Jono_Misfit goes rallying - First event report - Barbon

Good luck with it all and thanks for taking us along for the journey

Something I considered many times but will probably never do.
I have a full day Rally Experience to do this Spring.
Will follow along though.

Probably so, but thats what i've got my heart set on so i'm going for it. I will keep this thread going, and honest, so it will document how good and badly it goes for me!

My aim is to try both. I wont be able to tell what I enjoy the most if I don't try them both.

Not sure If i'll get over to Keilder, but the weekend after (3rd December) is Grizedale stages (Grizedale Stages), which is about 20 mins from my house.


Right

Go Rally pack, check
Booked BARS, check

Next step, join a local motor club.

A quick google. Oh, there's quite a few



Wait a minute google.... half of these arent motor clubs.To the MSA website.

www.motorsportuk.org/clubs-organisers/find-clubs/

Which has a handy search feature for radius around a postcode.... which my experience shows doesnt work very well.....

Closest ones to me

Furness District (who's website circles round to the grizedale stages website and has no info on the club itself)
Kirkby Lonsdale
West Cumbria
Wigton
Eden Valey

Turns out, quite a few. A bit of checks of websites, maps, and a few emails show Furness is now a committe for the Grizedale stages only, and the west cumbrian ones are a travel to get to.

Kirkby Lonsdale MC it is

www.klmc.co.uk/

Handily they meet monthly at the Gilpin Bridge Inn, which is about 20 minutes away from me. They also run road rallies, support run stage events (Malcom Wilson Rally), and event at Barbon hillclimb. They are also part of the Association of North east and cumbrian car clubs, and the Association of North West car clubs.

I paid my dues, £15, and went to the recent session (15th Nov) to meet some people. Very friendly and helpful, and a few live pretty near to me. I also got put in contact with a couple of local codrivers, which will undoubtedly be useful.

I was also chatting to some people I know through work, and do car build related things in their spare time, about deciding to go rallying and I've a couple of volunteers for service crew. Will see how that goes when i'm actually gearing up for events.

Hmmm. I probably need to make a plan and start working out some budgets.


Total cost to date £444.

Having made a start, put together an idea of what I want to do, i need to start working out a detailed plan of how to get there.

I fiddled in excel and made a start planning out a few things.



There's a lot more too it than shown. But its still not complete.

General sequence of events are:

Decide what i'm doing with the contents of my garage to make space - see here. forum.retro-rides.org/thread/225944/quandary-sell - Still unresolved
Buy a tow vehicle
Buy a trailer
Buy a rally car
Enter some events


So my next mission, is work out what vehicle to go for as a tow/service vehicle.

I think something with a circa 2000kg tow capability (weight of car & trailer, and spares)

At the moment i'm contemplating

Large 4x4's (discovery's, etc)
4x4 pickups (L200, nissan navara etc.)
Large saloon (A6 allroad, BMW 330d touring, etc.)
and as an oddball a Skoda Yeti 2.0d 4x4 which gets very good reviews for pulling 2000kg caravans

Anyone have any thoughts / experiences / recomendations on a tow vehicle?

I've started looking into tow vehicles, and at the moment the list is:

Skoda Yeti - 2.0td 4x4 - This get ridiculously good reviews online for towing 2000kg caravans. Surprisingly so. Good bits are its smallish, I can take it to the tip without a once per month pass, with the rear seats removed (which come out easily) there is a fair amount of space to carry some spares, and fuel economy is not bad. Cons. May be a bit small to carry the right amount of spares / wheels etc., it will easily get messed up inside, and it may simply be too small /limited tow weight to tow a car on trailer and carry everything else.

A circa 10 year old discovery. Online reviews say its highly rated as a tow vehicle and will happily tow up to 3500kg. With plenty of space in the back for stuff and people, althought a high lift to get in the boot. The downsides seem to be they have some issues with electrics and suspesion from what I can read. Some reviews say its made it into the top 10 least reliable cars.

A 4x4 pickup (L200, Navara, etc.) Farmer specials will easily pull 3500kg and loads come with towbars fitted. The pickup aspect will be handily flexible for carrying spares etc. in the back (especially with a truckman style bed top to keep all dry) so lots of flexibility. A read on line shows a risk of older 4x4 (especially farmer specials) run the risk of over axle chassis rust / weakening leading to repairs / strengthening needed, especially if they have done a lot of hard towing. A chat with my mate who drives all over scotland towing plant equipment on a regular basis advised unless doing regular off highway driving in it, somethine like a Disco / X5 will be a lot more comfortable on the road.

A ford transit / renault traffic etc. Will pull 2000/2500kg, will have plenty of space for spares etc. in the back, will have no issue with carpeted boot space gettign messed up, can get in crew variant with ~6 seats + load space, they are designed for carrying loads. The seem fairly simple and not overly expensive to repair / service. A van is always going to be less comfortable than a car / 4x4 for journeys, and a load of transits for sale appear to be farily low spec.

At the moment i'm leaning more towards a transit crew cab. Its tow / carry ability is good, it would still be OK as a daily driver, and being a crew cab hits some of what my wife has been pestering me about which is a vehicle we can take out and about on day trips are cart bikes / child / the inordinate amount of stuff needed for going out the house for 3hrs of a day....

Anyone got any experiences with a circa 5 year old transit for towing / drivign / using regularly?

It’s good to see you’ve made a positive step to fulfill your rally dream. I did my BARS test probably about 10 years ago (can’t remember exactly), but still haven’t got round to driving in a stage rally yet as the car is nowhere near ready. It might be a bit late now, but joining a club and seeing who else needs to do the BARS is a good idea as we went as a group of 6 to Phil Price and got a good discount. There’s always new club members wanting to do it.

What I have done, which is a good experience, is done some navigating for my nephew. It’s given me a good insight on what to expect when I eventually turn up to an event with my own car. Scrutineering, signing on, paperwork, queuing to start, rally etiquette on stage etc. I’m not saying I won’t be nervous at my first event but at least I’ll know some basics. There’s always someone wanting a nav for an event.

I’ve been competing since ‘96 and have had numerous tow vehicles. Estates, hatchbacks and 4x4s. I bought a traffic a couple of years ago as everything else is a pain. Go to a rally and look around the service area. Everyone has a van. I’ve got 2 seats in the back that are removable if I use the van for anything else. It’s a lot easier to put your race suit on in a dry van than a wet car park.

Add a good Gazebo to your list

Enjoy

List of things we usually take / I insist on when I run service for my mate.
I’ve broken it down into essential and "nice to Have"

Essential

Ground sheet, (not a tarp, they rip the moment you put a jack on them, curtain sider type material last years (you need one as per the rules)
AFFF hand held Fire Extinguisher (see above re-rules)
Jerry cans with your name & place to put you car number on
fireproof balaclava for refueler (days of refuelling when the car is up on the stands in service are gone)
Jerry can spout (saves getting wet and flammable feet)
good fuel funnel
axle stands
stable jack (not one of El Cheapo halfords / aldi specials)
roll up ramps (if the car is too low to get the jack under) - I made ours from alloy checker plate
battery nut gun for service (you ideally have a separate one in the car)
lighting, both hand held and on a stand of some sort.

Generator. Powering important things like the kettle & lights
Kettle & Tea and coffee making facilities
Drinking water
Folding table – somewhere to prep & put food / snacks on.
Sweeping brush!!! (its bloody hurts when you lay down on a stone on the tarp under the car) also saves you from laying in mud etc. when working on the car.

Spares – just take ones you can realistically change in service with the tools your carrying. Dropping a gearbox in in between stages on a Single Venue Rally isn’t going to happen. Unless you have an WRC service team & quick release everything..

TOOLKIT - this warrants its own title
a well sorted & organised kit of relevant tools - not a rummage fest in a disorganised & overly large tool box, ideally only take the spanners & sockets you actually need, doubling up on some common sizes on the car is a good shout if more than 1 person is servicing for you. – you have a limited time in service, working efficiently is key.
battery drill - selection of sharp quality drill bits
Tek Screws (I've held everything from wings to sump guards on with these in a pinch)
selection of nuts and bolts in a variety of lengths
Stanly knife
Flush cut snips (will save your limbs from tiewrap based laserations)
tote boxes (with the central handles on) for keeping tools, bolts, bits etc in one place when working on the car to stop them getting accidentally kicked across the service park, usually into a puddle
Blue roll / giant kitchen roll
latex / work gloves
tyre pressure gauge
tyre pump
brake fluid bleeding kit,
oil, gear oil, brake fluid, coolant etc etc.
many many tiewraps - varying lengths.
Gaffer tape
torque wrench pre-set for your wheel nuts. - (You will swear whole heartedly if you can’t get the wheel off mid stage if you get a puncture, especially when the car nut gun goes flat and you have to risk your ankles jumping up and down on the wheelbrace, cos some cabbage in service has used all the ugga duggas)


Gazeebo (not essental,but a comfort when its pissdown or very sunny)
ideally needs to be big enough to fit the whole car under.
Something to sit on in between stages (camping chairs)

as for cars for sale I know of a logbooked / passported C2 for sale with an damn good finishing record, needs seats & harness’s – make a starter car as they are easily upgraded.

Not a transit, but the Renault option. A good friend of mine has run one as a daily for years and I've spent quite a bit of time in it. Ideal for what you are looking for with space in the back, a decent ride (it'll be FAR more comfy than an L200 or similar), tows like a dream.

Very much appreciate the input, thankyou.