So cheques were sent and packs received albeit very last minute. Not enough time to get a decent level of sponsorship together or a fourth lady member for Team &Oaks Ladies, which was a pity, but it didn’t matter too much.
Due to the Vectra loosing its gearbox oil on the way home from the Autotest on the Thursday before, Sue and Ross very kindly came and picked me up. We had arranged to meet Daniel and Lisa at Brooklands. Unfortunately poor Lisa was taken ill on the journey up and Daniel had to turn round and take her home again. We were down to two.
On arriving we noticed that some of the teams had really made an effort and got all dressed up. We saw St Trinians and ladies with matching racesuits (they went on to regret these as temperatures soared during the day) and another team with orange t-shirts printed with their names etc etc. Sue and I began to feel a bit worried about what we had let ourselves in for. These girls were serious!! Well after coffee and bacon rolls at the briefing, we settled down to looking at the types of challenges we had to do. A lot of thought and organisation had gone into these. We started our day in brand new £35k Toyota Landcruisers (leather seats, air con electric everything-get the picture?) where we had to drive these lovely things over the extremely bumpy and rutted infield between the Campell Circuit and the runway area looking for cut out pink rabbits and shout their names to our co-drivers. We were told by one of the co-drivers that these were brand new and Toyota wanted them back brand new!! However we saw later in the day some of the ladies had obviously not listened to this piece of advice and were bumping merrily through the gravel and hillocks which were part of a trials bike course!
Next
followed a drive in two American army vehicles, a truck and a dodge jeep
thing both left hand drive, doing a slalom type course in the jeep and
driving and reversing into cone marked garages in the lorry. Then
it was back to the museum for a run up Test Hill in brand new Chrysler
PT Cruisers for hill starts and slalom tests on the banking under the Member’s
Bridge. That was very unnerving when I had to drive into another
cone marked garage nearly up to the top of the banking and then slowly
let out the handbrake and roll back. The gradient was unbelievable
steep probably 1:3 or even 1:2. After that we made Ross very envious
when we both had a go in a diddy little hovercraft powered by a Citroen
2CV engine (very tricky, Sue mastered it better than I did).
Lunchtime had arrived and it was very welcome. The organisers had put on a lovely spread in the Members’ Bar. Ross managed to cadge a bit of lunch too!
After lunch it was a team challenge involving more PT Cruisers. It was a timed course involving driving into a coned garage, bursting a balloon and then slalom driving along a course laid out along another stretch of the banking into a garage at the other end and burst another balloon and then retrace our steps through the cones to the other end. We kept this up for four minutes when we then had to hand over to the next driver, while removing a male blow up doll, called Herbie, through the driver’s side back window and putting him in again through the passenger’s side rear window!! Herbie was decent by the way, he had his swimming trunks on!! As there was only Sue and I in the team, we had to do this relay twice. It got the adrenaline pumping and I even managed a handbrake turn into one of the garages, egged on by the young lad in the passenger seat doing the timing!
After that it was back out to the runway for a go in a flat bed lorry with a crane arm which we had to deploy; followed by a dash down the runway in a fire engine to rescue a fluffy toy from a "crashed" Smart car (and from within the shorts of another male blow up doll – the organisers obviously men – thought this was highly hilarious) before the penultimate challenge of driving a double decker bus (with passengers as by this time Ralph had arrived with the children) and finally a blast round in a 40 ton artic lorry with a bit of reversing for good measure.
It was then back to the club house for a well deserved cup of tea (or something stronger) and the prize giving. All in temperatures that were soaring into the late eighties.
There was of course a bit of queuing and hanging about but everyone was fairly well behaved. Team Sevenoaks didn't win but we had a lot of laughs. Our thanks to Ross for being the team mascot for the day. As it was tricky taking pictures whilst driving Ross also doubled as our photographer. However he did have a tendency to wander off occasionally to check out the museum.
The money raised by the event is being split 50/50 between the Museum to improve its educational facilities and the National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy, a charity based in Lingfield which helps children whose lives have been severely affected by epilepsy. Both are worthy causes.
Both Sue and I agreed that it was a very good day and we would do it again if they decide to hold one again next year. But we would like some more ladies to take part with us. Apparently Keith Lay has seen something similar at Bovington in October. Now if that involves driving tanks round the training ground…Bring It On!!!!!