Went along to the annual Boxing Day autotest at Llandow. Haven't done one of these events in over 25 years and combined with having the most unsuitable car there (Fiat 125) wasn't expecting much.
A pre-event test showed that the Fiat disc handbrake is for holding the car still, not flicking the tail out. It also showed that the 125 suffered bucketfuls of understeer in tight corners and the lack of a limited slip diff meant that large throttle openings resulted in lots of noise from the carbs, lots of smoke from the inside rear tyre and very little else. The brakes were good though, had no trouble stopping in the "garage" despite the spectators obvious doubts (they scampered off in all directions as we whooped towards the finish).
So I was rather surprised to get the results sheet yesterday and find that I'd finished 13th out of 24 entries, beating among other cars a BMW 325i, Escort RS2000 and Mexico, 205 Gti 1.9 as well as assorted Fiestas, Novas and a Beetle. "Strict" autotest rules weren't applied either, where if you go the wrong way you get the slowest time + 20 seconds, people were allowed to go again instead. Didn't help me at all as I got all the tests right first time.
Fastest total time for the four tests was 167.25, slowest 219.01, mine was 181.47. My co-pilot Simon did a 172.57 in his Celica which put him 9th.
Well Done, that man! The Italian "taxi" still holds its own. Would you say you are a exponent of the reverse slide , where you slide the front wheels around the rears, Jim?
Used to watch a few auto tests with the Kidderminster Motor Club around 1979/80 time. Its skillful stuff. Usually a BMC Mini would win or Midget/Sprite as they were good with the handbrake and low to the ground helping visability of the cones!!
We used to do these about 25 years ago in Alfasuds complete with the front-braked handbrake! Learned the art of left foot braking to spin the tail around. There was a guy who used to use a Honda S800 coupe.
