The weather forecasts were promising but the day itself proved to be a bit of everything, although overcast it was very warm and we all got on with our polishing. As you will see in the photos however, rain did come in the afternoon and with quite a severity too (even a small amount of thunder at one point!).
Anyway... this was a day a lot of us had been looking forward to. Santa Pod never fails to entertain and draws in some absolutely amazing vehicles.
Devon & Cornwall branch had a good turnout with Steve & Jen coming up in the XR3i, Jaff & I went in the Mistress (Giving Little Grey a break). Nigel and Marcia arrived in their XR4x4 with an unexpected guest... as they were traveling up they managed to collect a pigeon who's reaction time was obviously a bit slow. I did actually feel bad as I watched Nigel removing chunks of the pigeon from the bumper and assessing the damage (luckily only a number plate).
You cant help getting goosebumps as some real old school Fords charge down the strip proving that age means nothing. A few of the XROC member took to the strip too and were putting in some good times.
A hot topic of conversation was Gaf's XR4i (South Wales branch). He has been busy making a lot of engine modifications over the last few months and the time had finally arrived to see what it could do. The first runs were promising, hitting a time of about 13 seconds. Unfortunately a second set of runs were not to be as the opening heavens put a stop to play time. I have a feeling this is one to watch!
The usual ritual was carried out as a group of us got our scrummy milkshakes, I had forgotten just how good they were!! I can highly recommend the Toasted Marshmallow flavour... mmmmmmmmm.
You can't talk about visiting Santa Pod without mentioning the jet car... this is a real genius bit of engineering and once it has flown past you your ears are ringing and your grin is glued onto your face. When I watched it the time it clocked up was 6 seconds although it can it 5 on a good day.
Back to the subject of the rain.... wow!! It came out of nowhere and caught a lot of us out, for a while we were ok huddling under umbrellas and refusing to let it beat us. Then it doubled in intensity and started blowing sideways so there was nowhere to hide. Jaff suggested I should make a run for it to hide in the car so I did, only to find it locked when I got there!!! I turned tail and dived for the nearest umbrella much to the amusement of other members. Jaff soon came and unlocked the car letting us both dive for cover. It was only then we noticed we were soaked right through, not a dry piece of clothing anywhere!
After sometime the rain did stop and Jaff was able to get back out of the car, I however was stuck. I opened the door to see the ground flooded where I would have needed to stand, it would have easily been higher than my feet and I really didn't want to get my trainers any wetter than they already were. Poor Jaff had to push the Mistress back onto higher ground just so I could get out... again, much to the amusement of many other members of the club.
Despite the weather it was a real good day and enjoyed by everyone. I highly recommend it if you have never made the trip up there, you won't regret it.
Write up by Laura Summerwill
Photos by Laura Summerwill
