Gravel Autotest

Bedford Car Club run a small little gravel autotest in a farmers yard, just outside of Northampton. This seemed like an ideal event for the MGZR, and a good way to test to see if the sealants have done their job on the headgasket.

The only downsides to using the MGZR are a) it has a useless handbrake and b) the steering lock is like that of an oil tanker. Luckily the surface in most places had a good covering of gravel, which provided at least a chance for the handbrake to work.

The first few tests we good fun and flowing, the MGZR was holding up well and it was good fun throwing the car around on the gravel. We had entered the PCA event, which meant Suze could nav for me and I for her. This gave a benefit of helping where needed to give a sense of direction.

The fourth test of the day involved some reverse driving, which had a new rule (to us) which was that when reversing you had to stop the car between the line of cones. Usually you can go past as this just means you take longer. This caught me out on my first run, and made me cautious on my second run. Luckily it was the best score to count.

After this it was, some more longer tests which challenged the mind but were all good fun.

By the end of the day I finished up 4th overall and 3rd in class, which was pleasing since it was our first time at the venue, and our first autotest in the car.

Here is a video, which was streamed live during the test via Facebook

 

Car Trial

So with the purchase of a cheap ‘play’ car, we had to find an event to use it on. So the day after buying a MGZR 160VVC, we were heading to Essex to compete on a Car Trial.

The event started off very wet, and on the long grass the cars wide 17″ wheels were rather useless. However the morning dried out and we were soon onto the hills and making good progress.

The MGZR isn’t the best car for trials, as it has limited steering lock and the disc rear brakes mean the handbrake isn’t much use. However this meant we have to be careful in how we drove the hills, and the cars torque which is available at very low revs is very useful.

During the day we started to pull away from the Yaris in our class, which was pleasing and onto the last set of hills Suze and I were just one point apart. By luck and good fortune I managed to do well on one hill, which off set my poor attempt at another hill, which in the end left me winning the class by one point.

So two Sunday’s and two class wins, in real grass roots motorsport 🙂