CCHMSC was represented in the awards at the end of the latest Rally Costa Brava Historic (11-13 March 2010). John Stuart and Maurice Millar were pleased to win the class for cars from 1946 to 1960 in John’s Austin A40 Farina (1959). Some 13 crews were attracted from the UK under the banner of HRCR. The rally cars were shipped by transporters from Goodwood to Barcelona and back.

The rally entry included a good number of foreign crews mainly from the UK, Portugal, France, Italy and Belgium and included 33 Porsche 911s in the 160 car entry. Timing on the regularities was wholly electronic. Cars were each fitted with transponders with hidden receivers recording times at various intermediate points on the regularities. Many crews had sophisticated equipment (rally computers) in the cars to match that of the organisers. Some drivers also had their own electronic displays linked to the navigator's computer.  The UK crews made do with a tripmeter, two stopwatches and speed tables.

The event organisers had to deal with once-in-20-years snow storms in Barcelona and throughout the area of the rally a few days before the start. Power supplies were interrupted for four days in Lloret-de-Mar prior to the event; pylons were bent in half; many roads were blocked by snow and fallen trees. In the end, six of the planned 34 regularities were cancelled over the three-days. The non-competitive Leg 4 on the Sunday was cancelled.

The rally began on the Thursday evening from the centre of Barcelona with an untimed circuit of the Montjuic Park; this was the old F1 racing circuit where the Spanish Grand Prix was held from 1969 until 1975. Two regularities followed in the hills above Barcelona before the competition stopped for cocktails. After the re-start, the route followed with five regularities throughout the night. The Austin arrived at the rest halt at 3am in Lloret-de-Mar, after two regularities were cancelled because of the bad weather of a few days earlier.

Leg 2, comprising 10 regularity sections, started at 13:00 on the Friday. The first test was two laps of a kart track; followed by two 30km regularities; before three laps of the Circuit de Can Padro, as darkness fell. Service was laid on before and after three circuits of the F1 Circuit de Catalunya in the dark. Five more regularities, including a re-run at the kart track, followed before the halt in Lloret-de-Mar.




The final leg comprised 10 regularities, several on the same roads used in the WRC Rally de Catalunya: Coll de Santigosa, Capsacosta, Coll de Bracons. Some of these roads were closed for the rally.

Spectators were numerous throughout the route and definitely more enthusiastic than in the UK. It was difficult not to put the foot down for their benefit, even when early on a regularity. The penultimate 'regularity' was a closed road section used on the WRC rally in previous years and what a fantastic road it was.

The A40 performed well; a wheel problem on Leg 1 and fading brakes were sorted out. A steering problem caused by a drop inside a sharp, downhill hairpin did not stop progress. The event organisation was first class, in spite of the weather difficulties. It was a great experience.

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Updated 31 March 2010
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