Despite having been actively involved in motorsport for about 15 years competing in sprints, hillclimbs, autotests, scatters and 12-cars, and helping out at stage and road rallies, PCTs have always remained an enigma to me. My curiosity was first aroused by Mark Dawson’s articles about the events he had done in 2002. Then, in October this year I happened to be free on the day of the MGOC PCT and went along to watch some of the SDMC members taking part. In the end I was coerced into passengering for Ross Saville and had a great time, so much so that I wanted to do one myself. However, despite everybody saying that these events are totally non-damaging I saw enough scratches on paintwork that I felt I could not use my company car on one. And my Westfield had far too little ground clearance. So, what to do?

Now, 5 years ago, we purchased a Fiat 126 when we were in need of a second car as a runabout due to Jennie’s work commitments. 18 months later when both tax and MOT had expired the car was moved to my Mum’s back garden ‘just for 3 months’. And there it sat for the next 3 ½ years as we no longer needed a second car. It was certainly suffering, with most of the electrics dodgy, holes in the sills, pulling brakes and faded paintwork. I was regularly receiving threats that the baby Fiat would be scrapped if I didn’t sort it out soon, and on top of this we did need a second car again. However, neither incentive was enough to get me off my lazy backside and fix the long list of faults. But the prospect of having some fun at a PCT, well, that is very different! After an eventful few weeks which included setting fire to myself whilst welding the thing, and much angst as parts were delayed by the postal strike, the 126 was back on the road with a fresh MOT.

Production Car Trials, or PCTs, are all about car control and nothing to do with speed. There are a variety of tests laid out, usually 8 or 12, and competitors get 2 attempts at each test, both runs to count i.e. no room for error! The tests are usually uphill, often winding through bushes and trees. Along each test there are 12 sets of gates numbered from 12 at the bottom to 1 at the top. The idea is to drive up the test at your own pace without stopping or hitting any gates. When you do get stuck you score the value of the gate that you are about to pass, getting 0 for a clean run. Cars are divided into classes based on engine size and drivetrain configuration. At most events the cars need not be road legal, 16-year olds can drive, and 12-year olds can be front seat passengers with 2 years+ allowed in the back. This can mean a good day out for the family.

The B19 event turned into a bit of a day out for members of the SDMC chat forum, Fast Talk. This included me (driving), Darren Russell (driving his ZX), Ross Saville (passengering for me and Darren), Ralph and Dawn Travers (double driving Dawn’s Nissan Sunny), Sam Collins and Steve Thompson (double driving Steve’s Manta), Chris Scudder (driving his Ibiza), and Chin (passengering for Chris). Other SDMC members included Mark Dawson (Puma) with his dad Roy providing the ballast, Richard and Caron Chambers (double driving a Peugeot), and Chris Judge double driving his road-going Mini with his nephew David, although Chris was entered under the B19 flag (boo, hiss!).

The B19 test took place at Chapman’s Hill, near Meopham. The venue is a very large field with steep sides and lots of woods. There were 5 tests laid out for the morning. Tests 1 and 2 were mainly up the side of the steepest hill, on grass, with an occasional foray into the woods. Test 3 was all in the woods with a thick carpet of leaves and sticks. Test 4 was in the woods on the other side of the field and was the shortest test, and mostly flat, but had a very steep finish that was pure mud. The 5^th test would not be used in the morning, but would be held in reserve for the afternoon in case it was needed. This test was also in dense woods. Now, to people who had never done a PCT before these tests looked quite daunting, especially the skid marks on some tests where the organisers had obviously been testing the layout. There were over 40 cars entered in 4 classes.

After making use of the salubrious toilet (a tent in the woods with a chemical toilet and a bag full of damp toilet rolls!) I returned to my car, went to adjust my tyre pressures and discovered I had already collected two punctures! Well, not quite, the scrutineers had already been around and lowered everybody’s pressures to the minimum allowed for their class. Phew, a bit of a relief!

In the morning things went quite well for a lot of people. Too well in fact. One of the marshals said “We’ll have to do something about these little Fiats this afternoon” after 3 126s scuttled up one of the hardest tests without getting stuck. I had picked up just 2 points and this was purely through inexperience. Thinking slow and steady was the best approach I trickled up to a tight turn over a big hump and discovered I didn’t have enough speed to carry me over, the wheels spinning and the car coming to a halt. By morning end there were 5 cars on a score

of zero including Chris Judge in his Mini. Dawn was loving every minute of it because she had 5 and Ralph was on 7. Ralph, meanwhile, was coming up with all sorts of excuses and plotting revenge for after lunch. Mark Dawson was looking very comfortable on 3 points although somebody else in his class was clean. The Black Colin McRae was struggling in the big Manta on 35 while the car’s owner Steve was on 12 and couldn’t believe that he was ahead of such a successful racer and renowned author… Darren was finding that he had amazing traction and his turning circle wasn’t too much of a hindrance.

There was a burger van present (unlike the MGOC PCT where those who didn’t bring sandwiches were left hungry) so while everybody took some ballast on board in the form of ½ pounders, the marshals set about making the courses harder. And, boy, did they succeed! Courses 1 and 2 on the grassy hill were made much tighter with several switchback turns. Course 3 was abandoned and course 4 pressed into service after making that tighter too. Course 5 had the finish altered so that it used an even steeper section and there was no run-up at all, the cars having to make a sharp 90 degree turn right before the hill. I knew I would struggle up there with all of 26HP!!!

These changes certainly had the desired effect and score cards that had been full of zeros started to fill up with many double-digit fails (i.e. right near the start of the tests). I soon had a big fail. Remembering the problem I had with going too slowly in the morning I then went too fast on test 4, sliding side on a turn and hitting a marker near the beginning of the test (10 scored, thank you very much). This was frustrating as next run up I went a bit slower and cleared the test easily. In fact many people were caught out at gate 10 on this test with 3 cars hitting trees, 2 of them sustaining hefty panel damage. Test 5 was also a tough one with only half a dozen cars managing to clean it. This included Ralph in the Sunny, but much to his chagrin it was not enough to rein Dawn in and she beat him 31 to 36. As I suspected, my 2 cylinder lawnmower engine couldn’t get me up that steep section, the car having plenty of grip but spluttering to a halt 1 gate shy of the top each time.

So, at day’s end no car was clean, the best score being an MG Midget that was on 2 fails. However, because the overall award was based on class index, Mark Dawson picked up this trophy. It has to be said that his score was phenomenal, just 7 fails, second only to the MG in outright terms, and 8 points clear of his nearest rival in a Golf GTi. Steve picked up best novice, again based on class index. Dawn got 3^rd in her class and Chris Judge was 3^rd in his class.

A great day out and I look forward to the next event there on February 8^th 2004.