Bloodhound Stages

The Sunbeam was completed in time for the team to enter the Bloodhound Stages at Swinderby Airfield near Lincoln at the end of May.  The day started with typical British summer weather - torrential rain, which continued all day.   The event was run over 6 stages of approximately 10 miles each.  A combination of the atrocious weather, a surface more akin to gravel than tarmac and the consequent inappropriate tyre choice, resulted in a number of spins on stage one.  Unfortunately, a spin on stage two resulted in contact with another competitor leading to retirement of the Sideways Motorsport Sunbeam with a damaged wing and radiator. 

Fat Albert Stages

After repairs  and some further development of the car, the next event was the Fat Albert Stages at Keevil Airfield in Wiltshire at the beginning of August.  What a difference from Swinderby!  An excellent tarmac surface and beautiful sunny weather were the order of the day.  Tavern Motor Club ran ten stages of approximately 6 miles each.  With a start number of 72 a steady run over the ten stages saw the Sideways Motorsport Sunbeam finish at 46.

Tour of Mull

The 31st Tour of Mull took place over the weekend 13th/14th/15th October.  The Sideways Motorsport Sunbeam was car 157 for the teams first run in this event after many years of marshalling.  Sections on Friday night/Saturday afternoon/Saturday night gave over 150 miles of tarmac stages on the torturous single track roads of the Isle of Mull.   Car 157 rolled down the start ramp at 10.27 pm on Friday 13th for the run out to the start of the first of 18 stages.  Weather in the week preceding had been changeable, but the rain was falling hard on Friday night!  

The events high attrition rate was evident from the start with a number of cars off in the early stages.  The Sideways Motorsport Sunbeam came into service to be greeted by the rain-drenched service team, the car requiring only a quick check and fuel.  The rest of Friday night was without incident for car 157 which had climbed to 113th position at the end of this section.  

Saturday dawned drier and with a further eight stages to tackle in daylight.  Only work required to the car was to replace a bulb and wash it!  The service team had just about dried out from Friday night when car 157 arrived at Saturday afternoon service only for the heavens to open.....By the end of Saturday afternoon the Sunbeam was up to 85th position.  

The final section on Saturday night began with the longest (22 mile) stage of the rally and horizontal rain!  A spin on the next stage slowed progress slightly.  Service on this occasion was in the dry, again only checking and fuelling was needed.  The final three stages of the rally were on drying, but greasy roads which caught out a few cars.  Car 157 finished in Tobermory at 3.21 am on Sunday morning in 74th position.  

The car had run faultlessly throughout the rally, a testimony to the thorough pre-event preparation by Reg Bradley at Sideways Garage.

Watch this space for photographs of Sunbeam on the rally.

For full results of the 31st Tour of Mull see the organisers (2300 Club) web site.

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