Less than a year to go until the Summer Lanes Rally 2010

Apologies for the lack of posts since the 2009 Summer Lanes Rally. I hope everyone had an enjoyable day, whether competing or marshalling. I have been out assessing the damage and am glad to report that all the lane owners are happy with how it all went, and all have said they would be willing to have their lane included in the rally again.

A few thanks:
Just like the tyre eligibility list, this is far from definitive, but there are a few specific thank-yous that i would like to make, on behalf of myself, Richard Hyland, and QUBMC.

• Cookstown Motor Club (John Nicholl), Newry and District Motor Club (David McElroy), Rathfriland Motor Club (Tom Brown), and Paddy McCollum, for their help in recruiting marshalls for the event. Also to the motley crew of QUBMC regulars, 'Old Boys', and friends and family who turned out on the day. Their assistance was invaluable in getting the rally to run.
• TDC (Trials Drivers Club) who really boosted the entries, with many members going out of their way to encourage people to come and take part. Your enthusiasm was very much appreciated.
• Our furthest travelled marshalls, Frank and Audrey O'Donoghue, who came up from Dublin and as well as supporting son Karl, helped us out by manning a Test Finish Control.
• Chris Ragg, who thought he was going to get a handy job, only to be informed that he was navigating me for the day in the opening car! I should probably apologise for my efforts to prove that a diesel Focus is capable of a Scandinavian Flick. Sorry Chris...
• The lane-owners who continue to allow us to use their property for this rally. I continue to be amazed by their generosity!

Apologies to anyone i've left out, rest assured that your help was very much appreciated!

I'll not go into too much detail on results, as full results are available elsewhere, but i did just want to mention the top three crews. All put in a very impressive performance, and kept the marshalls entertained!

1st overall: Ronnie Griffin/Patricia Denning/MGB GT

2nd overall: Robert Woodside Jr/Victoria Woodside/Austin Healey Sprite

3rd overall: Karl O'Donoghue/Ciara Wong/Rover 200

I think its worth mentioning that for all the navigators in the top three, this was their first rally in the job, so very well done to them. On the down side, this may mean that Ronnie and Karl won't want me sitting with them again... although Karl did do the rally with my name on the car as the navigator so thats a positive sign! Maybe he was just trying to get me into trouble...

In the very near future, all competitors should receive a questionnaire covering various aspects of the 2009 event. We're keen to get everyones thoughts on what they did or didn't like about the rally, as we want things to keep improving.

Right, thats all for now. Obviously posts will be a bit more sparse now, but any new developments through the year will be announced here, so keep in touch.

Thanks again to all involved for making the 2009 Summer Lanes Rally a success. Hope to see you all next year, if not sooner.

Alan Dorman.

Nearly there!

Well, its nearly Saturday so you don't have long to wait for the Summer Lanes Rally 2009. This will probably be my last post until after the event is over, so i'm cramming in everything i can think of!

Firstly, here is the entry list as it stood on Sunday evening (19th):

1 Noel Broderick/Patrick Broderick/Volkswagen Golf GTI
2 Roger Gordon/John Caufield/Mazda MX5
3 Tony McLaughlin/Aisling McLaughlin/BMW E30 323
4 Ronnie Mitchell/David Pearson/Gilbern Invader
5 Aaron Mitchell/Patricia McElhone/Ford Sierra XR4x4
6 Leslie Hawe/Gareth Hawe/Renault Clio
7 Andrew Hughes/Kerry Moreland/Peugeot 306
8 Colin Earney/Andrew Earney/Mini Cooper 'S'
9 Shay Crawley/Graham Crawley/BMW E30
10 Robert Woodside Sr/David Allen/Volkswagen Beetle
11 Richard Beattie/Philip Beattie/Citroen Saxo VTR
12 Barry Gilpin/Denis Morton/Rover 414
13 Malcolm Johnston/Michael Gilmore/Skoda Felicia
14 Raymond Deazley/Gareth Deazley/Vauxhall Corsa
15 Andy Hennessy/Peter Murphy/Ford Anglia 105E
16 Owen Whelan/Joanna Doran/Toyota Starlet
17 Lucy Whitford/Kathryn Millington/Mini Cooper
18 Clive Latimer/Chris Hayes/British Leyland Mini
19 Piers MacFheorais/TBC/Toyota Starlet
20 Robert McGimpsey/Ricky McGimpsey/MG Midget
21 Ken McDonald/Ashley Lamont/Sunbeam Rapier
22 Mike Adair/Gordon Reid/MG Midget
23 Ian Johnston/Aaron Johnston/Nissan Micra
24 David Bell/Denis Bell/Toyota Starlet
25 Brian Haddock/TBC/Subaru Impreza
26 Robert Woodside Jnr/Victoria Woodside/Austin Healey Sprite
27 Karl O'Donoghue/Ciara Wong/MG Rover 200
28 John Henderson/TBC/Nissan Micra
29 Billy Gillespie/Trevor Kyle/MG B GT
30 David McCausland/TBC/MG Midget

There have been a few additions since then, but you'll just have to be surprised on the day!

Next, the latest version of the tyre eligibility list, with a few additons:

Eligible:
Avon – ZV5, ZV3, CR322, Ice Touring
Colway – Road Plus
Dunlop – D83J, D93J
Goodyear – Rally Special
Hankook – Z213, Z210, Z211
Michelin – Energy Saver, Primacy HP, Pilot Exalto, Alpin, Primacy Alpin
Pirelli – Cinturato P4, P6, Cinturato P6, P7, Cinturato P7, P2500, P6 Fourseasons, Winter Snowcontrol, Winter Snowsport
Sportway – R1 Plus
Vredestein – Snowtrac, Snowtrac 2, Snowtrac 3, Quatrac 3, Icetrac (as long as they're not studded)
Wanli – S1200 (because thats whats on the CoC's car...yes they're rubbish)
Yokohama – A048, A032R, A021R, A539, A008

Not eligible:
Colway – Rally, Rally Plus, Rally Plus 4, Emjo
Dunlop – SP85, SP61, DZ86, SP82
Hankook – R202, R201, R203
Silverstone – S55, S505, S525
Yokohama – A035, A035R, A035E

Again, this is not a definitive list, so if you are in any doubt, get in touch.

Finally, an appeal for marshalls. It is usually a struggle to get enough people to run an event like this, and the Summer Lanes is no exception. If you, or anyone you know, can help out by marshalling, please e-mail me (apdorman@yahoo.com) for details. Marshalls on last years rally seemed to throughly enjoy themselves even though the weather was terrible, so it should be good fun, and we will provide all marshalls with a packed lunch.

Right, i've got a lot of work to do, so i hope to see you all on Saturday.

Cheers,
Alan

Lets talk tyres

Tyre eligibility. Not the most exciting subject to blog about of a Monday evening, but theres nothing on TV and this info might be useful! As you may already know, scrutiny requirements for the Summer Lanes Rally are the same as for a normal Navigation Rally, APART FROM TYRES! To help reduce damage to loose sections, Gravel/Off-Road/Knobbly type tyres are not allowed. I have compiled a brief list of eligible/non-eligible tyres. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A DEFINITIVE LIST, AS IT IS IMPRACTICAL FOR US TO EXAMINE EVERY TYRE ON THE MARKET.

Eligible Tyres:

Avon - ZV5, ZV3, CR322, Ice Touring
Colway – Road Plus
Dunlop – D83J, D93J
Hankook – Z213, Z210, Z211
Michelin – Energy Saver, Primacy HP, Pilot Exalto, Alpin, Primacy Alpin
Pirelli – Cinturato P4, P6, Cinturato P6, P7, Cinturato P7, P2500, P6 Fourseasons, Winter Snowcontrol, Winter Snowsport
Vredestein – Snowtrac, Snowtrac 2, Snowtrac 3
Yokohama – A048, A032R, A021R, A539

Non-Eligible Tyres:

Colway – Rally, Rally Plus, Rally Plus 4, Emjo
Dunlop – SP85, SP61, DZ86, SP82
Hankook – R202, R201, R203
Silverstone – S55, S505, S525
Yokohama – A035, A035R, A035E

As mentioned above, this is not a definitive list. If your tyres do not appear here, they may or may not be eligible. If you are in any doubt, e-mail me at apdorman@yahoo.com specifying the make and model of tyre you wish to use, and i will check it out for you. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding on this.

Whats in store on the Summer Lanes Rally 2009

It never ceases to amaze me how friendly and helpful landowners can be, even when you're asking permission to bring a load of rally cars through their property! We now have the go ahead for all of the lanes that were used on last year's event, plus one more lane, and a piece of airfield. To hopefully whet your appetite, here is a brief overview of the tests we have in store:

Evervale - 0.92miles - Concrete/gravel/mud/grass

Greenhill - 0.5miles - Concrete

Clady Bridge - 0.26miles - Concrete

Clyde's Farm - 0.24miles - Concrete/New tarmac (had to be partly resurfaced after damage from last years rally!!)

Back Burn - 0.22miles - Gravel/concrete

NEW FOR 2009!:

Riversdale - 0.6miles - Tarmac

Nutts Corner - 0.36miles/0.2miles - Concrete/tarmac (airfield)

The number of runs of each test have yet to be confirmed, but the plan is that the total number of tests will be greater than last year. Keep an eye on the blog for any new developments.

Entry list filling up fast.

As expected, the entry list for the 2009 Summer Lanes Rally is filling up fast. The list so far (in no particular order) is:

Noel Broderick/Patrick Broderick/Volkswagen Golf GTI

Roger Gordon/John Caufield/Mazda MX5

Tony McLaughlin/Aisling McLaughlin/BMW E30 323

Ronnie Mitchell/David Pearson/Gilbern Invader

Aaron Mitchell/Patricia McElhone/Ford Sierra XR4x4

Leslie Hawe/Gareth Hawe/Renault Clio

Andrew Hughes/Kerry Moreland/Peugeot 306

Colin Earney/Andrew Earney/Mini Cooper 'S'

Shay Crawley/Graham Crawley/BMW E30

Robert Woodside Sr/David Allen/Volkswagen Beetle

Richard Beattie/Philip Beattie/Citroen Saxo VTR

Barry Gilpin/Denis Morton/Rover 414

Malcolm Johnston/Michael Gilmore/Skoda Felicia

Its nice to see a mixture of machinery, and a mix of old and new faces. Entries are still coming in and we are limited to 45 cars, so get in now to avoid disappointment.

On the subject of machinery, we would really love to get a few vintage cars out on this years rally. If you know of any likely people, point them in our direction!

Welcome to the Summer Lanes Rally Blog!

Hello and welcome to the new blog of the QUBMC Summer Lanes Rally.

As you may already know, this years event is scheduled for Saturday 25th July, regs and entry form can be found at http://www.qubmc.com/

The format for this years event is similar to last years very successful rally, with only a few minor changes.

Things we've kept:

• It looks like we have all last years land-owners on board (silage permitting, in one case!)
• Similar test formats and diagrams: no reversing needed, pylons marked with letters etc.
• Scrutiny as for a normal navigation rally, with one exception: NO GRAVEL/OFF-ROAD TYRES (there will be more info on this rule appearing on this blog, if you are in any doubt about tyre eligibility, please contact us ASAP)

Things we're changing:

• We are hoping to add another lane (approx half a mile, all tarmac), but this has yet to be confirmed
• We are adding an airfield test. This will look a bit more like an autotest than the others, but its still all-forwards, with a very simple layout and clearly labelled pylons. It is NOT our intention to catch people out with overly complex layouts and deceptive diagrams!
• The weather...hopefully...

I hope to update this blog regularly with event news and information, and your comments are welcome!