7: Winning Ways

Another outright win!

…and so, with finances at full stretch, the ad hoc navigation continued. Drivers got to know that if their regular navigator wasn’t available, I was happy to stand in, and occasionally this would be for more than one event. Around that time Mark Harrison, who still runs Stuart Frazer Kitchens, was usually teamed with a navigator who would later go on to a successful long-term partnership with me (and also ‘navigator to the celebrities’) – John Meadows – but he couldn’t make the 1980 Devil’s Own Rally so I took his place on the maps. We started at a relatively lowly seeding of 23; Mark was quick but deceptively so, his smooth style disguising raw speed. My dad (Roy) greeted us as we came into the half-way petrol halt – in those days there were no mobile phones or internet of course, but the organisers had arranged for interim results to be telephoned from a phone box at the last control to the garage (all very advanced stuff back then!!) – and as we arrived, Roy said, excitedly, “You’re in the lead!” “We can’t be,” I replied, “Why not?” to which I said, without thinking, “We’re not going fast enough!” Mark’s smooth driving had deceived me, and now I realised my answer had been somewhat tactless! We had an, er, 'businesslike' second half with very little chit-chat! But we finished as overall winners, no mean feat from down at no 23. Thanks Mark – now we both just wonder where all our hair went!

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More musings... here's John Morton, pictured (courtesy of Christopher Rae) with Nicky Moffitt. I’d already navigated John to his first-ever finish in the early 70s – in a mini. He’d done a few rallies but never got to the end; all I can now remember is John being cock-a-hoop at finishing, and driving down Castle Street past Woolworths at around 6.30 am. At 70 mph!!

Now he asked me to navigate again, and we did a couple of night events. John was still his confident, ebullient self; I recall travelling along Coal Pit Lane near Gisburn at what seemed like a heck of a rate of knots; near Eldroth I missed a slot left, but no sooner had I shouted “Turn around!” than my whole world seemed to turn into a slow motion spin – John had instantly executed a handbrake turn, the first time I’d ever experienced one – very exciting! And on our last event together through a tight gateway, he caught a rear wheel of the Firenza on a very solid stone milk kit stand, instantly ripping off the wheel and suspension. Immediate retirement. We spectated for a while and then along came a crew who were well known for not getting quick times. They stopped and offered me a lift to where I could get help. Soon after they stopped in the middle of a selective because the navigator wanted a pee!!

After I started driving again my regular navigator also co-drove for John in the Astra Challenge. John had lowered the passenger seat and, thinking it might be too low, asked if it was OK. “No it’s not!” came the reply, “I can still see a little bit of road over the dashboard!”

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The freelance navigator saga continues... Brian Harper, Minisport supremo, pictured here in the Allegro with Don Davidson, (thanks again to Christopher Rae for the photo) needed a map man and so I stood in on Pendle & DMC's South Valley Rally (in 79 or 80?). We had an uneventful smooth run all night resulting in the overall win, and I remember Brian being particularly pleased with the result, our first event together. So a few months later he asked me to navigate for him again. I can't remember the event, but in the first half the route took us through Malham and up the 'east' road towards the Tarn. Just before the crossroads where Mastiles Lane joins from the east, a rough track runs for about 200 metres, and as the direction of approach at the junction was from the E, I knew we had to take it. It had started to snow and we were first car on the road. Half way along the white, we hit a snowdrift and got completely stuck. Following cars could see our predicament, successfully risked 'force majeure' and stuck to the tarmac. It was the only thing to do, but Brian was furious. He paced around the car, kicking the door sills and using words I'd never heard before! If you want to know what hero to zero feels like, this was it!