CROSSHILLS CCV TRIAL.

On Saturday morning we arrived at the Crosshills site. Robert
opened the gate and we took our motors into the field. We
shut the gate behind us and this is where our problems
started, although Keith Tidswell had already had 2 hours
worth of problems before we got there!!!

I had a go at getting out of the ruts to get past the new trailer
but the ruts were so muddy that the motor wasn't having any
of it. Two attempts later and I managed to get past it and park
at the top of the field with my half worn tyres. Keith decided
that we would leave the trailer in the lower field and pull it up
after we had taken some of the sticks out, so Robert pulled
up alongside the trailer and loaded his motor up with sticks.
We were just in the process of loading up when the farmer
came over and told us that he didn't want the field cutting up
so all the trailered motors would have to unload on the
roadside otherwise we would have to cancel the event!!! So
Keith decided that we should fence off the field leaving just
a track up one side for access.

We hitched Robert's motor up to the trailer and towed it up
the slippery field into the trials field then turned it round ready
for a quick getaway on Sunday after the event.

We all headed off up the field to set out a few sections. We'd
just got started when David and Carol turned up whilst
in-between Christmas shopping. David put two sections in
and Robert drove them to check that they were OK. Carol
was writing Christmas cards and I got the first one "Pennine
Post". Our Lancashire friend turned up to help in his ninety
and while me and Robert were busy scraping paint off
Robert's chassis on some rocks, Sue Brook arrived to help.
We all met back at the trailer and Keith said to get as many
sections in as we could before we started to loose the light,
so off we raced to the top of the hill.

We were just putting the sticks and bunting in to fence off the
field as it came dark.

Sunday Morning -I had just got through "screw-balling" with
no problems when Penny turned up. Eight sections before
lunch and then these were altered to give 15 in all.

In the morning we had a few dodgy moments where we
nearly rolled over and by lunch time we had got more than
forty points!!! But we had a good lunch to make up for it. Brent
found a fault with his motor when it jumped out of low box
when driving up a steep bank, Then Glen Thompson cleared
the section and parked in the side of Brent's motor - it's a
good job that spat's squash quite well!!!

After lunch we got another eleven points before our last
section where we thought that we were doing quite well until
I turned too sharp up a side slope and found myself too far
up the bank, I hoped that the motor would slide down a bit
but it didn't and we fell over on Penny's side - Penny shouted
"not again Keith" just as I saw the sun behind us, then it went
dark as we went onto the roof - crunch, it went light again and
we ended up back on four wheels!!! Once I'd realised where
I was, I switched the ignition off and Ivor rushed over and
asked if we were both OK. Apart from being a bit shaken, the
only casualty was Penny's cigarettes which had got
squashed. Ivor said "don't light those just yet 'cos there's a
strong smell of petrol!! It soon cleared and Brent came over
to give us our rubbish back which had fallen all over the field.
I tried starting the engine but she wasn't having any of it and
Brent suggested bump starting it down an embankment In
front of us. It started - then stopped coming to a halt in a big
muddy pit which covered the axles!!! I tried the ignition again
but it was just dead so a tow was called for... It took Nigel,
Colin and Robert to tow us out backwards out of the hole!!!
They gave me a shove and I tried to bump start it again down
the hill but it was still dead, we hitched it up to Robert's motor
and he pulled me up the road but still nothing so we came
back and left it by the gate. We loaded both Robert and
David's motors up with my stuff and went over to the trailer
for prize giving -1 thought I was just going to get was a rollover
sticker and I was really surprised when Brent called out my
name as winner of Class 3. After prize giving we went back
down to my motor and reassembled it - by this time I was
feeling quite brassed off. We fitted a drawbar between
Robert's motor and mine then set off for home in convoy with
Nigel, Colin and David behind.

Thanks to all the Recovery Team, Marshals and those who
set out.

Keith Normanton.

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