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Abingdon CAR-nival Stage Rally 2019

6/14/2019

All the hard work in preparing the OUMF Riley 1.5 over the previous few days paid off in spades on this very popular annual stage rally. The event is limited to 100 entries, and has no historic class, so our 1950's designed car was up against many professional teams and modern rally cars - like EVO's, M3's, Escort Mk2, Impreza's, Davrians, Gti's, etc - competing in 5 different National rally championships.

'Historics on the Hill' - The first all HRDC Race Meeting and OUMF's second outright victory!

6/12/2019

The OUMF team arrived with the Riley 1.5 racer for its first ever visit to Lydden Hill circuit in Kent, at lunchtime on the Sunday. Soon afterwards, James Martin and Aidan Challis joined us and we were set up in the paddock and the car was ready for an afternoon of free practice before the real races on the Monday, courtesy of Julius Thurgood who had mounted this landmark all-HRDC race meeting.

The Donington Historic Festival 2019

5/9/2019

After a very successful opening to our HRDC season at Silverstone, it was soon time to head back to the track for one of our most important events of the year, the Donington Historic Festival, for no less than three, 45-minute races – the most track time the Riley has ever faced at a single meeting.

OMC 'April Fools' 12 Car Rally - 12th April 2019

4/29/2019

On this rally, OUMF were represented by three crews: Oli Grantham and Isaac Jarmarkier in the Fiat Cinquecento; Luke Cozier and Rob Dawson in the BMW, and Ding, Andy Doyle and myself in the TOYO Golf.

We converged on the HQ and completed all the pre-rally checks on cars and equipment in good time, and we were ready to go to Brackley for the start of the rally…but Andy was running late. In the end, with Oli and Isaac requiring their maps to be marked by the organiser before the start, they and the BMW had to set off for Brackley, leaving the Golf waiting for it’s co-driver.

HRDC Silverstone 2019 - 'Twin Wins' to start the season!

4/24/2019

Ready to go for the 2019 season!

A successful Goodwood test day, thanks to Julius Thurgood and Duncan Pittaway, and meticulous attention to detail during the week leading up to Silverstone meant that when we arrived at the circuit on Saturday evening, the Riley car was pretty much ready to go - and we could concentrate on securing an OUMF pit garage

‘Right said Fred’ 12 Car Rally - 8th Feburary

2/14/2019

It was a cold and windy night in Wendlebury, a village deep in the rural heart of Oxfordshire, when two OUMF rally crews splashed up the main street. The solid twelve hours of rain leading up to the event had left the ground undesirably wet and caused a number of large puddles to form on the road. Fortunately, the Sign-in and Drivers Briefing were held inside The Lion pub. Perfect for picking up a pre-race snack and drink; an extremely crucial step to success. As were the three whole packets of Jaffa Cakes that we picked up during a fuel stop while we headed to the rally. We arrived at the pub at around quarter to seven, as we had to get our OS road maps attended to by the organiser, and were welcomed by friendly remarks from fellow competitors – many aimed at Ding about actually being on time for once.

'Frostbite' 12 Car Rally - 25 Jan 2019

1/28/2019

On Friday 25th January, the OUMF team of Ding Boston, Ahron Becquart and Niall Geoghegan set out to West Berkshire for the annual ‘Frostbite’ 12 Car Rally held by the Dolphin Motor Club. This would be the Toyo Golf’s first outing of 2019 after its success at the Stanta Targa rally at the end of December. With the event being designed for Beginners, I would travel in the Golf’s unique 3rd seat to learn the ropes of rally navigation. Despite Ahron’s experience as a stage rally navigator, he is classed as a beginner in road rallying, so we would be using marked maps which promised to make it a fast and fun rally.

Action Week 2019 and Autosport International

1/19/2019

The Team with Steve Bradshaw on the SuperB stand at Autosport International

This year’s Action Week started at the HQ on the weekend of 5th and 6th January making further progress on the Sebring Sprite racer project, servicing and cleaning the OUMF van, and preparing the famous OUMF Riley 1.5 rally car for its first exciting appearance at the Autosport International motorsport show at the NEC. It was to be exhibited on the SuperB stand on the following Thursday and Friday and so had to look its spanking best! By Sunday afternoon it was in show condition, and we were able to set off on our first leg of visits – to the ever enthusiastic long time OUMF supporter Paul Johnson, near Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire.

The 'One and Only' Preston Rally 2018

1/19/2019

With the Corsa having sat idle for the last 8 years it required some much needed love and attention before it faced the horrors of another Preston Rally. The team worked thoroughly to get the car somewhat roadworthy, with a full service and check of the vital components. The car was then taken to Stuart ‘Stretch’ Talbot for a thorough pre-MOT inspection. This generated a list of issues as long as your arm which the team needed to sort before the MOT was passed and the rally could be tackled.

OUMF Visit to Think Automotive

12/7/2018

On Wednesday November 21st , 11 members of OUMF were invited to visit Think Automotive in Ashford, south London, with our Sebring race car project, by our great supporter Matt Potter who is the MD. As he advised, the plumbing for the car had been planned by the team in advance, and the proposed routes for the various reservoirs, pipes and hoses carrying fluids were laid out in tape. The car had been loaded and the van packed the evening before, so we were able to make an early start from the OUMF HQ and arrive at THINK as planned at 9.30am.