Enduro News - Cambrian Rally

WTRA

Cambrian 2008

Entries are still available for this years Cambrian Rally which takes place on the weekend of 18th / 19th October in the Tywi Forest, north of Llyn Brianne reservoir in Mid- Wales. A new start area has been found which eliminates the road section that formed part of the lap in previous years and will be signposted from the reservoir dam. Signing-on & scrutineering will take place from 09:00am Saturday with a 11:00am start. Sunday's start time will be 09:00am. The course has been designed specifically with trail bikes in mind although both 2 and 4 stroke enduro bikes are catered for in the sports bike class. The 39 mile lap will include some new sections of going in the surrounding forestry. Regs

2007 Cambrian Rally

Boundsy wins again

Craig Bounds' rallying career continues to go from strength to strength with another win in his first attempt at the Cambrian Rally. Craig (pictured left) on his BMW XChallenger set a phenomenal pace to win the event outright by over a minute from Alistair Brown who won the Sports Bike class. Brian Eland was 2nd in the Trail Bike class & Lee Walters was 3rd. As the highest placed 4 stroke trailbike over 600cc, Craig also wins the John Deacon Memorial Award which he will treasure as he also plans to follow John's tyre tracks to Dakar.

For their 13th Cambrian Rally the Welsh Trail Riders certainly had luck on their side as far as the weather was concerned. The remote Lyn Brianne reservoir can be bleak but 2 days of cloudless skies showed one of the glories of Wales in all it's autumnal beauty although the nights were crisp. The start was in the Dalawen forest block - a mile west of the dam. The 40 mile lap around the lake had to be ridden twice on Day 1 & 3 times on Day 2. The riders were given the option of riding either or both days.

Results Photos available from Keith Davies

2005 Cambrian Rally

The 11th Welsh Trail Riders Cambrian Rally took place on the 22nd & 23rd October around Lyn Brianne reservoir near Llandovery in Mid Wales. The weather was cool & overcast but the threat of rain did not materialise. The organisers did not use the Rugby club so the start was strung out along a narrow track in the forest which was not ideal. Bob Perring's course consisted of a 40 mile lap around the lake on tarmac & forestry roads suitable for his Ford Fiesta. The 2 tests were off the Abergwesyn to Tregaron road close to the Devil's staircase. There was a short section of "offroad" going on the 1st test. The riders were given 2 laps on the Saturday & 3 reverse laps on the Sunday. Results

Cambrian 2004

The loss of the Eppynt Army ranges was a big disappointment for the Welsh Trail Riders Association but predictably the club bounced back with something new. The 10th annual Cambrian Rally took place on 23rd & 24th October north of Llandovery around the spectacular lake Lyn Brianne & the Esquair Daffydd/Nant yr Hwch forests. The event was sponsored by ntec. The weather on Friday was atrocious as the organisers battled against rain & gale force winds to mark out the 2 Special tests.

On Saturday morning there was a slight rest bite but by the time the first rider started at 11.01 another band of heavy rain had swept in from the west. The course had been laid out by Bob Perring & the liaison stages were ridden with road books prepared by Bob Jeffries. From Llandovery the field traveled north east towards Builth with the exception of Wayne Buttery #62 who dropped his clutch on the start line & snapped his chain. At Cynhordy the riders turned right onto the Tirabad road & the first forestry stage through Glyn Saer. This part of the course was used in the Crychan 2 Day & was demanding in the wet conditions. The riders then crossed the Builth road into Esquair Daffydd & rode the first timed Special Test (2.6 miles). After the test a hill caught several riders out. Frank Morgan & Gary Jones were on the spot. Tony Paragreen #46 seized his engine . Out of the steam emerged Julian Bishop riding an very tatty Royal Enfield. The old relic was going well & so was his bike. By the time they had reached lake Lyn Brianne, Brian Eland & Phil Gunn had teamed up. With their vast experience of navigation rallying & the latest GPS technology it was inevitable they would get lost. In fairness so did several others when a gate was accidentally closed. The second Special Test (10 miles) ran North from close to the lake to the Tregaron road. The hearts of old Welsh riders must have fluttered as they sensed the approach of Strata Florida & sound of rushing water but the road book took them passed the gate & sent them South to the Refuelling & Lunch Stop. Over lunch the hot food & sweet tea supplied by James Caterers may have seduced a few riders with thoughts of comforts like hot baths & warm beds. They handed in their cards & headed back to Llandovery on the road but the majority stiffened their resolve & returned through Esquair Daffydd on the straight or not so straight path which is often hard. In the evening the Castle Hotel laid on a superb buffet. At the Marshal's meeting it was decided that due to the weather it would be best to cut the planned second lap of Nant yr Hwch on Day 2 & Derek Arnold (#96) was nominated for a special award sponsored by Germaloids (an effective treatment for a pain in the arse). Time keeper Keith Davies posted the Day 1 result at 9.00pm. Katrina Price was 1st & Brian Eland was the runner up overall. Day 2 began well before dawn for the organisers with the first rider away at 9.01. Two morning stars heralded an improvement in the weather & as the sun rose there were patches of blue in the sky. A part of the Glyn Saer course was cut but the new line was still tricky. Only one rider required the ambulance when a fall aggravated an old knee injury. Bob Room, Phil Gunn & Sam Davidson were on hand to assist. The loss of the ambulance caused a slight delay at the start of the 2nd test while a replacement was brought into position. At the end of the test Simon Shariff #139 was one of several riders reaching for their puncture repair kits. Phillip Colcough #92 on a BMW R80GS had a bigger problem when his rear shock collapsed at the end stage but he made it back to Llandovery in 4th place & won the Best Multicylinder. Katrina Price won the Premier on a CRM & Chris Pascoe was the Runner Up. Chris also receives the John Deacon Memorial Award. Colin Newman was 3rd & won the Best Over 40. Alan Wibberley (10th) was the Best Over 50. Steve Bryant was the Best 351-700cc & Phill Gunn won the 700-900cc class. Andrew Cadney won 901-110cc class & Lawrence Leahy on a R1150 was the Best over 1100cc. Richard Smith (21st) won the 250-350cc class. John Monger (26th) was the Best Services Rider. Bob Room won the Over 60 class. In the Sports bike class Brian Eland was the Premier with the second fastest time of the day. Michael Purvis was the runner up. Smiler Hutson (3rd) was the Best over 50 & Mike Wadkins (4th) won the Best over 40. John Hall was the Best over 60. Dan Buckland - riding his first event - broke his rear caliper on Day 1 but he carried on the finish. Floyd Miles' XT125 developed an oil addiction on Day 1 & it wasn't to keen to start Day 2 but he coaxed her around on a ring & a prayer to win the Best 125 class. Riding partner Sarah Williams had no problems & would have liked another lap. Tiffany Coates from Cornwall won the Spirit of Cambrian Rally award. She rode her BMW to the event & finished despite a seized throttle. WTRA gambled with the 2 day format on road books in unfamiliar forests with no cellular signal & the gamble paid off but luck often comes with hard work & experience.

2000 Cambrian Rally

After a week of rain, the clouds parted over Llandovery Rugby Club on Easter Sunday for WTRA's 7th annual Cambrian Rally. The field of 191 riders was led away at 10.01 by 1999 winner Steve Griffiths on his father Ken's CRM. The course took the riders out of the town towards Brecon before turning left at Llywel, up the dual carriageway & onto the Army ranges. Here the riders turned right to begin the first of 2 anticlockwise laps of the Eppynt moorland & Crychan Forest. Route 66 & Druid's Way were peppered with deep water holes. In the top forest an uphill sheep drive was a slippery challenge that gave this year's event more bite than usual. Many riders were relieved to find it was cut out on the second lap. The riders then entered the Crychan by the Bins for refuelling & the start of the first special stage. Stage 1 ran down the eastern side of the forest passed Whiskey Alley with a chicane up & down Early Bird, through the Timber Yard & the Snowrun Quarry to the finish on the Dead End Road. The course then crossed a bridge built for the event before returning to Snowrun Quarry & down Scrach. Here there was a 10mph speed limit to reduce disturbance to a bird nesting near 5 Roads. Then the riders passed the Verandah, down Pig Hill to the Old County Road & up the Rally Road to the second special stage near Bonky's Loop. Stage 2 ran the full length of the Swimbath Road where the debri from recent felling concentrated rider's minds. After finishing Stage 3, riders descended to a rutted firebreak before leaving the Crychan & passing through Halfway to the Airstrip & the third special stage. Stage 3 followed part of the cross country course used the last year's World Round up the hill to Dixies Corner before turning right onto the Army's offroad training track. Here too there was deep water with boggy alternatives. Following Stage 3, riders returned to Route 66 to begin their second lap. Steve Griffiths took the Premier with runner up Roger Johnson. The Best Lady was Gill Myers. Harry Lampkin won the Sports Bike Class with runner up Matthew Reed. Pat Tighe kept his 100% record of winning the Multicylinder class on his Africa Twin. Noel Fletcher was the Best Over 40 & Mike Griffiths was the Best Over 50. Amongst the glittering machinery there were fewer examples of the cherished ironmongery that have decorated previous events but Noel Fletcher's BMW, John Rushworth's 16 bhp Honda TLR250RG & Daniel Jones' Y Reg DT175 exemplified the spirit of the day. No rider was excluded for excess noise but several were warned to throttle back in the 10mph zone. Tim Holley #160 was forced to retire with a dislocated shoulder. TBM rider Dave Cornish couldn't wait to get his XR650 onto the rough so he left the road at the earliest opportunity. Dave was fortunate not to be hurt & the contents of his tailpipe could give scientists a valuable insight into the geological history of the area. Of 191 starters 178 finished.

Cambrian Rally 1999

This year the Welsh Trail Rider's Association hosted the 2nd Round of the 1999 FIM World Enduro Championship in April. As a result the 6th annual Cambrian Rally was re-scheduled from it's usual Easter Bank Holiday weekend date to Sunday 13th July. A disadvantage of the move was that the open moorland section of the Eppynt MOD ground was not available but on the plus side the sun shone & shone. This year the event was sponsored by Cycle-logical, who are also sponsoring the 1999 WTRA Club Championship. As usual the start was in the Rugby Club at Llandovery, Many riders took advantage of the weather & camped on the practice fields. The entry list contained a fine selection of unusual machines & riders from as far afield as Scotland, Guernsey & Ireland. The entry list also contain several familiar names who choose to ignore that "the Cambrian Rally is specifically aimed at riders with limited or no off-road riding experience and who ride Trail bikes". A possible solution could be that all riders compete in the same class & on the same schedule but select their preferred riding number. In this way faster riders can select higher numbers where they are unlikely to be baulked & slower riders could select lower numbers where they do not have to be constantly looking over their shoulders. The 101 mile course consisted of 3 x 25 mile laps of the Crychan Forest plus 13 miles out & returning to Llandovery to be completed in 6½ hours. The course took the riders from the rugby club along the winding Builth Wells road passed Cynhordy to a hump backed hill called Sugar Loaf before entering the Glyn Saer Forest. Emerging from Glyn Saer onto the Tirabad road the riders joined the part of the course they would lap 3 times. The next off-road stage was Cefn Ludlow, a rocky sunken road with a 20yd flooded section. Assistant Clerks of the Course Bob Jeffries & Peter Brookes spent the previous weekend lowering the water level with 12 tons of hardcore. At the far end of this track crossed arrows warned riders of a series of hazardous washouts. If you didn't know what crossed arrows meant, you do now. From Cefn Ludlow the riders crossed the Tirabad road, entered the Crychan Forest & following a cooling stream crossing climbed Scrach to Check 1. This was the start of the first of 4 timed stages but as the riders were not timed on the first lap they were waved through. This was a mistake but it did give riders more time at the refuelling area in the Sand Quarry for a leisurely breakfast from the hotdog van. The Sand Quarry was also Check 2 & the start of the second timed stage. Riders climbed out of the quarry around Trout Hill & down the Swimbath Road. A surprising number of riders ignored 8 arrows & over shot this corner. In fact virtually every corner on the course displayed some evidence of over enthusiasm with skid marks heading away into the undergrowth. Following the second timed stage the riders returned to the Tirabad road through the picnic site to start their next lap. The first timed stage took riders around Early Bird before dropping down a camber to the road that passes through the Snowrun Quarry to the end of the Dead End road. The test had a surprise finish with some deep ruts, a stream crossing & a gravel climb. The most demanding section of the second time stage the Swimbath Road, a track along a recently felled hillside before passing through a tunnel of trees. Dust was a problem on the day but riders were given ample time between stages. Two riders required hospital treatment. A spectator on a Cagiva riding against the course near the Sand Quarry collided with a competitor on a CCM. Both machines were badly damaged & the Cagiva rider was ambulanced to hospital in Brecon & in a second incident a competitor dislocated his shoulder. The overrall winner was Steve Griffiths & he received a hand carved wooden trophy with a Welsh dragon & Celtic knotting. Every rider received an award made of Welsh slate & hopefully took home some fond memories of an unforgettable weekend.