Peterborough MC/RAF MSA
Alnite Rally
27th/28th January 1996
Snow Problem Tony
 1995 Preston Rally |  Noreaster 1996 |
1995 Preston Rally | Noreaster 1996 |
Brian Otridge (CoC) took a brave decision when he choose to go ahead with the event, which was justified by only a single retirement, the Escort of Mark Whitford/Mick Fern. Indeed, with the results decided purely upon ability, and the whole route counting towards them, a better event could not be wished for.
Living up to it's reputation for bad weather the Alnite promised a route of 150 miles on the flat lands beside The Wash. The weather did take it's toll on the route, with some sections being lost to deep snow drifts. One section had to be scrubbed due to Otridge embarrassingly getting his Discovery stuck!
Starting from Springfields of Spalding, the route cheekily had its first PC at a triangle in the carpark. Moving on out into the lanes proper it soon became obvious how treacherous the ice and snow were. By STC2 the penalties had started to mount with only four crews managing to limit their loss to two minutes. They included the Novas of the Pashleys and Tim Tordoff/Ian Frazer, Ian Mepham/Martin Smith in their Golf GTi and Novices Jason & Daniel Stone. Crews without M&Ss were already being dropped, with fourth seeds Andy Watson/PRAR struggling with their slithering 405 estate. Eventual winners Michael/Barrett were tucked in just behind, leading a posse of crews on 3 minutes.
By STC4 the Pashleys had been dropped, and STC5 saw Mepham/Smith move into a decisive lead with a total penalty of just 4 minutes. Five crews tied for second place a minute back. The Stones had been well dropped, their three minute at STC5 being enough to drop them from the top 10. With the rest of the first half much less daunting most crews were able to make it to first petrol only dropping a few further minutes.
At first petrol the standings were: Mepham/Smith leading on 4 minutes, three crews tied for second on 5 minutes and a further six on 6 minutes. It was still all to play for, the simple tulip navigation proving quick to plot, allowing the navigators to get on with accurate bend and slot calling. With little opportunity for time recovery all wrong slots would be swiftly punished! With all the navigation provided in a coded book format top navigator Cath Woodman set to work. Reportedly she had the entire second leg on the map prior to Damian Conway/her departing first petrol. Despite this advantage, Damian let the AX slip into a ditch, and the resultant time loss proved devastating.
The middle third moved on much as the previous leg, although with drivers getting used to the conditions, and more confident in the sections without deep dykes, the penalties were less. Needless to say however there were some sections which still proved uncleanable. Mepham/Smith held on to their tantalising one minute lead, but more importantly Robinson/Wheeldon dropped a minute to Michael/Barrett. This minute was to cost them the win. The Pashleys managed to consolidate their position moving up to joint third, just ahead of Tordoff/Frazer.
Despite frantic work at the second petrol halt none of the experts were able to plot the route for the last leg. Otridge proved to be one step ahead issuing a new road book as crews arrived at the start of the leg. This was to put the pressure back onto the navigators who had been able to pre-plot the middle leg. The all tulip road book however was not to cause too much difficulty, although a number of crews missed PCs. Most notable among these were Mepham/Smith, the 30 minute penalty dropping them to 10th, and leaving Michael/Barrett in the lead.
Other crews to suffer unduly in the third leg included Tordoff/Frazer and the Pashleys. Both crews failed to book out at the MTC after a time recovery section. Crews queuing for the MTC were treated to the sight of Richard Pashley running back down the icy road to get the marshal's signature. Tordoff/Frazer were off into the night however, and only the gap on their timecards betrayed them. The 30 minute penalty for the missing signature dropped them to 11th from 2nd. All this confusion lead to some queries at the end but the penalty stood.
Leading Semi-Experts Brown/Roberts risked all to ensure that their fellow club mates were OK after they suffered an off. They took the trouble to guide the recovery unit to their exact position, and were awarded the spirit of the rally by the organisers. They still managed to come in a very respectable 5th overall, putting numerous experts to shame. Leading novices were Graham Marshal/Dave Oliver in their Escort. But for a missed codeboard in the middle leg they would have been 8th. Despite a last minute scare, as they dropped a minute on the Elder Lodge section, Michael/Barrett held on for their first win.
Pos Driver/Navigator Car f m Sorry I haven't set them up
