My experience of the Record Run attempt.
It was supposed to start at five o'clock.
We saw a line of cars in the field above the starting area of the off road course around lunch time and wondered what they were queuing for?
After chatting to a marshal we were advised to drive in that direction about half past three. By the time we got ourselves into gear the queue was almost at the entrance to the main car park field!
We had to nip back down to see Picman about collecting our discs with pics on and had to walk along a rather long line of Land Rover all the way there. At the off road course starting area there were several lines of Land Rovers. I managed to count at least eighty Landys from outside of Picman's tent. I reckoned we had probably beaten the Germans!
Back at the Landy, disc in pocket, the guy on the tannoy told all those of us who were taking part in the record run how important it was to maintain a "one car gap and not to exceed 4mph and don't stop once you start" several times.
"For those of you in a Disco that is probably low second" he suggested.
There was also at least one sign informing drivers which gear to be in, in various vehicles.
The first car started at around ten past five. About twenty minutes later we were told to look left and we'd see the first of the cars coming into view.
No, it was actually several minutes after that, that we saw them come into view.
A Series 1 in front, then something else, then I think the blue S1 'Gin and Tonic' was number three.
It was nearly seven o'clock before we saw any movement from where we were.
More warnings about maintaining speed and gap from Mr Tannoy
Not quite sure why then, when after being given an arm band through the window while still moving I was told to go.
GO GO GO!!!
FASTER!!!
KEEP GOING!!!
To catch up with the car in front (who was my mate in his V8 Defender) who shot off like at the start of a rally stage to catch up with the car in front of him.
I was in my enginely tired Disco 1 which was pulling over 3000RPM in low fifth trying to keep him in sight through the thick dust that brought down visibility down to less than ten yards!
I#d have loved to stop and select high range but still had "DON'T STOP" ringing in my ears.
It was a bit surreal hammering past a lady marshal in hi-viz waving urgently for me to go faster when I could barely see what was in front of me, all the time thinking of what 'Mr Tannoy' told us about how important it was to "maintain a one car gap and not to exceed four miles per hour..." HA HA!
Did he really say four? Or was it FORTY???
We maintained a crazy pace for about the next half a mile until we began to bunch up!
Most of the course was running alongside the off road course but avoiding the obstacles. I'm not sure if you can describe a scene as 'scenic' if all of your concentration is spent on not crashing into said scenery or your mate in front!
We eventually completed the course and wound up in the big arena field all parked up in neat rows.
I'll be honest. We weren't the quietest bunch gathered in Northampton. There were one or two(or fifty) horns being sounded. Air horns, sirens and I think there may have been a disguised locomotive in the field too! Yellow recovery 2b Forward Control?
Many people had climbed straight to the top(of their car) and were cheering from their Landy roof!
Me included! to cheer those of us who were still driving into the field.
I reckon we SMASHED THE RECORD SET BY THE GERMANS!
I can only guess that those people who were camping with their Land Rovers who chose not to take part are Nazi sympathisers with no sense of loyalty to the Queen, this country, and more importantly, THE GREEN OVAL BADGE!!!
Or were just too tight to cough up a fiver...
They must be an ABSOLUTE joy to be around at Christmas! BAH HUMBUG!!!
It's one thing to not be able to attend, but another entirely to be there and not bother to!!!
My 'World Record Attempt' numbered wrist band was 782. There must have been about a hundred more lined up after me!
Sadly, after hanging around for over half an hour after the last Landy had parked up, we had not received a commemorative plaque NOR heard from Mr Tannoy what the result was!
I assume the reason for a lot of the later drivers not being given a plaque is because the organisers underestimated how many would turn up on the day,(which is GREAT!) but to not say anything over half an hour after the record attempt had finished was pretty disgusting!
I was chatting with the chap parked next to us who was (I think) number 237. He told us that he'd heard that some plaques were being stolen out of parked cars that hadn't closed their windows. That was pretty poor too!
I did try the old "WOW, look at that!" and pointed over his shoulder behind him, but he quickly told me that he had invented that ploy and removed his plaque that had been stuck to the passenger side of his windscreen, (the side I had been standing next to, and stuck it right in front of him.)
Oh well. Worth a try
If you're reading this, I hope you got back in one piece(with plaque) to Harwich!
For those of you who also didn't receive your plaque, we were told by a marshal to contact the organisers via Facebook and they'll inform you when some more are available
