Sevenoaks and District Motor Club ran a 12 car rally on Map 198 on Friday 14^th January 2005. Central Sussex got an invite and fielded 2 crews at pretty short notice: - Matt Fowle navigated by novice Samm Keeley ran at car 4 in the Peugeot Revival 106, followed by the Ford Focus of Paul and Mike Beeson.

It was encouraging to see that a full entry left the start at Pease Pottage services. The event was the usual plot and bash over 5 sections, all about 8 miles long. The first taking cars via Colgate and St Leonard’s Forest to TC2 at Doomsday Green, ably marshalled by Haydn and Lorraine Chappell. Turning south the route went via Copsale, Maplehurst and Nuthurst but a map reference 1 grid square, out caused some crews a moment or two and meant that Paul and Mike arrived at TC3 before the rest of the field.

A clock face handout, approach on the hour hand and leave on the minute, took crews through Cowfold and Frithknowle to TC4 at Kent Street. From here a series of tulips minus balls and some arrows meant that the route went via Wineham and Highcross to get to TC5 just north of the A272. By this time several first timers were well down, but some of the more experiences crews were still clean. Accordingly a tightly timed section using grid lines (it is this area where the northings/eastings are all the same!) took crews through Warninglid, round both the “not as map” triangles under the A23 at Slaugham, then south to the finish at Bolney. By now the eventual winners were again first on the road, hotly pursued by the other Census crew.

We then made our way to the Eight Bells pub in Bolney to wait for the results. All in all, a very good results for both crews, well done navigators.