Ah! The open road : the wind in your face, the crackle of and exhaust, the countryside smells in your nostrils (pooh!)….Hang on, I don't usually do this sort of thing. Despite competeing since way back in 1991, I have only taken part in two events without a roof over my head. And never while wearing goggles.Untill now.
I briefly ran a Kawasaki powered 1100cc single-seater in speed events, and enjoyed it enormously, but the impracticality of running two competition cars in the same season (I was circuit racing my Rover 220 Turbo) meant it was moved on to pastures new. With it went my open-air motor sport. That was 1995. Fast forward several decades to 2025 and I found myself manouvering my 6 foot frame and size 11 feet into the rather tight confines of a Kraken trials car. This was at the start of the MECHANICS TRIAL on the banks of the Severn estuary. I wasn't driving however, that was the job of the car's builder Lee Peck. I was reading the route book and, theoretically, doing the ‘bouncing’ routine that we do in trials to aid traction . In fact I soon found considerable difficulty in that aspect of the job! The car is built round a smaller frame than mine and I couldn't get both feet to fit in side by side or find a suitable ledge to brace then against or bend my legs enough to get up out of the seat in any hurry. I could get in and I could get out, but in between those two states lay considerable ungainlyness and a degree of time passing! .
But that was all ahead of me at this point in time. The novelty of sitting on rather than in the car , the throaty bark of the exhaust , exiting as it did, only a foot or so from my left elbow and the need to hang in to the route book firmly, lest it be carried away on the breeze , were all rather more important. Lee, sitting lower behind the windscreen than me didn't need goggles, but I certainly did. I also needed my trusty scarf which I tend to wear all winter to ward off the long term effects of fraturing my neck at Castle Combe in my final circuit race (final ‘to date’ …well…you never know!) Luckily it wasn't a cold day so I didn't need the gloves that I'd stuffed down the side of my seat.
The road sections between the hills that counted on the event were intially a bit of an eye opener, and the feeling of being rather exposed to the elements took a while to shake off but once into those narrow, tree-lined lanes it all felt very comfortable. I guess it was a little like riding a motorcycle, you feel more immediately connected to the landscape than you ever do in a closed car. And as this was a purpose built ‘trials special', with the ideal weight distribution and a good view of where all four wheels are at all times, it was much more effective than my normal Suzuki…with it's heater…and cd player…and roof! We got further up steep hills and turned tighter corners. Much of the route we ran ‘clean’ , not picking up any penalty points for failing to make the sumit of each Observed Section.
Lee has decades of motorsport experience on two and four wheels. This car is one of seven Karkens he's constructed so far, and it's a very capable piece of equipment. I can see the appeal of running one of these specials. They are very exciting to be in, and very practical to look after. I would certainly like one myself, but the price is about twenty five times what I paid for the Suzuki ! Not that it's big money in motor sport terms. Trials , even with one of these specialised devices, still offers amazingly good value compared to almost every other catagory. And these cars do hold their value. Many of them have been around for years and have a chain of former owners. They survive because they have been built with the specific job in mind. It's a rugged sport, you need a rugged car. Small, open cars with tube frame chassis are a lot easier to work on than a conventional steel shell, with it's rust pockets and inaccessable nooks and crannies - I know all about that after two years of repeairing the Suzuki!.
The Kraken in autumn
But there is always the weather to consider. There isn't even a canvas hood , so when it does rain, or snow, the crew will get soaked and forzen unless they have some effective outdoor clothing. And despite the early tranquility we did get a bit of ‘weather’ towards the end of the route, just as it was starting to get dark . The route book needed to be held under the dashboard to stay dry and as the daylight dwindled there was a neatly concealed map-light to illuminate it.
Did we win? No. This is very much the sharp end of the sport and the class we ran in was one of the most populated and competitive with a lot of the most exprienced drivers. Success or failure on one Section made a big difference to the overall result and a huge knee-deep step in the middle of a hill called King Charles' Lane caught out a lot of people - us included. Would it have made a difference if I could have manouvered my bulk a little better and done some effective bouncing? We'll never know. Those that made it through this obstical were rewarded with top results at the end of the day. Possibly they also had bent wheels and other damage to repair, but thats the nature of the sport. At times you have to risk the car to get the result.
Lee chats with Emma Wall, one of the top runners in our class
We may not have reached the podium but the car survived in tact and we had a really enjoyable day's motor sport in a beautiful part of the country. My thanks to Lee . It was a memorable and illumnating event. I certainly wouldn't refuse another invitiation to passenger in an open car . And there is always that potential win on the national lottery…you never know!
Some of our class opposition at the start
A trio of Ford Escorts - 3 models in one shot!
You get some unusual choices of car…
But always plenty of VW Beetles!
