James Shallcross won a closely contested Ilkley Trial in his Peugeot 205, with the top six coming from four different classes.

John Bell took over the C of C role from Stan Peel and continued to improve the route and sections. Unfortunately the event will be remembered by controversy at scruitineering, an issue that will have to resolved if the event is to continue.

Dragging water up the section after fording  the small stream Class 5 winner Chris Maries tackles Hawpike 1 in his Suzuki X90 while overall winner James Shallcross waits his turn in his Peugeot 205

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After many years moulding the Ilkley into an ACTC event Stan Peel handed over Clerk of the Course duties to John Bell. During his custody of the event Stan had changed the event from a series of PCT sections into a real Classic Trial, albeit still betraying its PCT legacy. John had some route authorisation issues which denied access to some traditional sections. His hard work payed off though and the way he used the restarts meant the overall winner could have come from anywhere in the field.

Scruitineering was a strange affair

With John Blakeley in charge, assisted by June and Alex, the formal part of car scruitineering went smoothly. However competitors then had to endure further scrutiny by a local official who found fault with by far the majority of visiting cars. Visitors had been forewarned this would happen, and assured it would be resolved, which it was. However, this will need sorting if the event is to continue.

Changes at Hawpike

It was dry when cars arrived at the familiar Hawpike 1. John Bell had introduced a restart on grass towards the end of the section and the majority didn't get away. A few performance markers were laid down here. James Shallcross went clear, as did Julian Lack (Liege) and Chris Maries (Suzuki), the only clears in their respective classes.

Section 2 was a new one at Hawpike Farm before the long track over the moor to the Special test where there was a compressor available for competitors to pump up afterwards. Barry and Graham Redmayne weren't able to take advantage of this facility having retired their Liege with a sick Suzuki engine.

Strid was a Stopper

Strid Wood was just down the road from Bolton Abbey for the usual two sections. Both stopped all the four wheeled brigade. Nobody could get over the huge step halfway up the Strid Wood 1 gully which has dug out very deep before the slab. Strid Wood 2 was very muddy and the lower classes struggled to get to the top track. Outside of Class 8 only Julian Lack got to spitting distance of section end, scoring a two.

Problems at Peels

Later numbers were delayed at Peels Wood 1 where Class 8 deviated left before attempting the very steep bank. Only Mike Chatwin was able to surmount this obstacle with Carl Talbot next best dropping six. Some of the less competitive cars in the lower classes had problems getting to the start of the section but the section itself didn't produce to many problems for those that didn't have to deviate.

Restart at Wilsons Wood

Wilsons Wood is an interesting section in a nice setting. Its all about a tight, near hairpin, left-hander with a restart for Class Four and above. The restart area has really dug out over the years but there is plenty of grip. It wasn't Suzuki X90 friendly but Chris Maries continued his good day and joined Nigel Jones in his Mazda MX5 as the only class fives to get away.

Brimham Lodge was Difficult

The club had repositioned the burger van to the farmyard near Brimham Lodge so there was opportunity to get some hot food and drink to counteract the cold wind. The section is grassy and quite damp. The corner just before the steep bank was pretty slippy and the challenge was to get round without under-steering into the trees. Outside of Class Eight only three cars succeeded, James Shallcross (Peugeot 205), David Golightly (Ford Model A) and Julian Lack (Liege). All were to head their class at the end of the event.

Coppy was Rough

With no Incline on the agenda Patley Bridge was bypassed on the way to Coppy alongside Gouthwaite Reservoir. There isn't much gradient here, the section is all about picking your way over some very greasy rocks. This is the roughest section on the trial, in the opinion of some to rough, but in fairness to IDMC its nowhere near as rough as Putwell or Tipley.

The 7's and 8's had a restart and Liam Rafferty was the only class eight to get away. The six Mike Chatwin dropped put his score up to twelve, one more than James Shallcross who went clear here. Julian Lack also went clear and was now overall leader of the trial with only six marks lost.

The section took its toll on tyres and Nigel Jones ripped the sidewalls out of both rears on the way to going clear. Nigel continued but was to break the MX5's diff on the next section.

New exit track from Longside Wood

This was the third year the Ilkley has used Longside Wood, a long, steepening track through a Bluebell Wood. In previous years clears have had to come back down but John Bell had secured the use of an exit track for those lucky enough to reach the summit. The track was a lot drier this year and most competitors got to the twisty steep bit at the top, many for the first time. Few in the lower classes managed to get through this part of the hill so hats off to Jonathan Toulmin who stormed out the top in his X90.

Rain at Watergate

It had started to drizzle by the time the later numbers arrived at Watergate 1, another excellent Ilkley Hill. 6, 7 & 8 all had a restart but there was plenty of grip. It is a bit rough though and despite not having to restart many in the lower classes were defeated by the greasy rocks. Michael Leete conquered the rocky part but running almost at the back fell foul of the grassy bit at the top which had become very greasy now it was raining.

Peels Wood 2 Cancelled

The rain had turned the approach to Peels Wood 2 into a quagmire and the section had to be cancelled when some of the later numbers couldn't get to the start, even with the help of a Land Rover tow. Charlotte Arrowsmith had retired her 1600 Beetle with a variety of small issues that made the car difficult to drive.

Julian lost his win at Sword Point

There were two sections at Sword Point. The first had a remarkable amount of grip this year and very few didn't make the tight right hand turn onto the exit track at the summit.

Sword Point 2 weaves amongst some pine trees and is all about a leaf mouldy restart on a left hand bend for all but class 0. Most got away OK but Julian Lack was judged to have failed and his hopes of an overall win slipped away.

Dob Park Watersplash returns

Browns Wood was the last section, which was nice as it was approached through the Dob Park Watersplash. The restart on this nice little section was quite tight but it was nice to see it return to the event.

Back at the Finish

So the 2013 Ilkley saw James Shallcross take an overall win in his Class 1 Peugeot 205 with Mike Chatwin 2nd in his DP Wasp followed by a disappointed Julian Lack in his Liege. John Bell is to be congratulated on getting a spread of classes in the top 10. It will be interesting to see how the Ilkley evolves in the future.

Published 22 June 2013

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