Y do it, Y entered, Y did it 3 times!
We had been trialling for about three years in a VW Beetle with varying degrees of success, narrowly failing a Triple on Wolfscote Hill on the 1993 Edinburgh Trial by having a roll back, after we had stopped, by falling back into a hole!!Our friend and rival, also in a Beetle, had done the first Le Jog, but had ‘’failed to proceed” further than the Devon boarder!! Le Jog was considered the toughest Rally in Europe!As well as owning the Beetle my Driver, Allan Dinsdale, owned an MG P type, and as I had an MGA, we were both “dyed in the wool MG fans!”Allan had been rallying in a Riley 1.5 back in the 1960s with the Stockport M.C., and so had lots of experience, whereas I had only been an enthusiastic observer following the likes of Paddy Hopkirk, Erik Carlsson and Timo Mäkinan and seeing the R.A.C. rally pass our local closed stage with Roger Clark and Tony Mason.However, Allan decided that an MG saloon was the way to go, found a suitable YB and sent it to a nearby garage to be checked and set up for rallying; installing seat belts, a sump guard, and various trip meters and other clocks and lights.The entry was made for our first Le Jog, the second event, in 1994, and with MG Y register sweat shirts purchased for the event, we were all set for the marathon event in early December 1994.Living in mid Devon we had only a relatively short distance of 200 miles to drive to the start at Lands’ End, so with the previous nights’ accommodation booked at Sennan Cove we left late morning for the drive, hoping we had remembered everything!Arriving at Lands’ End we signed in and looked at the other competitors’ cars. There were then the pre-event dinner and an early night!!So, we were off on the first driving test at Lands’ End and then a timed route or Regularity round the Lizard Peninsular, before heading toward Exmoor for a pause at The Stags Head near South Molton, where Allan’s wife and family met us!I had not been feeling well most of the way, being car sick!! I had started a Mars bar, and had held most of it in my hand, not wanting to eat!
However we left the Stag’s Head for a Regularity over Exmoor, an area that we knew well, as it was our area.But half- way through the section, disaster!! There was a grinding noise from one of the rear wheels, and we could not decide what the problem was! We could proceed slowly with caution, and so as it was only a few miles to Allan’s normal garage in Bampton, we drove there! John the owner was aroused and soon found the problem of a rear brake shoe that had jumped out of its housing and was rubbing the brake drum! Never heard of that before, but it was easily remedied and we were on our way again.We had lost a lot of time and so we cut some of the official route and rejoined it to go up the Porlock toll road, and be officially photographed!!
Then it was out through Somerset and over the bridge into Wales and the evening halt and supper at Magor Services.I was still feeling unwell, but a fellow competitor gave me some Kwells and after taking them all was well!.No night in bed in those days, it was off into deepest Wales for regularities over Epynt and up the Devil’s Staircase in the ice and being one of the first competitors to climb it using our trialling experience!!Then off through the forests and eventually out into south of Manchester when it was getting light for a rest halt of one hour.Off again on the “wigglies” past a pub that was not far from where I was born in Yorkshire, then further into the Dales and to the next control at Tan Hill, the highest pub in England, then onto the ford at Stanhope; which was cancelled, being too deep.On again to the control at the National Trust at Cragside in mid-afternoon, and still no sleep for a further 90 miles!Over the border, we were following Tony Dron in his large Ford Zephyr, whereupon he “wrong slotted” so we passed him, and he followed us into Edinburgh and the hotel for the night. He asked us what engine we had in the car, and we said “Absolutely standard!”So, after dinner that evening it was into bed for the first time in 36 hours and over 800 miles!!
Up bright and early for our start time of about 7.30 and the drive over the Forth Road Bridge to Knockhill race course for four laps all to be at the same speed, any difference knocking points off the score. Not too bad for us!Off again to the next regularity, and at one stage we were first car on the road.We must be doing OK!So, the towns came and went in a blur, Dalwhinnie, then Fort Agustus, then the regularity called the “Lock Ness Monster!” before pausing in Inverness for about 2 hours 
and supper, then off again towards Ullapool and the west coast. We due at 01.19 on Tuesday morning for another Regularity up the west coast on the single-track road with passing places. We were due in Durness 04.49, and I recall the light coming up as we went south down one side of Loch Eribol and seeing cars headlights going north on the other side of the Loch. We made the breakfast halt at 08.04 at Melvich.The last regularity, then the short drive to John O’ Groats where we were due at 9.04 after 1769 miles from Lands’ End and only one night in bed!
We had lots of tales to tell other competitors but we had made it to John O’Groats. At the awards ceremony at the dinner that evening we were presented with an award for winning our class and also a class award in the Concours d’elegance!! Not bad for our first attempt! Clutching our awards, we set off to the B & B for a we earned night in bed!!About 10.00 the following morning we set off south to do it all in reverse, but not on the ‘wigglies’ but the main roads. We filled the car four times with petrol and after only eating biscuits as we drove, arrived in Tiverton at 10.30 late that evening after nearly 540 miles! I had a meeting at work the following morning!The car had performed well, and were pleased with the results. We had learned a lot about navigation and Allan had relived his earlier rallying skills.………………We wanted more, so we entered the Historic Rally Car Championship; one day events with varying degrees of success, but we finished them all! We did four events starting with the Henry Liddon in Hampshire then the Channon in Dorset, then the Ross 
Traders in South Wales and lastly Regis Rally when we went round The Goodwood Estate and giving Allan the test route for the wrong test!! We then went up the Goodwood hill climb, a memorable occasion! Then it was back to the Le Jog again in December, again with much the same route through Devon and over the Seven Bridge and through Wales in the dark! The route was relentless, but as the day dawned, we were out and south of Manchester toward Yorkshire through the Trough of Bowland to a control at the Control at the New Inn at Clapham where I met some old friends I had not seen for a long time!!No time to socialise, but onward to some driving tests in Catterick Army camp, and this time the ford at Stanhope was open and 
we crossed the hundred yards successfully!! Only time for a few photographs and Edinburgh and bed!!Up early again and of for some rotational fun at Knockhill race circuit and on again to Killin and then Glen Shee and a 54-mile regularity successfully completed and eventually into Inverness for supper!Then there was the sting in the tail of the 70 miles of the Loch Ness Monster regularity timed to the second! Only a few points dropped and on to the next control and eventually to Altnaharra in the middle of the Highlands.Eventually it was again through the many controls to the finish at John O’Groats, but not before assisting a fellow competitor who had had a second puncture and had thus used their only spare wheel, so we gave a lift to their navigator, who had their card stamped at controls along with ours, to the final control! Her driver arrived shortly after us after he had borrowed a spare wheel from another competitor! At the awards ceremony that evening we again found that we had not only won the class, but also a Bronze Medal for visiting every control!Again, a very satisfying event, but next morning it was back to reality for the long drive back to Tiverton with family and work!!We again left the “digs” at about 9.30 and we were just south of Glasgow when the electrics spluttered and everything then stopped!!We eventually found that a wire had fallen onto the exhaust pipe and shorted out everything! So, it was a lot easier in the cab of the breakdown recovery lorry for the journey back south.Over the next few months, we re-wired the whole car, which was a novel experience, but we eventually succeeded by not first ripping out the old but replacing it gradually with the new!…………………We did no other rallies in 1996 until Le Jog again in December!!
We were off again to Lands’ End, with the new electrics, and with all expectations of success again! There was the added interest in that the event went very close to home again in that there were driving tests at Oakhampton Army camp and further tests at the Devon County Show ground at Exeter, where we could wave to friends and have our photograph taken by the local paper! It was then off to the local Hill climb course at Wiscombe, which again we knew well!Over the Blackdown Hills and another regularity and eventually to Magor Services and supper! Into deepest Wales and more regularities until out to Charnock Richard Services and breakfast at 5 o’clock in the morning!!The pace was again relentless, over the Pennines into Yorkshire and Tan Hill and eventually Cragside again! The route then took us to an area we did not know of; Lammermuir and the Jim Clarke Museum near Duns, where there was a control, then at last into Edinburgh for supper and bed again for the first time in 36 hours!! Up again bright and early and off to Knockhill again for more timed laps! Killin again, but this time we went more west, ending up at the old hill climb of Rest and be Thankful which was a great experience!Off again on regularities and eventually to Fort William for the Great Glen regularity and supper in Inverness! Out again at about 11 o’clock for a regularity then over to the west coast to Ullapool and forever going north to find dawn approaching at Durness, but onwards and south again to Altnaharra and across to Forsinard.From there it was due east on forest roads following the railway line, and I will never forget the views to the south of what appeared to be dormant volcanoes in the distance!!Then a short distance, relatively, to the finish at John O’Groats and again announced at the dinner in the evening that again we had won the class!
That was the end of our rallying in the YB which had served us well! Well, it was not quite the end, for in 1999 we entered the Targa Rusticanna in Wales, but that year it was cancelled due to Princess Diana’s Funeral.We did enter the following year, but that is another story!!
Mike Dalby
January 2026