Ronnies Multivenue Mondello January 31st

Firstly I would like to congratulate Eamonn Byrne, James Wilson and Andrew O’Donohue for heading the time sheets all day.
The idea for this event came about on the journey home from the 2009 Summer Lanes Rally in Belfast which Ronnie and I won (says she, modestly – Ed). The idea of having a similar event in the South seemed to enthuse Ronnie greatly and he came up with the idea of using Mondello. The master plan was to have fast flowing simple tests without reversing, so that it would suit all types of drivers, (especially the older ones who find it difficult to turn their heads – Ed). All of this was discussed above the roar of the MGBGT on the M1. It wasn’t a very relaxing journey, to say the least. The committee decided to let Ronnie off the leash and he duly formulated detailed plans which were approved. So, off he went.
We closed the list at 50 following a flurry of entries, but were still inundated with requests to accept more entries. The situation was not helped by Ronnie phoning every few days repeating his usual “Oops, I’ve done it again Trishy, add X & Y to the list”, followed by a hearty laugh.
As a Christmas present for my younger brother, John, I gave him a double-drive in my favourite Starlet, with Piers. I was planning on taking my Rallycross 106 out for the day, primarily as a shakedown test, following its recent complete rebuild. It was John’s first day out at an autotest of any sort and his first remark on arrival was “Eh, I don’t think this is my sort of motorsport, it’s full of anoraks, most past the first flush of youth”, to which I replied that those anoraks were going to wipe the floor with him. The thoughts of driving a shopping car nearly as old as him didn’t seem to generate much excitement at first but, following the first run, he changed his tune and was full of questions about fails and how many seconds they cost. He was spotted studying the test diagrams in greater detail after loop one in the hope of not picking up any more time faults or fails. His enthusiasm was further whetted by the fact that there was a small wager with his friends Eoin Murray & Paddy Whelan as to who would be the quickest. This included an elaborate handicapping system that amounted to a one second penalty added to every test as he was in 1500 Starlet and Murray & Whelan were in a 1300 car. I watched him on a few tests and reckoned that, unbeknownst to me, he must have attended the Ronnie Griffin School of Motoring i.e. he drove it at maximum attack and dealt with whatever happened which resulted in some entertaining and unusual lines.
Piers’s strategy for the day was to try and go clean and careful and not to pick up any faults, (or any more slagging from Dermot Carnegie). This worked well for him on the day, as you can see from the results, but he questioned his wisdom at the end of the day as he seemed to think that John’s approach of flat-out everywhere was more fun. The debate continues on this one.
John Nolan’s Silver Smoky Starlet was working well all day and he too seems to use the ‘John approach’ to good effect.
Rallycrossers, Danny Calnan and Fergal Bowes, both in Peugeots, decided to try their hand at autotesting and were somewhat amused by the goings-on in the paddock before the drivers’ briefing. One of them remarked, “I’m not so sure about this, they are all doing hand-brake turns and doughnuts in the paddock; its mad, I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life – we’re not even allowed to warm up our tyres on a Rallycross day”. Just then, Douglas sped back from the far end of the paddock (warming up his tyres in the snow) in his very quick Escort and proceeded to get further heat into them by circling an imaginary pylon; it was just as well they didn’t see him circling Daniel Byrne or they would have packed up and gone home. Both debutants quickly got into the swing of things and came in after loop one with smiles on their faces. They were suitably impressed with their performance, especially on test one, as Danny had matched Eamonn Byrne’s time and Fergal was one second off. Danny was overheard saying, “I’m liking this autotesting , 31 dead and I believe your man Eamonn is handy enough.”
Damien Phillips had his full service crew, in the form of Bonnie, Eve and Kate. After defrosting the car and checking the tyre pressures they sent him off on loop one. Test 5, the long one down the grassy lane was his favourite and he was spotted trying to get back into Mondello late on Sunday night for another crack at it.
Ruth Griffin is getting Steve a new quarter panel for Valentine’s Day after he attacked a chicane.
Mick Kehoe had an unfortunate encounter with a grass bank on test one however it was nothing a few cable ties couldn’t fix. He continued on regardless and finished first of the Peugeots, maybe he should try Rallycross!

We owe a huge thanks to all the timekeepers and marshals who stood out in the cold all day so we could have fun. I haven’t done a lot of marshalling myself. However, I am putting my name down now for the Jimmy Pringle TDC International event - I somehow doubt I will be called upon to drive in this event!
We also need to thank Ray in Mondello for his help in moving tyre barriers and getting the circuit ready, Ray is nearly as adept in the teleporter as some of the Autotesters, He can move those tyre barriers to within centimetres of each other. Also, of course, we are very grateful to John Morris and Ian Beatty for their continuing forbearance. The Mondello/TDC symbiosis continues to work well.
I had a great day out in the 106 and was delighted to bring it home without a mark on it, despite some contact with a few tyre barriers and cones. (Maybe when you wash the mud off it might be a different story – Ed). I really hope everyone enjoyed this event as much as I did.