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 Competitors left the well-appointed start in Wigton on a cold, but bright and clear day, for the 16-mile run out to the first forestry section. It was to prove one of the most difficult of the event, needing plenty of ground clearance, and only six cars were to go clear, including both Giles Greenslade and Nicola Wainwright who were to finish first and second overall. Class 8 didn't feature here, as they had a difficult restart, as they did on most of the remaining sections, along with class seven on some of them. The lower classes were to enjoy a no-restart day!

Come the third section at Falcon's Crest there were only three clean sheets left, Bill Bennett losing his here and only Adrian Dommett was left to challenge the two Beetles. Adrian's hopes disappeared at Ladyside, a horrible muddy affair, without much real gradient but a huge lump to surmount. Class eight had an impossible restart just before the hump. However, nobody told Dean Partington and he went clean. So did Sticker Martin (Escort) and Dave Haizelden (Golf GTi) as well as the two battling Beetles.

Some of the morning sections were a little rough, especially Little Cockup which had a fearsome left hand bend with deep ruts. It was possible to approach this at speed. Tony Young went clear but without a skid the front panel of his Beetle acted as a mud plough, pushing it back so he couldn't open the hood.

The afternoon forestry was higher up the hillside. This meant fantastic views, less mud and more rocks, of the small loose variety. The leading cars went clear on all of them. With a more solid base, the sections weren't so rutted and ground clearance became less of an issue. There were some issues on the final forestry section at Widow Hause where it was necessary for clears to reverse down. With no real ruts, it was very easy to get sideways and a couple of cars came close to rolling over.

Last on the agenda was Sandale, everyone's favourite. There was another impossible restart for class eight, with seven having to join in as well. Once again, nobody informed Dean Partington he wasn't supposed to get away and he went clean, being joined by Mike Chatwin (Troll) and Tristan White (Class 7 Imp).

Although the lower classes didn't have to restart it was certainly a tough section with the ruts getting deeper and deeper with every passing car. Both Giles and Nicola stopped at the two, to lose their only marks of the day, victory going to Giles on Special test times. Adrian Dommett and Bill Bennett both came out of the top but I am sure they won't mind me saying that hero status on Sandale 2008 is awarded to Harvey Waters and Dave Millar who dragged their diffs though the clag and Colin Perryman in his BMW, all showing how it could be done in a low slung car.

The day ended for many with a super meal back at the finish where competitors relaxed and told of their enjoyable day. The only cloud was an issue with tyre pressures on Sandale. They weren't checked and the feeling was this was abused by at least one competitor in class eight. I hope that this didn't disappoint organisers Martin Willis and Chris Veevers too much and we can all return for another excellent Northern trial next year.

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