2014 Winter Autotest
Fourteen competitors braved arctic conditions to make the trip to Knockhill for the 2014 Winter Autotest and were rewarded by steadily improving weather which ended up being quite a pleasant day.
Brodie Balfour brought out the new Aygo only to have a CV joint break on the very first test, but better to happen there than on the first Rally of the season.
Rory Briant, the new Development Officer for Scottish Motor Sport, came along and was persuaded to have a go in one of David Barlow’s Micras. He demonstrated his considerable driving skills by winning the Production Car section of the event with Bob Watson sitting beside him. Only Colin Rae in the Mini Special was quicker on the day.
The “Barrel Run” part of the event was held in the West Padock but the main attraction was the two tests held on the Rally course on the hillside.
Despite the drying conditions, the course was very slippery as Knockhill have recently carried out some construction works on the concrete roads, leaving generous quantities of mud on the surface. Rumour has it that some of the quicker Junior drivers were grabbing third gear on the quickest part of the second test!
Needless to say there were huge smiles at the end, and calls for more of the same next time.
Because of the distance and lack of visibility between start and finish lines, the Club radios were used to communicate betwen the two which gave a distinct “Rally” feel to the tests. However the trusty marshals coped admirably helping to make the whole event go off without incident.
Next Autotest will be the Andy Wilson Memorial event, provisional date, 20th April.
