Club Members Out and About.

Coracle Stages.

Sunday 25th July.

Two local crews had mixed fortunes on last Sunday,s. Coracle Stages held entirely in the Sweet Lamb complex.

65 crews lined up for the 40 competitive miles, at the Mid Wales venue. Cinderford,s Jason Morgan had the experienced Adie Williams on the notes,in the Winner Garage/Forest Auto Salvage Peugeot 106, they got off to a steady start, as thick fog greeted crews on the opening test.

Morgan dropped a further 20 seconds when they were slowed by a car that had gone off in front of them, from then on the duo stamped their authority on the class to come home 34th and 1st in Class after an excellent drive.

"Been a good day Jase drove very well,so we are well pleased " said Williams.

Ross duo Dan Gray and Mike Jode had a day of mixed fortunes in the I M Gray Plumbing/Heating Wye Valley Garage Peugeot 106, got off to a great start with a stunning time on the first stage to lead the class by over a minute, but an off into a stream at the end of following test saw them take a maximum and retirement,they then rejoined in the trophy rally catching cars every stage but on the final stage they went off again and down a bank,where they stayed.

"Been a mixed day,but we got valuable mileage in the car,for me and Dan to gel,and when we had a clean stage it was flowing really well and the times were good." Said Jode.

The event was won by rising star Tom Cave/Craig Parry in an Impreza

ALMC Stages, Ireland.

Damian Cole together with Craig Drew scorched to a tremendous victory on last weekends ALMC Stages in Ireland, latest round of the MSA Asphalt series.

The duo faced some tough Irish opposition,including last years winner and local driver Michael Barrable in his 05 Focus WRC,as well as his championship rivals,3 stages repeated 3 times made up the 180 kilometer,s,that lay ahead in very changeable weather conditions, making stages very tricky,local man Barrable hit the front from the word go on the opening 2 tests but Cole hit back on Stage 3 with fastest time reducing Barrable,s lead to just 4 seconds,going into the second loop of stages, but the Swords car dealer increased his margin to 18 seconds after stage 6.

With just 3 tests remaining and the stages drying out, the Hereford driver started his attack,taking a massive 15 seconds off Barrable on stage7 and followed this up by taking another 20 on the next test with a masterfull display of driving that lit up the Irish lanes,to hold a 17 second advantage going into the final stage,but their was a final drama inside the Get-Connected.com Focus WRC,when the engine suddenly died, vital seconds were lost as they frantically tried to trace the problem,eventually the Focus burst into life,but had Cole lost the lead to Barrable,amazingly he dropped just 4 seconds,to win by 13 seconds.

To take his 3rd consecutive victory in the Asphalt series,and is now within touching distance of the title,with 3 rounds remaining."This is a great win,especially after the engine died on the last stage,I thought we,d blown it,but Damian drove so well after we,d restarted the engine,possibly the best I,ve ever seen him drive."Said Drew

Our Club

We are based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire amidst a breathaking landscape of rolling wooded valleys nestling betwixt the Rivers Severn and Wye.

Founded over 40 years ago, we have now grown to over 200 members.
We have some of the finest forests in the UK and each year run the Wyedean rally which is the first BTRDA round of the season.

We meet up every fortnight in the Parkend club which is located in an idyllic village in the heart of the forest, Map ref SO 616 080
We have a wide range of activities which keeps the club vibrant, if you would like to join or just pop in for a chat then check out the dates listed on our club page, you are assured of a warm welcome.

Our Club Activities.

We have a varied and active social calendar with club meetings every two weeks, navigational exercises, driving tests, Quizzes and for the more athletic, cycle rides. Many of these activities are rounded off with a superb BBQ laid on by Ernie our Equipment officer.

Our main event of the year is the Wyedean rally, which has now celebrated its 30th birthday. This event has grown over the years and is now one of the premier events in the rallying calendar, regularly attracting the maximum of 180 entries.

The logistics of this event is staggering, running 8 or 9 stages, each with its complement of Marshals, medical and rescue staff, recovery crews and vehicles, timing crews and each with a stage commander and safety officer, not forgetting a small army of people in the HQ offices. The number we require for this single day is fast approaching 1,000.
The planning for this event starts in the autumn of the previous year.

We have very close ties with other motor clubs and often attend their venues to help in the organisation and provide marshals.
This help is reciprocated with the Wyedean Rally, which would not run without the help of all our friends from these other clubs.

We have for the past three years ran a successful Autocross which forms a round of the South West Association Championship.
We are also planning Autotests and PCT's in the coming season. These events are ideal for members as young as 14 to learn the skills needed for safe competitive driving and a platform which they could use to move on to other events.

We take health and safety very seriously and are planning additional Marshals training sessions, which will also include basic first aid and fire fighting. These skills could prove lifesaving when a situation arises on a rally stage.

We have about 150 members, half of which are fairly local, the rest are scattered around the country.Our meetings are held every fortnight in a local pub (see club page for details) and we would always welcome new faces.

A little of our history.

The Forest of Dean Motor Club was formed in July 1967, and affiliated to the Royal Automobile Club later that year.
After a few busy years organising numerous Autocross meetings during the heyday of that branch of motorsport, the club organised a couple of small road rallies with a view to getting restricted status for future events.
Eventually the temptation of being based in the middle of some of the best forestry in the country proved too much and in 1975 the club organised it's first stage rally.
So the first Wyedean was held on the 12th October 1975 and offered entrants 54 stage miles for an entry fee of £27.00

 

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