Haggate 99

We got to Haggate without any problems apart from Robert's
gearbox had started rattling in third gear by the time we got to the
site. We put up our tents and then went to set up four sections
for the RTV. When we got back to our camp Penny and Jim
turned up. Penny was in her works van and was having to pick
her way up the rough track to the site entrance.
Colin and Jordan Cavalier got the camp fire tent erected hanging
off the roof rack of Colin's motor. While dragging a sack of fire
wood to the fire I wondered why every one was laughing at me
until I noticed I'd just dragged the sack through a pile of cow
muck.

We tried out Penny's new barbecue and sat round the camp fire.
Next thing i knew I awoke at 03.45 to find the fire still
smouldering and it just starting to get light. ! woke up at 08.30 in
a red hot tent and with a hangover.

After breakfast it was time to set out the rest of the RTV sections
for all of those members that were bound to turn up. While Mark
Barnes set out the CCV, Nigel and Colin decided to reverse
some of the sections for the RTV so we didn't run out of sticks.
After dinner the line up for the RTV was 1 Rangey, 2 90's, 1 S2 &
2 S1's. A normal turn out for the club.

Robert asked me to navigate for him so I said "go on I need the
practice". All I had to do was pack up the seat with my big coat
so I could see out of Robert's motor.

On the first section Robert did very well. When we driving
between sections his motor was jumping out of first gear on the
over-run. For the rest of the sections I had to hold the gear sick
in first with my foot. Real team work.
A friend had come over to Haggate for a look at the event but
with only 6 motors taking part he didn't bother to stay very long.

The evenings entertainment was provided by the bungey rope          
pull. A belt was used at one end to attach it to the victim and the        
other end was attached a good solid object, in this case a              
Unimog. After a Chinese I was in bed for 12.00, this time                
remembering to fit my earplugs.

After breakfast I stripped down the top of my motor and got            
through screw-balling and agreed that Penny could drive my            
motor. Robert, Steve and Bryan came back from looking at the          
sections and said they weren't going to bother entering because        

the sections were too dog rough. Before we signed on, we went         
to look at the sections and we also decided it was far too rough. I        
said to Penny I'll buy you a pint for not entering ! So unfortunately        

we missed the mornings wrecking session,  

                           
After dinner! went to watch the afternoons sections. One poor
driver lost his way on a section and rolled over down a steep
bank, trapping his arm under the roll cage as it went. Another
driver was backing out of the section when he did a complete roll.

On the way home we had Colin up front with his trailer, Nigel with
his caravan, Robert with his rattling gearbox and then me in my
motor and 25 cars behind me. Colin ended up with a very large
mowing machine in front of him speeding along at 15 mph, all the
way to Todmorden.

Keith R Normanton

Tong

Twas back at the end of June that Pennine played host to a
round of the ANCC off road championship at Tong. 57
competitors and their motors assembled on a very wet Sunday to
enjoy a spot of high speed tree dodging.
My day started pretty well with my first run well on the pace and
not too far behind the FAST motors. That's as good as it got
because on the second run we hit the stream in the bottom of the
wood a bit too fast and the usual water resistant qualities of our
motor failed us big style, we coughed and spluttered our way
round to the finish on a various combination of cylinders and
firing orders but definitely not on all the 8 of them as Rover
intended.

No amount of cleaning, squirting or probing could cure the
problem and so dogged us for the rest of our remaining runs.
Every time we'd start off OK but as soon as we hit any kind of
rough, bouncy stuff the engine would start to play up.
Unfortunately, rough and bouncy stuff is not exactly in short
supply at Tong, so we had to live with it.
We had hoped for 8 or 9 runs but with all the rain since the
previous day when the course was set up, this had to be cut
back to 5. By this time I wasn't too bothered it meant we could
pack up early and go home to get out of the torrential rain and
dry out.

Prior to this event S was 8^th overall in the ANCC Championship,
fortunately for me the two people in 6^th and 7^th places both retired
this meant I'd still done well enough to move up to 6^th place
overall.

War of the Roses

Shortly before this event I was talking to Neville Langley when he
happened to mention he'd entered the War of the Roses and that
they were still a team member short. I rather casually said " I'll
come along if you want" and thought no more about it. A week
before the event I get a call from John Carroll saying "I've been
talking to Neville and you're in the team".
So that was that, I'd managed to get through the exhaustive
selection procedure for the Land Rover World teams attempt on
the War of the Roses.

The following weekend we're off up to Cartmel just North of
Grange Over Sands and the Cartmel race course that is the
events base for the weekend,

After pitching our tent and with nothing better to do we headed
off in the direction of the village square to find BEER and sit out
and enjoy the sun while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.
Early evening and with all our team assembled it was off to
scrutineering to check over every bit of kit we were carrying on
our three motors. Our team consisted of Nevilles 1949 80" with
its whacking great front mounted hydraulic winch, Graham Miles,
another old hand at this game in his Range Rover with both front
and rear winches, electric and hydraulic respectively, and then
John with the Land Rover World S2 no winch but lots of rope.
Second crew members were me, Duncan and Johns girlfriend
Alison, After passing all our kit fit for use including the ex
Lancaster bomber entry ladder that Neville had brought with him,
our team retired to the pub to talk tactics.
Early Sunday morning and the sun is already up, so we each fill
every container we have with water and put on the sun tan lotion
because it's going to be a long day out in the sun.
On time the assembled teams made there way from the campsite
up to the Event site a couple of miles away where we were each
given our first task , ours involved securing a beer barrel on to a
sled without manhandling it with your hands then transporting it

to the bottom of a crag, where we had to winch it up the crag and
then back down again 20 feet further along. The sled then had to
taken back to its original starting position and the barrel removed.
Ail of this is against the clock with points deducted for completing
the task within the time allowed, the quicker you are the more
points deducted. Points are added on for not completing the task
or using dangerous practices. The winners being the team with
the lowest score at the end of the day.
Needless to say Team LRW didn't win in fact we came 6^th out of
8 teams, however in our defence we struggled when Neville's 80
started playing up refusing to start and generally being very
temperamental. This being one of our teams winch motors meant
we were at a serious disadvantage on some of the tasks.
We arrived back at the campsite filthy, sunburnt and sweaty with
our legs covered in all manner of bites, cuts, bruises and stings
but we all agreed we'd had a great time. After all who could've
not enjoyed the sight of John and Neville's flying dives through a
rope hoop some 3 feet off the ground. Two men not usually
noted for their gymnastic prowess. 10 out of 10 for style.
I enjoyed it that much that I've gone and re-arranged our wedding
date by a week so it doesn't dash with next years event, so John
count me in !

Binbrook

The penultimate round of the ANCC championship was a joint
effort by Pennine and Lines LRC. Held on an old airfield, the site
had recently been used as a special stage on the Tour of Lines
Hillrally. Since then half of the site had been sold off The new
owner not wanting to play ball meant that only half the land that
had been hoped for was available, however the organisers still
managed to get a Sap of four miles out of the site for the 62
entries. The fun had started earlier than anticipated for us. When
checking the directions given on the entry form whilst travelling

on the M180 near Scunthorpe, we realised that they didn't make
any sense. We ended up finding our own route to the site,
negotiating the narrow lanes of Lincolnshire with a trailer, is all
you need first thing on a Sunday morning when you've been up
since Sam.

The course was made up of open fields, a short section through
a wood, a 1/2 mile tarmac runway blast and some spoil heaps to
weave round and go over. A good idea was to let the competitors
have a leisurely drive round before the event started to save us
having to walk the 4 miles.

A good mixture and great fun especially the tarmac bits which
showed up the scary handling characteristics of diamond tread
tyres. Turn the wheel at speed and not a jot happens, press the
brakes at speed and even less happens!, just like driving on ice.
Thank goodness it didn't rain.

After the problems at Tong we'd "had the carburettor cleaned
and checked, with her line blown out she's hummin' like a turbo
jet...."(0nly Bruce Springsteen could make a tune up sound
THAT good) so we had fingers crossed for no reoccurrence of
the same problems. Fortunately we had a good day although I
was well off the pace compared with the likes of the 5.0 litre boys
whom there seems to be more and more of these days,
Brent was having trouble getting going in his 'Hot' diesel, still
being dogged by teething troubles. When he did manage to get
in a trouble free run he was giving the Loadsa BHP men a run for
their money. Tim Morgan rolled heavily on the first bend doing
some serious damage to his cage and will have his work cut out
to fix it in time for the Hillrally.

I finished well down the field but scored enough points to hang on
to my 6^th place in the ANCC Championship.
See you at Doncaster in September.

Kev

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