This article first appeared in the May 1993 Issue of `Sprint' magazine, which is the official monthly magazine of the TVR Car Club U.K. Ltd.
Stop! This article contains shocking material pertaining to motor sport in a TVR not on a nice smooth circuit: if you are of a nervous disposition then turn immediately to the social pages for more comforting articles.

I suspect this months front cover photograph must have caused a great deal of consternation amongst many club members. Is this TVR owner sane you are asking? Can it be that this person would deliberately get his TVR (albeit a very old one) wet and muddy and still be enjoying himself? Surely the polishing equipment can't be far away to get that radiator and those tyre walls squeaky clean? Well, I'm afraid the answers to these questions are just the ones that nightmares are made of: Yes, we are enjoying ourselves and no I'm not sponsored by `Auto-Glym'.

It's time to explain why a Vixen S3 (GPB 16J) is (voluntarily) impersonating a submarine in a two foot deep ford (near Greenham Common, Berkshire)...The ford was one of those interesting obstacles one might encounter on what the RAC term a `navigational road rally'. This particular event (called the Bullnose Rally) was run by Oxford Motor Club and is an annual round of various championships in Southern England. Performance Car did a feature in its January '92 issue and referred to `an old TVR' in its article. Most of the other vehicles taking part were fairly standard shopping cars most of which have sensible ground clearance and some basic modifications. All vehicles are rigorously scrutineered by an RACMSA official for noise levels and other technical and safety requirements and the keener competitors fit bucket seats, full harnesses, map reading and timing equipment for the navigator. The latter will be a strong stomached, precision thinking (hopefully) type person who can keep his or her head buried in (an) Ordnance Survey Landranger (1:50,000) map(s) whilst issuing route instructions and pseudo `pace notes' to the driver who, invariably, has the memory span of a goldfish ( 9 seconds) and the mental agility of a small soap dish. As you can guess I do the driving although I can navigate when help is required.

Is this activity Historical (hysterical) road rallying you might be asking? Well, I'm pleased to say it is not: there are no concessions (for the slow older cars such as the Vixen) in these events and when I first started campaigning the GPB 16J in 1991 I was told the car would never last and fall to pieces. Currently (April 1993) we are leading the Central Southern England Championship from a field of roughly fifty registered contenders. You will see our results regularly appearing in Motoring News and AutoSport and my ambition is to win this championship with a `totally unsuitable car' as I've been wisely informed.

So that's the scene set; how then does a navigational rally work? A secret, challenging route of roughly 150 miles is broken up into sections of varying lengths which have to be traversed accurately at an average of 30 mph. A rally is NOT a race and there are stiff penalties for early arrival at time controls. The route goes from A to Z via a series of time controls B,C,D etc. The timing is such that you are given the amount of time needed to cover the distance at an average of 30 mph before you incur penalties. For example, if the section is 6 miles long you will get 12 minutes to do get to the next time control. Easy I hear you cry: let's imagine the route is very complicated (which it usually is) and it also takes 3 minutes to decode the handout: you are now faced with a need to average 60 mph to avoid penalties. If the route went down the M40 then it would still be easy but, on mud covered, twisting roads (only wide enough for one car) then it's more challenging then you might imagine.

To prove you have followed the correct route between time controls and not taken a short-cut there are passage checks which are sometimes manned but more usually, a `code-board' at the road side has to be recorded and signed for at the next manned control. The route is usually quite convoluted and complicated and 90% will be on the `C' class minor roads (yellows) and some will even be on the rougher white roads which may be unsurfaced ! The route (or `handout') is given to the navigator at the start of each section in a cryptic/coded form and uses details on the superb OS Landranger maps. This coding may take many guises and one of the many skills of the navigator is to deduce the route quickly and get the driver to follow the route recording the code-boards along the way without incurring any penalties due to missed boards or lateness at time controls.

Most of the `action' uses the deserted country roads during the hours of darkness to maximise safety. Built-up areas are avoided and crews have to be quiet and use dipped lights when going through villages and hamlets. There are official observers on junctions to make sure crews stop at `give-ways' and behave themselves generally. Anyone infringing these requirements will be heavily penalised and may be excluded and even reported to the RACMSA/Police for disciplinary action.

One of the biggest problems facing road rallying (and other motor sport) is that of public relations. A few weeks before the event permission to run is obtained from the RACMSA, the DoE and the police forces whose roads are used. Every household on the route has a letter explaining the rally and this gives a chance the hoseholder to make a valid complaint. Some of course, will complain anyway and the Police are aware of this. If there is a valid complaint the organisers will make an effort to re-route around the problem.

When we started rallying the TVR was seeded at the end of the field with the novices. We are now regularly in the top ten and are moving into the top five as the results improve. The biggest problems are with rough roads, deep water and slippery conditions. The Vixen has a sump guard, for the engine, skids under the seats and very thick skid plates for the exhaust which is a extremely strong system. The electrics have been fully uprated with around 400 watts of light from the headlights and Cibie long-range spots. We use Colway 185x70x15 `Road Plus' intermediate tyres which are excellent in the wet and muddy conditions and outperform the Eagle NCT's I have used. I use a Tuscan rear suspension set-up for strength and reliablity and before this we have broken three pivot bars running on the ordinary S3 set-up. The car will `handbrake' quite easily but I usually use the right foot to negotiate hairpins which can be extremely tight. The key to success in road rallying is realibilty rather than outright speed but nonetheless, when the pressure is on (due to a tricky handout) being able to make rapid and safe progress can make all the difference.

I trust this article has shed some light on what GPB 16J does in its spare time and I hope more of you can come out and support us around the lanes. The car has been very realiable over the last couple of years now that it has been made so. Considering the abuse dished out it has done very well and held together despite the predictions; this is very much a testament to the strength of the chassis and perhaps, insanity of the crew!
John Upham

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