UP AT THE 'GLEN HELEN' CARPARK,I TURNED IN......LOOKING FOR THE MISSUS,AND MY LAD.......?
THEY WERE HUDDLED, UNDER SOME LARGE CONIFERS,WITH A GROUP OF OTHER BLOKES....
THESE BLOKES CAME OVER,IN THE POURING RAIN(BY NOW)AND ASKED IF THEY POSSIBLY SEE UNDER THE BONNET?
ONE OF THEM,HAD DONE THE EVENT ,BACK IN 2007.....HE HAD WON IT(FASTEST TIME OF THE DAY)IN A SUBARU IMPREZA....ALBEIT,ON A DIFFERENT PART OF THE 'ISLAND'.......
SOMETHING WAS MENTIONED, ABOUT THEM BEING PRETTY IMPRESSED WITH 99 TURBO .....
THESE GUYS HAD SPENT THE ENTIRE DAY,SAT ON THE EMBANKMENT NEXT TO MY MISSUS,AND SON..........SO,THEY NOW KNEW THE WHOLE STORY,ABOUT THE BUILD OF THE 'BLOMQVIST REPLICA TURBO'......WELL,THEY DID ASK?
BUT GOING BACK TO THE GUY'S IMPREZA,I WAS EAGER TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SPEC OF HIS CAR.......
HE HAD INVESTED MORE THAN £46,000 IN IT,PUSHING OUT 552 BHP,TO GET THAT WIN.....
WE SAID OUR FAREWELL'S,AND CLIMBED INTO THE 99T....
''FIT A BIGGER TURBO,FOR NEXT YEAR...........!!!'' HE SHOUTED,AS WE ACCELERATED INTO THE DISTANCE.......
ALL I MANAGED TO FIND OUT THAT NIGHT,IS THE PROVISIONAL RESULTS..........WHICH STOOD TILL 09.45 THE NEXT MORNING,PENDING ANY 'PROTESTS' THAT CAN BE LODGED BY FELLOW COMPETITORS.....
2ND IN CLASS,BEHIND THE BLUE TRIUMPH DOLOMITE SPRINT.......
THIS TIME LAST YEAR,WE WERE GETTING READY TO SET OFF ON 'MAMMOTH ROAD TRIP' ACROSS EUROPE .... OVER THE 2500 MILES,TO NORWAY, SVERIGE AND BACK.....THE 'CLARION BLOMQVIST REPLICA' RAN PERFECTLY..
AND NOW,I HAD JUST GIVEN IT THE HARDEST 4.5 MILES OF IT'S LIFE SO FAR.....CHANGING JUST THE DRIVERS SEAT,AND FITTING THE 'LUKE' HARNESSES....
VERSATILE,PRACTICAL AND BLOODY QUICK TOO......
OVER 3 YEARS,EVERY NIGHT,WEEKEND AND 'GOD GIVEN' SPARE MINUTE....I HAVE SPENT,BUILDING THIS CAR...
I THINK,CONSIDERING,WE DID GOOD.........
A MASSIVE THANK YOU,TO SEVERAL OF THE OTHER CHAPS BACK IN BLIGHTY WHOM HELPED TO MAKE ALL THIS POSSIBLE.....
'MIKE' FOR THE LOAN OF SOME SUITABLE OVERALLS
DAVE PARRY (FOR HIS TIME)
DAVE&ANGE BARROW(THANKS FOR BEING A GORILLA&EARL GREY)
DAVE VIVYAN(THANKS FOR BEING A TAXI)
DAVE MILLS(THANKS FOR THE WIRING!)
CHRIS&SHARON FOXLEY(THANKS FOR THE BOLTS!)
NUTCASE(THANKS FOR THE SILICONE HOSES)
MY BROTHER,NEIL(ALLOY&TIG WELDING)
MY SON(THANKS FOR THE FILMING&BEING THERE)
MY MISSUS(THANKS FOR BEING THERE)
ME MUM( PUTTING UP WITH SAABS ALL OVER THE GARDEN.....)
AND YOU GUYS,HERE ON 'SAABRALLY'......
SO MAYBE THAT'S IT,UNTIL NEXT YEAR?
BUT,THERE WAS STILL DAY 3,OF THE EVENT THE STEEP&TWISTY 'LHERGY FRISSELL' HILLCLIMB,TO COME.........FOR ALL THE OTHER COMPETITORS?
THE AWARDS,FOR DAY 1&2 WOULD BE HANDED OUT,AT THE START LINE,DURING THE 'LUNCH BREAK' AT THE VERY NEXT DAY'S FINAL COMPETITION....?
SADLY,AGAIN INTERRUPTED BY THE SIRENS,OF THE AMBULANCE....
AN HOUR BEFORE WE HAD GOT THERE, I BELIEVE A TR4 HAD LOST IT ON THE PRACTICE RUN,AND GONE AROUND 60 FT OVER THE EDGE,THROUGH THE BARRIERS,POSSIBLY INJURING SOME SPECTATORS......
THE EVENT WOULD CARRY ON THOUGH,AND I MANAGED TO GET MY HANDS ON A SET OF TIMES FOR FINAL RUN AT 'CREG WILLEYS'......
BLUE TRIUMPH DOLOMITE SPRINT 68.01 SECS
SAAB 99 TURBO 69.05 SECS
WE HAD COME 2ND IN CLASS 21ST OVERALL,JUST ON A SECOND DOWN,ON THE BLUE TRIUMPH DOLOMITE 16TH OVERALL.....
MY EYES QUICKLY SCANNED DOWN,THE LIST,TO SEE WHOM HAD ACHIEVED 20TH PLACE........
CAR 36..... 1935 WOLSELEY HORNET SPECIAL ...1685 CC SUPERCHARGED.....68.46 SECS...DRIVEN BY TIM GREENHILL
I COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN HAPPIER,TO HAVE BEEN BEATEN BY SUCH A CAR.......
IT HAD TAKEN MY VERY EYE,THE VERY FIRST DAY ,AS I HAD WANDERED AROUND THE PADDOCK.......
''VORSPRUNG DURCH TECKNIK'' AS THEY SAY.........?
I DON'T THINK SO......
BIRDIE