Preparing to go up the biggest incline I've tackled yet... the first time I actually had to engage the 4x4 handle on the off road meet! This is the start of the second day now, after a cruise fairly far out and down some lanes, we got to the rough stuff and met some hills to face. The Sisley tackled the hill well, I didn't get a pic of the hill before we went up, but you'll see it in the next post when we go down! At the top, and the view was absolutely breathtaking...
Glad to hear it, got some more to come! The views on the hill were great, and all the cars made it, though then it was time to get down! I got a picture of this part, the angles are quite steep compared to what I have tackled before as a newbie to off roading that weekend... the worst part is the steeper bit with a bit of a rock climb in front of the car in front in the picture! We went through the rest of the off road trail, which while it looked okay, actually had some really big unsuspecting rocks and bumps on, which caused a couple of dents to the sump guard for sure! After a drive out on the roads and passing a lot of cyclists which we imagine were on a mass run/race somewhere, we all stopped off ready to tackle the next big hill. This time in two wheel drive, all the way up - it gets steeper further past what you can see in the picture! In this picture we can see the masses of Pandas we had together for the day
We call this "The Scene from Titanic" After the car made it up flawlessly, there were a lot of Pandas. And sheep. Here's a picture of the two creatures in the same fields
That's awesome. I've got a thing for sheep due to something I might post about in the Writing Corner later... and the Pandas fit in really well. :D
Two creatures at peace together in Yorkshire eh, haha I say at peace... though there was a bit of a race up the hill next to where they were. The big green Panda with the bigger engine won it of course! Though the character of the mk1 burbling around up that hill was awesome too
After a chill on the hill, there were lots more hills! We had a spot of lunch there, and after this we headed to the last lane. This lane was fairly rocky and had a couple of quite interesting inclines! Perhaps the most interesting thing of all was the red Panda with the roll cage managed to go a bit off course. So much so that the front left wheel was actually not on the ground at all, and quite high in the air! The car was resting on its sump guard so there was no way it could move forwards or backwards under its own power. You can't really tell in these pictures but off the edge did seem quite scary! The mk1 4x4 came to aid in pulling the car out, though some of the others and I also got to the front of the red car to lift up the front end as it was driving so that it would come off the rest of the sump guard and return to the (relative) comforts of the lane
Err... yes, meant that. Still got a bit more to come as after the last lane, some departed, but the rest of us went to a local farm to tackle an off road track! Probably the craziest inclines I've taken on yet Here's a picture of my car with the Y10 and Snatch Panda following. This was at the departure point, the end of the last lane - it was quite clear to see that we got a bit muddy on those hills... Quite a sight for the departure!
Ever nearing the end of the album now. To finish off, we have a few pictures from the farm off road course that several of us Panda owners took part in after the last lane The inclines and descents here were pretty crazy, especially this rutted one, which caught out a mk3 Panda when it got stuck on it... one of the other Panda owners pushes the car to get it moving again, he did make it in the end! Here is another of the mk3 More of the older stuff to come...
When I was at this point, ready to go down the hill... not knowing where the wheels were going to go, not being able to see anything other than straight ahead high up into the distance... it was pretty daunting! Fun though This is Huey taking on the downhill! Here, see the F Bomb Panda doing the same. The driver, as you can see, is tilting the head as high and the eyes as low down as possible, to try to be able to see where they are going with the wheel placement as they head down the hill... This is my idea of fun eh
Fight mud and hills with momentum! This is the host's Panda 4x4 Sisley, as imported from Italy to replace his previous 4x4, and has since been engine swapped so it's a beast - though it is LHD because it is from mainland Europe... Cruising through the overgrowth in the Italian Sisley...
Did we look at Brian the Big Green panda having no issues with that clearance? Well, with the end of the off road course, we are at the end of the Yorkshire trip. Here's a photo of my car after I drove it to the next hotel, the looks of people seeing all that mud were pretty good! I deliberately parked my car in front of the hotel entrance so everyone could feast their eyes upon such glory too Great fun and looking forward to more. Next up I believe is Summer Action Festival at Castle Combe which is the first Castle Combe event I would have displayed my own cars at publicly on a stand!
Thanks, painted with mud myself Looking forward to the next time... I should hopefully be attending more 4x4 meets in the near future and into next year! Next up comes the Summer Action Festival at Castle Combe where my two main Pandas, the Fizz and 4x4 feature on the Fiat Motor Club GB stand for the first time! Here's the link to the full album on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fendysphotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1432174576876582 The cars featured on the stand were my Pandas, my granddad's Abarth 595 Competizione, and my friend's Fiat Uno Turbo. We'll go through these properly in due course... starting with my 4x4! Still wearing a muddy patina from the Yorkshire meet, I felt like this was the best guide for a 4x4, and it certainly got a lot of looks and comments while there. People love the 4x4 and they're surprised to see one now given the rarity
I've been commenting a lot here lately, but it really is lovely seeing you starting to participate in these things yourself, instead of only taking pictures of others' cars. Also, reading this post reminded me: I still need to edit the footage from that old-timer event I went to!
That's a good thing! It really is quite nice to participate as well. Problem with this event is that last year it used to be really classic car orientated (has been for years), this year they changed the event to incorporate a lot more of the newer/modified cars which isn't as exciting. Annoying because there are probably 5 or so events for modified cars etc at Castle Combe already, and now they have removed most the classics from their classic event so there's not much left for classics there now. Hopefully it goes back for classics next year! Still, some good classics still made it in, so stay tuned for those Next up was my red Panda Fizz. In comparison, very clean, but all the cars had just been drenched by a big splash of rain So after my Pandas, we have my granddad's Abarth 595 Competizione. The Abarth is based on the Fiat 500 which is usually a fairly normal day to day car. Just like Abarth did with the classic Fiat 500s many decades ago, Abarth are again now upgrading what was a normal car into something sporty and exciting. The range goes from the 595 and through various stages, all the way up to the Biposto which is their racing edition. The Competizione is the highest model before the Biposto, which gives 180bhp (whereas the standard model gives around 135bhp). So, a sizable difference then, and in a nice colour scheme might I add!
Next up is a friend's Fiat Uno Turbo. This guy owns various Fiat Pandas and I did work experience with him earlier this year. This is a fairly new car to him and he only had his first proper run in it getting it to the Summer Action Festival! Later in the day he featured on track as well, we will see more of that later, but for now we must bask in the beauty of what is a beautiful and original mk1 Fiat Uno Turbo... Onto the track after the downpour, people are still watching in awe of some of the great cars out on track - in this case I captured two people eyeing up the classic Mini rounding the bend at Camp!
Some of you may remember this red Micra from previous Castle Combe events - by rights, here the guy is again, chasing down the others in the little pocket rocket The Toyota Starlet Glanzas, friends of the red Micra were out in force as well, still going well in the wet!
