SNOWMEN IN EAST SUSSEX
Keith Rhodes, Competition Secretary, VMCC East Sussex Section.
The 30th running of the East Sussex
Section’s
Annual
Snow-Mann
Regularity Test took place in the rolling
hills of the South Downs at the end of
April.
Conceived by Section members Tom
Snow and Steve Mann back in 1984 the
event has been run ever since and
continues to be the premier event
staged each year by the Section.
The 1st ascent of the 1 in 6 hill, just over ½ mile long, is timed to establish a rider’s Declared
time. Each of 3 subsequent runs are also timed to hundredths of a second, the winner
having the lowest cumulative time difference less any slalom penalties. This is a real test of
skill and regularity with some remarkably impressive results from machines as diverse as a
1929 Rudge Ulster, a 1951 MV Tourismo and a 1972 Norton Commando.
Speed is absolutely not of the essence with smooth acceleration and gear changing being
paramount. Oh, and did I mention remembering to turn the petrol on!
Andy Marks is shown here, after forgetting to do just that, on his
immaculately prepared 1934 Norton International 500.
All is not as it seems however because prior to the timed
ascents the riders have to negotiate a slalom course in the
paddock. Farmers’ yards being what they are, machines with
low ground clearance find this particularly challenging. “Do I risk
a 25 point penalty for missing the slalom or should I chance a
dab or a stop?” These and other considerations all lead up to an overall winner.
The use of this famous hill, Bo-Peep Bostal [or Borstal - a narrow road-way up the steep
ascent of hills or downs]dates back to pre-war times, when cars would navigate the incline at
perilous speeds, to the delight of the many spectators who had turned out to watch such
great names as W.O. Bentley and Capt. A. Frazer-Nash. So, when we’re all at the top of
the hill, just like the Grand Old Duke of York, we all ride
back down again. Dick Sommers on his 1930 AJS R8
leads the gang down after timed run number 2.
There were only 40 entries this year from a cut-off of 60
but they were nonetheless treated to a slick and well
organised event, run by the VMCC East Sussex Section
under an ACU Licence.
The hill is on Bo-Peep Lane, Selmeston near to Lewes in
East Sussex and was supported by riders from across
Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The furthest travelled rider was
Mathew Chamley all the way from Bury St Edmunds!
Although with a slightly reduced field of entries this year, through one or two small
innovations we managed to finish early and to get some provisional results available at the
close of play. My thanks must go to the Marshals and Officials who all turned to on the day
to help make the day the success it was.
Full results follow and these are now available as follows:
This year’s outright winning solo was No 36 Chris Pile riding a 1928 Sunbeam Model 6 with
a loss of 4 penalty points.
The winning Sidecar/3 Wheeler was No 29 Bob Mitchell, from Biggin Hill riding a 1952
Norton Big 4 with sidecar for a loss of just 1 penalty point.
Finally, the winning team entry was “Last of the Summer Wine” with a total loss of 23 penalty
points across the 3 solo team members comprising No 2 George Rhodes riding a 1951 MV
Tourismo together with No 3 Alan Ross riding a 1955 BSA BB34 and No 3 Keith Bellinger
riding a 1971 BSA A65.
Thank you to all the competitors for taking part and we look forward to seeing you again next
year. The provisional date for your diaries is Sunday 26th April 2015, same time, same place,
see you there!