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EVENT NEWS

Ross Autosolo 8th March 09

Hoppy makes good on first solo: Chris Hopkins usally seen out on the Sprint scene tried his hand for the first time at an Autosolo. Out on the Ross-on-Wye Solo with fellow Dolphin Members Richard Hancok and Peter Davies , Chris on his first event had a good run to come home 4th in class and 16th out 28, proving that a deisel powered Alfa can be quite quick when it wants despite heavy rain and a wet track. Unfortunately, for Richard and Peter their shared Astra didn't last the day and they were forced to retire mid way through the event. 'Better luck next time guys'.

South Western Enduro 2009

The South Western Enduro Rally had three Dolphin drivers make it safely to the finish. It was an event with high attrition and getting round to the end was too big a challenge for a number of crews. However, leading home the Dolphin pack was Andrew Lees, navigated by Simon Lassam from Oxford MC, he romped home to a fine 5th overall and 3rd in Class. Alastair Barnes out for the first time in his new Enduro Car was not only getting to grip with a new car and snow covered stages, but running in Stuart Harrison as a first time navigator on these events. However, despite a couple of errors they completed the event and finishing 25th overall and picking up Gnome award for 3rd in Class. Close on the tail wa s the last of the Dolphin crews; Alstairs son Scott who had Andy Hall in hot seat telling him where to go. At one stage they were doing really well and were up tpo 16th overall, but problems late on the last day with first a broken brake pipe and then the clutch playing up on the last two regularities saw them drop a few places to finish up in 26th place and 4th in class just a 48 seconds behind Alastair and Stuart.

Well done to all three crews for completing two days of hard rallying.

FROSTBITE 12 Car - 30th January

On a cold but dry night a full 12 Car entry enjoyed some of the best West Berkshire lanes as they competed for honours on the first 12 Car of the year. With all the controls manned and some tricky lanes the challenge was there for both driver and navigator to enjoy. Best Dolphin crew and second Expert home, dropping only 2 minutes on the 65 mile route was Neil Lewis and Bob Muttram. However, with clean sheet the overall winners were the Expert crew of Chris Hambley and Richard Austen from Oxford Motor Club. First Novice and 5th overall were the OUMF crew of Ding Boston and Jon Puliston, but hot there tail was the novice team of Paul & Andrew Hardy, out for the first time since moving up from the Beginners clash, they did well to cope with novice handouts and came home 7th, beating the more experienced Dolphin novice teams of Derek Looker/Jonathan Sargent and Alastair Barnes/Martin Kearnan who thanks to a few wrong turns came home 9th & 10th.

Gunpowder Plot 12 Car - 14th Nov 2008

Paul Hardy & son Andrew have a blast on the Gunpowder Plot 12 Car. Despite having an off and getting the car beached on the top of a ditch for 3 minutes, Paul & Andrew, on beginners maps, went on to win the event. They are now forever in debt to Jon Sargent & Ziggy for their assistance in towing them back on the road.

Organised by Bob Muttram the event had some very twisty roads and criss crossed on and off Maps 174 & 175 several times, making the navigation tricky work. Derek Looker had a last minute change of navigators, with Peter Cox stepping in to cover the passenger seat and work his magic on the maps. The new pairing worked well and they went on to take 2nd overall and 1st Experts. Challenging for the Experts class and close behind were the Basingstoke Motor Club crew of Chris Pratt & Glynn Haywood, but time lost on Section 2 and a dropped board saw them just loose out and come 3rd overal/l 2nd Expert. The biggest number of entries were in the Novice class and competition for first novice was closely fought out between the Dolphin crew of Jon Bannister & Steve Waite and the OUMF crew of Ding Boston and Jon Puliston both crews dropped two code boards, but Ding & Jon just pipped Jon & Steve to 4th overall by 4 minutes on lost road time.