUB Ltd
2017 Championships
Roll of Honour
BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship
MSA English Rally Championship
1st Driver – Stephen Petch
1st Co-driver – Michael Wilkinson
AS Performance North of England Tarmacadam Rally Championship
1st – Co-driver – Andy Brown
HRCR Motorscope Northern Historic Asphalt Rally Championship
1st Driver – John Nicolson
NESCRO Challenge
1st Targa Driver – Simon Jennings
1st Targa Navigator – Clive White
1st Classic Navigator – Andrew Fish
BTRDA Autotest Championship
MSA Autotest Championship
1st Overall – Richard Pinkney
Congratulations to all the above Durham Automobile Club members –
good luck for 2018!
www.DirectCarParts.co.uk Proud Sponsors of the DAC Autotests, Car Display and Auto Jumble Did you know that we can supply the following performance brands? Discounts available for DAC members! Contact simon@directcarparts.co.uk Tel: 0191 3847803 or 0191 3849913 Monday – Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm / Saturday 9.00am to 5.00pm Direct Car Parts Front Street Framwellgate Moor Durham DH1 5AU.
Christmas stages 2017 Croft is one of Rob’s favourite events, so we approached the Christmas stages with some excitement. Rob had prepared the Escort to his usual standard, even borrowing some snow tyres from Steve Bannister. What was to come I don’t think any of the top 50 would expect. We attended Scrutineering on the day before the rally and snow was falling and lying on the tarmac. We didn’t like the snow but that’s rallying. Anyway it was to thaw and we hoped for just a wet track in the morning. Well it had started to thaw but it had also froze during the night with a small smattering of new snow on top. When we arrived on the rally day we went for a walk around the circuit. Yes the snow had started to thaw but there was a small amount of ice under the slush. We decided that snow tyres would be required for at least the first 2 stages. We were seeded 9th and after a few of the top ten had dropped out, we were 7 th on the road. Sitting in the start line queue waiting to start SS1 we noticed that the only other crew on snow tyres was Paul Swift. All the other top ten teams were on very wide wets. I said to Rob “this will be interesting” and I wasn’t wrong. For safety the organisers decided to have 1 minute starts. Wow the grip was very poor even on Snow tyres but as we crossed the finish line of SS1 we had caught our minute and 2 minute man. Looking at the times in service we were 5th overall. We were pleased with that until 45 minutes later when the later cars started to post times 2 minutes faster than us. The top 50 had cleared the road allowing later crews to blitz our times. We dropped from 5th to 59th overall. We were the highest placed top ten crew some 2 minutes behind the leading car which was car 96. Although we had stripped 2 minutes and 8 seconds off our previous time, heading into SS2 with snow tyres still fitted was the wrong thing to do. We posted 46th fastest and only clawed up to 53rd on the leader board. We thought our day was now ruined and SS3 wasn’t going to be much better. The organisers announced at the start of SS3 that the final two stages would be cancelled due to the delay caused by the conditions, making our job to get a decent finish even harder. SS3 was almost the same as SS1 & 2 but there were new sections which were still covered by slush and yes you guessed it we cleared the roads for the later crews. On our first lap we let Guy Smith passed and I got a face full of slush through the side window. Then we came across Proctor who had spun. As he recovered he nearly caught us head on at the hairpin at the top of the main straight. Heading down the main straight we had an almighty 360 spin coming to rest up against the pit wall at the entrance to the chicane. How we didn’t bang every corner off the pit wall or demolish the straw bale chicane I’ll never know. Oh and Rob got a face full of slush this time :0) haa haa. Luckily the only damage to the car was a small dent to the wing on my side of course. :0( We posted 35th fastest and climbed a few more places up to 51st overall. We had to now charge to get a decent finish and championship points. SS4, 5 and 6 saw a change in fortunes for a lot of crews and normal service was restored. The track was now a lot clearer with only standing water in a few places. On SS4, SS5 and SS6 we posted 7th, 8th and 5th fastest times which catapulted us from 51st to finish 10th overall and second in class 4. Mmmmm what could have been if not for the slush on the first 3 stages?
Big thanks to Dan and Fred for servicing and Rob for keeping us on the TAR and mainly out of the stage furniture :0) So what happened to the other Durham Crews??? Not sure how Mark Burton and Zoe Wright got on during the day but they finished 49 th overall. Mark or Zoe maybe you could let us know how you get on the Jack Frost stages for the next magazine? Ed Todd brought out a MK1 Escort that he is babysitting for his Brother and suffered a number of problems throughout the rally. Ed did say he doesn’t know how his brother drove his car as it handles like a dog. With wrong tyres, misfire and a misting windscreen, Ed and Shona Hale struggled throughout the day. Ed finally got to grips with this red top powered Ford on the last stage posting 17th fastest but the damage had been done and Ed was unable to improve much to finish 62nd overall. I bet we see a lot better times on the Jack Frost stages this coming weekend. Andy.
The Honest Lawyer, Croxdale Bridge
Durham DH1 3SP
The hotel’s renowned AA rosette awarded Baileys Bar and Restaurant. Food served all day, offering a
quality combination of locally sourced food, a relaxed atmosphere and friendly service.
Menus change seasonally, created by respected Executive Head Chef Harry Bailie, with inspired dishes
and hearty classics.
Bailey’s bar offers a more relaxed dining option, where dishes such as the popular Homemade classic
steak burger; fish and chips served, along with an extensive selection of beers, wines, spirits. Speciality
teas and coffees are available throughout the day, along with a lite-bite lunch menu.
We look forward to seeing you!CLASSICS at The CASTLE 2018
I am pleased to announce that ENTRIES OPEN on 1st of February for this Years CLASSICS at
the CASTLE.
ENTRIES CLOSE SATURDAY 30th JUNE NO LATE ENTRIES
WILL BE ACCEPTED
( Or sooner if we reach our MAXIMUM of 300 vehicles)
!!!!! DISCOUNTS FOR EARLY ENTRIES !!!!!!
Again we will availability for Autojumble stands. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have
any questions or to request a copy of Regulations and Entry Form.****DINNER DANCE & AWARDS****
**LAST FEW TICKETS REMAINING**
ACT QUICKLY...as I write this on Sunday 14th January we have only 25 tickets
left for our DINNER DANCE & AWARDS NIGHT. In previous years we have had a great response to this
evening with around 100 people attending.
The date for your diary is SATURDAY 10th FEBRUARY and the Venue is PARK HEAD Hotel, Bishop Auckland.
!!!! The cost is JUST £20 per head.!!!!
Due to some internal changes at the Park Head we will have to restrict numbers to just
90 people max for 2018 ( 65 already booked)
There will be a three course meal, music and awards from our Club Championship as per the results of
which have been appearing in the Club Magazine. Also a raffle.
After the meal awards will be presented followed by music for dancing and or listening for those who do
not want to ‘make shapes’ on the dance floor!
With the new layout at the Park Head the music will not inhibit the ability to hold a conversation!
We need to know who would like to attend ASAP so please book your space by dropping me an email,
pam.broom@btinternet.com or call text me on 07733 243842.
PAYMENT can be made by
Bank Transfer BACS/faster payment to Santander
ACCOUNT DETAILS: Sort Code : 090666 Account Number: 42772324 Reference: your name & DD
PAYPAL to : duhamautomobileclub@gmail.com
OR Cheques ( Payable to Durham Automobile Club) can be posted to DAC Ltd at
4 WOODSIDE, WITTON PARK, BISHOP AUCKLAND, CO. DURHAM DL14 0DS
ONCE I HAVE RECEIVED your booking a menu choice will be sent to you, which will then need returning.
Tickets will be emailed nearer the time.
Hope to hear from you soon and look forward to seeing you on 10th February
BOOK YOUR SPACE NOW .. Spaces already going fast!INTER CLUB KARTING NIGHT 21st FEBRUARY
INVITATION
PLEASE SEE DETAILS BELOW FROM WHICKHAM MOTOR CLUB WHO AS YOU KNOW JOINED DURHAM
TO HAVE A GREAT KARTING NIGHT BACK IN NOVEMBER....I HOPE DURHAM MEMBERS WILL JOIN IN
AND HAVE ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT OF SPORTING RIVALRY!
Hi everyone,
We'd love to invite all of your members to a karting event, full details in the Facebook event.
SIGN UP LINK - https://goo.gl/2ZY11K
After the success of the karting event held at TeamSport Karting in November, kindly organised by
Durham Automobile Club, we at Whickham & District Motor Club would like to repay the favour by
organising an interclub karting night to be held on Wednesday 21st February at 6.45pm.
We have secured the venue on an exclusive basis for the night which has allowed us to use the full
international track, which combines the track we used last time with the downstairs track to create a lap
of over 950m, taking over 60 seconds to complete. This track is not normally available to the general
public so it should be a unique experience for us.
The format will be the Super GP8 format, which guarantees that each driver will complete a minimum
of 50 laps on the night. It starts off with a 5 lap practice to get accustomed with the track and then in
to the heats where every driver races every other driver. Each driver will take part in at least 4 heats.
The results of the heats will put you in to a 12 lap semi final, and the top drivers from the semi finals
will progress to a 15 lap grand final where the overall winner will be decided and trophies will be
presented.
The cost is capped at £45 per driver, although if we reach the required 40 drivers, there may be a
discount to this price. Entries are based on a first come first served basis, once we reach 40 a reserve
list will be started. Payment will be collected once drivers are confirmed.
PLEASE SIGN UP AT THE FOLLOWING LINK - https://goo.gl/2ZY11K
https://www.facebook.com/events/733949990144794/
Thanks, Gary.NESCRO Historic Motorsport In The North Of England & Scotland The popular NESCRO Challenge Series, dominated in 2107 by the Sunbeam Rapier of Andy Beaumont/ Andrew Fish, will return with a slightly revised scoring format aimed at giving the older and less powerful cars a better opportunity to score points. There will also be a Challenge Series for Targa spec cars, enabling those whose vehicles don’t comply with Historic Regulations to have something to aim for. The series will again be co-ordinated by the affable Bob Hargreaves. The 2018 NESCRO season will start on 24th February with the Hexham Historic, now the only night navigation event in the series, which will give crews the opportunity to sample the fabulous roads that abound in Northumberland. Then it’s a trek up to Pitlochry and the ever popular Saltire Rally which promises some new test venues while retaining old favourites such as the famous Ardgulich caravan site tests. April sees a gap in the calendar before the first weekend in May brings the Berwick Classic, this year with a brand new organising team after long time organiser, Stuart Bankier, standing down. The new team have the vastly experienced John Bertram on board so the event is in good hands. A week later comes the South of Scotland Car Club’s Targa event and then there is a rush of events in June as the Ilkley Historic, Stocktonian, Shaw Trophy and Lake District Classic all compete to attract competitors, common sense would suggest that one or more of these events would seek an alternative date. The Northern Dales Classic Trophy runs on July 15th, this proved an extremely popular addition to the programme in 2017 with the huge Weardale cement works providing a unique venue, then in August comes the Spadeadam Motor Club’s Blue Streak, a multi venue event based near Carlisle were the local airport provides the venue for several tests. The following weekend it is followed by the hugely popular Cumbria Classic Weekend which commences with the Rose & Thistle Classic Tour, oversubscribed in 2017, then the following day features the Cumbria Classic Motorsport Show in the scenic surroundings of the historic Dalmain House near Penrith. This attracted a massive 750 entrants last year and is well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in classic cars. The giant Nissan manufacturing plant near Sunderland will again host Durham AC’s Wearside Classic, the hard working Gordon Dundee and his team always come up with some interesting and challenging tests over the car giant’s test track and surrounding roads. A return to Dumfries sees the South of Scotland Car Club’s Doonhamer Historic Rally, an event which suffered from a lot of organisational problems in 2017, it is hoped that the organisers have them sorted out now as the event features some excellent test venues. October brings the Devils Own, the only HRCR Clubmans event to be included in the Challenge Series and it will be interesting to see how the NESCRO regulars cope with the complex regularities and speed changes that this event poses. The season finishes with the ever popular Solway Historic, always a great way to end the season and the Wigton Motor Club can be relied upon to make sure the season finishes in style.
On the NESCRO administration front, Graeme Forrester has taken on the Secretary’s role in
addition to his duties as Treasurer, Ed Graham continues as Chairman and will also be doing his
usual stint as “Roving Reporter” while Bob Hargreaves will again look after the points tables for the
NESCRO Challenge. There is the possibility of a new format website which will offer more up to
date information with Ilkley’s Joe Mallinson currently looking into this venture.
2018 NESCRO CALENDAR
Feb. 24/25th. Hexham Historic Rally
March 4th Saltire Classic Rally
May 5th/6th Berwick Classic Rally
May 13th Dumfries Targa
June 3rd. Ilkley Historic
June 9th Stocktonian Historic
June 10th Shaw Trophy
June 24th Lake District Classic
July 15th Northern Dales Classic Trophy
August 12th Blue Streak Classic & Targa
August 18th Rose & Thistle Classic Tour
August 19th Cumbria Classic Motorsport Show
Sept. 9th Wearside Classic Rally
Sept. 30th Doonhamer Historic Raly
October 6th Devils Own Rally
October 14th Solway Historic Rally
Christmas Autotest – 29th December 2017
Durham held their annual Christmas Autotest at Ebac, Newton Aycliffe on the 29 th December,
when the tests were being set up there was a light dusting of snow. The snow continued all
morning until at lunch time it was 4 inches deep. This resulted in a lack of grip which resulted in
some of the slowest testing ever seen, for some competitors the lack of grip reached the point of
“not moving at all”. After 8 test the event was won by Tom Hall with Richard Pinkney 2nd in has KA
which was kept cool by snow being filled around the engine. (Full Results are available elsewhere
in this magazine).
1st Overall – Tom Hall
1st Class A – Graham Nicolson
1st Class B – Steve Brown
1st Class C – Richard Pinkney
1st Class D – Chris Willgress
Thanks to Ben, Pam, Alistair and Lindsay for marshalling, to Lewis Thirling for the sponsorship of
the awards from LGT Plumbing and Property Services, and to Tom Coverdale and Ebac for the
use of the facilities.NESCRO
Historic Motorsport In The North Of England And Scotland
BUSTLING BEAUMONT IS COCK ‘O’ THE NORTH
Dominating the series from the word “Go”, Andy Beaumont/ Andrew Fish and their flying Sunbeam
Rapier dominated the NSCRO Challenge Series, winning 6 of the 9 events they entered and
finished top of the points table, relegating 2015 & 2016 leader John Bertram to the runners up
spot, Bertram suffered from two unfortunate retirements but held on to 2 nd spot ahead of the very
quick RS200 of Dave Short with Short’s usual navigator, Roy Heath, taking the runners up place
in that category and Marion Sloan who enthusiastically guided Husband John’s MG MG Midget
around the cones, finishing 3rd. The series was enthusiastically supported throughout the year with
no fewer than 103 drivers and 119 navigators scoring points.
The NESCRO series covers a wide geographical area and the opening event saw crews heading
up the A9 for the ever popular Saltire Rally, a tour round a very picturesque Perthshire with the
snow capped mountains bringing an Alpine feel to the event. Beaumont / Fish started the series in
style with a dominant victory on an event which featured several regularities with deviously located
code boards which caught out even the most experienced of navigators. There was a bit of gap to
the Berwick Classic which again retained its two day format and with Beaumont/ Fish retiring with
head gasket problems and Bertram with a blown diff, victory went to the fast Escort of John
Ruddock/ Roger Burkill from the Avenger of Ben Blanchard/ Bob Hargreaves with up and coming
youngsters Luke Tait/ Josh Davison bringing their Escort home a very creditable 3 rd overall.The Whickham & District Motor Clubs Shaw Trophy made a welcome return to the calendar with a raft of new test venues, some of which were on the rather bumpy side, this didn’t deter Beaumont / Fish who scored another fine win with second spot going to the virtually standard Mini of Peter Metcalfe / Guy Wickham. Next up was another perennial favourite, the Penrith based Lake District Classic which again some new test venues plus a host of the old favourites which make this such a popular event. The event turned out to be a close fought encounter, Beaumont/ Fish chalked up another win but were pushed hard all day by the Escorts of Short/ Heath and Bertram/ Whitelaw. The Lake District was followed by two single venue events with the Hexham & DMC’s Northern Dales making a first appearance in the series, run around a huge former cement works in Weardale, the event saw a welcome return of the “Auld Maestro”, Archie Simmonds, who wheeled out his MG Midget and promptly left the rest the field trailing in his wake, the runner up spot went to the little Riley Elf of Tom Hall with a strangely muted Beaumont back in third place. Next up was the Wearside Classic, the NESCRO series paying it’s annual visit to the giant Nissan manufacturing plant where the test track provides a great variety of tests,Simmonds put in a late entry for this one, stuck Hall in the left hand seat and chalked up his second success in the series . Spadeadam Motor Club’s Blue Streak Rally turned out to be quite a compact event, never venturing far from it’s Carlisle base with the bulk of the tests located on the local airport. Some of these were quite tight, especially for older cars, but they proved no problem for Bertram/ Fish who scored a fine win with Bertram/ Whitelaw the best of the rest and the well used Porsche of David Agnew/ Alan Jackson making it on to the podium. Beaumont/ Fish continued their domination of the series, winning the South of Scotland Car Clubs Doonhamer Rally, an event which suffered from a dire lack of manpower and several organisational problems which hopefully can be rectified as the event also boasts some excellent test venues. The curtain came down on a very successful year when Wigton Motor Club rolled out their Solway Classic, a truly innovative event which utilised a redundant aluminium works on the outskirts of Workington with several tests held inside the huge buildings on the site. These unique venues created some interesting problems as rivers struggled to get accustomed to the gloom but they epitomised the huge variety that confronts competitors throughout the NESCRO series. Denied Andrew Fish’s services, Beaumont was unable to round off the year in style, victory going to Dave Short/ Roy Heath with the Sloans MG Midget taking a fine second place from the Austin Healey Sprite of Stephen & David Byrne. A slick, well run event, the Solway was a fine way to round off the NESCRO year. Despite his final last gap blip, Beaumont’s 702 points saw him miles ahead in the standings, with Bertram some way behind on 489, Short 0n 398 then Metcalfe with 330 and the series oldest regular car, Jim Hendry’s 1957 Triumph TR3, taking an excellent 5th place with 325. Navigators positions were likewise dominated by Fish’s 702, Roy Heath was the best of the rest on 398 then Marion Sloan with 285 and Alan Jackson scoring 268. A feature of the 2017 NESCRO series was the high level of entries, even the final round attracting an excellent 52 crews, and with this continued enthusiasm plus the emergence of several new competitors the series looks likely to thrive once again in the coming year.
2018 - Plum Pudding Hartlepool District Motor Club 7th January 2018 Driver Car CLUB CLASS Final O/A Class A Class B Class C AutoTest Dave Mosey 3 A 330.64 1 Willie Keaning 5 A 340.12 2 Waren Gillespie 11 B 342.82 3 Chris 7 A 348.76 4 1 Chapman Ian Chapman 6 A 349.94 5 2 Mark Thornton 17 C 400.75 6 1 Richard 1 B 404.28 7 1 Pinkney Phil Mayne 2 A 410.15 8 3 Jorden 9 A 414.08 9 4 Pinkney Harry Raylor 4 A 430.74 10 5 Pete Masters 12 B 432.18 11 2 Sean Young 22 C 433.89 12 2 Helen Blake 25 C 437.86 13 3 Tom 21 C 438.53 14 4 Coverdale Alan Wheatley 26 b 441.58 15 3 Tom Hall 8 B 448.87 16 4 Lee Moody 20 C 450.34 17 5 Phil Allen 10 B 451.22 18 5 Loius Allen 16 B 451.64 19 6 Graham 28 b 452.68 20 7 Nicholson Chris Wilgress 27 C 452.90 21 6 Steve Bea 13 B 462.82 22 8 Luke 24 C 483.44 23 7 Saddington Malcolm Selby 18 C 514.94 24 8 My thanks go to Peter Masters for providing the information above Marty
Blast from the Past this month is the 1994 Durham Dales Stages Rally
LGT Plumbing
and Property
Services
Durham Automobile Club
Christmas Autotest - 29th December 2017
Unoffical Results with no test maximums
No Name Class Total Overall Class
1 Tom Hall A 823 1st
Richard
2 Pinkney C 876 2nd 1st
3 Robin Hunter C 1124 13th 8th
4 Peter Masters C 989 5th 4th
Graham
5 Nicolson A 1045 9th 1st
Stephen
6 Brown B 994 6th 1st
7 Nick Brown C 1057 10th 7th
8 Lee Valintine C 919 3rd 2nd
Will
9 Makepeace C 4641 21st 11th
10 Mark Thornton D 6275 23rd 3rd
Tom
11 Coverdale B 4677 22nd 5th
12 Amy Brown B 1097 12th 2nd
Stuart
13 Leighton A 1071 11th 2nd
14 Nicky Porter C 1260 17th 10th
15 Harry Raylor A 1272 18th 3rd
Chris
16 Willgress D 1236 14th 1st
17 Carl Sams C 1006 8th 6th
18 Kim Gardner B 1254 16th 3rd
19 Louis Allen D 1374 20th 2nd
20 Peter Gardner B 1279 19th 4th
21 Richard Young C 1252 15th 9th
22 Alan Hawdon C 995 7th 5th
23 Paul Hawdon C 984 4th 3rdDurham Automobile Club – Club Championships – 2017 Stage Rally Championship 1st Driver – Stephen Petch 1st Co-driver – Michael Wilkinson Clubman Rally Championship 1st Driver – Simon Jennings 1st Navigator – Andrew Fish Navigational Rally Championship 1st Driver – Roger Broom 1st Navigator – Andy Brown Marshals Championship. TBC Clubman Rally Results from 1st August to 10th December 2017 Counting events are those listed in the NESCO calendar, and the points calculation is those used in the NESCRO Challenge If you have results that are missed please contact Gordon Dundee gandjdundee@gmail.com (note new e- mail address) Events run 1 – Saltire Classic 2 – Berwick Classic 3 – South of Scotland Targa Rally 4 – Ilkley Classic rally 5 – Shaw Trophy Targa Rally 6 – Lake District Classic 7 – Northern Dales Classic 8 - Blue Streak Targa Rally 9 - Wearside Classic 10 - Doonhamer Classic Rally 11 - Solway Classic Points Standings (number in bracket is number of events competitor has scored points in) Drivers Navigators
Simon Jennings (7) – 597.1 pts Andrew Fish (7) – 702.2 pts Mark Thornton (2) – 131.9 pts Clive White (7) – 591.1 pts Tom Coverdale (2) – 127.1 pts Tony Coates (4) – 163.9 pts Gordon Dundee (3) – 102.6 pts Alistair Dundee (3) – 102.6 pts Mark Burton (1) – 100.3 pts Tom Hall (1) – 101.7 pts Ian Bell (1) – 95.7 pts Zoe Wright (1) – 100.3 pts Richard Pinkney (1) – 93.9 pts Steve Brown (1) – 95.7 pts Tom Hall (1) – 93.3 pts Jordan Pinkney (1) - 93.9 pts Andy Drake (1) – 84.2 pts Ross Drake (1) – 84.2 pts Stuart Layton (3) – 83.1 pts Kev Luxmore (1) – 77.7 pts Alistair McIntyre (1) 77.7 pts Mick Stead (1) – 72.9 pts Peter Masters (1) – 72.9 pts Ben Wilkinson (1) – 38.6 pts Mick Stead (1) – 38.6 pts Stephen Beattie (1) – 29.4 pts Mark Nicolson (1) – 29.4 pts Helena Teadale (1) – 16.5 pts Roger Broom (2) – 26.5 pts Pam Broom (1) – 10.0 pts An indication how popular NESCRO events are a total of 255 drivers and 283 navigators scored points in the NESCRO Challenge. From 1st August to 10th December 2017 Points awarded here are those that Gordon Dundee is aware of, if anyone has not been credited days when they marshalled please contact Gordon Dundee asap. gandjdundee@gmail.com (note new e-mail address) 5 Points for each marshalling on the Wearside Classic, Classic Show, DAC Autotest etc 3 Points for organizing or marshaling on a club night Treasure Hunt, Scatter etc. 1 Point for each day marshalling on any other event Wearside Classic Pam Broom, Wendy Porter, Nicky Porter, Andy Brown, Peter Sewell, Sue Sewell, Peter Masters, Gordon Dundee, Andy Egner, Mark Whittaker Smith, Lindsay Burnip, Joan Wood, Vince Moore, Lee McGinn, John Ward, Dennis Hope, Alistair Dundee October Autotest Gordon Dundee, Alistair Dundee, Pam Broom, John Ward, Tony Coats, Trish Colligan.
October Scatter Peter Masters Trackrod Rally and Malton Forest Rally Peter Masters Cheviot Stages Lindsay Burnip, Gordon Dundee RAC Rally Lindsay Burnip (2 days), Peter Masters, Mick Stead, Alistair and Gordon Dundee Tyneside Stages, Grampian Stages, Ulster Rally (2 days), Galloway Hills Rally Lindsay Burnip Points Standings Gordon Dundee – 25 pts Lindsay Burnip – 19 pts Pam Broom – 18 pts Peter Masters – 18 pts Andy Brown – 13 pts Alistair Dundee – 12 pts Wendy Porter – 10 pts Nicky Porter – 10 pts Sue Sewell – 10 pts Peter Sewell – 10 pts Andy Egnar – 10 pts Mark Smith – 10 pts John Ward - 10 pts Navigational Rally results
July Treasure Hunt
Orginisors Points
October Scatter
April Treasure
May Scatter
Total
Hunt
TBC
Position Driver
1st Roger Broom 6 8 6 10 30
2nd Mick Stead 2 9 6 4 21
Gordon
3rd Dundee 10 10 20
=4th Kim Richmond 10 9 19
=4th Andy Brown 10 9 19
=4th Peter Masters 10 9 19
Janelle
7th Dundee 10 6 16
=8th Joan Wood 7 5 12
=8th Ian Burrows 3 6 3 12
=10th John Ward 8 8
=10th Chris Thirling 8 8
Owen
=10th Frankland 8 8
=13th Pam Broom 7 7
Simon
=13th Jennings 7 7
15th Mike Hudson 6 6
=16th Nicky Porter 5 5
=16th Lewis Thirling 5 5
=18th Peter Sewell 4 4
=18th Sue Sewell 4 4
Stuart
20th Anderson 2 2
Navigator
1st Andy Brown 10 8 10 28
2nd 10 10 6 26
GordonDundee
3rd Ben Wilkinson 2 9 6 4 21
4th Peter Gardiner 10 9 19
5th Lindsay Burnip 6 7 5 18
=6th Steve Stockell 9 7 16
=6th Pam Broom 10 6 16
8th Tom Burrows 6 6 3 15
Janelle
9th Dundee 10 10
10th Amy Brown 9 9
Simon
=11th Jennings 8 8
Stuart
=11th Anderson 8 8
Pam
=11th Frankland 8 8
=14th Chris Thirling 5 2 7
=14th Clive White 7 7
=16th Wendy Porter 5 5
=16th Kim Richmond 5 5
=18th Sue Sewell 4 4
=18th Peter Sewell 4 4
20th Nicky Halliwell 3 3
Stage Rally Results from 1st August to 10th December 2017
If you have results that are missed please contact Gordon Dundee gandjdundee@gmail.com (note new e-
mail address)
Tyneside Stages
Stephen Petch – 3rd class 5 – 8 pts Michael Wilkinson – 3rd class 5 – 8 pts
John Nicholson – 1st class 6 – 10 pts Andy Brown – 3rd class 4 – 8 pts
Mike Farmer – 3rd class 2 – 8 pts
Pendragon StagesJohn Nicholson – 6th class 3 – 5 pts Andy Brown – 4th class 4 – 7 pts
Colin Tombs – 7th class 3 – 4 pts
Andrew Hutchinson – 6th class 5 – 5 pts
Trackrod Rally
Stephen Petch – 2nd class B14 – 9 pts Michael Wilkinson – 2nd class B14 – 9 pts
Cheviot Stages
Andy Brown – 2nd class 4 – 9 pts
Malton Forest Rally
Stephen Petch – 2nd class 5 – 9 pts Michael Wilkinson – 2nd class 5 – 9 pts
Ben Cree – 2nd class 2 – 9 pts Andy Brown – 2nd class 2 – 9 pts
Poker Stars Rally
Mike Farmer – 5th class B – 6 pts
Cadwell Park Stages
Andrew Hutchinson – 17th class 4 – 1 pt
Grizedale Stages
Stephen Petch – 3rd class 5 – 8 pts Michael Wilkinson – 3rd class 5 – 8 pts
Ben Cree – 5th class 2 – 6 pts Andy Brown – 5th class 2 – 6 pts
Points Standings
Drivers Co-Drivers
Stephen Petch – 59 (101) pts Michael Wilkinson – 59 (110) pts
John Nicholson – 35 pts Andy Brown – 50 (70) pts
Ben Cree – 34 pts Andrew Hutchinson – 16 pts
Paul Swift – 27 pts Colin Tombs – 4 pts
Steve Petch – 19 pts
Mike Farmer – 14 pts
Ed Todd – 4 ptsWearside Classic and Targa Rallies Final Results Number Driver Navigator Car Class Total 32 Sean Young Chris Cuthbertson Mazda MX5 8 1317 35 Chris Hunter Fiona Tyson Mazda MX5 8 1351 4 Archie Simmons Tom Hall MG Midget 2 1357 38 Mark Burton Zoe Wright Mazda MX5 8 1365 29 Tom Coverdale Chris Coverdale Mazda MX5 8 1383 9 Richard Pinkney Jordan Pinkney Ford KA 7 1390 13 Kevin Savage Phillip Savage Suzuki Ignis 7 1413 21 Richard Crozier Jamie Mactavish Ford Puma 7 1423 3 John Bertram Andrew Fish Ford Escort 2 1425 17 Andy Drake Ross Drake Nissan Juke 7 1457 22 Craig Stamper Geoff Rae Citroen Saxo 7 1458 36 Alistair McIntyre Kevin Luxmore Mazda RX8 8 1463 25 Simon Jennings Clive White Peugeot 106 7 1471 31 Lee Moody Peter Bradburn Mazda MX5 8 1485 23 Stephen Palmer Jack Palmer Rover 25 7 1488 14 Geoff Bateman Maggy Bateman Peugeot 205 7 1521 6 Tom Leeming Clive Escreet Talbot Sunbeam 3 1523 24 Alan Hawdon Lynn Hawdon Peugeot 205 7 1526 5 Chris Myers Luke Myers Ford Escort 3 1547 12 Jordan English Alistair Hutchinson Renault Clio 7 1550 10 Liam Charlton Geoff Fletcher Ford Puma 7 1555 11 Jack Palmer Tony Hampson Mini 7 1562 27 David Winter Keith Winter Ford Fiesta 7 1570 18 Chris Thompson Josh Tompson Honda Civic 7 1583 16 Stuart Leighton Tony Coates Nissan Micra 7 1585 30 Mark Thornton Lisa Thornton Vauxhall Chevette 8 1588 26 Jon Hill Michael Pears Vauxhall Corsa 7 1628 34 Joe Harwood David Lumsden Reliant Scimitar 8 1680 39 Mark Nicholson Stephen Beattie Mazda MX5 8 1684 33 Philip Hodgson Ian Giles Mazda MX5 8 1691 1 Michael Stead Ben Wilkinson Buckler 1 1725 7 Ray Jude Ben Jude TR7 V8 3 1734 15 Harry Raylor Mark Raylor Peugeot 106 7 1745 37 Chris Wright Ben Wright Mazda MX5 8 1754 28 Roger Broom Helena Teasdale Ford Puma 7 1768 2 Robert McClean Susan McClean Ford Anglia 1 1780 20 Joe Hutchinson Emma Hutchinson Renault Clio 7 1879 19 Jack Hall James Warton Proton GTI 7 1997
Durham Automobile Club Forthcoming Event Calendar
January 24th AGM Honest Lawyer 7.30 for 8pm Start ALL WECOME followed by Buffet.
February 14th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer (date TBC)
February 24th Karting night organised by Whickam See article in magazine, on website and
Facebook for more information
March 14th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
March 21st ‘OLD’ COMERS NIGHT!! (ALL welcome, members, non-members &
EX members!!) Social get together and buffet night. **Come along! Its FREE**
March 28th Club Navigational Series Briefing and Help night See Social Sec report in magazine for more
details ALL WELCOME
April 11th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
18th Navigational SCATTER (Peter Masters) More details to follow
May 2nd TREASURE HUNT (Nikki Halliwell or Pam Broom) More details to follow
9th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
30th SCATTER (Gordon Dundee) More Details to follow
June 13th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
July 11th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
July 15th CLASSICS at the CASTLE
August 8th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
September 9th WEARSIDE TARGA at Nissan (more details to follow)
September 11th Committee Meeting – Honest Lawyer
Between June and September we will be having a few more Navigational Events including
Regularities/Jogularities and probably another Scatter and Treasure Hunt. We are also hoping to soon secure
dates for a Social Night at Fury Events and a Gymkhana. There will also be dates appearing for Auto Tests so
please look out for additional Emails and information appearing in magazines, on the website and our facebook
pages.Officers and Committee Members 2017
Please do not pass on these details to any third party without the persons’ permission
This list will be updated as and when necessary
Nicky Porter nickyporter@btinternet.com President
Steve Petch. Stevepetch@sgpetch.com; Vice President
Andy Brown. aslscrat@gmail.com Chairman
Chris Thirling. Chris.thirling@gmail.com Vice Chairman
Vacant Secretary
Lindsay Burnip. Poshbirdincontrol@btinternet.com Treasurer
Peter Masters Peter.masters@live.com Membership Secretary
Peter Sewell ssewell15@hotmail.com Chief Marshal
Pam Broom. Pam.broom@btinternet.com Social Secretary
Marty Hall. martinhall49@gmail.com Magazine Editor
Stuart Anderson. stuart@wilkinsonmaintenance.co.uk Press Officer
Gordon Dundee Gandjdundee@Gmail.com Competition Secretary
Sammie Halliwell Junior Representative
Edward Todd. eddietodd70@hotmail.com General
Fred Henderson. Fred@fredhenderson.com General
Alistair Dundee ali-d-1991@hotmail.co.uk General
John Nicolson. john@johnnicholsonfineart.co.uk General
Michael Farmer. mlp_farmer@yahoo.co.uk General
Michael Stead. mgstead@live.co.uk General
Simon Jennings simon@directcarparts.co.uk; General
Tom Hall. group2fps@btconnect.com General
Roger Broom. Roggybroom@gmail.com General
Torque Talk will be distributed the third week of each month
Disclaimer:
Articles and reports supplied for the DAC Newsletter are the views of the author(s)
and not necessarily those of the Committee or other club members.
Copyright Durham Automobile Club.
No part of this magazine/newsletter may be copied or reproduced without
written permission from the Editor or the Committee of
Durham Automobile Club.You can also read
