After the five and a half hour journey up
to York it was straight to scrutineering and then signing on. Even though the
North Yorkshire classic is a one-day HRCR event, there is still a lot of
preparation.
We spent the evening plotting regularities
and I became rather confused over some of the navigation, however not as
confused as we would be on Sunday. With information to plot just three
regularities, it didn’t take too long and we opted for an early night ready for
the early start.
Sunday started with a nifty plot and bash,
but to my surprise, it was instructed as tulip diagrams, which are usually my
favourite type of instructions. But this was extremely confusing as not every
junction was shown, meaning you had to judge when you got there as apposed to
plotting as you travel. Each junction was a complete guess, but we made it to
the first two timing points. Soon we
came to 20mph speed change, where we presumed we would turn off the main road. Presumption
was our downfall as our trip was slightly out, meaning we turned too soon and
missed out on two other timing points giving us a massive penalty. It really
set our spirits back but it did relieved the pressure meaning we had more of an
opportunity to understand what was expected during a plot and bash.
The first few tests near the village of Tholthorpe
were quite long and intricate, which meant both navigator and driver needed to
be on top form. Luckily we were able to watch a few cars before us, so we were
able to get our bearings and didn’t make a single mistake. We even had a leisurely coffee break giving us
time to rethink our errors and be sure to not make them again.
It was then time for our second regularity,
which was pre-plotted. This made me very happy, and I was able to keep the
timing down to seconds and Seren was able to drive without worrying where to
go. Then came the driver’s test. Test 5 was located in a small muddy farmyard
and was quite very tight to drive around, however Seren did a fantastic job and
kept a constant smooth speed throughout giving us a good time without any
incidents.
Straight on from there, it was time for
another pre-plotted regularity. It is funny how you develop during these
rallies, because a year ago I had no idea about timing and now it doesn’t worry
me, it is the tougher elements, such as plot and bash, that make my nerves fly.
Saying this, on regularity three, there was a point where we needed to avoid
the main road and turn right, however when we arrived at the junction, the road
we needed to take looked like a main one. If it wasn’t for Seren observing that
the main road was further up, we would still be doing circles of the area. Teamwork makes the dream work!
It was then off to Duncombe Park for the
last 4 tests before lunch. These tests were extremely muddy and we were sliding
all over the place, but this was a fantastic opportunity to put Seren’s driving
to the test and she loved every minute. I enjoyed it too, but I needed to make
sure, whilst sliding, we were going the right side of the cones. The final test
before lunch was a great one as it consisted of slalom through 10 cones. As the
area was quite open, it was the perfect time to pick up speed and see exactly
what the TR4 could do.
After lunch, it was time to fuel and then
on to the second plot and bash of the day. I was terrified, as I didn’t do too
well on the one in the morning; but I tried not to let this affect me. As soon
as I was handed the information, I was relieved to find out it was something
that could be plotted and we went the right way and on time. A great pick up
from the morning.
We managed to do a complete loop and ended
up back at Duncombe Park for the second round of tests. This time it was a
little more slippy, so we took extra caution whilst going round as we heard a
few cars had argued with a tree. Although, we took a few seconds longer, we
were still smooth, a technique I am yet to acquire. It was at this point were allowed an extra 10
minutes break, as the rally was running early. As women, this was such a relief
as we were able use the facilities. We don’t mind using trees and bushes but it
isn’t as easy for us to do that.
The final leg of the rally was upon us all
too soon. It was time for regularity 5. This was all pre-plotted but had a
ludicrous amount of speed changes, making it nearly impossible to keep track of
time. We got half way through, the regularity, when I complete lost a speed
change and we went the wrong way, we couldn’t catch up on the time. Amazingly,
Seren is fantastic at average speed and was able to get us to the final checkpoint
with only 18 seconds on the clock.
I was apprehensive about regularity 6 as it
was a plot and bash, but each section of instructions was given to you at each
timing point, meaning you had to go the right way. It was extremely
exhilarating, and I loved the challenge of not knowing where to go next. We
even zeroed a timing point.
Overall, it was a fantastic rally and a
massive learning curve for both of us. We didn’t finish with the best result as
we were 49th but we came second in class. At least this means we can
only improve. I have definitely taken
lots of skills away with me from the North Yorkshire, lets just hope I can put
them into practice on the next one. 
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