RtG Cloverleaf York 1 - Daily Dispatch - Flipbook - Page 1
11 to 14 June 2021
Day 1
Bowcliffe to Ramsgill (62.3 miles)
11 June 2021
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
1934 Aston Martin Ulster of Alan and Tina Beardshaw ready to go
The White Rose of Yorkshire flags off Keith and
Norah Ashworth’s Bentley Le Mans
Welcome to God’s own County for the much
awaited return of the Rally the Globe program.
Fully 463 days since we switched off our engines in
Watamu, today we turned them on again. The world may
have changed somewhat since we were last on the road
but, looking around the car park and hearing the excited
chatter of the crews meeting in person, it was obvious that
the spirit of endurance rallying is very much alive and well.
However, in this new world of ours, certain protocols
now have to be observed and as such it fell to Jim Smith,
the designated “Covid Marshal” to be the public face of
this, making sure that everybody’s temperature fell within
acceptable limits, as soon as they arrived.
Whilst Jim was busy with his thermometer up front
though, Graham Rood was checking for noise compliance
around the back. Stooped over the exhausts with his trusty
decibel meter, Graham worked alongside Andy Inskip
and Jack Amies to manage the contactless scrutineering
session. Luckily everyone - and everything - passed muster
and were then free to make their way towards Gill Cotton,
Loren Price and Helen Oates who manned the signing on
desk, where the all important paperwork and rally gifts
were distributed.
This had been a busy morning and, once the formalities
had been completed, the competitors filed into the
Blackburn Wing for lunch where Rally Director Fred
Gallagher welcomed everyone to the event. The Clerk of the
Course, Mark Appleton then explained some of the finer
points of this ‘fun orientated’ 12 car rally, created with the
help of Andy Pullan and the Ilkley Motor Club - who have
also supplied us with some fine marshalling crews.
Two newcomers amongst us, Craig McWilliam and Chloe
Mackay - who have brought a Magnificent Maserati - were
also warmly welcomed as was Christine Hodgson who is
sitting alongside her husband Adrian for her very first time
in a rally car.
Once the lunch had been cleared away it was then time to
get on with the business of the day. It was a short one for
sure, but on paper at least there was a lot packed into it.
So, at 1:30pm Fred Gallagher, armed with the White Rose of
Yorkshire, flagged off the first car.
The nearby Bramham Park was the scene for the first two
Regularities and two Tests, where there was some tricky
gravel road navigation and some tight farmyard sprints to
negotiate.
The Time Control in North Rigton then led to a very
pretty Regularity around Almscliff Crag, followed by two
www.rallytheglobe.com