In this second part to my infrequent series
of articles on the competitive side of the club I am going to look at the
technicalities of trialling: scoring, basic rules and general requirements. I
am going to focus on tyro, RTV and CCV trials since they predominate our
calendar and are essentially the same. I will address other types of event
later in the series.
All of what you read here can be found in
more detail in the green ARC yearbook (pages 37 to 48). It just so happens
that we recently took delivery of 2002 yearbooks and are issuing them to
members. You can either collect one from an event or send an A5 self
addressed envelope with £1.50 postage to Karl. The yearbook has a couple of
specific sections regarding trialling that you would do well to read, as well
as reproducing the rules & regs that the MSA publish in the ‘blue book’.
Scoring
This is quite straight forward really, even
though some marshals get confused in the heat of the moment. The objective of
trialling is to get the lowest score at the end of the day (here, points
don’t win prizes). A section will comprise a series of ‘gates’ – a pair of
bamboo canes- that are numbered in sequence from either 15, 12 or 10 down to
1. The canes are clearly numbered to guide you through the section, and as we
are terribly politically correct the red cane is on the left and the yellow
is on the right.
Having identified the canes, all you simply
do is drive between them without touching them with any part of the vehicle
or ceasing forward momentum. That would be so simple if it wasn’t for the
fact that most clerks of the course set canes in awkward positions on
difficult terrain.
You must start at the start gate (logical so
far) with your front wheels at the start line, and be stationary unless
otherwise directed. (In your best police officers voice) You then proceed in
an orderly fashion through the course marked by the canes without deviating
from the driven route. What this means is that there is an imaginary route
directly between the canes that you should follow, no scenic country drives
are permitted between two gates unless the course is set that way.
To explain more clearly, take the example of
passing gate 5, and clipping the red cane with the roof – you score 5 points.
If you pass through gate 5 successfully but stop before gate 4 – you score 4
points. If you pass through gate 5, but only manage to get one front wheel
through the 4 gate before stopping, you are considered to have passed gate 4,
so score 3 points.
On some sections you will find that the 1
gate has been set such that you are only able to get one wheel through at an
angle – this to the pro’s is known as
‘hubbing it’. The diagram below explains all
this far more clearly, and has been re-produced from the MSA yearbook.
In the diagram the F number indicates the
points scored.
An exception to all this is for vehicles
with a wheelbase of more than 95”. Because of the reduced turning circle,
these are allowed 1 ‘shunt’. That is, they can stop (before they come to an
involuntary stop), reverse a little to re-align themselves, and then carry
on. Generally there is only one shunt allowed per section, although
occasionally a clerk of the course (CoC) will permit more. The reverse move
is restricted though. I mentioned the ‘driven line’ earlier – a reverse move
must be made so that at least one wheel remains on the driven line.
On the day of the trial, the marshals (where
we have them – hint, hint) will watch the canes carefully to make sure that
none are hit. The CoC will advise the chief marshal where the marshals should
stand so that they are not in a place of danger and can see canes that are
likely to be hit. The more wily driver should take note of marshal positions
to have some clue as to where difficult bits may be.
General Rules
The rules I describe below are, as the title
suggests, just the general rules regarding trialling. The full rules are in
the green book, and are far too long to reproduce here.
First and foremost all drivers and
passengers must be a member of ELRC, or another ARC competitive club.
Children under 14 are presently deemed members if their parents or guardians
are members, and children between 14 and 18 must be full junior members with
their own membership card.
The vehicles being entered must be of Land
Rover origin (for ARC events) and comply with the regulations that the ARC
set out. At closed club events, i.e. those open only to our members, we take
a more relaxed stance. If the vehicle is safe and predominantly Land Rover we
will let it be entered, but not score towards the annual Homestead Trophy. We
have several vehicles in the club that fall into the category, such as a
Range Rover with a non-standard front bumper.
When trialling we always run in competitor
number (issued when you sign on) so that everyone has a fair chance. We also
‘drop a driver’ (or two): by this I mean that on the first section competitor
one goes first, on the next section competitor two goes first and so on. On
some sections it can be an advantage to go first, and on others a distinct
disadvantage, so this seems to be a fair way of organising it. When signing
drivers on, I try, therefore, to put the novices further down the entry list
so that they don’t have to go first too soon, if at all.
When you have driven a section, you need to
have your score card signed by the keeper of scores so that we can check that
you are awarded the correct score for a section. You are then required
to hand these in to the event secretary at the end of the trial.
Seat belts are to be worn at all times by
drivers and passengers. Smoking is strictly prohibited and chewing gum or
eating sweets is discouraged.
For tyro trials the vehicle entered must be
a standard Land Rover that was on sale to the public – technically,
therefore, a lightweight and 101 are not eligible. Neither are hybrid
specials. At club level, however, we will admit these vehicles in the spirit
of promoting our sport to our members. We will accept ‘specials’ on driver
merit rather than vehicle specification. I wouldn’t expect a hardened trials
driver to enter a tyro, but a novice might in a borrowed motor.
Drivers must be over 17, but drivers over 14
can enter if accompanied by an experienced driver holding a full drivers
licence. Passengers in front seats must be over 14, passengers in rear seats
must be over 4, but can be as young as 2 if strapped into a proper car seat
that is strapped in. All rear passengers must be seated in forward facing
seats.
For RTV trials vehicles entered must be
‘standard’ as defined in the green book – essentially this means it is built
with Land Rover (or BMC) parts, and have all the parts on the vehicle during
the trial (that is you cannot remove the door tops for instance). It must be
road legal, taxed, have a current MOT and road tax (as should a tyro entry
come to that). Passengers are only allowed in a front seat, and there can be
only one of them, and they must be over the age of 14. Drivers must be over
17 and hold a drivers licence. You should carry a tow rope and have suitable
points to attach it to.
For CCV trials the vehicles must be
basically Land Rover and built from Rover type parts. A roll cage is
required, and the roll cage must be to ARC design and be ‘log booked’
(inspected and signed off by two ARC scrutineers). A fire extinguisher is to
be carried and there must be an electrical cut off switch.
Drivers must be 17 or over and passengers
must be at least 14.
General Requirements
With regards the vehicles, as suggested
above, to be in an ARC event they should be of Land Rover type. Quirkily a
cut and shut Range Rover with a Series 1 style body made from flat aluminium,
with a Honda 2.7V6 is considered to be a Land Rover and can be entered into a
RTV as a Series 1 special if it is road registered. A standard Series 3 with
a retro fitted Perkins diesel, cannot. Strange but true. A read of the ARC
yearbook should clear up the reasoning for this...
All vehicles entered into a trial will need
to meet the basic scrutineering requirements for safety, and I will address
these in a future issue, but the following basic points must be addressed.
Except for vehicles with ‘fly by wire’
throttle control, a return spring is required to be fitted to the last
linkage of the throttle. This is required in case anything should break, or
an accident occur, to stop an engine racing away. This requirement applies
from tyro trials right through to comp safaris. Fitting a spring should be
relatively straight forward, and can often be arranged such that it can be
disconnected for general road use.
Although not demonstrated at all our trials,
all entries should be self starting – that doesn’t mean bump starting them by
rolling down a hill… To achieve this, one useful piece of equipment is a good
battery. It is even better, nay, essential, for this to be properly secured.
Once going, the vehicle should also be able to stop relatively quickly
without the need for a manual impression of an antilock system in action. The
Handbrake is also required to work, and be able to hold a vehicle on a slope
without the assistance of either the footbrake or being left in gear.
There is a risk when trialling that you will
get stuck at some point. If you don’t, you aren’t trying hard enough. It
should be your own rope that is used to pull you out, and it should be fixed
to suitable towing points that are easily accessible and suitably strong both
front and rear of your vehicle. The tie down points found on most coil sprung
motors are not suitable for recovery.
As far as the general issues regarding
trialling go, that is about it. If you want to know more, there is always the
ARC year book, or you can ask any of the committee.
In the next issue of this series I intend to
look at insurance and scrutineering. If there is anything else that you would
like to see covered, give me a call, or drop me an e-mail and I will see what
I can cobble together.
