The Film - CRX 89B on the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2011

Here the edited film of the 2011 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique as seen by the crew of CRX 89B, a 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S.









THE END

Valence - Monaco. A pot-pourri of pictures and videos

Peter Barker / Willy Cave #273

I quite fancy one of these

Or one of these.

Service team of Simon Wheatcroft and Nigel Chetwynd hard at work.

Here a mixture of videos from some of the more interesting parts of the rally from Valence - Valence - Monaco. We were very fortunate to have the support and sponsorship of Mini Spares and Heritage Insurance to help us enter the event and to raise money for our chosen charity 'Bliss' who care about babies born too soon, too small or too sick to fend for themselves.







Coming soon - The Turini from start to finish

END

ZR2 Tourette de Chateau

This time I think the videos will work......At long last after several attempts I can bring you in-car footage of ZR2 Tourette de Chateau. It was quite snowy in this fairly long stage, although would have been much more difficult for the front runners who met fresh snow. By the time we got there much of it had been cleared off the road. There was still plenty left to surprise people though, and the casualty rate in the stage was quite high.

The film is about 20 minutes and in two parts due to You Tube rules, but unfortunately the camera stopped shortly before the end of the stage. Look out for spectator cars coming back down the stage against rally traffic and look out also for the snow plough coming against the rally direction which causes a little "moment". See the number of stopped rally cars, and also toward the end catching and passing the Healey.

I should like to thank Mini Spares and Heritage Insurance very much for their support to our rally effort and our chosen charity Bliss who care for babies born to early or too sick to fend for themselves.

Here the videos of ZR2 - Enjoy





There will be more



END

Day 2 Monaco - Valence

Francois Windeck's (Automobiles BMC, Vienne)fabulously painted service vehicle supporting his team of two French Mini Cooper s within the six car Team of the MCR.

Here Jean Paul Burnier & Patrick Alibaux in 218 leave their service point at Monaco harbour to make thyeir way up to the first test of the day - ZR2 Tourette du Chateau

The 2nd of Francois Windeck's team cars prepares to leave town as well. This one driven by Christophe Gandy & Stephane Campo.

The Monaco start ramp.

Here some video of us going over it and finding our way out of town - which seems mainly to be underground.





This is first service on the main road out of Monte Carlo in a little turning to Les Serriers.

We have used it for several years.


Tourette du Chateaux stage after heavy snow - in car footage coming up in the next post.

END.

The Start in Reims

The computer is fixed at last, so I can now bring you pictures of some of the highlights of the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2011.

The teams of Peter Barker and Alastair Vines are captured here getting their cars cleaned up to drive down to scrutineering at the Centre des Congres in Reims.

The scrutineering area at the Palais de Congress was not as pleasant as the old place at the Parc des Expositions. It was overcrowded and very cold, with a howling gale blowing through the place. Not good.

Our service teams with Discovery 4 vehicles loaned to us by Land Rover wait at the edge of town until we appear out of the night.

Here some in car video as we go over the starting ramp and begin our adventure on the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2011



As the night wears on we begin to climb up the Col du Granier just before dawn.



Then we go over the top as dawn breaks - not much snow this year



We stop for a major service, tyre change and a nibble on some of Lisa's excellent flap jacks in a lay by on the outskirts of St Andre les Alpes. Nigel Chetwynd getting stuck in.

Land Rover Discovereys are just fantastic tools for supporting a Mini on a long distance rally such as this.

Discovery loadspace chocker with fuel cans, spare wheels, spare parts and tools. Nigel at work in the office!

This is the main time control at St Andre les Alpes where the entire rally comes together during Saturday 29th January - all 330 cars - nearly a 6 hour long rally stream. This is a big rally.

The first competitive test sends us up the Col de Braus in light rain which later turns into a heavy snow storm. Here some in car video of the start and early ascent of the Col.



We completed the test without a hitch and masde our way down into Monaco for the finish of the Concentration run after 23 hours at the wheel. It poured with rain and we all got thoroughly soaked as we gathered up our luggage and headed for the Fairmont Hotel. We were tired, wet and fairly grumpy as chaotic scenes presented themselves in the hotel reception as the entire rally attempted check itself in.

Our position at the end of this day was a mediocre 130th, with team mates Barker in 93rd, Gandy 237th, Morrow / Richards 244th, and Burnier 249th. During the night somewhere south of Grenoble we had sadly lost Anthony Hart and Graeme Allen who had retired with a huge oil leak.

END

MCR Team Photo at the end of rally dinner

Here are some of the surviving MCR Mini teams who arrived in Monte Carlo for the final gala dinner. Missing from the shot are Peter Barker, Bill Richards.

My computer has suffered a major breakdown, so I apologise for the absence of any updates since our return. Fortunately I have not lost any pictures taken during the event as they are still in the camera. Now that we are back up and running I will process the pictures and update the blog in the next few days. Please be patient.

END

Final results

The leading Mini Cooper Register team car of Peter Barker and Willy Cave finished in 21st place.

Final results are:

21st - Barker/ Cave
64th - Vines / Moss
106th - Burnier / Alibaux
166th - Morrow / Richards
203rd - Gandy / Campo
RTD - Hart / Allan

Other results:
Winner - Porsche 911 - sala / Torlasco
2nd oa - Innocenti Mini Cooper - Raimondo / Calegari
109th - Aaltonen rally champion

The two stages on the run down from Valence were made more interesting with the presence of lying snow and ice on the highest parts of the route. Many teams were more than half a minute late as they went over the Cols.

After a three hour break crews were sent out into the night for three more special stages. The Col de Turini was a blast with real problems over this most historic of Monte- Carlo rally stages. The Morrow / Richards team tried to make it more difficult for themselves by having no rear brakes due to an earlier issue with suspension.
The next two stages were both icy and very rough seemingly little more than mountain goat tracks. All returned safely even if a little bruised.

So ended the 2011 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique.

Look ou for more pictures and video from the event in the next few days.

playing safe...track rod end change on the way into the first test on Monday

Peter Moss plotting our strategy for the four tests we faced on Monday. We did not do well on the first test as a tyre change on the way there seemed to upset the Halda calibration even though we had accounted for it. We got it sorted later in the day, but we dropped to 97th oa

MCR team results are:

24th. Barker
97th. Vines
122nd. Morrow (accident in Last stage - but still running)
129th Burnier
229th. Gandy

Ruano Aaltonen rally champion is 128th

The Raimondi mini is in an amazing 2nd place oa

Another day, another service point.....

On Sunday we covered four special stages. The first had unexpected heavy snow and caught many folks out on the wrong tyres. Lots of abandoned cars in the stage. Results at end Sunday are:

leading Mini is Raimondo in 4th place oa.

Lopes - 19th

MCR team:
20th - Barker
81st - Vines
119th - Morrow
136th- Burnier
247th - Gandy following incident with rock face.

Thank Aaltonen rally champion is 151st.

Today is Monday 31st January and we look forward to four more special stages.

END

Sunday morning restart from the harbour in Monaco.

As we go into Sunday the results are:

Aaltonen is leading Mini - 24th
Lopes - 55th

MCR team cars are-
Barker - 93rd
Vines - 130th
Gandy - 236th
Morrow - 243rd
Burnier - 248th
Hart - retired

END

Land Rover have kindly loaned two Discovery vehicles as support to the team effort. Here they are supporting the St Andre service action.

Saturday 29th Jan - St Andre les Alps

Busy service scene as the Barker/ Cave and Vines/Moss cars service together before going into St Andre les Alpes time Control. Here we are fitting studded tyres before going into the first test over the Col de Braus.

Friday to Saturday - Concentration Run

Nigel Chetwynd prepares to give service to The Vines / Moss team in car 282.

The first part of the rally is the Concentration Run, and brings all of the cars from their various starting towns together in the little village of St Andre les Alpes in southern France. For in excess of six hours a continuous rally stream of over 300 classic cars pass through the Time control in the village on their way to the first competitive section over the Col de Braus and Col de Castillon, before the end of leg time control in Monte Carlo during the afternoon and evening of Saturday 28th Jan.

Friday 28th Jan - The start in Reims

Only in France....a glass of champagne before you leave sir? Strictly orange juice- honest. Pictured L-R are Willy Cave (co-pilot car 273), Peter Moss & Al Vines (car 282).

Reims Scrutineering

All dressed up and ready to go.

The CRX 89B team eagerly looking forward to the rally.

Rallye Monte Carlo Historique - Where Does it Go To

See below the maps of the places to be visited for the Reims starters. I should like to thank John Clarke very much for the effort he has put into creating these map traces of the route of the 2011 Rallye Monte Carlo Historique for display here.

Redditch - Monaco


View 2011 Rallye Historique Monte Carlo in a larger map

Monaco - Valence


View 2011 Rallye Historique Monte Carlo in a larger map

Valence - Valence (incomplete)


View 2011 Rallye Historique Monte Carlo in a larger map

Maps of the remaining route will be uploaded in due course ... watch this space!

Thursday 27th January - Departure

After a long day yesterday of packing and fettling including having to
repair two slow punctures in our new snow tyres, we are finally on our
way. An 05.45 wake up call this morning got us underway. We picked up
Peter Moss our co- driver at the M25/M3 junction on the way through to
Dover. Here we are in the queueing lanes at Dover - no other rally
cars in sight though. Team mates Barker / Cave are not far behind and
will take the next boat. We will see them on the auto route on the
other side. Morrow / Richards have gone Norfok Line and will land at
Dunkirk ilo Calais.

Breaking news......Barker / Cave team who have identical rig to ours
have been pulled over by UK Customs who thought it was us coming
around again. Will they get their boat on time, or will they get the
rubber glove treatment?

END

Sunday 23rd January - Into The "Funnel" of Final Preparations

Saturday 22nd January - Nigel Chetwynd gets to grips with lining out the Land Rover Discovery to potect the interior from the rigours of servicing duties to the rally cars.

Alastair Vines and Peter Moss are entered into the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique (car 282) http://www.acm.mc/ which will start on Wednesday 26th January and finish on the 2nd February 2011 in Monaco. Nigel Chetwynd and Simon Wheatcroft will provide back up to the team tackling running repairs, refuelling and maintenance throughout the event. The team are attempting to raise £10k to support their entry and raise money for the charity Bliss http://www.bliss.org.uk/ which concerns itself with babies born too early, too small or too sick to fend for themselves. They have to date won the backing of sponsorship from Mini Spares http://www.minispares.com/  , Heritage Insurance at Norton Insurance Brokers http://www.norton-ib.co.uk/ and Land Rover http://www.landrover.com/ who have loaned two Land Rover Discovery support vehicles. The team continue to seek more help with funding to secure their ambition and if you would like to help please call Alastair Vines on 0776 437 7322 or email to crx89b@blueyonder.co.uk

We picked up the Land Rover Discoverys on Friday 21st January, so in order to get prepared we immediately set about preparing the interior of the car to receive all our rally gear - spare wheels, fuel tanks, spare parts etc. I have been out testing our new snow tyres as well, and although we have no snow at present, the tyres gave an acceptable level of performance on wet and slippery January roads. EARS Motorsport http://www.ears.co.uk/ also fitted studs to a further set off tyres for us.

The following pictures are of the CRX 89B team getting ready and preparing their kit in readiness to leave for France on Thursday 27th January.

Simon Wheatcroft assembling a spare distributor surrounded by service vehicle clutter

Our service vehicle fully equipped to carry all our stuff receiving a little under bonnet preparation as well.

Sunday 23rd January - Fitting Trials for car and trailer.


I have lots more packing to do, so I am going to cut this update here, and send you more from the rally.

Al

END

Friday 21st January - Tweaking, Testing and Photo calls

Tuesday 18th January - Mini Spares photo call for the cars of Bill Richards and Alastair Vines who are being supported in this years event.

Alastair Vines and Peter Moss are entered into the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique (car 282) http://www.acm.mc/ which will start on Wednesday 26th January and finish on the 2nd February 2011 in Monaco. Nigel Chetwynd and Simon Wheatcroft will provide back up to the team tackling running repairs, refuelling and maintenance throughout the event. The team are attempting to raise £10k to support their entry and raise money for the charity Bliss http://www.bliss.org.uk/ which concerns itself with babies born too early, too small or too sick to fend for themselves. They have to date won the backing of sponsorship from Mini Spares http://www.minispares.com/  , Heritage Insurance at Norton Insurance Brokers http://www.norton-ib.co.uk/ and Land Rover http://www.landrover.com/ who have loaned two Land Rover Discovery support vehicle. The team continue to seek more help with funding to secure their ambition and if you would like to help please call Alastair Vines on 0776 437 7322 or email to crx89b@blueyonder.co.uk

Photo: c/o Andy Yu of Heritage Insurance
Since the last post I have been very busy fine tuning the car, running durability miles and participating in photo calls for our sponsors. Steering column bushes have been changed to firm up steering feel, out has gone the early type Springalex steering wheel, and in has come a Motalita as it is much stiffer. The front suspension has been lowered an inch to provide better cornering balance; air horns are improved, and ignition system parts have been sealed against water ingress. Spare parts kits have been received from our sponsors Mini Spares http://www.minispares.com/ , exterior mirrors and upgraded light units purchased from classic car equipment suppliers Holden and Vintage http://www.holden.co.uk/

CRX 89B cockpit - Sprigalex steering wheel above changed in favour of a stiffer Motalita type.

Saturday 21st  January - We were pleased to receive Andy Yu from Heritage Insurance at Norton Insurance Brokers http://www.norton-ib.co.uk/ , to whom I am very grateful for being instrumental in facilitating the support to us from his company. Here Andy presents me with a cheque as a donation to our chosen charity Bliss http://www.bliss.org.uk/ and contribution toward our entry expenses.

Tuesday 18th January - With fellow competitor Bill Richards (car# 321) for a Mini Spares photo call. Mini Spares are providing support to two cars in the event this year. We are extremely grateful to Keith Dodd and Justin Jefferey for the support they are giving to the charity Bliss and our entry.

The photo call with Bill Richards of Bill Richards Racing http://www.billrichardsracing.com/ in Ashford, Kent enabled me to give the car a good stretch . I drove approximately 400 miles on the round trip, during which time the car ran without any significant hitches. The engine is sweet, gear changes are smooth and interior noise perfectly acceptable despite the straight cut gears and competition Maniflow exhaust http://www.maniflow.co.uk/ . Steering wheel alignment, adjustment to column rake angle and thread locking the starter knob onto its shaft were all that was required to be attended to on our return. Fuel consumption settled at 29 miles per gallon with a safe useable range of about 320 miles at 65mph motorway driving.

Friday 21st January - Collecting the Land Rover Discoverys from Land Rover at Gaydon.

We are very grateful to Land Rover who have provided two Discoverys to act as support vehicles to myself (Car #282)and Peter Barker (Car# 273). I would particularly like to thank Fiona Pargeter, Kath Ditchfield, David Sneath, Mark Chellingsworth and Peter Melling who have worked hard to facilitate the loan, provide specialist kit and prepare the cars for our use. Discoverys are fantastic tools to use as support vehicles on this event. they have lots of carrying capacity, the benefit of 4WD, the standard equipment tyres keep them sure footed in even the worst conditions (see video in my earlier posts), they are fast and tow our car trailers with ease. I am delighted that Land Rover have agreed to let us borrow them.

Friday 21st January - Photo call at Mini Plant Oxford. From left to right Peter Barker (Car #273) Jeurgen Heidreich - Plant Director, Paddy Hopkirk - rally legend, Richard Norris - Plant Oxford Mini team, and Nigel Chetwynd who is my Service chief (Car #282).

Nigel Chetwynd who is heading up my Service team took CRX down to the Mini assembly Plant at Oxford earlier today to participate in a photo call with Paddy Hopkirk and the Plant Oxford Mini team. The Oxford team have been very enthusiastic about finding ways to help the Mini Cooper Register rally team, and have been able to provide some tyres and clothing which some team members have been able to take advantage of.

The Monte Carlo Rally is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and Paddy shot to World rally fame in 1964 by driving the first Mini to win the event outright. Minis went on to win the event again in 1965, 66 and 67, although were controversially disqualified in 1966, along with many other competitors for an alleged lighting regulation infringement. The subsequent row and "we woz robbed" stories in the Press probably did more to bring the Mini to public attention than winning the event for the third time.

Plans for the coming weekend are to get the special tyres we bought from Francois Windeck at Auto-BMC Vienne in France http://www.auto-bmc.com/ ,  fitted up to wheels, finalise preparation of the Land Rover Discoverys and complete the readiness of our service kits. Five days until we leave. Not long now.

We have bought 12 off 10 inch snow tyres in this pattern, of which 6 are studded. We will also take 4 off Dunlop D55 snow tyres lightly studded for transit section running in order to slow down wear rates on our competition tyres.

END