2006 Classic Rally Roundup

Colin Evans’ 2006 Season

My season started on the second round of the HRCR Night Rally Championship The Gremlin Rally. On Saturday 3rd March off we went to Brecon in South Wales. It was a nice day when we left Ipswich as we approached Brecon we could see the snow on the hills so it looked like it was going to be a slippery night. I was running on Colway plus 4s which work very well on mud and loose gravel, but snow was a different matter as I soon found out.

Colin Evans on the Himalayas taking part in a trek for charity

Colin’s Rally BGT with a few of his trophies on the bonnet

Regular readers will remember the pictures of me in a ditch. The tyres worked well on some sections but not on deep snow. We finished well down but got nine points.

Next round was The East Anglian Classic which started in Norwich just up the road. I have done this event a few times, I also competed on it when it was named the Britvic many years ago. The rally used good old airfields for the tests and some good private roads. A brilliant night section. We won the class on this event and were 6th overall, I had Shon Gosling navigating for me and got 12 points.

The next round was the GP Memorial up in Preston, a long way from Ipswich and a very hot day. This event is very fast it uses the famous roads like Hardknot Pass and Wrynose Pass. RAC Rallies of the fifties used these roads. It was a brilliant rally, dry night, good roads and we finished 3rd overall. I got fifteen points won the class and took the class lead which I kept for the rest of the year.

The next rally was the Tour of Anglesey which I class as my home event. Because I am originally from North Wales and that is where I first started rallying, also my mother lives up there so it is a week end at home. Caernarvonshire & Anglesey Motor Club always put on a very good event and this was up to standard.

The tests were super and the night section was its usual self. I had the well-known and famous Nigel Raeburn directing me on this event.

We finished third overall and won the class, I also kept my class lead in the championship.

After that it was up north to Kirkby Longsdale for the Devil’s Own, a brilliant event using very good test venues, a lot from the old ‘Illuminations Rally’ of the past. The competition was very fierce on this event we had some Irish competitors who are very fast on tests, also a lot of famous British names. I was fortunate enough to have Nigel Raeburn navigating for me again, we finished seventh and second in class, won 14 points and were still leading the class in the Championship.

The next event was back to South Wales for the Twilight Rally. The weather at the start of this rally was diabolical; it did not stop raining, and being in the valleys of South Wales you can imagine what it was like. Luckily when the rally started the rain stopped, but there was plenty of standing water. A very good rally, we had a few problems but finished in the top ten, got 12 points and still kept the class lead. Most competitors had problems with the mud and puddles.

It was then off to Northumberland Hexham. This was an event with a difference as it started early evening and finished just after midnight, which is unusual as most events run all through the night. We got 12 points and still kept our lead.

Sadly this event was marred by the tragic death of one of the club officials who was only in his fifties, our sympathies went out to his family and friends.

The last event I competed on was the Harvest Rally in Devon, it was a long haul down from Ipswich to Dartmouth.

Andy Ballytine had laid on a no nonsense event mostly pre plot but the Devon lanes are very narrow, and were muddy after the recent rain.

The MGB GT ran well but was not up to the speed of the lanes so we dropped a few minutes but kept up with the regulars. We finished, got eleven points and still led the class.

It was then a long haul back to Ipswich. I got home late then washed the MG on the Monday and put it away in the garage, I could smell petrol but I thought that it couldn’t be much. While I was away at sea my other half informed me that the car stank of petrol. When I got home the next week I discovered the leaky fuel tank. I had managed to pick up a stone between the fuel tank and its guard, which had then punctured the tank. This does happen from time to time, but it meant that I was now unable to compete on the Ilfracombe rally.

Another distraction was that I was also off on a trek to Mount Everest base camp and climb Kala Patther in aid of Cerebral Palsy, so I was unable to compete on the last two rounds.

I had to put the BGT in my mate’s garden because of the fumes from the leaky fuel tank.

When I got back from the Himalayas I found out that I had still won the Class in the Championship, ‘yippee’, and the Charity Trek also went well.

So, it has been a very good year. I would like to say thank you to my navigators and hope that we will be together again this year.

I now have a new fuel tank installed. The MG ran well all last year without any real problems, so it just shows how rugged and reliable these MGs are.

This year I plan to do the longer events, and I will keep you informed of my progress in Enjoying MG.