TONG COMP SAFARI - JAN 1992

Those of you who went to Tong last year will remember the snow and
ice which caused great joy and sorrow to many, so this year at least it
was mud, and plenty of it. The course was set by Michael Chaloner, I
believe, with the help of others. A good course I thought, although a
bit grim through the trees. (You're supposed to go round the trees! Ed)
The first motor away was Graham Miles, who managed to hit a tree
almost straight away and demolished a wing. Graham went on to get quite
a few maximums, but still managed to finish, which quite a few others
didn't.

For my part I had trouble with my wiper motor not working properly,

so the screen had to be removed. I'm not so sure that screens are an
asset, as mine kept mucking up on the outside and misting up on the
inside. Other problems I had were two broken front springs, but with
care (are you sure? Ed.) I crept round the last few runs. Water was causing
a lot of trouble and the better water proofed motors were the only ones
who could enjoy the fun of the water splashes. Personally I avoid water if
at all possible as my motor does not like it much (neither does my son.Ed).
There was a very large puddle - cum- lake - on the bottom road as you
were approaching the muddy field, this I decided to avoid, and a study
of the flags made it possible to run to the left of the water instead of
going through it. There seemed to be a few comments about my taking
this route, but I did not go out of the boundary indicated by the flags
or around them. So you pay your money and you take your choice.

The field with the new road come mud run was a bit awkward to
handle, as was the bad drop to the stream and its exits, which became
well chewed up, but most managed it. A good navigator was a bonus,
as the course was quite complex through the woods and it seemed to
get slippier as the day went on and the times were getting slower. A
good battle was building up in Class 2, which kept me on my toes
during the afternoon. Kevin Baldwin took a bad knock on a tree on
the passenger's side which stoved the door into his dad's chest, who
has now decided to fit side crush bars of which their safety benefits
outweigh any inconvenience they cause.

On the whole a very good day, many thanks to all who made it
possible - the land owner, C of C and helpers, marshals and time
keepers etc.

Rod Depledge

TONG - JANUARY '92

The old girl had been in dire need of considerable attention since
Tong 91, so at Christmas I decided to do all the work required as I
had ten days holiday. My work rate over the holiday was constantly
interrupted by eating and drinking, so come the Saturday before Tong
Comp. I just had time to do enough to get through scrutineering.

I had enlisted the help of number one son as navigator. We arrived
at Tong with the bright idea of running on 205x16’s. Wrong! The frost
had receded quicker than expected. Dean disappeared, while the old
man changed wheels. It's jobs like these that make you feel old. Just
tightening the last wheel nut and Dean re-appears - amazing!
The first motors have already left the line when we arrive. " Dean,
did you have a look at the course while 1 was changing the wheels?"
"No dad, 1 was talking". Great! Lights change, we're off! ****t it's a
bit slippery. Through the first bit of wood, drop onto the track near
the pond "Bang!" What the ***! was that. Found out later it was a
log in the ditch. Nothing much to worry about until 1 ask Dean to
wipe the mist from the inside of the windscreen on my side. Now we
have a Squeegy attached to wand which should to all intents and
purposes do the job. Unfortunately a lump of mud had attached itself
to the Squeegy, you can imagine the more I shouted "Wipe" the more
Dean spread the mud. "You clot Dean". I then entered into a tirade
of abuse with grave misgivings about his parentage, needless to say at
the end of the lap Dean was going home and suggested I return to
the nut house.

After getting on my knees Dean relented and agreed to go again.
This time no problems. Already a number of casualties dotted about
the course. By the third lap we must have been getting better as Dean
mentioned we maybe ought to slow down along the back wall. On lap
five going down through wood onto the bottom track we somehow leapt
head on into a tree, stalled, restarted, backed off, nearly rolled and
slithered down onto the track and carried on.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Many thanks to Michael Chaloner,
for what initially appeared to be a rough course turned out, in my opinion,
to be very good. If anyone has any pictures or a video of us hitting the
water, we would love to see them.

Dave Hoskins

PIT GOSSIP FROM TONG

Reasons for retiring:

Paul Goodwin discovered he had lost front wheel drive just after the start
which meant he was unable to stay on the track. At about the same time
his stable companion Brian (1 don't know why I bother) Bowman was
having trouble with water and called it a day. I broke an engine mounting
which in turn caused the fan to go through the radiator. Peter Urwin had
a similar problem, this time caused by the front axle smashing the bottom
of the radiator. Peter Wimpenny retired after he rolled at speed in the dip
end of the starting field. Robert Merrison was having problems with elec-
trical cut outs due to the battery becoming loose and shorting on the
cut-out switch.

Steve Oliver changed the colour of his underpants when he did a 180°
spin on the top straight near the finish, he insists it was skilful driving
which kept the motor on the track. I say it was lady luck which saved him
from dropping off into the trees.

Dave Hoskins had strong words with son Dean 'cos when he tried
to clear the inside of the screen, he was wiping more mud on than he
was removing.

STACKSTEADS TRIAL

With my motor out of commission, thanks to Tong, I accepted the kind
offer of a double entry in Steve's motor. The only condition being that
I helped repair his damage from Tong. The list was endless but, with
my expertise and a fiver from his wallet, the radiator was repaired, the
bonnet, wing and front panel were straightened, a new exhaust system
fitted, the wiring sorted out, the hand brake made to work and the
tyres retrieved from the menders.

On the journey to Stacksteads we passed Sharneyford and remem-
bered its smell and wondered whether Glen would be driving today
with his bad thumb (there is no connection between Sharneyford's
smell and Glen). Sure enough, as we were unloading at the bottom of
the track, who should appear but Glen. We thought we were early
until we had to mess with Glen's motor to get it going. Eventually we
were scrutineered and enjoying the first cup of coffee, then Raymond
spoiled it with his drivers meeting, and off we went to the first section.

It proved to be a gentle introduction to the day and both Steve
and I cleared it. We also got clears on the next 3 sections - amazing.
The motor, however, by now was kicking out great plumes of blue
smoke and sounded like a bag of nails. It wasn't too keen on ticking
over either and because of this Steve picked up a 6 on the next
section. Myself - I cleared it - naturally. We kept meeting Boss on our
travels and he was not too keen on the water touching his newly
painted chassis!'. We finally understood what he meant when we saw
the last section before lunch. It consisted of a vast lake which had to
be navigated along its full length.

We arrived there with Rod Depledge, having just extracted him
from a swamp, and as there were no other motors about I tried asking
Mike King (the marshal) which way to go. He was very helpful. "It's
easy if you take the right route, but the two Range Rovers have just
got stuck" - Cheers! Rod volunteered "No problem, I did it in the 90
last year. Just keep near the edge" - wrong - sunk again. The ever
gallant Mike trudged out and fastened the rope to the front of Rod's
motor and rather than wading back he decided to hitch a ride - bad
news - he got wet. Glen had appeared and was next to tackle the lake
straight down the middle - correct bow wave and all that, no sweat.
Monkey see monkey do both Steve and I follow his waves and get
clears.

Lunch time, eight sections completed, eight clears. Steve 6 points
te-he. Now usually if I have a good morning I have a lousy afternoon,
so what happens as I am walking the first section after lunch? the
heavens open with icy rain. Thankfully Steve's motor has a cab although
the door tops were off and the rear 1/4 lights are missing it did offer
some shelter. Shower time over, time to do the section which looked
tricky over the middle humps and awkward at the end. So it proved,
I didn't take the best line over the humps but got away with it, not
so bad at the end, picking up my first points of the day - a 3. Never
mind, Steve tried it and got a 7, te-he. 2 sections later disaster struck.
Steve had watched Boss go through before I got there, so he gives me
a run down of where he went and where I should go. "Nice and steady,
potter round, miss the bomb hole, keep tight on the 5 & 6 gates - no
problem". Off I potters, hit the deep rut before the 8 gate, it stops
me dead - "S- - T" (that's SILT) Do I care? I do not, so why should
Steve be upset when I blame him? I go off to walk the next section
while he thrashes his motor through the ruts, but still ends with a six -
shame.                                                                

I pick up a further 3 points on the penultimate (that's a big word
I read somewhere in a posh book) section and finish with a total of
14 - should have been 6 though. It's great beating somebody in their
own motor.

At prize giving we discover that John Firth had proved it possible
to drive all the sections, 'cos he had nil points - well done. Thanks to
Phil and his helpers for setting out and the marshals for their work. A
good day's entertainment. Thanks also to Steve for letting me use his
motor. Oh and by the way, did I mention I won Class 2? No, well
that's 'cos I'm too modest.

Rob (Ed)

PIT GOSSIP FROM STACKSTEADS

Mick Heywood has nearly got his Series 1 ready for use and was getting
some practise in by double entering Mick Higson's coiler, who has now
gone automatic.

Keith and Steve Wilson made their first visit to Stacksteads with
Keith taking 1st place in Class 7, Steve had a bad start to the day,
collecting a bucketful of points on his first 2 sections.

Stuart Ainsworth rolled his blue 2A attempting to finish a section.
Nicholas and Matthew Harrison had problems with the steering bars
of their Range Rovers, Matthew collecting 1st prize at the end of the
day. Steve Taylor used Glen's motor to 1st place in Class 3 - Glen came
second!

Quite a few competitors were spectating or marshalling. Sarah
hasn't installed a roll cage to her motor. Pete Brown has still some
repairs to do from Tong (I know the feeling, Ed), Michael Chaloner
and Peter Urwin are in a similar position.

Clive Cocks was being snap-happy with a camera, hope they turn
out well and are suitable for the mag.

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