Those of you who were at the ACTC Dinner on 16th March, and were lucky enough to have been watching the video at the appropriate time, may have spotted an essential item of trials trivia, probably without even knowing what it was or why it was significant. The short clip showed at least one car…
Category: Trials History Research
Trials Trivia #6 – Higher Rill
This is, I’m afraid, one for the real historic trials sections nerds. Back in May 2022, Jonathan Toulmin and I were trying to confirm the location of a photograph, taken on the 1939 Exeter Trial, of his father, Maurice Toulmin, in the Cream Cracker MG TA Reg.No. BBL 78. It was noted as Higher Rill…
The Wharton Special
Ken Wharton was not the first competitor to drop an 1172cc Ford sidevalve engine onto an Austin Seven chassis as the basis for a trials special, but he was certainly the first to make the combination really work. He won a number of events in 1947, and then had an incredibly successful year in 1948…
Trials Trivia #5 – The MCC Devon Trial
Every trialler knows about the MCC’s ‘Big Three’ trials (the Cold One, the Long One, and the Rough One, to quote Peter Jones of MG fame) and the Sporting Trial (the precursor to the modern Edinburgh); and those with a reasonable knowledge of MCC History will have heard of the Spring Trial (1980 and 1981…
Where is it? – #6
UPDATE – 29 August 2023 This photograph is now confirmed as Eric Kay (of Cheltenham), with Howard Homer as passenger, on Lyn Hill (near Barbrook, North Devon). The photograph was taken on 16th April 1949 during the MCC’s 29th Land’s End Trial. I have to thank Roger Wrapson, of the Riley Register, for the information…
Trials Trivia #4 – Troll Miscellany
Peter James drives the T4, JOD 980, up Norman’s Hump (we think) on an Exeter Trial sometime in the late 1980s. With thanks to Mark Milne for providing the photograph. During the course of creating the original Troll T6 page I had a lot of correspondence from Peter James and David Alderson about the other…
Trials Trivia #3 – Scoring system history
Does anyone know when the 12 > 0 scoring system became the standard for trials? I’ve posted this question on the HSTA Facebook page quite recently, but am re-posting here, with updates, in the hope of reaching a wider audience. I know that the concept of sub-dividing sections was introduced in the late 1930s for…
Trials Trivia #2 – Chiltern Hills Trophy Trial 1952
Mark Milne has recently posted this wonderful video on the HSTA Facebook page: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-chiltern-hills-trials-1952-online?fbclid=IwAR0rTEYQqKoEa1E7jOMEL-g5ItSc-ZeUonncRtT163e-6aM0Cw1haJGktGs Rather amazingly, I have some of the paperwork for this event, now posted here: Entry List / Route Card / Results.
Trials Trivia #1 – Allen Trial Results
It’s current trials folklore that Bristol Motor Club’s Allen Trial is always won on Special Test times because every year a number of competitors finish with a ‘clean sheet’. During last Sunday’s Kyrle Trial Dave Haizelden reminded me that there had been 30 ‘cleans’ on the 2021 Allen, and Pete Hart said that he thought…
Some historical notes on the route of the 2022 Edinburgh
Readers might be interested in some of the history behind the sections to be used for the 2022 MCC Edinburgh Trial: Haven Hill. First used in 2005 and used every year that the Edinburgh has run since then. It replaced Agnes Meadow (used 1994 to 2003) and/or Wigber Low (used 1999 to 2009) as the…