Rally Route

The Bruce Robinson Rally
9/10th February 2013

You may have seen a few posters dotted around the village on lampposts and telegraph poles. These give advance notification of a motor rally which is going to come through our village at 4.45 am on 10th February 2013. I must point out these vehicles are subject to normal speed limits whilst on the public road sections, so won't be driving competitively through our village! Despite this, although it is early in the morning, I might even get up to watch the cars come through.

Many years ago I used to be a member of the Glossop & District Car Club. As a teenager I owned a 1966 registered Hillman Imp, which was my mum's run-around until I got my hands on it. I stripped it to a bare shell and rebuilt it using many competition parts (mum never recovered from coming home one day to find an engine in bits on the kitchen table).

Many of the competition parts actually came from an ex-Works Rootes Imp, very similar to the one shown in this photo in blue/white livery. This fantastic car (reputedly having been driven by Colin Malkin) was actually owned by another member of the club (Keith McIlroy). During an event one night, the shell was written off when Keith went straight on at a 'T' (junction), stuffing the car into a banking!

Keith went on to rally a Simca 1000cc and put his damaged car up for sale. I jumped at the chance and took the opportunity to buy the full race 998cc engine and a few other bits e.g. the twin DCOE Webers and rear-mounted exhaust. I already had a Jack Knight 'straight-cut' gearbox installed in my car with an 875cc engine, so the 875 was quickly exchanged for the 998, and the other parts installed too. Unfortunately, I never did have enough money to complete the purchase of the remaining bits off the ex-Works car (the set of Minilite wheels or the full Works suspension), so I competed with old steel wheels and trusty Dunlop SP44s. However, with the ever-increasing cost of rallying, I soon ran out of money and had to sell my pride and joy to pay off my rather large debts.

I never lost my interest in rallying though, and each year went to watch and follow the RAC Rally of Great Britain. This was the best period of rallying in my opinion, with the Group B supercars competing. I still remember the excitement of watching the Metro 6R4 and Audi Quattro blasting through the night in the forests, spotlights flashing through the trees, flames emitting from the exhaust, popping and banging, with gravel spraying into the spectating crowds. You heard the cars coming a long way off and in a moment they had passed, leaving a distinctive smell of oil and fuel in the air. It is funny now to think back to how I subjected my poor girlfriend to standing at a passage control during a freezing night, as her introduction to rallying. What a charmer I was... and yet she still went on to marry me!

Anyway, I digress... back to the Bruce Robinson Rally. To quote from their website: "This year the route will use approx. 140 miles of the best Lincolnshire lanes, including around 15 miles of good quality whites, some of which will this year be run as special tests on private land. The aim is to provide a well organised, exciting and exhilarating rally for all ranges of crews, whether expert or novice."

You can read more about it here: The Bruce Robinson Rally