Dave Cox starts at Gretna Euan Macilwraith doing
his thing Cargill's and Honda NSX Stephen
Thompson and Gary Seddon in Hawain outfits. Fortunately you cannot see
the shorts! Ben Hunter brews
coffee on Jeep Line-up in the sun Duncan Massie repairs
stricken MGB in Biggar BBC
wire up the MGB at
Kames Line-up
at Forrestburn Barnett
& Scott at Forrestburn David
& Janet Barritt on test CT
crews reach Stirling Campbells Mini ready at the "Rest" Cars
start to gather at Inverary Castle Click
picture for full view
(Photo courtesy Mark
Hooghiemstra driving the Sunbeam Alpine) BBC
crew arrive Stirling Castle test - dusty Andrew & Lisa
Martin at Inverary Graham Cartwright kicks up dust Whats behind me doesn't matter!
International Autoecosse 5
& 6 June 2010 Report
Jim Paterson Thirty
seven of forty entries made it to the start of the 2010 International
Autoecosse at the Gretna Welcome Break services on the A74M on Saturday
5th June. The event was organised by CCHMSC, co-promoted with
Club Triumph, and
raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. The competitors set off
under a clear blue sky, some concerned about the hot summer
sunshine overheating the engines of their classic cars. Crowds using
the services were drawn to the line-up, which included an entry from
the BBC Landward team, who were filming the event for a TV
show.
A wide
selection of cars joined the event, from Richard Lamotte's
supercharged 1958 Austin A35, which didn't hang about, to Ben Hunter's
1965 Willy's Jeep, which had driven to the event with Dennis Edwards
navigating with the screen folded down. Definitely had to keep your
mouth firmly closed to stop swallowing the flies! Club Triumph also
sported about half the field in a selection of Spitfires, Vitesse's,
Heralds, TR's and 2000
saloons. Hot favourite to win was Mike and Gillian Helm in the TR6,
returning to Scotland sporting his Hey Jimmy hat, though without the
“ginger” hair! Colin and Rachel Jaggard in their
heavily modified 1956 Morris Minor were also serious contenders ready
to give the Helm TR a run for its money. CCHMSC put up an MGB, care of
Chic
Doig Classic Sportscars, with club member Duncan Massie as
co-driver for Landward TV presenter Euan Macilwraith.
After
the formalities the cars were flagged away by Welcome Services duty
manager, Ruth Green. The crews headed north west to Longtown and up to
Eskdalemuir, passing the Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist retreat as
they headed over to Tushielaw, and on to the Gordon Arms hotel. Heading
north east the tour took in St. Mary's Loch and Meggat water before the
climb up to the top of Talla, with the awe inspiring view down the
valley to Tweedsmuir, and the steep descent testing the brakes of the
cars.
The
lunch stop at either Broughton or Biggar refuelled the crews in time
for the first of several tests at some of Scotland's famous motor
sporting sites. Kames race circuit in East
Ayrshire was established some 25 years ago and hosts many race and
sprint events. The International Autoecosse offered two agility tests
and a chance to drive two laps of the circuit for each competitor
during their visit. Many waited to view their colleagues, under a
blazing hot sun,and watch the antics of our BBC colleagues as they
filmed their car from as many angles.
After the
byways of the borders roads the crews headed north through the central
belt to reach the Forrestburn Hillclimb near Shotts,
east of Glasgow. Notorious for being one of the wettest places in the
central belt, due to it being the highest point, the organisers were
delighted that the sun was still shining on the event. Even the regular
marshals commented that this was the best day of the year so far! Not
so for Chris and Liz Donachie whose TR4 blew its head gasket on the way
over from Kames. A plume of steam and an acrid smell from the exhaust
confirmed Chris's worst fears as he retired to head for home, on the
back of a recovery truck. Two runs up the hillclimb were followed by
two tests at the top, then off northward to Stirling for the overnight
halt.
Mike Helm was already showing his skill,
securing the day one lead, but only one second ahead of fellow Club
Triumph colleagues Andrew and Lisa Martin's 1962 Triumph Vitesse, and
Tim Bancroft's 1969 GT6, co-driven by Martin Randle.
After
a meal and a night behind the bar, the CT crews know how to party when
they are together, we arose to an overcast but still dry morning for
the flagging off from the Premier Inn in Stirling. The route headed due
west into the clearing skies for the first test at Lomond Shores, on
the side of Loch Lomond. Jock Millar and Linda Telford in the 1965 MG
Midget retired when ignition troubles, which had plagued them the
previous day, and a failing rear wheel hub at Forrestburn put the lid
on their trip. Jock did however manage Kames, where he once held the
lap record in the early eighties.
Mike
Helm continued his onslaught, but CCHMSC members Donald and Margaret
Campbell in their Mini matched him on the test. A gaggle of crews,
including Colin Jaggard, Rob Southern, Paul Derbyshire, Phil Charlton,
Andrew Martin, Tim Bancroft, Andrew Heeley and Dave Barnett were only
one second behind the leaders.
Heading
into Argyll and Bute over the Glen Fruin road to Lochgilphead and
alongside Loch Long to Arrochar led us to Glen Croe and the Rest and be
Thankful hillclimb. The General Wade road started in
1743 was completed in 1768 as recorded in the headstone at the summit.
With the opening of the new A83 road in the late 1930's the original
“Rest” became a motor sport venue after the second
world war. Made famous in the fifties and sixties when the RAC
Hillclimb Championship contenders Dennis Poore and Ken Wharton battled
it out, along with Sydney Allard and Peter Stubberdield. Our crews
drove the “Rest”, which is being restored by
“Friends of the Rest”, a
group of enthusiasts dedicated to restoring the hillclimb for Classic
car use. Stephen
Thomson and Gary Seddon in their GT6 had once again changed into
another garish set of bright outfits, a change from the yellow numbers
on the Saturday. Colin
Jaggard's Morris Minor was seen sliding gracefully on the loose gravel
at several points as Colin navigated the narrow course over Stone
Bridge and round the hairpins.
The route to Inverary
Castle led down through Hells Glen toward Loch Fyne. The Duke
is always
keen to see Classic Cars at the Castle. “It gives something
extra for the visitors to see” he commented. A pleasant lunch
was followed by a photoshoot in front of the castle before challenging
the test in the castle grounds.
With the fine weather there
was much dust on the ground, making for some great photographs as the
cars handbrake turned round the cones. Mike Helm was to be outrun on
this test by Mike Bishop and Iveline Thomasson in the Stag, Dave
Barnett and Hazel Scott in the TR3A, John Roberts and Oliver Tomlins
Gilbern GT, the Spitfires of Graham Cartwright / Mark Frapwell and Paul
Derbyshire, and Richard Lamotte's supercharged Austin A35, with its
dodgy boost that sent the little car into the scrub on one occasion.
The
final leg of the tour to the finish at Inverness had one more challenge
in store. The Corkscrew.
A steep climb up from Inverfarigaig on the south side of Loch Ness, the
corkscrew is more like an alpine ascent, and for larger vehicles a real
challenge to make it round the hairpins.
With all
remaining crews safely in at the Fairways in Inverness the prizes were
presented, with Mike Helm taking the Menton Cup as the top
prize. The beers were pulled, the food eaten, and the stories of the
400 mile challenge across Scotland continued well into the evening. The
new format with tests seemed to have gone down well with both CCHMSC,
and Club Triumph members.
Ideas for next year are
already in the pipeline. See you then, if not before.
The
event raised £250 from a raffle for Macmillan Cancer
Support, and the club donated a further £150, making
£400
in total.
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Thirty
seven of forty entries made it to the start of the 2010 International
Autoecosse at the Gretna Welcome Break services on the A74M on Saturday
5th June. The event was organised by CCHMSC, co-promoted with
Club Triumph, and
raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. The competitors set off
under a clear blue sky, some concerned about the hot summer
sunshine overheating the engines of their classic cars. Crowds using
the services were drawn to the line-up, which included an entry from
the BBC Landward team, who were filming the event for a TV
show. 
Heading
into Argyll and Bute over the Glen Fruin road to Lochgilphead and
alongside Loch Long to Arrochar led us to Glen Croe and the Rest and be
Thankful hillclimb. The General Wade road started in
1743 was completed in 1768 as recorded in the headstone at the summit.
With the opening of the new A83 road in the late 1930's the original
“Rest” became a motor sport venue after the second
world war. Made famous in the fifties and sixties when the RAC
Hillclimb Championship contenders Dennis Poore and Ken Wharton battled
it out, along with Sydney Allard and Peter Stubberdield. Our crews
drove the “Rest”, which is being restored by
“
With the fine weather there
was much dust on the ground, making for some great photographs as the
cars handbrake turned round the cones. Mike Helm was to be outrun on
this test by Mike Bishop and Iveline Thomasson in the Stag, Dave
Barnett and Hazel Scott in the TR3A, John Roberts and Oliver Tomlins
Gilbern GT, the Spitfires of Graham Cartwright / Mark Frapwell and Paul
Derbyshire, and Richard Lamotte's supercharged Austin A35, with its
dodgy boost that sent the little car into the scrub on one occasion. 
Corkscrew.
A steep climb up from Inverfarigaig on the south side of Loch Ness, the
corkscrew is more like an alpine ascent, and for larger vehicles a real
challenge to make it round the hairpins.