Summer Trial 2024 – Leg 1 Rally Report
The Summer Trial, HERO’s annual three-day summer event, began this afternoon under fittingly clear skies. Summer itself may be a little behind the curve ball this year, but the event, that traditionally occupies a July slot in the calendar was fully ahead of the game, with an oversubscribed entry of 85 cars, highlighting the perennial popularity of this rally.
The event is aimed at novice and intermediate crews, offering up a taster of multi-day rallying, and attracts a good mixture of experienced and inexperienced crews alike. One of the most experienced in the field is former HERO Cup champion Stephen Owens, who is entered into the Masters category, alongside navigator Iain Tullie. They are not eligible for the overall win, with the onus firmly put on those with a few less miles under their belt, but their presence provides an excellent delta for everyone else and is perhaps an indicator of just how enjoyable this rally is, for all levels.
For the past two years the Summer Trial has taken place in Lincolnshire, but this year has headed west, to the borderlands of England and North Wales, with a base just south of Chester. This is familiar rallying territory, and the first day was conducted over 100 miles, taking in four regularities and a pair of tests at the Rednal Kart Circuit, a popular spot for rallies in this neck of the woods. Over such a condensed route the first competitive section began after just 16 miles, wasting no time in bedding the crews into this fast-paced event. It may be an introductory green level event, but it fits a lot of action in, and this afternoon would be no exception.
There were a good number of competitors playing their joker cards on this first reg, that had a total of four timing points, as the route headed on a border hopping southerly bearing, on its way to Rednal and the days tests. Before that, there was another regularity that again saw plenty of Jokers being played, including the experienced crew of Peter Nedin and daughter Clare, competing in Peter’s stunning little Sunbeam Stiletto. Clare has recently tied the knot with her partner Tryggvi, so this presents the perfect opportunity for us to offer our congratulations to them both.
With half of the afternoon’s regularity sections ticked off, it was time for the crews to engage in a pair of tests at Rednal. I would defy any of the drivers in the field to claim that they don’t fancy themselves a bit of a racing driver, it’s somewhat hardwired into motorsport fans, particularly those that are willing to compete, and the tests on any event are an opportunity to drive a little faster than you would on the road and, hopefully, claim some bragging rights over your fellow competitors. A pair of tests would be completed in quick succession, on what effectively amounted to two laps of the circuit, with the second a touch foreshortened. Fastest on the first, and only full circuit, were recent A Novice Trial winners, Christopher Day and Claire Day in the mighty Mini Cooper S, recording a time of 1:05s, two seconds quicker than the much larger Mercedes 190 of Malcolm and Anita Wickens and the BMW 325 of James Holt and Pete Johnson who recorded equal times, the nimble Mini just edging the powerful German machines.
On the second test, the Mini claimed the fastest time again, this time being equalled by James Holt's BMW, with Malcolm and the DTM bruiser a second slower, a time that was also equalled by Graham Walker in his gorgeous Elan. Before heading back out on the road there was a short break, an opportunity to take on refreshments and allow the red mist to clear before heading back out onto the open road for the second half of the afternoon.
From here the route headed west and north, into the hills around Llangollen, with the final regularity of the day taking place on the famous Worlds End Road, including its treacherous ford, which after all of the rain so far this summer had the potential to cause problems for the unwary. The reward for successful navigation of the roads and the hazards though, were the tremendous views from the top of the hills, particularly on such a gorgeous summers day as it was today. Not to mention the increase in altitude offering some cooler air on what was the hottest day of the year so far.
With regularity four complete, there were just a few miles of transit to finish the days loop back where it began, with the timekeepers setting to work to compile the days results. Leading the field overnight is the Lotus Elan of Colin Newbold and Tony Brooks, the Class 5 machine recording 24 seconds of penalty across the day, just a second ahead of father and son Dick and Harry Baines in their familiar Mini, with test star James Holt in third, alongside his experienced navigator Pete Johnson.
Tomorrow is the only full day of rallying, and see’s the route travel deeper into Wales on a 169-mile loop that has many rallying highlights. With six regularities and four tests, it will be a thorough examination of the field, and it will be interesting to see how the positions change throughout the day, as the different challenge present themselves, as the Summer Trial heads into leg number two.