We won a prize!

-- JackH

If *what* happens, as a result of what?

-- JackH

Agreed, but you said it would be too fast, heh.

Gone, enter the Preston. It's a nice smooth event that will test how strong you're Alfa really is :)

LOL, course it would Steve. I suggest you actually try it before assuming you know everything about it. 30mph average isnt as easy as it seems. In that time you need to solve the navigation (Southern events often rely on more cryptic nav to slow you), then there's things to slow you down like junctions, Giveways, white roads, deltas/triangles, passage checks, navs telling you to go the wrong way, spectators/photographers to impress etc etc. On easy events (ie designed for newcomers) the 30mph average is often easily acheiveable and the event is cleanable (ie no fails, minutes etc), but on some events its virtually impossible.

As Clive mentioned go do some research on The Preston. In fact, just take a look here:

obsession with economy, as opposed to just a bit of money saving. 69mpg from a Passat??? That's just being a granny...

I'm not obsessed with economy.

Point is, I get it, in something nice and refined, that's pretty much fully loaded.

I'm *very* happy with my purchase. :-)

You miss a specific point, in offering up comments along those lines... I wasn't specifically trying to get the max economy, out of it... I got that figure by just driving as I would do normally, whatever the car, when on a drive like that... soaking up the sea breeze and scenery, listening to some of my favourite CDs etc. - in other words, chilling out, away from civilisation.

I quite enjoy bimbling around the countryside, of a weekend, not least if I've had to spend plenty of time driving in town / on crowded, nose to tail motorways, during the week.

Oh, and the worst I've had out of it so far, was 45mpg, when abusing it more than normal, around town. :-)

Fast motorway runs, always return at least 52mpg.

-- JackH

All useful tips here. The Pothunter was a deliberately easy one. We managed a clean bill of health on eight out of ten legs. On the eighth, the team were a bit confused by one funky junction in a village - a five way crossroads. We had to double back on ourselves. That and some other nasty navigation points, we lost nine minutes on that one stage.

Now as I understand if, since we dropped nine minutes on that one stage if we were to manage the average speed over the whole run we'd add another nine minutes for both of the other two stages. Our total time was sixteen minutes over but we did lose four clues.

The visibility limit also curtails speed plus the "slow and quiet" sections, in the last couple of stages there were big chunks of this. A maximum speed of 30 combined with the highest gear else you get excluded from that stage.

But besides all of the technical stuff above, it was a bloody good laugh and that's what it's all about. Nobody said a bad word to us even though (a) we're English competing in a Scottish rally, (b) we kept on overtaking people and (c) we were trying to put on the accent from time to time.

No, sorry, hurtling through double ninety degree bends and hunkering up steep hills over a very rough road surface, main beam flooding the road with light and the AstraNavMan shouting, "easy left, hard right, hard right, telephone box on the right, T-junction, hanger right right right" over the din of the exhaust, yeah that was a quality evening. Might want to do a more local one than we did though, the four hundred mile round trip just to get there was a killer, heh!

Dismissing it because the average speed is only thirty miles per hour without trying it is crass stupidity and missing the point. It's motorsport, it's on the road but above all it's social.

SteveH, sometimes you just close off your mind and don't consider the wider issues. Hell I know I do. You might want to reconsider your opinion of navigational rallies and try a few easy ones, then move up to the clubman level. It won't matter if you're competing in a Ka or a 75, if your navigator isn't up to scratch you'll lose on time checks. Get a good navigator and most of the work is done for you (hurrah for AstraNavMan).

If you really don't like it because you complete the navigation course too quickly in your world-beating 75, fair dues.

Why not?

cheers, clive

What slow and quiet sections?

Eh? I never remembered anyone mentioning getting excluded from any stage for going above 30.

Aye, I'm just great, to be honest. Really great.

And Steve, you would enjoy doing one of these. Seriously. Give it a try.

You remember when you asked me if I had given the kid a throttle blip when changing down? That was in a slow and quiet section.

The rules state that if you see a "slow and quiet" sign, you have to drive with a maximum speed of 30 mph in the highest gear possible.

If the marshalls catch you - have a look in the rules.

Heh.

Aye they're a good laugh.

Indeed, forget about Quiet zones

And with auxillary light extinguished!

Yep. If it's your first event and you weren't too loud you might just get a warning, but you can easily get excluded. They're very important - if you dont obey them and the organisors get a complaint that section of roads could easily become a black spot ie no route thru there again!

You should come down and do our one next April. Will give you plenty of time to practice :)

Money. I'd like to do it in a car that had some hope of finishing, so with buying a cheap car (I'd like to use a Volvo 300/200 i reckon) then guarding the underside, buying some knobblies, some spots, fixing anything that needed fixing you'll be looking at at least £500 I'd guess. I suppose that's doable, especially now I've got a garage, but to be quite honest the idea of doing it with so many other experienced crews worries me!! At the end of the day I'm not a particularly quick driver - I mean, I can drive quick, but I start getting worried and slow down - I guess after a couple of crashes and maturing a bit I dont feel the need to drive so crazily, I'm mostly out there to have a laugh and if I get placed well thats a bonus.

Fair enough. I know somebody who did it in a 200 quid 1.2 GS (or GSA?) - extra stuff was pretty much what you say - possibly conway tyres, cheap spots, sump guard (I think - home made if he did have one). Possibly a multipoint harness too - apparently it makes you a bit faster :-) (although that may have come in his later cars). Another was in a BX 1.9D, possibly without even a sump guard - they got first novice one year. Neither had that much RR experience. With the 300, would you need two guards (engine and gearbox)? Wasn't that what the recent thread about a 360 was about?

cheers, clive

Cool, I like BXs but I wouldnt like the lack of rear handbrake for events, especially the Preston!

Indeed you would. But I guess any RWD car you'd want something guarding the diff? Plus something over the tank as well.

Could well have been, cant really remember :)

I just had to see this again so I could continue pissing myself laughing.

Fraser

How many track days have you done Steve ? Been to a "bike" day ?

Christ, it's years ago, did a three or four in the Cinq.

Always wanted to take the Spider on one as it was such a lairy oversteering bitch of a car.

No, I'm not unhinged enough to do that. Well, not until the MZ has been rebuilt.... 'cos I wouldn't care if I slung that down the tarmac.

I dont. I think the photos I've got of me doing events clearly show its not for dullards. And I've only competed in wussy southern events.

Roundy roundy boring crap!

But you get to drive fast, rather than deliberately slow.