Having parted with heaps of hard-earned cash at your local Land Rover dealership in return for your shiny new motor, all complete with gadgets, knobs & whistles, the last thing you would want to do is scratch your pride and joy by taking it off the tarmac.

Can’t say that I blame you….. I bet you have been tempted eh?........Just a bit? MROC has a solution to your dilemma: “TYRO” (Try your Rover off-road). This entry-level form of competition allows you to test your driving skills over a carefully prepared set of trial course sections, designed to avoid all risk of vehicle damage.

Traditionally, MROC organises a TYRO Trial at Eastnor Castle on Easter Bank Holiday Monday, subject to weather and ground conditions. The weather this year was PERFECT for TYRO, so Bronsil Wood was booked and the event went ahead. This year’s entries saw a wide range of LR products and competitors, including Derek Spooner’s very well turned-out Disco 3 and a tidy RR Sport owned by Mark Workman, but driven by his son, Dan. We also had Sarah Barron & Ruth Smith with Richard Smith’s Disco2 as the sole all ladies team entry, and a double-driven 90 by “soon-to-be-wed-Devon-dwellers” Lyndsay Gay and Paul Willmott……. both off-road virgins (behind the wheel at least).

The driving standards were good and the competitive spirit thinly disguised behind lots of smiles and laughter. By the end of the six planned sections, Lindsay had saved her future marriage by retiring before causing actual bodily harm to her fiancée, and four entrants finished without a single penalty point, whilst the rest of the field had only made the tiniest errors (all the navigators’ fault of course).

How can you split four good drivers without risking damage to the motors?

I had a flash of inspiration: We sent the four “victims” off for a lie down in the sunshine whilst Richard Smith & I hatched our dastardly plan. The drivers drew straws to decide the starting order on a special section which they would drive “blind” (without first walking the course). The gates were well spread out and hidden behind trees, with a tough climb over roots and rocks to the finish.

Tim Gregory took the top prize with an excellent penalty-free drive.
Autumn Willcox was best lady driver of the day, and a special trophy was awarded to Mark Workman for being brave enough to let a teenager drive his beloved RR Sport. I would like to see how brave he is when Dan wants to borrow it to take his mates for a waz !!!

Clearly, all these “novices” are more than ready for graduating to RTV Trials, so we need lots of new novices for next year’s TYRO trials. Remember, the regs allow entries from ages ranging from 14 to infinity, so come on kids, why not double-drive with grandma or granddad next time?

Put it in your 2012 diary!!!

Mike Hayes
MROC Press & Publicity