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1000 Mile Trial

Photos: Blue Passion Photo / HERO Words by Kev Haworth

Paul Crosby and Ali Procter took victory in the 2017 Royal Automobile Club 1000 Mile Trial in an event where the lead swapped at every main control, over the first four days and the top five were separated by just seconds throughout.

This year’s 1000 Mile Trial set off from Oakley Court Hotel on the River Thames, Sixty fabulous pre-war cars set-off taking five days to cover exactly 1000 miles. 

Day one started in bright sunshine, a gentle introduction for the many novice crews taking part, the tulip style route book making it easy for those new to navigation. The battle started after a lengthy run out passing Henley On Thames with the first regularity close to Wallingford, from here three tests at the Bicester Heritage complex saw crews fighting over seconds. First on the leader board were Bill Cleyndert / Dan Harrison who’s mighty Bentley put in some amazing times on the tests and was supremely consistent on the regularities, Harrison was desperate to erase the demons of the 2015 event where he partnered William Medcalf – an error on a regularity section costing them an almost certain win at their first attempt.

Heading north to Whilton Mill Kart track via two more regularities saw the competition intensify and the leaders swap as Cleyndert and Harrison had dropped three seconds in test penalties and were leapfrogged by Stuart Anderson and Leigh Powley, third at the end of day one  were Paul Crosby and Ali Procter who were supremely consistent in the regularities but a tough class saw them being punished by the incredibly quick and nimble Frazer Nash BMW 328 of Peter Lovett and Matt Fowle.

Day Two

The second day of the event saw rain causing a few umbrellas to be raised along with some convertible hoods. The day’s competition span 216 miles long and include four regularity sections and four tests. After leaving Stratford Upon Avon and its hectic traffic behind the route took crews through Snitterfield and past the Jaguar Land Rover Proving Ground near Balsall Common before tests through Arbury Park and Curborough Sprint Course where William Medcalf / David Duncan had a flyer of a run only to clobber a cone – and a fence post – with their Bentley, William claiming a Deer had run out in front of him with a wry smile on his face.

Following this, on the short hop to Draycott in the Clay Steve and Julia Robertson’s MG developed a terminal head gasket issue forcing them to trailer the car home to fix it – they returned after two days later to finish the event. On the first day during a road section a spectator jumped out in front of them waving his hands, they stopped to be told: “I used to own this car!”, they had reunited a former owner with their MG, he lovingly patted the car and recalled fond memories of using it before the Robertson’s departed to the next section.

Two tests ensued at Darley Moor Race Circuit and were a mixture of tarmac and loose to test the drivers, Gareth Burnett was spectacular as ever in his Talbot. Other great drives came from Ben Cussons, Peter Lovett / Matt Fowle, James and Charles Rosenmeyer, Heiko Harm / Birte Ballauf and the Bentley Blower of Jurgen Ernst / Karoline Seyerle.

Lunch was served at Chatsworth, where large crowds gathered to admire the cars. Following lunch, the event traversed through the stunning Derbyshire Dales and Peak District. Competitors took to the lanes across the heart of the Peaks and through the Spa Town of Buxton to take in the third regularity of the day, Toot Hill set in the Goyt Valley. Jonathan Procter / James Haithwaite were top dogs here with Sue Shoosmith / Trina Harley and Stuart Anderson / Leigh Powley with a fine two seconds lost.

Dropping off the tops of Ax Edge and into the outskirts of the old silk town of Macclesfield, a well deserved break at Capesthorne Hall gave competitors chance to dry off before heading into the salt mine and Mere area of the Cheshire Plains for the final test of the day. 

There were no changes in the top three but the very talented Olaf Pothoven partnered by Pieter van Leusden were climbing steadily through the field. Another pairing that were being considered as challengers were Jonathan Procter and James Haithwaite in their Frazer Nash TT Rep, some storming regularity sections saw them nestle inside the top ten.

Day three

Day three saw a testing morning with over 50% of the entry taking penalties on the very first test of the day at Carden Park. Equal fastest times came from Bill Cleyndert / Dan Harrison and Peter Lovett / Matt Fowle on 35 seconds, just one second behind was the flowing Paul Crosby / Ali Procter. Unfortunately, Stuart Anderson / Leigh Powley fell foul of cone D which seemed to have caused most of the problems between the crews giving them a wrong test and dropping them down the leader board. There were nervous moments for Crosby and Procter as their MG was reluctant to keep its supercharger belt in place but some fettling at lunch saw the problem rectified and keep the pair in the hunt, they seemed set on a top three finish.

Regularity one started just outside Pant-Glas and wound its way through Caemor Wood. Tomas de Vargas Machuca / Bart den Hartog were on course for a clean section until this point, their little Aston Martin running out of steam at the climb costing them eight seconds. Graham and Marina Goodwin had the power available to them in their Bentley but an errant tractor put paid to their chances of a clean run, costing them 12 seconds on this point alone. Anderson and Powley were the only crew to clean every control.

After leaving a straightforward regularity around Lake Vyrnwy, it was straight to Pont Llogel with three timing points in the Vyrnwy Valley. The start at Boncyn Celyn threw many crews, the tight lanes with high walls and undulating hills keeping crews on their toes. The final regularity of the ‘morning’ took in Clun Forest and included five timing points over 13.8 miles.

The afternoon started with a regularity section to the north west of Tunbury Wells, following this was a run up the world famous Shelsley Walsh where Peter Lovett / Matt Fowle took the quickest time up the hill from Gareth Burnett / Tony Brooks by just one second. Other great runs came from Stephen Owens / Niall Frost, Brian and Harvey Scowcroft and Wilfried Schaefer / Sandra Huebner in their lovely Talbot AV 105. The day had been about the regularity sections and carrying the event the 220 plus miles from Chester into Chepstow.

Day four

Day four saw the event really hotting up now as local traffic (six tractors in fact) held Bill Cleyndert / Dan Harrison up, causing them play their Joker to reduce a 33 second penalty down to five seconds. Leaving Chepstow and heading out over the River Severn Crossing back into England with a run through Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and stopping for lunch in Sherborne Castle in Dorset. There were two regularities and three driving tests to entertain crews. 

The first regularity, named Badminton, saw some horsing around for Stephen Owens and Niall Frost as they were baulked by one of our equine friends and its rider costing them an estimated 20 seconds or so in penalties. Starting near Little Badminton and running around Badminton Park, this regularity had three timing points. Passing through the picturesque village of Luckington and Alderton to the end of regularity. Three Tests at Castle Combe Racing Circuit allowed the drivers to open their charges up with stunning performances coming from Paul Crosby / Ali Procter, Andy Lane / Richard Crozier and Peter Lovett / Matt Fowle who were still smarting from picking up a line fault on a regularity yesterday.

After an average start to the day and dropping eight seconds on the first regularity section, Cleyndert and Harrison came across their Nemeses and brought a 2 minute 35 second deficit back to 33 seconds only. The Joker was played and this gave them 28 seconds back meaning they scored 14 on regularities for the morning. Best on the regularities this morning were Bent and Martin Jakobsen who had a stellar drive to incur just four seconds in penalties, other great performances came from Pothoven / van Leusden on seven, Crosby / Procter on six and Lovett / Fowle on five. Crews in the wars were Jayne Wignall / Andy Ballantyne who seemed to have a mare of a day round Badminton, forcing them to gallop through the rest of the regularities. Sadly, Serge and Suzanne Chabbey snapped their exhaust manifold and could go no further, the SS 100’s front pipe disconnected by a protrusion in the road, making it too loud to carry on.

It was all to play for on the final day.

Leaving Winchester and heading out towards Aldermaston, the Friday traffic was heavy and it was this very traffic that turned the event on its head. Leaders, Cleyndert and Harrison were in the first of four regularities and three tests that would decide the event and found themselves struggling with a hairpin relegating them to third behind Anderson and Powley who were having a stellar run. Clerk of the Course, Guy Woodcock had set a challenging route for the crews, adding to the intensity of the competition. Crosby and Procter led for the first time in the event and were shocked at how the lead had swapped so quickly, this was a shorter day with just 140 miles to complete and the pressure was mounting on the MG crew as they were still battling mightily with Lovett / Fowle on the tests. To say that it had been a stellar year for Crosby is a bit of an understatement, a fine win after experiencing mechanical issues on the Endurance Rally Association’s Flying Scotsman had Crosby wondering if he could do the double in pre-war terms, the tension in his and Ali Procter’s faces at lunch was quite something, just three tests stood between them and a famous victory, Paul cruelly robbed of this in the 2016 running when electrical problems cost him and Andy Pullan the event.

Their nerve held and so did the supercharger belt, they crossed the finish line in a jubilant manner with Paul, arms raised, punching the sky in delight. It was emotional for Ali too and whilst being interviewed he welled up and was unable to speak. Nothing can take away the fine performance of Stuart Anderson and Leigh Powley that took them into second place, had there not been a wrong test they would have been clear winners, the same could be said about Bill Cleyndert and Dan Harrison, they had dominated the event for long periods of time but luck wasn’t on their side.

Full version of this race report and race results can be found here

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