Club of the Month

LLRC’S annual Malachi Comp Safari celebrates its 20th birthday in true style

It’s the turn of the Lincolnshire Land Rover Club

The Malachi is the biggest Comp Safari in the Lincolnshire Land Rover Club’s calendar. It has a reputation for being a test of both driver and vehicle and generally the weather for the event is nearly always the coldest that you can imagine – horizontal sleet being the norm.

This year [2017] the club realised that Lincs have been running this event for 25 years in total: 20 years as the Malachi, two years prior to this as a two-day Wickenby Comp Safari and the three years prior to that as a two-day Comp at the infamous Foxhills at Scunthorpe. It was therefore appropriate to see the event so well supported by 25 motors – all from far and wide.

With the club’s brilliant clerk of course Matt Elvin, medics and marshals in place the Malachi began on Saturday afternoon [November 11] in bright sunshine and clear, blue skies. The event kicked off with the entrants starting their run at a minute apart, but once the times being made by the competitors had been established, they would start at 30 seconds apart. This would minimise the queuing at the start line and keep everyone running on time. Andy Scarr from NERO fancied a lie down on his first run, turning his Land Rover over, but generally after this stoppage the course ran smoothly and without issue. Simon Adams in his Can-am (car 123) was putting some fast times in and I was asked if I thought that the times would decrease in the dark? No chance of that whatsoever! All the six daytime runs were completed just before 5.00 pm allowing a short break before the evening runs began.

I think the man upstairs then flicked on a cold switch. It was freezing, but I suspect the drivers were hot enough as this event is always hard work and is as much about endurance as driving skill. The timing team had a system worked out as at night it’s much harder to see the numbers on the trucks. They run transponder tags on each vehicle, and also a manual card system. Me, being the old-fashioned sort, I like a pen and a scorecard! Simon Blackshaw (youngest son and heir) drew his normal light pattern on the score cards enabling us to identify who was heading at a great rate towards the finish beam. Only timekeepers know the pitfalls of night comps, but I must admit there is a certain thrill about racing in the dark. The night runs ran extremely well with no stoppages at all.

Sunday [November 12] dawned bright and cold and we quickly carried on where we had left off. Again Simon Adams was just skimming over the rough terrain as if it wasn’t there, all very impressive. Car 96 (Steve Hill) was on the ball too, as well as car 110 (Gary Reed) and 174 (Andrew West).

With the daytime runs for Sunday completed at about 2:30 pm the weather closed in with horrible drizzle which made prizegiving go swiftly to allow people to get into the warm. The final outcome of the 20th Malachi was with several teams of three being entered and the eventual winners were the Peak and Dukeries team ‘Cock up and Bodjit’ consisting of Allan Rowell, Dave Naylor and John Webster. Overall first went to car 123 of course.

All in all it was a brilliant event with great people. The club’s sincere thanks must to Rase Distribution and Brianplant for sponsorship, and the Lincolnshire Land Rover Club looks forward to seeing you all for 2018’s extravaganza!