TONG A.N.CC. COMP.

In’t Tong brilliant!!

We arranged to turn up at Tong on Saturday lunch time to
help set out the course and then camp over. It wasn't just an
excuse for a free play day, barbie and beer honest! My mate
Dave had arranged to carry my Land Rover on the back of
his Scania Truck having spent the week making some huge
ramps out of scrap steel. We had never actually tested the
ramps to see whether they could carry the weight of a Land
Rover and get it nearly five feet off the ground. The motor
went on quite easily, although we never really thought about
how we would get it back on if it wasn't running! Dave's (well
actually his bosses) truck appears to have the distinct
advantage of running on free diesel.

Philip and Gloria have got two big dogs and they did not want
to get their posh caravan mucky so they turned up with a
portacabin! Ady and his Brother Greg were supposed to be
arriving after work on Saturday. As it turned out, Greg was
still fighting with a stubborn prop shaft for most of Saturday
night and did not get there until Sunday morning.

Setting out a comp (or trial for that matter) is not as easy as
you might think, a lot of thought and effort goes into it. Next
time you see one of the unsung hero’s (and its always the
same bunch), give 'em a big hug, but don't get carried away
and no tongues! I made a bit of an arse out of myself and got
stuck trying to get past a parked motor. It was one of those
really easy bits that even a Frontera could get through. Of
course, everybody and his mate was there and I just knew
that they were taking the piss. It was rubbish!

We did exactly what we said we wouldn't do on Saturday
night which was to drink most of the cans and then go to the
pub and, when the pub chucked out, finish off the rest of the
cans. Stuart was in the pub (of course) with his bird and his
mate who earlier had somehow managed to throw himself
through his Land Rover window!

There was some well tidy chicks in the pub;but as you can
probably imagine we weren't exactly dressed to kill. I thought
that they might fancy a 'bit of rough' but when I looked at the
state of us I thought not that bloody rough they won't!

Sunday morning and Ady came back from a short
constitutional raving about how good the bogs were - bit odd
I thought. He was right though, good crapper award for 1998
I say. These toilets were clean, had working sinks, paper,
soap and towels, even a separate urinal with a sticker telling
you were to aim!

What was I on about? Oh yes the comp. There were
only entries which was rather less than expected. It turned out
that the event clashed with a couple of other high profile
events. Bad news for the spectators (and club funds) but
good for the drivers who managed to get all their runs in
without much waiting around, After all the rain the course was
very wet and muddy but lived up to the high standards
expected of Tong. The motors seemed to be dropping like
flies with a mixture of accident damage and mechanical
problems.

By mid afternoon, most people had either finished or retired.
I called it a day after five runs with power steering problems
and a bad misfire. Greg broke his left-front spring on his fourth
run but I'm not sure whether that was before or after he rolled
it! We were both alot luckier than Brent Taylor who lost a high
speed argument with a tree and seriously damaged the front
of his motor. Fortunately, he was unhurt. I missed the results
so I don't know how the Pennine Lads did overall but
everyone I talked to seemed to have enjoyed the day. Can't
wait till next time!

Dave Cookson (408)

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