News from The Clio Trio………
CLIO TRIO SEASON ROUNDUP 2017
I am going to start this at the end!!
Sunday 10 December was the start of the new season for slaloms, I know, however the reason for putting it in now is because the weather was absolutely abysmal with the rain and sometimes sleet being driven by 60 – 70 mph wind. On top of that we were in the open on top of Blandford Camp.
As competitors we had it relatively good but we all owe a great gratitude of thanks to all the marshals that stuck it out all day and made the event possible. They were Brian Woods, Paul Christopher, Sylvia Candy, Jason Pillar, Freddy Richardson and Aaron Booth.
A VERY GREAT BIG THANK YOU FROM THE COMPETITORS FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS.
Back to the roundup, the year has been good to us. We have had some good battles both “in family” and with other competitors.
The season started well on the Guy Fawkes at Blandford. The car was running well and we all seem to be getting the hang of its peculiarities and over time hope to get these sorted out. It was a good day meteorologically and also performance wise. Edward gave us a chance by collecting a couple of cones during the day but we still managed a one, two, three in class and also the FTD.
Next up was the Christmas Cracker and due to an unfortunate clash of dates, Graham and Edward could not be there, however Oliver had a fairly good day but just missed out to Mike Stewart after a good battle.
The Valentines was next up with Graham and Oliver tusseling with times throughout the day with Graham just getting the better to take the FTD with Oliver taking the class.
On to the March Hare and another three way battle with cones making the major difference through the day. Edward is still testing the limits of closeness to cones and overdoing it a bit which cost him and at the end of the day he was 5th Oliver 3rd and Graham with FTD.
The May Bug at Bovington gave everyone a chance to “ stretch the legs “ so to speak, on a surface far kinder to the tyres than Blandford Camp. With some fast flowing tests everyone had a good day and here the Escorts were able to get the speed up a bit better with Mike splitting the Clio drivers and Graham took FTD with Oliver 2nd in class.
Just to blow the cobwebs and mice out of the car, over the summer time we took the car to a couple of track days. I expect that many of you have done similar as it is a fun way to get a bit of a speed rush going without having to be looking out for Percy Plod and his speed gun! Although one is not supposed to race that does go out of the window when one can mix it with Ferrari’s, Porches, motorbike engined Minis, Lamborghinis etc. These are a relatively cheap good fun days “ racing” and with three of us driving equates to around £45 each.
Now onto the Summer Slalom on the grass at Luckford Lakes. Obviously some bit different as a surface but we were going well with a close battle with Steve Candy and Mark Hoppe until the “old boy” had a senior moment going the wrong side of a cone which scuppered any chance of a fifth FTD. That was soon followed by a fuel problem, which got rectified and Oliver took the class, Graham second and Edward was fourth. Steve went on to take FTD from Mark by one tenth of a second.
The last round of the season was again at Bovington. During the morning the “old boy” had another senior moment gaining another incorrect and Edward was again on a cone collecting exercise. Steve Candy had decided that someone should update his LSD and it proved useful as he stormed to FTD. Oliver, we thought would be on for the class win but on the very last test with only a few turns left to do, the diff sheared some internal bolts which left him stranded. This now left Mark Macdonald leading the class with his hard worked Peugeot. Congratulations to Mark.
As a family we are competitive, you may have guessed!, but we do enjoy our driving and the chance to compete with others in a jovial and friendly spirit. We do appreciate the other competitors and hope that it encourages them all, both young and old. We all had to start from somewhere and it is pleasing to see new faces on the scene. There are several drivers that have improved greatly during the season and I am sure it wont be long before they reach the top.
We would also like to acknowledge and thank not only the marshals but also the organisers, both groups are majorly necessary but don’t often get the recognition they deserve. These include:- Aaron Booth, Tim Walker, Steve and Sylvia Candy, Mike Stewart, Sarah White, Mike Blandford, Rob Dance, Brian Woods, Paul Christopher, John Billett, Jason Pillar, Freddy Richardson, Graham Patten, Pauline Hale, Darren and Janinne Loveys. I hope I have not missed out anyone, my apologies if I have.
Just to wish everyone a great Christmas and a fabulous New Year from the Clio Trio.
