Report & Pictures - Jim Paterson

Archie and Richard Simmonds returned to defend their title on the 2010 Porters Porches Stobs Classic 2010 on Sunday 13th June. Twenty seven starters lined up at Stobs Camp near Hawick for 16 tests, and a Grand Finale across the former world war one army camp. Whilst the leaderboard changed occasionally, it was to be the Simmonds day again.

The overnight rain had dampened down the dust but also made the tarmac tests extremely slippy, leading to some interesting antics to keep the cars on track round the cones.

Test 1, Shooters Shed, warmed the crews up with a straight forward set of chicanes and 360 loops. John Bertram and William Thomson in a 1978 Ford Escort took the lead by one second by the end of the test. Test 2 , Darrell's Drain, routed through the old parade square of the former world war 1 army camp. Andy Beaumont and Andy Fish in the 1974 Ford Escort RS 2000 tied with Dan Robinson and Sam Wainwright in the 1979 Escort RS2000 for fastest test. Test 3, Tom's Tree, spiced things up, being longer than the two previous tests, and mostly on a hillside. Archie and Richard Simmonds in the 1974 MG Midget were well ahead of the pack, 10 seconds ahead of the 1994 Peugeot 106 Rallye of David Charlson and David Malin. Martin Ibbotson and Richard Gilbert came to grief when their 1979 Ford Escort retired due to steering rack failure.

The final test in the first round was “New Pylons”, the most complex so far, with extended loops, and a figure of eight in the route. The Simmonds Midget was thriving on these longer tests, again securing fastest test time by  4 seconds over Dave Marsden and Mike Garstang in the 1965 Ford Cortina Mk1.

A short break to re-align the test routes and allow for a quick shower of rain to make the course even more slippy, and it was time for the crews to  line-up for the start of round 2.

Test 5, The Wood, was similar to test 1, but enough changes to catch out the less observant. This shorter test had a few crews challenging for first place, but once again the Simmonds Midget was ahead by 3 seconds over Tom Hall and Peter Masters 1969 Mini, and Andrew Aird with Ollie Clark in the 1973 Clan Crusader.

The Darrells Drain test was run again as Test 6, “The Paddock”, again with changes that did catch one or two crews. The Charlson/Malin crew squeezed in fastest test by a mere second, with the Beaumont/Fish Escort, Robinson/Wainwright Escort RS2000, and the Simmonds Midget tying for second place.

Test 7, Sheepfold, has a fast downhill 360 turn, requiring good judgment of speed to stop slipping too far away from the cone. The Bertram/Thomson Escort clocked fastest test time, one second ahead of the Beaumont/Fish Escort.

The final run of the morning tests was Winningtonrig. Three crews tied for top place, Simmonds Midget, Beaumont/Fish Escort RS , and Tom and Sue Hynds Fiat 127.

By the halfway stage Archie and Richard Simmonds Midget was holding the lead, with the Andy Beaumont, Andy Fish Escort RS2000 in second place, 25 points behind. Charlson/Malin were not far behind in third place, 41 seconds behind the leader.

The morning mizzle started to lift over lunch, and by time the first of the afternoon tests started the skies cleared and the temperature rose, drying the course, promising faster test times. How would that affect the front runners?

The Simmonds Midget extended their lead on test 9 “Railway”, keeping 3 seconds ahead of the Beaumont/Fish EscortRS. The Bertram/Thomson Escort and the Charlson/Malin Peugeot 106 were both only a second later.

Test 10, with the unfortunate name “Compost Heap”, giving an insight as to where a crew might end up if going off course, did not bother the Simmonds, who once again took fastest time. Despite Beaumont/Fish pulling out all the spots they ended up 5 seconds behind, leveling with the Hall/Masters Mini.

Scott's Drop was test 11, complete with a slippy figure of eight. The Escort RS of Beaumont/Fish managed to pull back a bit of time, sneaking in a second ahead of the Simmonds faultless but not quite quick enough run. Charlson/Malin retired their Peugeot 106 Rallye, which had been doing pretty well up till then.

Test 12 “Parade Ground” was a tricky way round the 9 cones in the actual parade ground section of the test. It threw a few crews of their stride, but not Beaumont/Fish, or Robinson/Wainwright Escort RS2000 who tied for fastest on test. Joe Norman and Maureen Dixon retired when a drive shaft snapped on test.

Test 13, with the unfortunate name of the "Refuse Tip" saw the Simmonds back on form, though the Hall/Masters Mini was able to match the Midget crew and keep the pressure on. Jeff Hodgson's Nova had to retire when the ECU decided it had had enough of the treatment Jeff was handing out!

"The Moor" up at the top of the venue formed test 14. The Agnew/MacTavish Porsche 911 and the Robinson/Wainwright Escort RS2000 would have tied for fastest test time, had it not been for that dynamic Simmonds duo, who pipped the pair by 1 second!

"The Pumphouse" on test 15 had the the Hall/Masters Mini, and the Agnew/MacTavish Porsche 911 near the top, but once again the Simmonds crew stole the fastest time by a mere second. "An inch is as good as a mile" they say, and it seemed to work for Archie and Richard.

Last of the single tests, test 16, aptly named  "Nearly Done"was a quick blast around the Parade Square, and it would be no surprise to hear that the Simmonds crew secured a 3 second lead from second placed Bertram/Thomson in the Ford Escort. 

To finish of the event a "Grand Finale" used four of the previous tests joined up together. This was a stiff test for both driver and co-driver as concentration as well as driving ability was required to ensure a clear run, and carried its own cup, donated by sponsor Steve Porter, and new to the event this year . Plenty of room to make mistakes, and it was a simple cone strike that lost the Beaumont/Fish Escort RS2000 the Porter Cup. Carrying a 10 second penalty the strike changed a 9 second lead over the Simmonds crew to put the Escort team into second place, Defeat stolen from the jaws of victory"!

Presentations were made at the Weensland Mill in Hawick, where an excellent carvery and bar were provided. 

The event of course was part of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity series, the first being run the week previously by The Caledonian Classic and Historic Car Club. A raffle raised £200 for the Charity. Many thanks to all who contributed to this very worthwhile cause.  
 

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Updated 21 July 2010
Webmaster - Jim Paterson