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Summer Trial

HERO-ERA

18th-20th July 2025


Summer Trial 2025
Winners: Malcolm Dunderdale/Anita Wickins (Renault 8 Gordini)
Photograph: © HERO-ERA

Organiser: HERO ERA

Date: 18th-20th July 2025

Clerk of the Course: Guy Woodcock

Deputy Clerk of the Course: Stanka Obermajerova

Route: 319 Miles (15 Regs, 7 Tests)

Base: Shrewsbury

Starters: 79


The 2025 Summer Trial was based at Albrighton Hall, just north of Shrewsbury. HERO-ERA had laid on a three day event, two half days of rallying, on Friday and Sunday, bookended a full day on Saturday. Seventy-nine cars took the start.

The afternoon included three tests and four regularities. The first section skirted around Yeaton Peverey and Ryton-XI-Towns and had three timing points. Four crews top the score sheet here, these included Paul Crosby/Pete Johnson (MG TB Supercharged) and Malcolm Dunderdale/Anita Wickins (Renault 8 Gordini). These were on one second, although there were 35 crews on or under ten seconds.

The first two tests of the event were taken at the Rednal Karting Centre. Chris Day/Claire Day (Mini Cooper S) were fastest on Test 1/1, and shared top honours on Test 1/2 with Antony Ross/Harriet Ross (Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider). This put Day/Day into a three second lead.

The second regularity was eleven miles long, with four timing points; it was defined by a speed table. It ran through Woolston, Maesbrook, Argoed and Melverley. Edward Vandyk/Henry Vandyk (Ford Escort) dropped the least here. Crosby/Johnson were just one second further back and this was sufficient to put them into the lead as cars arrived at the afternoon coffee halt. They were one second ahead of Dunderdale/Wickins, with Day/Day and Ken Binstead/Sarah Binstead (Austin Healey 3000) a further second back.

The MG B Roadster of Colin Tombs/Guy Wickham (MG B Roadster) was already in difficulties, a wire in the distributor had broken and they were forced to miss the second regularity as the mechanics effected a repair. The pair got going again and made the Finish on Sunday.

The start of the third regularity was at the exit to the car park of the Hand & Diamond, the venue for the coffee halt. In trouble at that spot was the Peugeot 205 XS of Keith Davies/Henry Carr, which halted with fuel vaporisation. The problem was fixed and the pair completed the day, but they were to retire on Saturday morning when the car's fuel pump failed.

At the Coffee Halt Mike Dixon/Liz Dixon, debuting their new MG B GT V8, had been in ninth place and leading their class, however, the fan stopped working on the following reg and, after a lengthy repair, they were forced to cut to the day end.

Two more regularities and a test at Cantlop Wood, near Condover completed the day's competition. Day/Day were five seconds faster than any other crew on the test and this left them in third place at the overnight halt. At that point Crosby/Johnson had extended their lead to four seconds, with Dunderdale/Wickins in second, two seconds ahead of Day/Day.

Traffic, especially tractors and combine harvesters, had been a major issue during the day; particularly badly affected were Richard Broughton/Iain Tullie (BMW 2002Tii) and Rob Robinson/Matt Outhwaite (Mazda MX5). The Joker System was being used, this reduced a crew's largest lateness penalty to 15 seconds; this is designed to compensate for any such hold ups, but many cars were held up more than once.

Summer Trial
Fourth Placed: Christopher Day/Claire Day (Mini Cooper S)
Photograph: © HERO-ERA

Saturday offered a 165 mile route in the England/Wales border area, taking the route down to Ludlow and back. There was one test and seven regularities to contest.

The test, back at Cantlop Wood, opened proceedings. Day/Day were fastest once again, beating Dunderdale/Wickins by one second. The class improvement scoring system was being used, here the fastest in a class receives zero penalties and the second gets two seconds, the third four seconds and so on. With the Day's Cooper S and Dunderdale's Renault being in the same class, this meant that the two crews were now level, four seconds behind Crosby/Johnson, who had been fastest in Class 1.

Dunderdale/Wickins were second best on Reg 2, which started near Test 2/1 and finished at Wenlock Edge, importantly they were four better than Crosby/Johnson, meaning that these two crews now shared the lead.

Another regularity, running from Diddlesbury to the edge of the Ludlow Racecourse, took the route to the morning coffee halt at Bromfield. The two leaders had matched times on the reg and were therefore still tied at the break.

Dick Baines/Miles Fieldhouse (Mini Cooper S) were best on the first regularity of the day; they had also been best on the final Day 1 reg and were in third place at Bromfield. This was a new partnership as the Bob Rutherford Scholarship winner, Fieldhouse, took the place of Harry Baines, who was busy with harvesting work. Paul Hernaman/Ray Crowther (Porsche 924S) were in fourth, a second ahead of Day/Day.

Two regularities were tackled before the Leintwardine lunch halt, these were the most southerly point of the route, passing to the south and then west of Wigmore.

There was a change of leaders on Regularity 2/3; the MG of Crosby/Johnson had the half shaft come out and, although they got the problem fixed, they had to miss out Regularity 2/4. They managed to get the problem fixed, but on the run in to the end of day control, the MG's diff exploded and they were out.

Dunderdale/Wickins were equal best on Reg 2/3 and second on Reg 2/4; this put them into a seven second lead at Leintwardine, with Day/Day now back up to second. Baines/Fieldhouse were still in third, but they had to deploy their Joker after losing time with a puncture leading up to a timing point near Leinthall Earls; having changed the tyre, the trip calibration was slightly out.

Three regularities took the route back to Albrighton Hall. The main drama of this section was that Dunderdale/Wickins were held up badly by traffic on Reg 2/6 on the approach to a timing point at the Stipperstones; they had been delayed by two minutes, and, despite making up almost a minute before TP 2/6C, they were just over one minute late. This meant that their Joker was deployed, but this only reduced their penalty to 15 seconds.

The result was that at the end of Leg 2, Day/Day now led the Renault by 12 seconds. Nigel Woof/Sally Woof (Triumph TR4) were in third, 22 seconds off first place.

Summer Trial
Fourth Placed: Ken Binstead/Sarah Binstead (Austin Healey 3000)
Photograph: © HERO-ERA

The final day consisted of three tests and four regularities, all to the north of Shrewsbury. As usual on HERO-ERA events of this nature, the navigation became more tricky as the event progressed.

The opening regularity twisted its way from Bings Heath, via Roden and Rodington, to finish at Longdon on Tern. It was 16 miles long and had four timing points. Dunderdale/Wickins were one of five crews on two seconds, the best performance, on the section; this was ten seconds better than Day/Day, cutting the latter's lead to two seconds.

There was misfortune for Kevin Haselden/Ryan Pickering (Mini Cooper S), who had been in tenth place; on the reg they overshot a junction and, while turning around, slipped into a ditch. They were over 15 minutes late at the following timing point, but the Joker saved them and they remained in tenth place.

Day/Day were once again quickest on Test 3/1 at Moortown, while Dunderdale/Wickins were only fourth fastest in the class and added five seconds to their total. The gap closed again on Reg 3/2, where the Renault pairing were six seconds better than the Mini.

The two top crews were only one second apart as they reached the final two tests of the event; these were at Market Drayton Livestock Market. Naturally, Day/Day were the fastest of any crew and extended their lead to four seconds, although it was now Woof/Woof who were the nearest to them. Dunderdale/Wickins were in third, five seconds off the lead.

Richard de Watts/Arati De Watts (MG B) had led Class 5, the MG class, from the start, but they came to grief on Test 3/2 when the car's accelerator cable broke, leaving them stranded. They took a test maximum and missed Test 3/3.

Two regularities was all that remained to contest before the Finish, but they were the trickiest of the event, with Reg 3/3 including a section on private land at Harcourt. At just the correct time, Dunderdale/Wickins put in the best performance over the vital reg, nine seconds better than Day/Day. This put the Renault Gordini back into first place, as Woof/Woof had a disaster, adding 45 seconds to their total, dropping them to eighth place.

After a number of near misses, Dunderdale/Wickins cleaned the final regularity, to come to claim their maiden win, finishing ten seconds ahead of Day/Day, while Binstead/Binstead came through to take the final podium spot.


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