CASTLEFORD '98.

I was looking forward to our first visit to Castleford for eight
years and had arranged to go with that well known Pennine
roving reporter Keith Normanton. However, on the Friday
night Keith rang to say that he'd had to come home from work
ill and would not be able to go. Dave McGivern was working
so it was a frantic call to Penny to beg a Sift.
She duly collected me on the Sunday morning and we had a
very swift trip over the M62 to Castleford.
We arrived to find Ivor, Dale and Mark finishing setting up.
For those of you who don't know it, Castleford is a sand
quarry full of deep water-filled bomb holes, which were even
fuller after the previous weeks downpour.
There was only a small entry due to illnesses, broken motors
and the fact that most of the Lancashire lot won't travel across
the border - It's Yorkshire Penniner's who have to travel to
Lancashire - What's the matter with you all? are you scared
of another War of the Roses ?

The weather was dull and a cold wind sprang up. I always

thought that Whitworth was the coldest place on earth, but

Cas' comes a close second!!!  

After signing on, I went to watch for a while. It's super for

viewing as you can see almost all the sections from one spot.

There were several motors stuck nose-in in the water filled

holes. By dinner I was absolutely frozen, and Gayle had gone

to thaw out in Dale's motor. Stuart Padden very kindly gave

me the use of his lightweight, with the engine running to thaw

me out and he made me the nicest cup of coffee I'd ever

tasted. Thanks Stuart, much appreciated. He and Brian went

off to marshal for the afternoon, leaving me with the

lightweight.  

We managed an early finish for once and the results were

soon out.  

Thanks very much to the land owner, setters out and

marshals and anyone else who helped make it such a good

day.  

Many thanks to Penny for the journey there and back and to

Keith - hope your soon better........ JOY.

BRIMHAM ROCKS

We planned to set off Saturday tea time after Ady finished
work and drive the motors the 40 miles or so to Brimham.
Alex, my co-driver for the day agreed to take his car to carry
the tents and all the gear. It was about 6.30pm when we
eventually set off in bright sunshine but as we travelled north
up the Al, the skies darkened and, by the time we eventually
found the site, it was starting to rain. We put the tents up
straight away and stowed the gear.

The camping area looked deserted. There were a few tents
set up but no-one around. I kept expecting to see those grass
ball things blowing around and hear the distant tolling of a
bell. It turned out that everybody had sprinted off to the Pub
which was only about half a mile away.

Mut, and ex outlaw biker and new recruit to the world of Land
Rovers had taken care of the catering arrangements.
Supplies for four people consisted of two disposable
barbecues, three large barbecue packs of peppered steak,
Chinese pork and spicy chicken, a 1.5lb of bacon, a catering
pack of breadcakes, 24 cans of Pilsner Lager and a toilet roll!
There was nothing else, not even a tea bag but at £8.00 each
it was a bargain. We did debate whether or not to get two 24
packs of Lager but knew from previous experience that we
would not call it a night until we had drunk the lot and would
be too pish to compete the next day.

We parked the two motors in an 'L' shape in a vain attempt
to make some sort of windbreak and the rain came down.
We sat with the barbecues underneath the open tail gate of
Ady's bobtailed Rangie It was probably the only time that a
6" bodylift and huge tyres were actually an advantage! When
all the food had gone we moved into the larger tent and told
a few tales until the beer ran out. We had heard everybody
else come crashing back from the Pub about half an hour
earlier.

After a cold night, I got up early and went with Alex to Pateley
Bridge to get the usual indigestion remedies and we
managed to bum a cup of coffee in the paper shop.
Meanwhile, Mut had gone to walk the Sections and with his
toilet roll. Ady had had a bad night and had stayed in bed, !
use the term "bed" loosely as he had forgotten his sleeping
bag and spent the night under a bike jacket!

Quite a few more motors turned up for the CCV trial and after
scrutineering we split up into two groups of 8 motors to attack
the 15 sections, some of which were still being set out. By far
the majority of the motors were V8 coilers, purpose built trials
hybrids or trials/corn p. safari racers and the very capable
bobtailed rangies. One exception was a very straight Series
III 2 Y4on road tyres which was well driven and showed that
standard motors could still have a go and enjoy the day. Apart
from a very bent bumper, the motor survived relatively
unscathed.

I picked up a lot of points in the morning including a twelve
point maximum for one section which I missed completely
when my motor burned out yet another set of points. I did
much better in the afternoon when someone lent me a bungie
which I fastened between the diff-lock lever and the wiper
motor to hold the centre diff-lock in! Ady struggled all day
because his giant motor has got a very poor turning circle
and he just could not get between the sticks.

The toughest section had to be the one which had a steep
climb start, turn right and drop into deep mud and then run
parallel to the road before turning right out of the ruts onto a
very steep and wet drop (which was getting slippier
throughout the day) which joined a lower track, almost a
gully, at right angles. The drop was too steep to turn and it
was a case of bouncing the motor off the far bank into the
lower gully. The guy in the yellow and blue coiler who was
two in front of me locked his wheels and slid sidewards into
the gully and very nearly rolled it. He was stuck on a very
steep side slope and his engine would not start. A skilled
recovery by the big Unimog saved the day. By this time a
small crowd had gathered at the roadside looking down at
the Section, The bloke before me did not make it as far

as the steep slope so it was my turn. My inexperienced co-driver
looked at me for reassurance but he did not get any.
Fortunately, I got stuck getting out of the ruts at the top of the
slope but unfortunately, the only way out was down. I rolled
over the top in low first with feathered braking and I was
relieved to hit the gully with a soft thud. I was pleased to get
out of the Section in one piece, Ady followed me. When he
slid into the gully his rear off side wheel lifted about 3 feet in
the air and he literally peeled off the front near side tyre. The
rest of the day seemed easy.

The winners, Nigel Calvert & Phil Bailey, had an incredible 13
points, I came a close second (not) with 60 odd. Ady got even
more.

Many thanks to the setters out who managed to get 15
challenging sections out of a relatively small site. Thanks
also to the organisers, scrutineers and marshals who helped
to make a successful first, and hopefully not last, visit to
Brimham Rocks.

Dave Cookson (408)

NOT A PERFECT DAY

Sunday 12th April and here starts a week of mishaps, leading
up to the biggest at the Crosshills trial.

It's a cold morning and I go out to start the wheeled shed so
that it can be warming up whilst I put my boots on for a trip
to sunny Sowerby Bridge. WHA WHA WHA WHA WHA and
I'm greeted with that familiar diesel rattle and an extra squeak
to the usual noises from the motor (rattling gear lever,
jangling keys, vibrating dash you know the story. So, up with
the bonnet and a quick rev. of the engine, fan belt squeak.
'It'll be all right' says me, and down with the bonnet.

Boots on and out I come but the alternator warning light's on
so I give it another rev. but his time there's a smell of burning
rubber and a bit of smoke coming from under the bonnet
Switch off, bonnet up again and everything looks intact so I
start the engine again only this time the fanbelt's turning but
not the alternator (seized bearing). Well, it has been rumbling
for the last two to three months, preventative maintenance..
Never heard of it! After trying to bodge a different alternator
on without any luck I had a call for help from my mate Philip
Chandler with a box of second-hand alternators, we found a
good one and I was on my way to Sunny, Windy, Hailing,
Snowing, Sowerby Bridge to help Philip move some
Land-Rover bits around and get my week-end ration of
hammer burns but just to be extra greedy I took a few layers
of skin off my right hand moving an axle!

The week continues On Tuesday ! cut my finger (right hand
again) on a sliver of metal whilst cleaning up the garage
Thursday, fit a NEW BATTERY and get it all clamped in only
to find that it's duff and won't even turn the engine over
Friday, cut my finger (left hand this time for a change) on
some broken glass.

Sunday 19th April. Up out of bed in plenty of time, it's
breakfast and only one of the three S's (I don't shave, I have
a bath instead of a shower, which only leaves the third one!).
Off I go to Crosshills, avoiding the stray donkeys on the way
in, change the wheels and off through scrutineering.

Section 1 I start my usual cricket score off with a welt taken
2 (I think everyone else got a clear)

Section 2 Now this is better, and I get a clear with the rest
of them.

Section 3 This is where I come unstuck because I run with
a hardtop and have to take slightly higher lines on the slopes,
only I went too high and rolled onto the drivers side in a
hollow with no easy way of recovery. My navigator baled out
to help lighten the load and I was left hanging on my side for
what seemed like 10 to 15 minutes whilst the recovery
attempt continued. .I now have neck muscles like Arnold
Schwarzenegger but we got there in the end and eventually
back on the wheels but minus a door mirror, rear lamp and
no brakes but with plenty of panel damage, back to the pits
to give the brakes a quick bleed and we were back out without

missing a section.

The afternoon continued with my score growing rapidly as
the sections passed... More damage, this time a bent steering
damper which jammed the steering and so had to be
removed

Then (I don't believe it), it happened again. A rollover onto
the passenger side this time, with my navigator leaving by
the back door. The recovery team had me back on my wheels
in no time but not before oil had run into the engine stopping
it from turning over.

Whilst the others went on the finish their remaining sections
I started dismantling the engine with some borrowed
spanners and my navigator, Matthew Constantine went for
the tool box and recovery motor. Out with the glowplugs and
crank the engine over, blasting the oil all over the engine bay

..... back in with the glowplugs and fingers crossed The

engine started (am I lucky or what?).  

Back to the pits for more wheel changing, packing away and

prizegiving. To my surprise I got a special trophy for rolling

over. If Keith Normanton had known you could get special

prizes for rolling over there would have been no stopping

him!

And so to the title of this letter, unlike the pop song, today
certainly has not been JUST A PERFECT DAY

Thanks to everyone for helping with the recoveries, navigator
Matthew Constantine, Keith Normanton for the loan of the
spanners and the organisers for a good event.

Sorry for any poor puncture-ation !!!!

See you all at the next event unless I cut my finger.

Robert lies (86)

SPRING BASH '98

Saturday morning, and I arrived at Crosshills just before
lunch. Colin told me to put my tenet up at the other side of
his trailer. Just as I was getting my tent unpacked Matthew
and Matthew!! arrived so they gave me a hand with my new
tent. Penny and Matthew went for a run round the off-road
course then Matthew set off in his newly rebuilt motor. I had
some lunch before getting ready for the RTV. The two
Matthew's got back and said that Penny was helping set out
the RTV with John Carrol and his team. Penny got back with
a slightly crushed engine cross member after trying to dig up
rocks but it still got through scrutineering.

Section 1 went well but section 2 caught us out with a real
axle twister, then onto section 3 which had a really boggy
start and across some ruts which made us get a bit of a lean
on and it felt like there was more than one wheel off the deck.

Next was the section on which Penny had been rock digging
earlier, we almost got a clear and one competitor's fan bit
into his radiator on an uphill slope and he ended up buying
a new one.

We got our motor's scrutineered after tea ready for the CCV
the next morning. Saturday night was spent round the
campfire keeping warm and watching Penny cook sausages.
Sunday morning soon came round and I woke early - to my
surprise I didn't have a hangover!!!

We started the CCV but after the second section I returned
back to the campsite to put some more air in my tyres -1 had
let too much out and the steering was particularly heavy, a
couple of pounds makes all the difference!!

On returning we found Robert's motor on it's side !!!
Everyone was OK but it took a while to get it back upright.
Once on it's wheels the only problem was a lack of brakes
but this was son sorted and Robert was back on his way. We
had a couple of dodgy moments in the course of the morning
and after lunch we crunched into a large rock and after I'd
got out I couldn't close my door, one of the scrutineering
team gave me a hand to straighten it - Thanks.

Robert bent his steering damper and was having difficulty
steering so out with the spanners and off it came.

Next section Nigel got both wheels off the ground, he got
further than Brent on this one, but then it was Robert's turn,
He steered too quickly without the damper and ended up
trying has roll cage for the second time that day!!! Brent and
Linden soon had him back on four wheels and they soon had
him back up and running again.

Two sections left and things didn't go too well - Brent clipped
a stick getting 11 points - ouch!!

Thanks to all who set out, scrutineered, marshals and
recovery team, Robert for the screwdriver to repair my tyre
inflator, Colin and Matthew for helping me with my new tent.

I think this weekend turned out to be a real SPRING BASH"!
Keith Normanton.

Fellbeck - Pately Bridge.

With all my usual lifts camping for the weekend, I had to ring
my trusty standby, Robert lies, for a lift to Pately. After leaving
my car at Roberts house in Queensbury, we set off at 7.45am
and had a steady run to Pately Bridge, arriving just as all the
campers were emerging. Ivor had rung on the Friday night to
say that he'd heard that the site was a field with several holes
full of water. He was right too, the largest hole being 14ft deep
in the middle and 3ft deep around the edge !!

I think Robert was glad that his motor is a diesel, as he set to
work changing his tyres for competing. Dave Pinner and
Simon Parkin (Tarn to his friends) complete with crowd were
finishing setting up and 16 competitors were soon signed on
and the action commenced. Six sections were completed
before the dinner break.

As Gayle was not feeling well, I took over the club shop for
her, while keeping an eye on Tarn's 'For Sale' items in his
trailer at the same time I had an excellent view of the site
from the club trailer and we had lot's of spectators. The
afternoon warmed up a bit, after a freezing cold start in the
morning. I was very puzzled to see 14 or so plastic pop
bottles on the front of Colin Cavalier's towing motor, but later
on, all was to be revealed when Nigel appeared with a brush
and proceeded to wash down his comp. motor with the
contents of the bottles - Nigel's patent car wash - still, better
to leave the muck at the site than on your drive 'eh Nigel ??

There were some quite high scores, proving that the sections
were tougher than they first appeared. It was also nice to see
some new members competing for the first time. Prize giving
was soon organised and we set off back to Queensbury.
Many thanks to the landowner, marshals, setters out and
competitors who made it a great day and a special thanks to
Robert for my safe journey there and back.

JOY.

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