HCR 2014

[sparky_spit]

962 wrote:

..don't give me much time to sleep, wash Poo or shave  ;D  :P

Have you missed out a comma there Pete?

[Nick Jones]

No, I don't think he's missed a comma out....... but you can't polish a  :X  :P

The pimento pest isn't getting a wash until after a successful finish!

391 wrote:

Not much chance for a lie in now for the long distance starters with a 14.30 start time is there?

Even living local I'd still have to get up at half one!  :'(

Yes, that two hours has caused a couple of domestic issues  :-/

Nick

[Rutty]

962 wrote:

don't give me much time to sleep, wash Poo or shave  ;D

  :P

Pete will want to wash Poo as he will be sitting in it for the next 24 hours after the curry ;)

[Ridgetone Triumph]

Stop picking on me...... :'( :'( :'( :'(

[Velocita Rosso]

....and they are off!

[Davemate]

Very long day, just woken up !
Just a quick word of thanks to all those involved in organising the event, that includes the catering core  :)


Hope to take part next year,if the start and finish are no further than 2 hours away  ;)

[ferny]

Just read Mike's blog, what a shittter.  :-/

[Davemate]

ferny wrote:

Just read Mike's blog, what a shittter.  :-/

I disagree,I quite like Mike  ;D

Real shame about his car though, it looked good at the start and it certainly sailed past us on the M11 ok.
Hope you get it sorted Mike,it does sound like you caught it in time, so as you said hopefully a quick fix

[mikew]

ferny wrote:

Just read Mike's blog, what a shittter.  :-/

Thanks Ferny ( I think (think))

[mikew]

1344 wrote:

I disagree,I quite like Mike  ;D

Real shame about his car though, it looked good at the start and it certainly sailed past us on the M11 ok.
Hope you get it sorted Mike,it does sound like you caught it in time, so as you said hopefully a quick fix

Its back with me today.

The gearbox was ok when refilled, and was still working when I stopped so I see no reason to have caused any damage.

I am more upset that I couldn't fix it at the roadside.

Does go well though  :) :) :)

[Velocita Rosso]

mikew wrote:

Its back with me today.

The gearbox was ok when refilled, and was still working when I stopped so I see no reason to have caused any damage.

I am more upset that I couldn't fix it at the roadside.

Does go well though  :) :) :)

Sorry to hear that back luck story
What you want is a set of Yorkshire spanners.......that makes things tight  ;D

[Nick Jones]

Finally got to bed at 9.45pm on Sunday..... was feeling rather strange by then!  Much better this morning after a 10 hour sleep though  :)

Another excellent one.  Our thanks to all involved with the organisation, especially Ellis and Mike.

We also note that visiting the seafronts of a number of south coast towns on a a Saturday night (and Sunday morning) gave an unexpected insight into the partying habits of the locals.  Got to admire the stamina of the Weymouth lot - still going strong at 4.30am (and some of them could still stand!).

This time we learned not to be over-ambitious and not to trust that lying b'stard sat-nav thingy (although that could be a case of garbage in, garbage out and we really ought to have learned that by now!).  Pity.  I think our actual points tally was quite competitive and completely negated by lateness penalties caused by driving in completely the wrong direction for 20 mins in the darkest depths of Kent and having to backtrack.....

I spite of my cussing it beforehand the PI didn't miss a beat in spite of some fairly unkind treatment.  It returned 35mpg on the first tankful (including the drive up to the start), 23 mpg on the second (including some desperate attempt to recover lost time) and the third (after we calmed down) looks like being much closer to the first though I've still got half of it left.  No oil or water used.

It's now earned a wash.......

Cheers

Nick

[Radders]

Another very good event and a big thanks to the organisers and helpers. We had a good event, but I think we tried to be far too ambitious on the first half which ultimately led to our downfall.

As Nick says, the stamina of the South Coast locals had to be admired and with reference to some of the young females, I could have been arrested for what my other two crew members were thinking! At least both of them managed to keep their clothes on!!  ;D

Gertie performed well with only one starting glitch again which must be something else other than the starter motor. (Ignition switch possibly?) I think I arrived home around 1pm and then started packing in readiness for the house move this weekend. Went to bed at 10pm last night thoroughly knackered!

Looking forward to the next one, but hopefully without the 2.30pm start time. All that hanging around before the event left me feeling tired before we even started the driving.

Well done to all the other crews.  :)

[Ellis]

Glad everyone that took part seemed to enjoy it, and good to hear you and the car got back OK Mike.

I also extend my thanks to the other organisers and helpers - food was exceptional at the start and finish, and the people at the museum made us feel very welcome.

Abridged results as follows - full results will be shown in the next edition of Club Torque.

1st - James Baldry / Paul Mellors
2nd - Yossarian Gay / Katy Dowland
3rd - Mike Banks / Mark Rutter

Gymkhana - 1st Colin Wake / Russell Banyard

[sparky_spit]

Great event again!  Many thanks to Ellis, Mike and the marshals and cooking crew. I think we did well in the first half as I know what the south coast road is like on a Saturday evening (except Weymouth  ;D) and knew it was going to be pretty slow going until we hit the M27. We were therefore a bit conservative with the route and gained half an hour to use on the next leg.  Dungeness was interesting, as was Portland Bill.  Must visit there in the future in daylight and with more time.

The second leg was not so good for us; I think tiredness clouded judgement and we maybe picked the wrong places to go.  The A35 Weymouth to Axminster was excellent, as was the B-road dash from Weston back to Sparkford across the Polden Hills. God knows how we managed enough points from this leg to get 3rd place though. We await the detailed results with interest.

Hats off to the winners James and Paul with such a massive score. That Spitfire must be a true rocketship with two very competent drivers.

Thanks everyone for making this another superb CT driving event.  I'm looking forward to next year already.

[thescrapman]

It is worth noting that all 3 top cars are small capacity 4 cylinder engined. Maybe even all 1300's.

Shows you don't need a big engined car.

[Nick Jones]

No.... just bigger brains  :(

Nick

[Rutty]

thescrapman wrote:

It is worth noting that all 3 top cars are small capacity 4 cylinder engined. Maybe even all 1300's.

Shows you don't need a big engined car.

I better stop Mike putting that 1500 engine in the Spitfire then LOL.

Thanks Ellis and Mike for a great event I know how much work goes into organising the HCR so lets hope for a better turn out next year.

Mark

[Ellis]

All

Having a day or so to reflect, the run itself went like clockwork, I think the one disappointing thing was the number of entries...

I've already had some positive comments about the run and some really good ideas to potentially move the event forward. I think the main one is as I mentioned on Sunday, basing the event back in the middle of the country and making a circular route, ie. start and finish are pretty much together. We've also had a few other ideas which could be key, but obviously can't share as it will spoil the basis of the event.

Any further ideas welcomed, including any from people that have done the run previously and haven't for a while - tell us why and we'll try to address it in a revised format. I know we can't fix everything, but at least if we know, we can try and do something.

Cheers all

E.

[Velocita Rosso]

Reading the comps emails, and this thread, one of the ways forward is probably moving to a central UK location for start and finish as stated.

Visiting various areas and meeting/talking to a lot of `Northern` members ,the general response has always been " Well we would do more if the events were not too far South"

Having done a few HCR`s the main problem to me is the finish and drive home from some distant locations....not the start/s. To drive 14 hours in something you enjoy doing, then drive home in Sunday traffic in hot weather (as we did from Fishguard) took the edge of the event proper.

Knowing the start and finish in every one of the regs, doesn`t take the enjoyment out of the event itself, so starting and finishing in a car park in Newport Pagnell (to name one scenic delight)has no bearing on enjoying a competitive event in between.Other than that, there is no problem with the events content.

For members reading this, The HCR is truly a great event and more members should really try it. If you like driving/competition/(albeit friendly) then you should enter.
Some may say " Aw its too much/too far/too tiring" ....then i say try it first, then comment......

PS there is a 50s/60s Diner.....with a big car park/gymkhana area just North of Newport Pagnell............... ;)  
    

[Nick Jones]

I'm agreeing with Mike (it has to happen occasionally - law of averages :P).  I've also said it a number times before.

The event itself is great.  We've enjoyed all 4 (or is it 5 now?  :-/) we've done.  

BUT:
Apart from this last one, where we were gifted with a finish less than 10 miles from home (and it was a great place to finish for other reasons too  :), please use it again!), our previous shortest to/from event leg has been 120 miles (perfectly acceptable), but the vast majority have been close to or even above 200 miles both ways (too much for sane people).  Southwold, Newport, Cambridge, and especially Barnoldswick (twice!) are all a bloody long drive from Somerset and this is why our total door to door mileages have all been over 1000 apart from this last one which was "only" 866.  The highest was last year at 1,127 (in about 29 hours) and driving 240 miles back from Barnoldswick in Sunday traffic after driving all night does take the shine off!

This is definitely a factor in deciding whether to enter.  We did drop one event as both legs were well over 200 miles (Barnoldswick /Southwold?). On the whole I think we've accepted it as part of the entry costs, but we do wince a bit and we are fairly hardened endurance event offenders.  Others are put right off.

So anything that reduces the to/from event mileage has got help numbers.  One way is to start and finish somewhere more central on the country to keen the mileages closer to the 100 - 150 bracket for most people.  Another, possibly is to consider alternate start points in different areas.  One of my colleagues does a motorcycle endurance event not unlike the HCR and they can choose from a number of start points.

IT is a great event and needs to be more accessible.

Cheers

Nick

[mixedbag]

Thanks once again to Mike, Ellis and all those who helped make it happen. And to James for the joy of sharing his car for the weekend.
We  nearly came unstuck due to my attempt to make midnight occur twice, once as 2400 and then an hour later as 0000 but in the end we surprised ourself's with a second win.

The  drive home was a killer. (Nottingham via Northamptonshire)  but I think that almost anywhere is going to give some people a long drive  back.
I think our event milage was about 720 with another 250 on top for getting there and back  (and another 140 for me to get to James and  back) and for the second year in a row the overdrive aquired an electrical fault on the way back.

I'm not sure that the couple with the steamy windows were impressed with us rocking up to take photos of Berry Head lighthouse just before dawn. (whistle)
Looking forward to next year already.
Paul.

[Ridgetone Triumph]

Many thanks to all of the organisers for making this another great CT event  8)

Janet and I have just got back after spending a few extra days in the south. As with last year after the HCR we booked, a near the finish hotel to rest our weary heads and this year was no exception  ;) We had fantastic weather for the remainder of the week and plenty of 'Oh I like to be beside the seaside' treats  ;D

Roll on next year  ;)