REVIEW OF THE 2006 TRIALS SEASON

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MCC Events

By my calculations, 39 Marlin drivers entered one or more of the three main MCC trials this year, down a little from last year, but only seven of these finished all three events, and only the ever-consistent Bryan and Pat Phipps collected three Awards from three starts. It's therefore hardly suprising that Bryan finishes the year with a huge lead in the Marlin MCC League - scoring 21 points from five events. A large number of those who have been MCC regulars in the past were taking time-out this year, for a variety of reasons, resulting in some shuffling-around of the names in the Marlin League. I've got rather confused trying to keep separate records for the two father-and-son teams of Arthur and Dean Vowden, and Jim and Harry Bounden, so each family's scores are now combined.

"MCC Trial of the Year", for Marlins, was unquestionably the Exeter with only three Golds in Class 7, and with both Class-winning Bryan Phipps, and Pete Hart, beating Andrew Martin (Dutton Melos) on the special test times - and Andrew certainly wasn't holding-back.

ACTC Championships

Marlin numbers were slightly up in ACTC events this year with thirteen drivers registered in the ACTC Championships although only Murray Montgomery-Smith competed in more than a handful of ACTC Trials finishing with 37.0 points from seven events and "Top Marlin". "Result-of-the-Year" goes, however, to Pete Hart for his Class Win over Andrew Martin on the Northern Trial back in February, beating Andrew on the hills rather the special tests this time. Otherwise it was a typical year, with no new names and most competitors doing only three or four events in addition to the "MCC Three".

The Future?

As I look back at the 2006 trials year I do wonder if we are coming to the end of something of a "Golden Period" in Marlin trialling. The 2007 Exeter Trial Programme lists just 23 Marlins across all Classes, down significantly from previous years, and just one of those names is new this year. There were only five new Marlin entrants in MCC events in 2006 and none of them started all three MCC trials, or competed in any ACTC events, as far as I am aware. A significant number of the so-called "regulars" have actually been a lot less regular over the last couple of years, and very few new Marlin drivers are moving-on from MCC events to ACTC events.

There is, of course, a general problem of falling entries in all classic trials and much discussion about where the "new blood" is coming from. Some of the classes are rejuvenated by cars passed-on by family or friends (once an Escort family, always an Escort family) and others (such as the front wheel drive class) rely on an endless supply of cheap replacement parts coupled with the mechanical skill and experience of the owner/driver. There are, however, a steady stream of people who see an event and ask "That looks like fun, how do I get started?" and, for some years, the stock answer has been "Get a Marlin". With its inherent strength, and simple mechanics, a properly-prepared Marlin is still the closest you'll get to wash-and-go trialling - maximum fun for minimum effort/cost.

At least this was true when MCC trials were comparatively easy for Class 7, allowing the newcomer to climb most hills, have a good time, improve his or her skills, and then think about moving-on to the generally more challenging ACTC events. (For lots of reasons too arcane to explain here, those totally new to classic trialling generally start with the long-distance overnight MCC classics rather than the one-day ACTC trials). There has been a small, but significant, increase in the proportion of Marlin owners who enter just one MCC event and are never seen again and this, in my opinion, reflects the increased severity of MCC events, which can now be quite dispiriting for the total newcomer in Class 7. I also believe that some of the so-called regulars are missing more events as the chance of a Medal decreases and, more particularly, Medals are lost on the same hills year-after-year. Failing the same three Lands End restarts (Hoskin, Bishops Wood, Blue Hills 1, for example) year-after-year provides less-and-less justification for spending Easter away from the family.

But can we really blame the MCC? An MCC Triple is still the ultimate award in trialling and no one disputes the MCC's desire to make a Triple something really worth winning. ... But with Classes 7 and 8 making up around 25% of the entry in a typical MCC trial, the only way to keep a Triple special is to make it very difficult to win a Gold in a Class 7 or 8 car. ... And with both classes being so competitive this means at least two, and probably three or four, really difficult hills on each event. ... And the only way to make a hill difficult for Classes 7 and 8, but climbable by the rest, is to include restarts. But restarts can be very dispiriting for the novice, and a Marlin is not the most competitive Class 7 car anyway. So we have the impossible situation of a Marlin being an obvious 'first car' for the novice, but Class 7 being one of the worst classes in which to start, especially with a Marlin!

So, what's the answer? Well ... if I knew that for sure then I'm sure I wouldn't tell, but ... several of those who've been regular competitors over the last few years, myself included, now have our cars off the road as we rebuild them in various attempts to make them more competitive with the other cars in Class 7. I've no illusions that my efforts are going to turn my Marlin into a Melos-killer but I shall be disappointed if I don't reap some benefits from all the changes which are currently underway. But these changes will further distance the more competitive trials-prepared Marlin from the typical specification of a road-going car and it will no longer be possible to say to a prospective competitor "Buy a road car, change the back axle, raise the suspension, add a sumpguard, and go out and enjoy yourself." It will become "You can do that as a minimum, but prepare yourself for frustration and don't expect a Medal" - maybe it has already.

So let's all fervently hope that the Marlin entries for the 2007 Lands End stay well over the 30 mark, and I'm proved completely wrong, because if they fall below 30 then the end of the Marlin Era may be in sight.

This page published 27 December 2006