Tweeds 2 Trial Report

28 September 2019

Saturday 28th September saw the first round of the STCC championship take place at Tweeds 2 site, situated at the top of the well known Cairncastle Hill Climb. 5 hills had been set up by Clerk of the Course (CoC) Harry Barr, ably assisted by David Cross. It was also an opportunity for local man David to try out his newly acquired Concord trials car. A lot of rain had fallen in the previous 24 hours, but Saturday was pleasantly dry and sunny with stunning views over to Scotland and Ailsa Craig. Twelve crews started and we welcomed newcomers David Cross and 16-year-old Jacob Morrison. Jacob was sharing the driving of his father’s newly acquired Concord. Chairman David Webster was out in his newly acquired Crossle for the first time on home ground, passengered by his wife Suzi. Because of the wet condition under foot, tyre pressure was declared at 4psi for class A and 3psi for Class B. The hills were generally progressive with at least one early challenge and a final stiff climb. However, there were a few ‘banana skins’ and most drivers slipped up somewhere unexpectedly throughout the day. Plenty of drama in the first round with David Webster missing the 5 gate on hill 4 and Graeme Jennings collecting 11 for missing the gate on hill 3! David Cross showed early promise on his first few climbs but unfortunately when his engine refused to start, his driving day was over. Technical problems persisted and the Morrisons were beset with battery problems in their Concord followed by overheating issues. At the end of the first round Andrew McKinney was in the lead, dropping only 2 points on the tricky finish of hill 1. Peter Frost dropped 12 to lead Class B from Alister Morrison. There followed more drama in the second round as Michael McBratney boldly ‘attacked’ the everdeepening ditch on hill 4 and the front suspension collapsed, ending his day. Andrew took a more genteel approach but got stuck for a costly 6. Reigning STCC Champion John McKinney slipped up on the crosscamber start to hill 3 and picked up 10 to put him out of contention on the day. David and Suzi only dropped 2 on hill 1 and now lead the competition on 9 after the second round. Following a few tweaks by the CoC, round three got underway and Graeme and passenger Alan Finlay had a brilliant clear round. Graeme dropped only 1 point on hill 1 all day and was the clear master here with superb trickling skills in his Crossle. Geoff McKay and daughter Katherine were having a good day but a costly 9 at hill 3 kept them behind the Class B leader. John and son Ryan compounded their bad day with another 10 on the hill 3 banana skin. David still held a slender 1 point lead over Andrew in Class A so it was all to play for in the final round. The Morrisons called it a day to save the car with Alister just holding a 2 point lead over Jacob – a moral victory for Jacob I think. David and Suzi had a great clear final round and with Andrew and passenger Chris Millar dropping 1, the final margin was 2 points. Graeme finished a further 7 points back and was left to regret that costly navigational error! In Class B, Peter Frost was a clear winner with Geoff just pipping Alastair Booth and Peter Frost on countback. A big thanks to landowner Campbell Tweed for the use of the excellent site.