Sunday 17th April 2011 was the date set for this year’s New Forest Run. The month’s of planning and preparation put in by The Wessex Area of the Triumph Sports Six Club together with the Southern Area of the TR Drivers Club was about to be put to the test.
Fortunately, we again had good weather and all the preparation paid off. This year’s Wessex and New Forest Triumph Run was generally considered to be another resounding success.
Those of you who have been on the event before will recall that one of the motivations for this event is to support the FBHVC’s “Drive it Day” which encourages people to get their Classic vehicles out on the roads in support of “the cause”.
Ok, the good weather undoubtedly helped but we had another “fantastic” turn out of Triumph cars with examples ranging from the TR’s, Heralds & Vitesses, Spitfires & GT6’s, Stags, Dolomites, 2000/2500, a Bond Equipe plus some other “Honorary Triumph’s for the day. This latter category including a Rover P6, a Mercedes 300SL and an MX5. In all we had our best turnout yet with 115 cars turning up at Avon Heath Country Park out of a total of 128 entries.
This year’s run got underway from Avon Heath around 10.30am with the marshalls having previously departed to their allotted positions. The Route took in the scenery around Poulner, Moyles Court, Linwood, Lyndhurst, Beaulieu with the halfway halt at Boldre. We procured the Boldre War Memorial Hall and adjacent field again this year for the Halfway Stop which proved to be a popular choice with its pleasant outlook. After time to relax and take advantage of complementary teas and coffees we got underway again for the second half which took us out via Sway, Bransgore, Winkton, Hurn, up Matchams Lane through Alderholt and Cranborne, finally ending up at The Compasses Inn at Damerham around lunchtime. The Route in total was some 68 miles.
Despite all the planning that goes into the event, there is always the possibility of the unforeseen. This year, as in past years we had to contend with a cycle event being held over some of the same route as our event. This year it was the “New Forest Wiggle”! Thankfully though we managed to avoid incident – although I believe there were a few exchanges of “choice words” in places! The main area of unforeseen incident is always the chance of a breakdown. Fortunately, we only had 2 of these – one being a marshall at the first roundabout. Unfortunately he was not able to get re-started and had to get a tow home.
All in all, I think everyone who came along had a good day and enjoyed the Run, the scenery and of course the wonderful weather. This is certainly the impression I have received through the various e.mails I have since received in appreciation. Our only problem now seems to be that we have set a very high standard for the event which we hope we can maintain – planning for next year has already begun
For those of you interested in the Statistics:
Breakdown of cars entered and taking part on the day:
| Cars Entered | Actual | |
| TR3 | 4 | 4 |
| TR4 | 7 | 6 |
| TR5 | 2 | 2 |
| TR250 | 1 | 1 |
| TR6 | 18 | 16 |
| TR7 | 20 | 19 |
| TR8 | 5 | 5 |
| Vitesse | 5 | 4 |
| Herald | 7 | 5 |
| Spitfire | 12 | 12 |
| GT6 | 7 | 6 |
| Dolomite | 4 | 2 |
| 2000/2500 | 3 | 3 |
| Stag | 28 | 25 |
| Bond Equipe | 1 | 1 |
| Others | 4 | 4 |
| 128 | 115 |
Due to the fantastic number of entries this year we were able to offer prizes not only for the Best Car but also the Runner Up in each of 8 categories in the self judging concours. The results of which are as follows:
| Winner | Runner Up | |
| TR 2, 3 & 4 | N. Barber | D. Eaton |
| TR 3A | TR 3A | |
| TR 5 & 6 | T. Alderton | I. Tubbs |
| TR 6 | TR 6 | |
| TR 7 & 8 | C. Walker | J. Davies |
| TR 7 V8 | TR 7 V8 | |
| Herald / Vitesse | G. Barnett – Smith | L. O’Kelly |
| Vitesse Mk2 | Herald 1200 | |
| Spitfire / GT6 | N. Fletcher | A. Taylor Jones |
| GT 6 | Spitfire 1500 | |
| Stag | C. Lloyd | M. Goulding |
| Saloons | V. Ralph | F. Smith |
| 2500S | Dolomite Sprint | |
| Others | S. Cassar | D. Williamson |
| Mercedes 300SL | Mazda MX5 |
It is interesting to note that more than one of the above are previous winners of their categories which is a testament to the cars themselves and how their owners look after them.
In addition to the above there was also a separate prize for what was deemed to be the “Car of The Show”. This was chosen for us independently by Richard Owen who very kindly donated the trophy. His choice of “Car of the Run” was the Dolomite Sprint of D. Batchellor.
This year our resident video man managed to complete the run effortlessly and as a result we have the customary video of the day which is available to view via YouTube.
We also have, courtesy of “That Bloke with the Camera”, a good photographic record of the day. Allan has put these on Flickr for all to enjoy. These can be viewed by visiting http://www.flickr.com/photos/allans-images/. I believe Allan managed to photograph most of the cars at various points on the Run – hopefully you can see yourself.
Also I have received various articles from participants who have kindly given permission to publish their recollections of the day for others to enjoy on our website. From these you can see just how much fun everyone had on the day.
Many thanks to:
Val McMillan – of the TR Drivers Club
Barry Bryan – also of the TR Drivers Club
Kevin Warrington – TR Register and the 2000 Register
As you will appreciate there is a lot of work that goes into the planning of this event, designing the route and obtaining the various permits and insurance required. Most of which goes on behind the scenes before the day. In addition there is the organising of the booking in at the start, the band of volunteer marshalls around the route, the halfway refreshments and the arrangements at the end of the Run. I would like to pass on the many thanks received from numerous participants to everyone involved in making the day the success it has been.
I would also like say a big thank you from us to everyone who came along with their Triumph on the day. Also I feel a special mention should go out to all the Area Organisers and Group Leaders who have supported our event. Without this support we would simply not be able to hold the event and it would not be the success it has been. I won’t mention any names but you know who you are – they involve areas of the TR Register, TR Drivers, TSSC, Stag Owners, 2000/2500 Register, Dolomite Register etc. Last but not least a special thank you must go to Bethany Williamson for awarding the prizes at the end of the day!
Trevor