Tom Fall

Bloody excellent!! Really looking forward to this one, and to seeing Barry and Steve. We've missed ya guys =)

Hi Kev, It's a brilliant series and I'm sure you'd make some good friends if you came down for this round. I've copied all the details below from Lucy's original post announcing this years series; Challenger 4x4 and the AWDC are pleased to announce the series for 2011. The series operates a handicap system which allows teams of all levels of experience to compete against one another. 40 punches will be set out in various points around the competition site. In addition special stages will be set out in certain locations which will be worth extra points. There will be six rounds they are as follows: Round 1- 13th March 2011- Muddy Bottom Minstead Round 2 - 17th April 2011-West Harptree Round 3 - 5th June 2011-Slindon Safari Round 4 - 24th July 2011-Mud Monsters, East Grinstead Round 5 - 18th September 2011- Yarwell, Peterborough Round 6 - 23rd October 2011-Coney Green The events will cost £60 per round or £320 if you pre enter all six. Both driver and co-driver must be members of the AWDC and the driver must also have a MSA clubman’s license, which can be applied for online at £23. Each event will start at 10am until 4pm and the sites will all be available from 2pm on the Saturday for camping overnight. Scrutineering is from 8am on Sunday. A handicap system will operate. We will categorize teams based on their previous experience. The punch value will be handicapped accordingly: Novice: 100% Intermediate: 90% Experienced: 80% There will also be a class system in place for vehicles: Class 1 - Two or more winches and/or diff locks or other traction aids including fiddle brakes. Vehicles do not have to be taxed or insured but a valid MOT certificate must be available for inspection at scrutineering. Class 2 - One winch and no other traction aid of any type. Vehicles do not have to be taxed or insured but a valid MOT certificate must be available for inspection at scrutineering. Entries are limited to 40 vehicle per round. An entry pack including all regulations will be sent out on receipt of a registration form, these can be found at: www.challenger4x4.com www.awdc.co.uk Or alternatively please call Lucy on 01252 325930 or 07836 713677 Hope to see you there, Tom

That should be fine, I'll bring my laptop and a charger...if Kev brings his generator then we're all good! Were meeting up to do some work on the pig today, so I'll arrange it all with him Tom

Come on Adrian, be brave!! I'll sort out a BBQ pack, get some decent sausages and burgers. I'll try and pick up some buns, relish and stuff like that. If anyone wants specifics, bring it along!! Tom

Looking forward to it and hoping the weather stays nice so we can have a big BBQ!!

I could be wrong but, if you look at it purely on points and ignore classes, Kevin and I (Car No 17) would rank 8th overall, and Ben & Martin would have ranked 13th which would explain the gap there. Tom

Was definitely a difficult site for us class 2 guys. Wasn't really helped by me ballsing up one of our first punches of the morning, getting us stuck for 2 hours!! The lack of winch anchor points was a problem, especially with only one winch and no lockers. New tyres seemed to do well though!! Tom

Hi all, In answer to a few questions... I've had my S3 from the age of 16 and insurance wasn't too bad while she was standard, I think I paid £1200 TPFT for the first few years, with my Dad as a named driver. MPH wise, I can crack 80 on the flat with the overdrive engaged. That's with a rebuilt 2.25 Petrol, Unleaded head and 235/75 R16's. That's a GPS checked 80MPH as well! MPG wise, last time I drove to Wales I managed a consistent 22MPG. This was with a cruising speed of 60ish. My old girls had a few upgrades now, with disc fronts, parabolics, LPG, Overdrive and rock sliders. BUT, most importantly, I can go everywhere my Dad goes in his V8 90 with a 2" lift, and in some cases further! Get a S3 2.25 petrol...you'll love every second of driving it, I know I do Tom

Hi guys, Firstly, thanks to Orange for the kind comments about myself and Kev! Personally I really like Option 3, but with the fewer options for points drop. I'd say points off for the following items: 1x Lockers 1x Rear Winch 1x Portal Axles 1x Fiddle Brakes 1x Tyres over 35" (Agreed, should be measured not read off the sidewall) I fully agree with Simon in that novices (for whom the challenge is intended) won't necessarily have all the kit, so it gives them a better chance to get into the points! Hope to see you all soon, and Lucy you have a PM. Tom

You know what I meant Lucy!! Is not like other events where people take it so seriously they won't talk to each other pr help each other!!

Gotta agree with Mr Kelly...great bunch of people, a great laugh, and nobody takes it too seriously. There's a great sense of camaraderie in this series, made some good friends let year! Good news to those of you that know me and Kevin, we're about to start rebuilding the Purple Pig so with a bit of luck and a following wind we'll see you all at the first event!! Tom

I've tried to stick everything on my Apple iDisk, but it's really slow as Im using my phone for Internet at the mo. If anyone wants to Download photos in the meantime, sign up for a free flickr account and you can =)

Have a look at the pics my neightbour took, they're on my Flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/foolery Enjoy!!

Uploading 179 photos as we speak...will put a link on as soon as they're done =) Tom

This was my first time at Slindon...Kev knows the site well, and thankfully could navigate around between punches! We had a frustrating day. No charging through the batterie meant that every time we used the winch, it killed the engine and we had to jump start from a small battery on our (empty) rear winch tray. So, we did all 10 of our punches without a winch!! This included the really tricky 4 in a row (6-8 I think). All was going well until we got to the special stage, and the gearbox broke! Early retirement for us =[ So, our fix it list for the next event: Charging/Wiring, Gearbox, New Windscreen... Good fun though =] see you all soon Tom

Ditto for us in Team Purple Pig 2 (Car number 17) Everyone looking forward to it? Tom

Looking forward to this one, actually going to be the first one where i camp overnight =) Got my better half in the tent with me as well. We're on our way down now, me lounging in the back of my dads air conditioned minibus. Convenient having my folks come to all the events =P Tom

Cheers to all of the guys that helped us out over the weekend. My second challenge, and what a learning curve! Killed the car, rolled it, then managed to fix it again after a tow, a trip to the car park for more diesel (thanks to the scrutineers in their lovely P38 for that) and then running round like crazy and managing 10 punches in an hour! Can't wait for the next event, and thanks to everyone that made me feel as part of the experience as possible! As soon as I've got the photos from Kev and from my parents, I'll put them up on here. Thanks Again, Tom (Winch Bitch for Car 17)

Hello all! I've lurked a bit whilst looking at what people said, and been looking at other peoples photo's etc. Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for making my first 'real' challenge an enjoyable one, and a MASSIVE thank you to the two teams that helped us out on the day. First team allowed us to use the back of their motor to winch out of a pit, rather than getting the ground anchor out. Second team winched the rock ladder out from our fuel tank... that'll teach me to be mindful of where they are! Overall, I really enjoyed it even if it was a steep learning curve for me. Hopefully the next even will see me and Kev doing even better, as I have a better grasp of snatch blocks, ground anchoring etc now. Once I've got my photos on Flickr, I'll sort a link out. Thanks again, Tom (Co-Driver Team 17 aka The Purple Pig)