Having missed the Golden Springs event in October reigning British Car Trials Champion Tim Dovey returned to winning ways in challenging conditions at the latest Woolbridge Moto Club car trial.

The Reg Paull Trophy Car Trial at Woolminstone saw the more challenging terrain, at the foot of a deep valley, off limits due to the steep gradient and muddy conditions.

Woolbridge Motor Club clerk of the Course, Graham Blake, however, provided twenty-four sections to test drivers throughout the day.

Dovey, contesting the division for two-wheel-drive cars, set the pace in his two-litre Renault Clio picking-up just five penalty points from the first run of six tests.

The award for the Best Under 23 Driver went to Alistair Moss.The award for the Best Under 23 Driver went to Alistair Moss. (Image: Stafford Associates) Vauxhall Corsa drivers Trevor Moffatt and Gary Morris were his closest pursuers on sixteen and seventeen respectively.

The second run saw an identical score from the agricultural contractor with Wareham motor technician Alisitair Moss climbing to second equal with Moffatt, in the diesel-powered Ford Fiesta which is also driven by his father David, while Morris was just two marks adrift.

The afternoon brought revisions to the tests with Dovey maintaining his lead, although, Moffatt kept him honest, only dropping a further six points, which meant he claimed the class win with the elevation of Dovey to first overall.

Bridport driver, Morris, therefore moved into the runner-up slot with Moss junior finishing third and claiming the award for the Best Performance from a Driver under twenty-three years of age.

The driver leading the way in the front-wheel-drive class was another Dovey.

Tim’s son Charlie, a former Woolbridge champion, was also at the wheel of a Clio but one of a different specification.

Mark Hoppé drove to class win and second overall.Mark Hoppé drove to class win and second overall. (Image: Stafford Associates)

It was a similar scenario with the Martinstown driver leading from the front with an ten-point advantage over the Simon Harris driven Volkswagen Golf GTi who eventually finished on the same sixty-one-point total as Mark Dunkerley in the Citroen Saxo he shared with Mike Dore.

The rear-wheel-drive category was populated by sports cars with Mark Hoppé, the ‘bookies favourite’, taking the wheel of his 1600 cc Dutton Melos rather than the Suzuki Alto which he drove to victory in the club’s previous event, the Golden Springs Trial.

Whilst the Sherborne driver was expected to take the class win, he was unable to rival Tim Dovey for the overall victory once the Index of Performance calculations had been applied.

Although Hoppé completed the event with a mere seven penalties he finished with an index of 45.45 c per cent compared to the 30.67 per cent of Dovey.