Autowindscreens Road Rally 1997
Matlock MC - 19th/20th April
Result - DNF
Matlock Motor Club’s Auto-Windscreens Rally is a nationally renowned event incorporating the most challenging tracks and byways in Derbyshire. A capacity sixty five entry with a reserves list demonstrated the popularity of such events. This year there was a historic class, but this didn’t mean an easier time for the normal competitors as fifteen miles of the roughest whites had been cut for the historics (only). A starting position of thirteen was not a good omen, especially considering my recent run of DNFs.
Almost immediately upon starting, a rough white was used. Normally at this time of year, the whites are muddy and wet however, with the recent lack of rain, the ground was very hard making the tracks hard on the cars. The traditionally used whites were extra rough with a lot of dust being thrown in the air. The trick was to ensure that you arrived at the white with no-one in front as visibility when following someone else was virtually zero.
The organisers had gone out of their way to make the route interesting with a normally unused tricky descent down from ‘High Rake’ through a series of hairpins with a sheer drop on one side. This was made more difficult for me as by this time I’d acquired my first puncture.
Perhaps I was trying too hard, but by the end of the first half, I’d used up all three spare tyres and had turned my steel rims into octagons. I noticed at this point that other high running competitors were using knobblies or at least road-plus with strengthened sidewalls. Other competitors who hadn’t had punctures had picked up a lot of lateness. Next time...
After scrounging a spare tyre from Mat who was out marshalling, I set off on the second half with the intention of taking it a bit easier on the whites. The exit to the half way halt was straight onto a white, which was smoother than those previous. However, this was to be my last white of the rally as a critical suspension bolt, that must have been shaken loose on the first half, fell out causing my Auto- Windscreens attempt to come to an abrupt and noisy halt.
After spending 3-4 hours crawling around under the car with the temperature at about freezing, I had effected a bodge repair. I drove into Sheffield to find a bolt in a scrapyard capable of getting me back to Essex which is where this article started!
Despite failing to finish, I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and will be back in Derbyshire for more namely the Drystone in August and Rally of the Dams in September but with more sensible tyres! Hopefully, I’ll have coaxed the Escort into a more reliable state by then with some slightly less mechanically challenging events starting with the Swan in three weeks.
Interesting photo here, we'd wrong slotted slightly earlier and approached this junction from the wrong side. We stopped before getting any penalty for it, but saw the layout of the junction and the photographer. Then when we came at it the right way, though we'd go for a good photo and there we are going sideways off the road.....
