At the back end of last year Matt & I volunteered to layout at Halford in March – little did I know at the time that just beforehand I would need to remove the cylinder head on my Series 1 due to a blown head gasket. So it was with some relief that on the Thursday night before we were due to layout, I managed to get the head back on and start up the engine with everything seeming to work okay. (By the way if you need advice on how to remove a 2.25L cylinder head which is stuck, I am now the local expert – it involves more than a little brute force!) 

Layout day arrived, and we went kitted out on the Saturday for heavy rain due to a forecast that look dismal, but true to form our local weather forecasters got it woefully wrong and by the end of the day we were suffering from mild sun burn…

Sunday dawned looking as though it was to be another cracking day – and in the end we were rewarded with sunny spells all day long. We had 15 entries with a couple of double drives which was a great turnout as a number of the RTV regulars were camping up in the Peak District and was just the right size of group for this event. 

We managed to kick off on time at 10 o’clock despite Ben & Sam’s best efforts to delay the start by turning up at the last moment – not sure if it was a Sat Nav or an alarm clock was needed – but there is certainly a birthday present idea there somewhere…! 

So to the event - we had laid out section one a little cruelly with the number 7 cane very close to a concealed ditch which caught a number of people out but those that managed to judge the right line managed to get through okay. 

Sections 2 & 3 proceeded without mishap – although there were some interesting variations in scores and Steve Smith must get some type of award for the most entertaining line through a brambles bush at the top of the second section. 

So far the ground had been reasonably firm but the later sections were in the bomb hole at the north of the site and here the ground got decidedly sticky. Section 4 caught a few out – notably Sam Miller who got stuck in the water at the bottom of the bomb hole. I’m not sure if it was Ben or Sam who ended up cleaning the motor – but it would surely have taken hours. (Just a bit of advice Sam – close the windows when driving through deep mud – it makes the cleaning up afterwards so much quicker….) 

Section 5 proved to be the most entertaining by far – crossing a side slope the passenger door came open on Steve Smith’s motor and he had to try to complete the remainder of the section with it wildly flailing in the breeze. It might have worked except Steve managed to take a wrong line and did his best to demolish another brambles bush. This escapade won Steve the much coveted “spanner of the month” award. 

The usual Halford thick mud managed to catch a few unawares on the last few sections, but with no major thrills or spills to speak of. 

In the end although the individual section scores showed quite a variety – the final results were quite close. The SWB Coil class was won by Ben Benson, with John Chesters second, the SWB Leaf class was won by Will Guilding with the overall lowest score of the day, followed by Martin Barnes, and relative newcomers Nigel Hoccom and Ian Ryan dual driving in the same motor came first & second respectively in the LWB class. Well done to you all. 

Finally - thanks to Nick Brinsdon for stepping in at the last moment to help with the laying out after Stu Graham had to drop out due to work commitments. Thanks are also due to Carl & Gary for marshalling on the day. 

The next RTV will be at Eastnor on Easter Saturday 11th April. 

Simon & Matt Griffiths