The time….10.30am;

The place...a field near Meopham in Kent;

The combatants….Dawn and Ralph and there is pride at stake here for both parties…

Oh and there were a lot of other competitors too….

Yep the long awaited rematch and B19’s February PCT was about to take place.

The first challenge however, was to get safely into the field. Although the day’s weather was bright but cold, persistent rain in the weeks leading up to the PCT meant that the ground couldn’t have been more different to the November event. Wet and slippery in the valley bottom, with the sides and the wooded areas being first greasy then more sticky as the day wore on.

Some interesting tests were laid out among the trees and after walking the course most people agreed it wasn’t going to be easy to get a clean sheet.

7oaks were extremely well represented with no less than 15 members taking part out of a field of more than 40 entrants. Amazing! Not that long ago PCTs were really suffering from low entries and many were cancelled. No one can quite fathom this brilliant turnaround, but it is heartening to see. Darren Russell although sidelined for the day after breaking his collarbone in a cycling accident, came down to support the 7oaks competitors.

So onto the tests. We started on test 3, a straightish run up the hill into the woods then a left hand turn into the open. The Sunny performed well, proving again its worth as a PCT vehicle, and I got the first 5 score out of the runs so far. Ralph got a 6. We improved on our second run with me keeping a 1 point lead. After that a familiar pattern followed with me just keeping ahead.

The event saw several PCT virgins out and the local MR2 owner’s club (including Ross Savile.....as an MR2 owner!!) The MR2s were struggling tremendously in the sloppy conditions on the lower part of the field and on the lower parts of most of the tests, but they certainly looked as though they were enjoying themselves anyway.

Lunchbreak time and a chance for everyone to refill their ballast and mull over the morning’s tests. Mark and Roy Dawson were looking a bit glum as the versatile Puma was not performing at its best. However Ian and Keith Crocker were happy with their performances so far in Ian’s underpowered Fiat 126. Steve Thompson had got a different partner to double drive the Manta this time, new 7oaks member David Rose, as Sam Collins was otherwise engaged collecting bits for one of his cars. The Manta as expected was not having the best runs up the hills, but Steve and David were determined to better their score in the afternoon.

And the battle of the Travers pairing? Well at the break, I had taken the lead by a slim 2 point margin. So it was all to play for in the second half.

Lunchbreak over and the competitors made their way onto the start lines for their final push for glory.

The conditions had dried out a little in the woods with the slippery top layer being replaced by drier surface as more cars drove the tests. More people were nearly cleaning the tests, except for test 6 a very tight and twisty section which severely challenged the turning circles of most of the machines, and most drivers couldn’t get their noses past a 7 score. The cold breeze that had been blowing most of the day had done the job of drying out the field surface, giving more grip to the open sections.

Andy Watkins, John Root and Mick Rose were having a very interesting time, trying to incorporate some kind of stamina training into their day. John’s Rover 100, Andy’s Ibiza and Mick’s Mini were seen following each other in a pack to each test, with a mad flurry of activity as one driver finished his test then hopped out of one car and into the passenger seat of another, as there weren’t quite enough bouncers to go round.

The Travers battle was hotting up with Ralph benefiting from my terrible sense of direction on one particular test, after I missed a gate completely. By the end of the afternoon’s proceedings Ralph had got back the pre-lunch 2 point deficit and widened the gap by a further 4. Dagnabbit!

All in all it was a very successful day for 7oaks, with Ian Crocker taking overall honours much to his surprise, and brother Keith taking their class win. There were other class wins for Clive Cook and Steve Thompson. Ralph took our class third and I picked up Best Lady with my 4th place. Mick Rose also took 3rd place in his class.

The next event is on April 25th and Ralph and I will hopefully make it the best of 3! See you there for the final showdown.