Land�s End was bathed in glorious sunshine without any hint of the bad weather to come when the thirty-five crews entered in the Land�s End to John O�Groats Reliability Trial accompanied by the six crews entered in the Classic Car Tour started on the three day adventure � Le Jog. The clerk of the course Peter Nedin remarked that it was the first time in four years that the organisers had been able to erect the special HERO Le Jog sign-post as strong winds had prevented this in recent years.

Unfortunately one crew had failed to make the start. The Zodiac of Terry Mower and Julian Riley had developed a main bearing problem on the way to scrutineering. The crew located a bearing on the other side of the country which was brought by courier to Land�s End during the early hours of the morning. Despite Terry and Julian�s valiant efforts assisted by the recovery team the engine failed to develop oil pressure when the bearing was fitted; the damage being more sever than had first been thought. At one point during the evening Julian had even contemplated having his SAAB brought to Land�s End as a replacement.

An early casualty was the Mini Cooper of Tony Newman accompanied by Robert Ellis when a broken valve spring caused their retirement during the morning of the first day.    Leg one from Land�s End to Magor in South Wales included a test in the small hamlet of Bury. Despite not being publicised as a spectator venue, a number of people congregated to watch the test which involved the crews negotiate the ford and then have to turn off and restart their engines within a set time. Several crews struggled to restart their engines including Elliot Dale in the recently restored 1937 Bentley (the starter having a spring loaded clutch which didn�t like water). Tony Sheach in the 1964 Triumph TR4 entered the ford a little too fast and came to a halt half way across. By the time the car had been towed out it was completely flooded. However, Tony removed a bung from the floor and then restarted the engine. The car drove away from the test enveloped in steam. Unfortunately Tony and John had to retire during the night leg following a minor �off� in Caerwent. Car 11 the Lancia Fulvia of Michael Rodel & Nigel Banks was another early retirement as the Lancia developed head gasket problems.

Following a two hour break at the Magor Services in South Wales, the crews tackled the fifteen mile regularity in the Caerwent training camp. The eleven secret timing points catching out a number of crews. The leg through Wales, always run at night, proved to be as daunting as ever. The temperature had dropped to minus 4 degrees and icy conditions caused problems for many of the crews. One road section up a hill becoming almost a driving test in itself as the cars struggled for grip. A number of crews failed to complete the leg to Runcorn where the first car was expected at 4am. A feature of Le Jog is that crews with mechanical problems can rejoin later in the event. Amongst those that failed to rejoin were Elliot Dale and Carolyn Ward when dynamo failure on the Bentley during the night meant that their rally was over. The VW Beetle of Robert and Edward Kiff developed wheel bearing problems that indicated retirement was on the cards, but this was later rectified by the on-event mechanics and they went on to win a Gold Medal. Christian Ruter and Hans-Jorg Gotel in the Works Opal Commodore were not so lucky when Hans-Jorg succumbed to a recurring stomach bug which forced them to retire. The Healey of Roman Schloemmer & Bruno Mueller had been forced to retire at Runcorn due to thrust bearing failure.

The Tourers were doing extremely well with four of the six crews having visited all their designated controls; the Norwegian crew of Ole Rasmus Robak  & Agnete S. Slaatto  having missed only one or two controls. James Szkiler & Richard Fearons in the 1977 Lancia Monte Carlo were struggling with a ball joint problem that would lead to certain retirement if a replacement could not be found. The father of one crew member spent five hours on the internet on the Sunday and eventually located a replacement. This was sent to a garage in the North of England ready for fitting first thing Monday morning. The crew was later to rejoin the event and earned their finishers� medal at John O�Groats, commenting to the Clerk of the course that they were pleased they had taken his advice and arranged for the car to be repaired. Four of the six Tourers were later to receive accolades for having visited all of the 54 checkpoints allocated to the tour route.

Wales was to take its toll on official vehicles as well as competitors. A gearbox failure on one of the recovery vehicles lead to the crew having to abandon their duties for several hours whilst a replacement box was sourced and fitted. They were to rejoin at Carlisle.

The leg from Runcorn to Carlisle took the crews through North West Yorkshire where several inches of snow had fallen and which lead to the loss of a regularity section after lunch due to the snow being too deep for the cars to negotiate. Lunch at the New Inn at Clapham had been interesting as the car park was covered in sheet ice. Despite concerns that the road to Tan Hill may have been a problem, most crews still running were able to book in at the control. Conditions deteriorated and the Bentley of Sue Shoosmith and Catherine Woodham slid sideways down one hill as the one and a half ton of metal decided it did not want to go in a straight line. Fortunately, Sue being the excellent driver that she is, the car was brought to a stop without damage or injury � Sue then stopped alongside another road user who had witnessed this to say she wouldn�t advise them to drive the hill as it was a bit slippery!

The leg ended at Carlisle where the crews were able to enjoy a well earned rest and a full night�s sleep. Amongst the retirements were the Healeys of Fred & Polly Multon and Roy Meekings & Christopher Gladstone � Roy and Christopher having struggled with wheel bearing problems had hoped to rejoin at Carlisle but their problems continued when brake failure forced their retirement.

The crews awoke on Sunday to rain which had lead to a partial thaw. A quick phone call by the Clerk of the Course to check on conditions at Rest and be Thankful lead to the decision that the test on the hill climb could go ahead. Unfortunately the thaw was only partial as freezing rain added to the problems. Car 17 the Rover P4 of Robert and Susan McClean spun on the Forest of Ae Regularity and partially blocked the road. Several crews stopped to help push the car back onto the road and one of the competitors fell on the icy surface resulting in the need for medical attention.

The crews completed a test at the Kames circuit followed by another regularity section before lunch at Lugton. The afternoon included the long awaited hill climb test at Rest and be Thankful. By the time the crews completed the test and were on their way to Inveraray Castle for a further driving test, the snow was falling. There were no further retirements and the remaining crews met at the West End Hotel at Fort William for a supper halt.  

Conditions during the night deteriorated as blizzards hit the north of Scotland. Crews could hardly stand up in the car park of the rest halt at Evanton and the test at Little Ferry Kart circuit was cancelled as the cones marking the test were sliding around the sheet ice covering the circuit. By the time the crews had negotiated the snow and ice on the regularity before breakfast the clerk of the course announced that they had done enough and the road conditions on the final regularity were too severe. The regularity was cancelled and the crews were told to drive the final section to John O�Groats along the main road. Strong winds greeted the crews as they crossed the finishing line at John O�Groats where they were met by the clerk of the course and a representative from Mann Filters who were supporting the event. The smiles on everyone�s faces showed how delighted they were to complete such an adventure.

At the prize giving that evening six crews were presented with gold medals and the crew of car 1 the Bentley of Sue Shoosmith and Catherine Woodham received an ovation from their fellow competitors for not only competing the event in an open 1926 Bentley, but for having completed more of the route than anyone else as some sections had been cancelled after they had gone through!

Amongst the Gold Medal winners was the crew of Mark Godfrey and Geoff Awde in the 1965 MGB who not only collected less penalties than any other crew but also picked up the awards for best performance on the tests and on the regularities � showing that they were by far the best performing crew on the event. The highest placed Marque team entry went to the Citroens of cars 19, 32, and 34 � the three crews coming from different countries.

Le Jog will return in December 2009