The 2002 HERO Winter Trial

Nigel Hutchinson and Geoff O'Nion  have just completed the HERO Winter Trial from Maastrichts in Holland to Monte-Carlo (10th to 15th Feb). Geoff reports:

"This was quite a hard rally with two night loops, one on Tuesday and the other on the last night upon reaching Monaco. We were around 12th overall and second in class (cars up to 1600cc), for most of the rally and this is how we started out on the final night loop in horrendous storm conditions. Eventually half the night section was cancelled due to fog and snow,

however, the very last regularity was fast with a very clever catch on the last junction, it caught most people out, some more than others. We lost 3 minutes on indecision, but still went up to finish 9th overall, however, the others in our class were not caught out quite so badly and we dropped to 3rd in our class. In all we were very pleased with the result and with an added bonus of winning the marque team prize (Prices Prodigies BMC) with the Appleton's in their Mini Cooper S and Roger Byford and Willy Cave in a MGB GT. As for the car, I feel that you may have done too good a job on putting this car together as it ran to perfection and seems to get better every rally. We had no mechanical issue and the only intervention on the rally was an electric fault which was attributed to a poor connection on an in line fuse I installed." 

"Again my utmost thanks on a superbly prepared car the performance of which is credit to your workmanship"

Congratulations to Geoff and Nigel for an excellent performance, well done to all concerned !

Winter Series 

The 2001 BRSCC 'Winter Series' consisted of three rounds, two at Brands Hatch and one at Snetterton. This series is always a challenge to any driver as the track conditions are always difficult - cold damp tarmac and poor light making tyre choice and chassis set up tricky for all concerned. In this years series, Bill's Mini was up against some unfamiliar machinery. His class included some quick modern Fiestas, Clios and Peugeots as well some more exotic fare like a highly developed racing Anglia which he hadn't encountered in any of the years Lydden events. Bill won his class overall despite crashing out at the final round at Brands.........this is where things get complicated - the race never actually got run due the number of red flags and restarts but Bill's qualifying position (8th out of 36 starters) ensured that he was awarded enough points to clinch his class overall. The Mini is currently getting a new front end as a result of the Brands Hatch incident but all the mechanical bits survived fairly intact - Bill, however was a bit bruised but otherwise OK. Another fine job by the team with another class win - well done all.

Mad Dog Racing U.S.A is about to set up a rally team to include Richard Mattei and Dr John Morrow - watch this space for more information - It really does sound like an exciting venture ! 

We won the Championship !

This weekend saw the last rounds of this years SEMSEC championship races at Lydden Circuit in Kent ( http://www.semsec.org.uk ). Both of our cars performed faultlessly, bringing home a cup each and a championship win for the Mini. Bill and the team were understandably delighted, it was a day of excellent motor sport, even the weather was kind, Lydden Circuit in bright autumn sunshine is a excellent venue. It's been a year of 'ups and downs' for the Mini this year - when it's run well, it's been superb, but it's taken almost all season to diagnose a misfire that has driven the team to distraction - at last the solution has been found !

 Bessie the Metro was running beautifully too - with the best will in the world she can't be called a pretty car but despite her years she really does put on a marvellous show. Her year was blighted by a string of uncharacteristic non finishes earlier in the season which hasn't helped her championship position a great deal but she still goes like the wind. In a grid which included a Jade, several well developed Caterhams and Westfields as well as trio of Radicals, she was easily the oldest car on the grid ( by about 15 years !?). By the end of the race, Bessie was seen to be smoking a little but this was found to be an overflowing catch-tank rather than anything mechanical . Bessie can be seen competing at Brands Hatch next week-end and the Mini will be competing in the Winter Warmer series.

So what about our other representatives then ? Steve Luscombe had a very good day in his Bill Richards engined MG Midget, Mary Grinham's Maguire Mini looked quicker that it had been recently. Alan Rawlings in his Ashford Coachworks sponsored Mini posted his fastest lap yet - it's his first season and he's looking far more confident as the season progresses. Thanks must go out to our excellent pit crew, helpers and supporters who have made this season such an success - it just wouldn't be the same without them ! 

Luxembourg

Bill has just returned from a hill climb event in Luxembourg - the Mini won it's class and came about 50th overall. He experienced a few problems with brake pads that required too much warming up before they became useful, but the car is usually employed as a circuit racing machine and this would not normally be a problem. Bill would like to send thanks to the members of the Luxembourg Mini Club (Mighty Mini Frënn for all their support , it was really good see them all again. 

Classic Marathon 2001:

Geoff O'Nion & Nigel Hutchinson in car No. 49, a Morris Mini Cooper MkI prepared by Bill Richards Racing have completed the 2001 Classic marathon. They were 10th overall with a total of 9 minutes and 28 seconds worth of penalties. This excellent result gave them a first in class (Classic Class 4) but to run up front with the likes of Mustangs, Bentleys, Alfa, Lotuses etc. has got to be a credit to all concerned - congratulations to all everyone involved !