Stratford Midlands Rally 2015 14/16th August.

[Tim Leech]

14/16th August at the Stratford Race Course as previous years,

Always a good rally for BX's and nice and central

Luddington Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 9SE

Entrance historically £5/7 per car.

[Tim Leech]

This is your next rally guys, the national was a bit down on numbers although the bx turnout was good! see you there!

[Leobx16v]

I'm at the C6 rally this weekend, there seems to be a break in communications but at least there's 2 options then!

[Tim Leech]

The Stratford rally has always been a midland section organised rally where no one Talks to each other!

[Kitch]

The Stratford meet is one of the worst of the lot. If I usually go it's because geographically it's one of the easier ones to get to, but I went last time and while I was there I pretty much decided I'm not going back (unless a enough people I know I can have a laugh with are camping!)
Same with the national really. There's just nothing to do, it's standing in a field. Compare it to the ones I used to go to when I was about 17 and they're all a shadow of their former selves. One of the nationals was in Worcester at the rugby club - pretty sure there were units full of stalls, hundreds of cars outside etc.

I think the best one I've been to in recent years was the CXM one. Wasn't big, still not much to do unless you want to clean your car, but given it was a much narrower range of models there, it was actually a decent turnout and a good venue.

[Leobx16v]

Well the chevrons rally should be good in September fingers crossed, but things do need to change and it will take a long time if it does.

[Thread Bear]

Hmm, Kitch. This sounds like so many rallies across the whole scene these days. I know insurance rather stuffs competitive games on site, but this idea of turning up to a field and going to sleep is about as far as you can get from the old events where we did stuff. I get to the point of wishing someones car would go wrong so we have an excuse to pull something to bits. Even that gets denied by some, as they are happier to call the AA and have it dragged home, rather than be seen with a fail and learn something by letting folk loose on it, with the option remaining to still AA back if the brains present fail. Trouble with this in Microcars was we then had campervan man bringing his car, hoping for a free bit of work to get his already dead car going. Yeees. Plus those in the trade will not be to keen to spend leisure time working at their day job.

I well remember a Messerschmitt Rally where the highlight was Russ finding a ladder. Four of us had a competition as to who could get furtherest up it freestanding. It was hilarious. The rest watched in bemused, or disapproving silence. Such is the pitch of Schmitting here now our National Rally gains 25 cars. The Germans get 150 plus from the same population of cars scattered in a larger country. Why? They tend to do stuff and get invited into town squares, factories etc. with public media coverage.

It crossed my mind that a game would be to make a BX piano. Each car being a note and on being played it descends to no suspension, before rising again. A good test of the hydraulics. I bet half of you will think I am a bloody nutcase now. But such silliness is what we used to do at rallies.

[Tim Leech]

I hate to say it but the Rallys are dying off, compared to the shows of 2006-9 they are as Kitch says a shadow of what they were, lines of cars, hundreds of people and loads of spares.

This year National was boring, even for me, I spotted 2 Xantias in total.

Single make car clubs are a dying breed, with most things going electronic now and you need to move with the times, which is where the issue is when those who have ran it for years don't use forums etc.

[Vanny]

Single make car clubs and Rallys/Shows are not dying off, they just take a bit more imagination these days. Infact I saw a gathering of 30+ smart cars on the motorway last week with very happy looking owners.

I'm with Kitch on the Stratford Rally though, I went last year, and it is honestly the first time I have ever regretted going. In fact I haven't driven the BX since.

I suspect in the future rallys/shows for me will be on the lines of RetroRides and Autoshite gatherings as the Citroen scene has pretty much collapsed, despite some very impressive efforts from people here.

[Kitch]

Best thing i've ever been involved in was the NEC. Still a credit the Sandre and the team!

[Thread Bear]

Unfortunately doing the same thing, (Or worse being there and not doing anything but perpetuating a date/place/thing) and not advertising in good time, is a good way of reducing the numbers attending. Your putting me of going now.

I am getting very picky on events, as they all seem to be increasingly expensive to attend, in direct inverse proportion to how boring they are? That is not to say its the enthusiasts fault. Everyone charges for everything these days, makes a fuss about it, taking time up, and it has to be passed on.

Skipping the two Messerschmitt events. One in Kettering, well known holiday destination and spa town. If I want to be depressed driving round a place, Swindon is just up the road! The Special Rally, now attempting to become Club members only, has a run out to Beaulieu. Arrgh, not again. A convoy through 40 mph blanket limits, dodging pony poo. That's really why I got my car going well. Be easier to leave 24 Schmitts at Beaulieu! There are other places within 50 miles of Southampton. No point in attending a cleaquefest. Two nice pub meals out of the savings and play at home. Its all to easy, 'innit?

[Des Smith]

Best thing i've ever been involved in was the NEC. Still a credit the Sandre and the team!

Yep, second that!

[Tim Leech]

Lets hope we get chance to do it again, the problem is I guess more entrants than spaces so they can be picky.

[Kitch]

Lets hope we get chance to do it again, the problem is I guess more entrants than spaces so they can be picky.

The fact that a BX made it in to begin with was huge. They're generally unpopular cars no one cares about, and it's not like one snuck in on a CCC stand or something - a whole stand of BXs made it in, purely centred around a forum & Facebook page! Two years on the trot! Seriously impressive that, and doesn't get any less impressive as I look back on it either.

[Caffiend]

Re NEC - Ian opened the door in 2012 and we learned loads from that for the following year. Couldn't have done it without you guys

CCC, 2CV GB and TOC are shoe ins, perhaps we should make it an FCF application for moderns for 2016.

Anyway - Stratford. Probably not, 6 hour round trip, worth it last year as the only event I actually got to (and that was thanks to Paul as was still not allowed to drive at that point). Work either side of the weekend this time.