At the end of last season Andy and I decided that in 2005 we should follow the National Asphalt Clubman’s Championship, as in 2004 we had taken part in a couple of their events and thoroughly enjoyed them.

The winter saw the normal amount of work on the car and it was off to Brean for the Regency Stages at the end of January. I think most of you already know how that ended, a big off on stage one saw the car wrecked and very wet. Upon our return to Kent the mess was deposited at Bill Oliver’s for a lot of body and suspension work. Unfortunately a delay in the supply of new seats meant that we had to miss the first round of the Championship, the Tour of Cornwall.

So our first competitive outing was West Essex CC’s Millbrook Stages held over the proving ground’s mountain circuit. I have to say this is an excellent venue, a real tester, as you would expect. Going into SS6 we were in a strong position in class and optimistic of a respectable result, but disaster was to strike on a very tight uphill hairpin. There was a loud bang and no drive the result of an outer CV joint crying “enough”! Considering they are GKN’s Ford Focus WRC units this was a disappointment to say the least. Two rounds zero points, not exactly a wonderful start.

The next outing was the Rally of the Midlands based in Hinckley and Nuneaton. The organisers have a really good PR machine and the event gets lots of local coverage, as the local evening paper is one of the sponsors. Generally the stages are good using MIRA, a couple of stately homes, Bramcote Barracks and this year for the first time Mallory Park. Whilst it is a two-day event the real mileage is on the Saturday at MIRA and Mallory Park. As far as we were concerned it was all going really well and by the end of Saturday we were 14^th overall. The next day there were no stages over three miles and so on the basis that major gains were not to be had by pushing hard, it was a case of be careful and get to the end. I have to admit I was a bit of a steady Eddy, but those short stages had some nasty traps for the unwary including a very nasty bridge over a canal on one and speed humps on another. All these are good for the spectators and photographers but not so good for the car. A finish was what we were looking for and 12^th was what we got and to our surprise we were told that we were 2^nd of the championship contenders. This was the first finish we had since that rally the previous year, as you can imagine we were quite happy.

We then had a short break until the August bank holiday weekend when we found ourselves driving to Wales on the Friday evening so that we were ready for the recce on Saturday morning, which is essential if you want to be anywhere near competitive. Epynt Ranges are an awesome rallying venue that hosts two of the championship rounds. The roads wind all over the place and when they do straighten momentarily there are numerous blind crests. I have to admit to being right off the pace on SS1 but by SS4 I was back on it and going well. Unfortunately this was not to last, as not far into SS5 the exhaust broke. We continued through the stage making one hell of a lot of noise but unlike venues in the southeast, the sheep don’t tend to complain. At the finish of the stage the Chief scrutineer just put his head in the door and just said “you will get that fixed now won’t you boys”. Fortunately the next stop was service and it was all hands trying to fix the broken pipe. Typically it was broken at a weld but we managed to cobble something up before leaving for SS6. Unfortunately the jumps over those blind crests put paid to our repair and about three miles in it separated again. There was nothing to do but retire. This was our second visit to Epynt and our second retirement, perhaps our next visit in early October would be more fruitful.

In the mean time a new side exit exhaust system was made from mild steel (less brittle than stainless and therefore less prone to cracking) and fitted ready for the Tour of Epynt.

Once again the recce went well and I was starting to have more confidence in the notes. For some bizarre reason we had been seeded right at the back of the field along with the other competitors in the championship. Why this was we had no idea but we christened ourselves the “Back of the Pack Club” and set out to enjoy the event. I still wasn’t really quick early on but as the day progressed, we worked ourselves up to 32^nd overall and 6^th in class and what was more important, a finish and 3^rd amongst the championship contenders. However the event was not without its dramas. On one stage the car in front of us rolled very comprehensively and the crew were just getting out of the car as we arrived. We stopped to help them but by the time we got back underway, we were running a good five minutes behind the penultimate car on the road. The problem is that when it all goes quiet the sheep start to use the roads again making for some very scary moments, as you just have no idea of where they’re going to go.

Our early missed round and two non-finishes meant that we were out of contention for the championship so there was some debate about the last round, the Cheviot Rally held on the military ranges at Otterburn, north of Newcastle. But go we did if only to treat it as a fast recce for 2006, you never know it could be important. All I’ll say is that it’s a long way and local accommodation is scarce.

The Otterburn ranges have been closed to motor sport for a while whilst the military re surfaced most of the network of roads that cross this vast area. What a job they did. Whilst the roads are in no way wide they flow and are nowhere near as blind as Epynt. However the crests do tend to drop off creating a much bigger jump than you might expect.

In the service area there was lots of talk about the championship. On the face of it the championship was already won but at post event scrutineering on the Tour of Epynt the winner had declined to have his engine inspected so it had been sealed for later inspection. However rumour had it that it had still not been inspected and time was running out. This meant Scott Smith was in the running with his co-driver Richard Millener having already secured his side of the championship. However to add to the confusion, Scott was running on a standard(ish) engine having destroyed his on the previous event so he was there for the finish. We were just there for a fast recce so there was lots of bluff and counter bluff going on.

The event didn’t have the best of starts when John Price (1) hit a sheep within 200 yards of the start of SS1. Scott and Richard to prove the point arrived at the start of one of the stages with Richard reading Motoring News. The new tarmac was very greasy which made for some interesting moments as did some of the cattle grids. As the day progressed I decided I didn’t want to see how we were doing, although you couldn’t help but get information from the others in general chat. The visibility was also getting bad as the mist started to drop. In places it was less than 100 yards which tends to concentrate the mind when your flat in fifth changing up to sixth, knowing there is an 8R up ahead with no distinguishing landmark to locate it, other than it was 400 from the previous bend which was a 1R, which is almost impossible to detect. Going into the last stage I couldn’t help but know that we were winning the class by 22 seconds. I hate going into a final stage like that. The most important thing is to finish so you want to take it steady, but not too relaxed otherwise you could drop too much time and there is always that risk of relaxing too much and making a silly mistake that could cost you the event. And so the decision was made, let’s attack. We finished the SS10 in 15 minutes 24 seconds and 11^th overall, Geoff Glover did 15 minutes 23 seconds, I’m glad I didn’t back off!

So the outcome of the championship was Scott and Richard won the championship, Andy Kilby won his class and I was second.

How would I sum up the season? We’ve driven a lot of miles, used a lot of fuel and tyres, stayed in some strange places and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Finally I have to thank Sue and Martine for letting us go off to play and Matt and Lucy who have serviced for the whole season, a great job guys, thank you.