Motoring News Rally Championship

I always loved spectating on Eppynt, watched many MN events up there, still have recollections of Ron Shipp in a Magnum driving (erratically) on an awful night, I really had pity for his navigator, he parked it neatly(but unintentionally) on the New Road (IIRC) but what a challenge the Mountain was

I wonder what the current WRC contingent would makle of it?

Reading this thread I cannot help but wonder where all the marshals have gone. It is an endless struggle now to man anything, but then we would have 40 plus time controls some crucial gates and passage controls all manned.

Reading this thread I cannot help but wonder where all the marshals have gone. It is an endless struggle now to man anything, but then we would have 40 plus time controls some crucial gates and passage controls all manned.

This could turn into another episode of "Grumpy Old Men". I can't help concluding it's a symptom of modern society. "We want it now and we don't want to wait to learn from experience".
When I first became interested in road rallying, there was no question whatsoever as to the need to get out marshalling to get experience. When I wanted to do the RAC there was no question as to the need to first get out on the event as service crew (not least to gain experience of going for 5 days with 1 day's sleep).
Now it seems newcomers all expect instant graduation/gratification. The internet is full of demands from newcomers that others should take the time to educate them, without comprehending in the least that hard-learned experience is part of rallying just as much as car preparation and that it is actually a competition where experience matters, not a free ride for anyone who fancies doing it.
The internet has almost destroyed the traditional motor club clubnight - where you would be approached to marshal or, at a different level, service for fellow club members....and yet I hear top road events are still plauged by boy racer spectators, just as in MN days -
but ask any of them to actually sign on to help and you get abuse.
I'd better see about volunteering to marshal on the Moonbeam....

1971 Calendar:

Rally/start date

Rallye Dubonnet Jan 9

Rallye Bristowe Feb 13

White Horse Rally Mar 5

Welsh Marches Rally Mar 13

Red Dragon Rally Mar 20

Nutcracker Rally Apr 17

Gremlin Rally Aug 21

Cilwendeg Rally Sep 4

AGBO Rally Sep 25

Rally of the Plains Oct 2

Illuminations Rally Oct 9

Tour of Mull Oct 16

Torbay Rally Oct 30

Shenstone Rally Nov 6

Targa Rusticana Dec 4

 

A cancellation and date changes?

 

"The White Horse Rally, one of

the qualifiers in this year's MN

Championship, will not be held.

The Airedale and Pennine Club

has been barred from organising

any rallies for twelve months

following an incident last year,

after which officials of another

of the club's events were convicted

of an offence against the Motor

Vehicles (Competitions and Trials)

Regulations."

Motoring News, 21 January 1971, Page 13.

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 14 April 2019 - 19:06.

1971:

R1: S.O.D.C. Rallye Dubonnet - winners Will Sparrow/Nigel Raeburn, Mini Clubman, 200-mile muddy route in the Rugby area.

R2: Tavern M.C. Rallye Bristowe - G.Hill/K. Wood, Ford Escort TC. Start Taunton, finish near Bristol.

R3: Herefordshire M.C. Welsh Marches - Will Sparrow/Nigel Raeburn, (Mini Clubman 1275 GT). Start Hereford, finish Llandrindod.

R4: Port Talbot M.C. Red Dragon Rally - George Hill/Keith Wood, Ford Escort TC. Start and finish Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire.

R5: Aberdare Motor Club Nutcracker Rally - Will Sparrow/Nigel Raeburn, Mini Clubman, WNX 700H.

R6: Brecon M.C. Gremlin Rally - Will Sparrow/Nigel Raeburn, Mini Clubman, WNX 700H.

R7: Teify Valley M.C. Cilwendeg Rally - Harold Morley/Peter Bryant, Ford Escort RS.

R8: Knutsford & District M.C. Rally of the Plains - Will Sparrow/Nigel Raeburn, Mini Clubman, WNX 700H.

R9: Owen Organisation M.C. AGBO Rally - George Hill/Keith Wood, Ford Escort TC,  ABU 3J. Start Wolverhampton.

R10: Morecambe C.C. Illuminations Rally - P. Faulkner/M. Holmes, Ford Escort TC.

R11: 2300 Club Tour of Mull - George Hill/Keith Wood, Ford Escort TC.

R12: Torbay M.C. Torbay Rally - John Booth/Kevin Gormley, Ford Escort RS.

R13: Shenstone & District M.C. Shenstone Rally - George Hill/Keith Wood, Ford Escort TC. The Peak District.

R14: Oxford University Motor Drivers Club Targa Rusticana - Malcolm Gibbs/Randal Morgan, Ford Escort RS 1600.

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 14 April 2019 - 17:48.

Early on in this thread there is mention of the then existing books that covered this subject. Since then of course we have Peter Robinson's series of "Memory Lanes" that is the definitive history from the start in 1961 to 1973 - "The Beginning" (61 to 65), "The Early Years" (66 to 69) and "Revisited"(70-73)(the three volumes written in reverse order).
Where available, after exhaustive searching, full entry lists and results are included.

And there's Mick Briant's trilogy on the MN series, published 5 or 6 years ago.....Vol 1 "Do You Have To Drive Like That?", Vol 2 "If the Lanes Could Talk" and Vol 3 "A Matter Of Time".

 

I'm intrigued by post #27 about JB wanting a specific time on the Classic Targa Rusticana in 1991.....he was the CoC of that event, having resurrected it as a historic rally [I competed in a Cooper S in 1990 &'91, then switched to our Riley 1.5 for the next 4-5 years]....either he was "testing" the marshals or it was another event he was competing on. I helped organise the Morecambe CC Classic Illuminations Rally that ran to a similar format throughout the '90s.  

Edited by Dick Dastardly, 15 April 2019 - 21:33.

Bit of a thread ressurection but I'm wondering if anyone has any photos from the 71/72 motoring news rallies

 

Particularly interested in the following which was a Red Mk1 Escort Mexico NTK555J driven by John Maddox.  I'm also interested if anyone has any info on the photographer behind "Photo Sport".  I believe that he was called Mike Witherden and may have lived in Dorset but would be interested to know if any of his archive photos still exist somewhere

 

1971

Gremlin Rally – #26

Cilwendeg Rally - #28

Rally of the Plains – unknown

AGBO Rally - #39

Tour of Mull - #37

Torbay Rally - #28

Shenstone Rally - #28

 

1972

Rallye Bristowe - #41

 

Here's a photo of the car today

 

 

And here it is on the 1971 Tour of Mull

 

 

1971 Gremlin Rally