1969 UAC Boxing Day Trial

Ken Shields and his VW win the Boxing Day Trial

This report and photos by Esler Crawford first appeared in MotorWeek, 3 January 1970.

Fortified with turkey and plum pud, and no doubt a certain amount of some medicinal beverage or other, some 40 odd drivers complete with navigators plus a good number of spectators arrived at Ballyaughlis near Lisburn at the rather early hour of 11 a.m. on Friday, December 26, 1969 to do battle in the UAC’s annual Boxing Day Trial.

A very seasonal morning it was too, with a very heavy frost ensuring that slightly befuddled heads cleared rapidly with the effort of avoiding the dreaded sideslip. Luckily a strong sun cleared the worst of the frost and brought some warmth chilled bones as the day wore on.

As usual the entry for the Boxing Day event was a very varied one with the rawest novices some even using R-plates vying for the honours with old warriors whose heyday was maybe 10 or more years ago.

Of course, there were also our current top men but these were rather under strength with such illustrious names as Woodside, McCartney and Cree being missing for one reason or another. The programme ahead of the contestants consisted of nine cross roads type tests and two runs at the traditional observed section which consists of climbing as far as possible up a section laid out in a hilly field – the plot being devised by Donald Grieve.

The first test was about three miles away at Ballymullan and with conditions still being a mite slippery it was not surprising that the pace was set by Volkswagens – if Reggie McSpadden’s Beach Buggy borrowed from Robert Woodside can be included in this term. Fastest was Ken Shields in 33.0 followed by McSpadden with 33.6. Derek Boyd had 35.8 and, despite an avowed dislike of driving tests, Bob Curran was going well enough to do 36.6 in his rally beetle.

WHEEL SPATS

The VW domination continued in test two with Shields and Boyd sharing 27.0 – just 0.6 ahead of Curran and Brian Harknett in his brilliant yellow projectile with wheel spats and fancy exhaust system. The observed section was next at Ballycarn. For the first cars it was a relatively easy climb with the surface un- marked by spinning wheels and frozen hard.

Thus Harold Hagan’s limited slip diff equipped MG Midget romped up without any trouble and after Ronnie White had taken the precaution of fitting a new set of front SP44s, his Cooper carried on far beyond where’ the organisers had thought possible.

However, as time passed, conditions became more and more difficult for the later numbers and this test is so blatantly unfair in this respect that it is surely time that it is dropped from the Boxing Day repertoire – and to hell with tradition!

In test four it was once again Ken Shields to the fore with 28.8 but a really astonishing effort was Lee Lucas’s 29.2 with his Viva. Lee was really in the groove all day and eventually finished a very good fourth overall. Another man who was really flying in a very big car for tests was Neville Johnston. He was fairly hurling a Toyota 1900 around the pylons and his time of 34.8 put many much smaller cars to shame.

AMAZING LUCAS

In test five Shields at last conceded first place and the amazing Lucas shared fastest time with McSpadden’s Buggy and Derek Boyd. By this time it was evident that an astonishing number of people were in great trouble with the very simple navigation and Wrong Approaches were legion – maybe navigators had been less restrained than their drivers the night before. The star in this respect was Trevor Fleming who had managed to collect no less than 3 WAs in the first five tests.

Tom Lawther, soothing an upset system by lording around in a Rover 2000 instead of his usual Cooper, had an answer to troublesome officialdom.

A bottle of a certain Scottish beverage produced from the depths of the Rover at each test seemed to have a mellowing influence on the most intractable test marshal. Derek Boyd continued the VW saga in test six but Harold Hagan at last began to make his presence felt with second fastest ahead of McSpadden and Shields. Hagan went one better in the quite spectacular test seven and took ftd with 31.4 with Shields 0.6 slower with Boyd third.

In test eight the permutation was Shields, Hagan and Boyd. In test nine it was Hagan’s turn again with the mercurial McSpadden managing to keep the Buggy pointing more or less in the right direction once again to set another fast time among some rather more disastrous efforts.

Test ten was the last speed test with only the second run at the observed section remaining and by this time it was apparent that the issue was between Shields, Hagan and Boyd with Shields’s splendidly fiery but precise driving making him the favourite. And he con- firmed this by winning the test in 26.4 just 0.4 ahead of Hagan, David Grant (Cooper S) and Lee Lucas, who was still working wonders in the tests where his Viva had enough room to exploit its power.

Poor Boyd, however, messed himself up good and proper by clouting a pylon and losing ten marks. Observed to be going tolerably well here was David Coombs in a quite clean looking Mini he had bought a couple of days previously for £30.

For the second run the observed section had been altered somewhat and proved more difficult for everyone. But as before, White’s Cooper had least trouble and got to the two marker before succumbing to lack of traction. Next best were Isobel Thompson’s Imp and Bob Curran with a loss of three marks. Hagan kept himself in contention with a 4 and certainly improved this position when Shields got stuck at the 9 marker.

However, this final effort proved to no avail and when Billy Orr duly announced the results to a full house in the Homestead Inn at Ballyaughlis, it was Shields the winner by just under five seconds from Hagan.

RESULTS

Class 1 – General Classification.

1. W. K. Shields (VW1500) 264.2 marks lost;
2. W. H. Hagan (M.G. Midget) 269.0;
3. W. D. C. Grant (BMC Cooper S) 272.0.

Class 2

1. A. J. H. Lucas (BMC~Mini) 311.2;
2. D. R. Coombs (BMC Mini) 354.0;
3. J. Wilson (BMC Mini) 384.0.

Class 3

1. W. D. C. Grant (BMC Cooper S) 272.0;
2. R. White (BMC Cooper S) 289.6;
3. M. Ford Hutchinson (BMC Cooper S) 302.6.

Class 4

1. D. McCullough (Sunbeam Imp) 324.6;
2. Mrs. I. Thompson (Imp) 366.6;
3. D. W. Archibald (Imp) 394.2.

Class 5

1. W. K. Shields (VW 1500) 264.2;
2. D. D. Boyd (VW 1500) 285.2;
3. R. Curran (VW1500) 304.0.

Class 6

1. E. A. Lucas (Vauxhall Viva G.T.) 275.2;
2. J. N. Johnston (Toyota 1900 Mk. II) 319.4;
3. I. Wood (Vauxhall Viva) 367.4.

Class 7

1. W. H. Hagan (M.G. Midget) 262.9;
2. J. R. McSpadden (G.P. Beach Buggy) 279.0;
3. A. Forsyth (M.G. Midget) 324.4.