Knowldale Car Club organised the first round of the 1997 Speedsport Design Clubmans Rally Championship, the Mini Miglia, over the weekend of the lst/2nd February, reports Lynn Jackson.
This was the 40th anniversary of the first running of this famous northern rally, allowing both modern and historic cars to compete. Of the 46 crews, 26 were Historic/Post Historics.
It was a chilly start from Rochdale Town Hall on the Saturday night. The cars headed east towards the Pennines on a 150 mile route taking them into north Derbyshire before the finish at the Marquis of Granby Hotel at Bamford. There was fog, but nothing like as bad as last year, I understand! The organisers feared a last minute change the route, as there had been quite a bit of snow on the Pennines the week before, but luckily it didn't snow again although it was quite slippery in parts. With over 50 code boards to find, it was a real test of observational skills as well as navigation and driving.
There were a few casualties during the first section; Dean Jackson/Ian Frazer's Sunbeam Rapier over-heated, forcing them to abandon the rally in Huddersfield. Adam Wiseberg and Andy Gibson lost their Cooper's exhaust and Mick and Carol Young broke the throttle cable on their Cooper `S'. It didn't look an auspicious a start for Geoff Breakell/Nigel Raeburn in the Alfa Giulia when they were out under the bonnet not far from the start, but they cured the problem and despite having dropped 10 minutes, went on to win the Historic section only 19 minutes the behind the overall winners. They'd decided not to register for the Championship, thus missed out on maximum points!
The first Championship contenders home were Chris Hunt-Cooke/Richard Dix in their MGB. The leading Semi experts were Jerry and Clare Hutton (Triumph 2000), with Mick Watkins and Jackie Salter (Ford Anglia) leading the novices class. Post Historic contenders (only two on this event) were Brian Burkinshaw/Richard Faraday in their Vauxhall Firenza (l6th ola).
It would appear that a lot of competitors thought that some of the whites were too rough, especially for Historics and this has been brought to the attention of the organisers. It might be worthwhile for low vehicles to be fitted with sump/tank guards just to be on the safe side. After all, if you're using your car for rallying, you would expect to encounter a few roughish roads out there - and it's better to be safe than sorry!