Brit butt rally 22nd - 24th May 2009

The 2009 event saw a lot of last minute withdrawals for various reasons. Out of the original field of 65 entrants we ended up with 49 riders who had arrived at Trentham Gardens. The riders fell into 4 distinct groups. One group were rally newbies who had heard about this event and had turned up to give it a go. The second group were those who had attempted the rally in 2008 but had not gained a coveted finish position.the third group had finished in 2008 but were looking to improve their position. The final group were the big dogs. These were the guys who had attained a high finishing position in 2008, were confident in their abilities, and were looking to win. The 2009 event would test even the most experienced rally rider beyond the 2008 level.

The car park of the premier inn was a hive of activity on Friday afternoon. Technical Inspections were undertaken and all the riders were required to ride the odometer test route in order that the calibration factor be determined. Things ran so smoothly that we were ahead of the planned timetable. Even having a couple of riders take the wrong turning on the first roundabout of the test route didn’t cause the rally team any issues. There was plenty of time to make them ride the correct route. Once the formalities of the afternoon were completed the riders had time to mingle and renew friendships and make new ones. At 7pm everyone attended the pre-rally dinner. The food must have been of an acceptable standard as there seemed to be rather a lot of clean plates very quickly. Either the food was delicious or the riders were simply thinking that this was the last proper meal they might get and they would make the most of it.

Once everyone moved into the conference room it was down to business. A welcome address was made by Roger Allen who explained that he had been telling the rain to F**k off, F**k off, F**k off , and the riders should do the same if they encountered any during the event. This provided much amusement during the evening when some individuals decided to use the same principle for Roger.

Ride Certificates were presented to various individuals before a special recognition certificate was presented to Roger Allen to recognise all the hard work he has put into Iron Butt UK. The floor was then handed to the rallymaster, Chris McGaffin who presented each rider with their ID flag and the bonus book contained in a sealed envelope. Once they were ready, the envelopes were torn open . Inside the riders discovered a book containing 69 bonus locations, ferry timetables, a 5000pt 3 hr sleep bonus and a 10,000 point fuel log. The Rallymaster talked the riders through the main points of the book. The minimum required to gain a coveted finish position was 1123 miles and 27,500 points. The riders were then dispatched to their rooms to begin their route planning. They were about to discover that this was easier said than done. The rallymaster had spent countless hours over 6 months ensuring that it would be extremely difficult to construct a route that would be an easy ride. Obviously he had succeeded as very few riders were seen by the rally team later in the evening.

After a restless nights sleep for some, the riders were in the car park at 5.30 am making final preparations for the start. At 6am, Roger waved them goodbye and one by one they left the car park. The sound of motorcycles engines faded into the distance and calm was restored to the premier inn.

The riders were off to all corners of the country. Cumbria was the first destination for some. Hardknott pass would be tricky in poor conditions. Scotland wasn't as popular as last year as the bonuses were more concentrated further south. Single track roads in the back of beyond awaited them. The isle of mull and kintyre were possibilities. Mull providing a useful stepping stone across thereby picking up the island on route. The southern route riders were up against holiday traffic and city snarl ups. The time restrictions applied to some of the locations would mean that careful planning (or luck) would be required to achieve them. No matter where they were heading they would have to grit their teeth and battle through. The secret is to keep going as long as it's safe. No matter what. Riders would have to ride into "the zone". This is where the endurance rider reaches a state where he is riding like a machine. Efficient, unrelenting, focused and becomes an extension of the bike.....part of it. Two machines working as one.

The Rally team dispersed and left the Rallymaster as the sole point of contact for the riders. The competitors were under instruction to phone if they were withdrawing from the event. It didn't take long. By 10.50 the first call had come in from a rider who realised that this event was much much tougher than any other UK Rally. He decided it wasn't for him and pulled the plug. By the end of the first day a total of 3 riders had withdrawn. Unlike last year, the phone did not ring once during the night. This was taken as a sign that the riders had avoided hitting Deer in the early hours. But at 8.30 the call came in that a rider had done just that at 4.30am and was forced to retire. Very considerate......not waking the rallymaster at 4.30am. But the main thing was he was unhurt and the bike had minor damage.

Some riders returned on Sunday well before the 5pm time when they would begin losing 100 points per minute. The scoring room was extremely busy as the afternoon came to a close. Riders sat around the hotel preparing their paperwork, with many enjoying the blue skies and high temperatures as they did so. The riders faces showed just what they had been through with many looking like they had been dragged through hedges. (which is quite possibly where some of them slept). There were some huge losses at the scoring table, mostly for silly errors. Some of these were the result of bad luck, or an oversight, But some really were unforgiveable. Riders should read the bonus book carefully and bring a copy of the rules out on the road. Forgetting to put flags in photos, complete the odo & time readings, having enough points but too few miles & buying the wrong item in Ullapool Tesco were all examples of mistakes that were made. Some riders felt the scoring decisions were harsh but it's the same for everyone. There were no tricks involved the riders just had to carry out what was in black & white.

As the scoring process continued some riders enjoyed the services of a masseur to ease their tired bodies whilst others simply rested or swapped stories with fellow riders. When the last competitor was processed , a single click on the computer produced the results. The staff had the results. The riders would have to wait until after dinner to know their fate.

At the awards ceremony the riders would did not get enough points or miles were warmly applauded. Out of 49 starters only 27 successfully completed the toughest UK event. Plenty of those unfortunate riders commented that they would be back to try again. They will be most welcome. Rule number 1....never give up. The finishers from 27 through to 4 were called up to receive their certificates. The remaining three were then called to the front. Barry Manning, Robert Roalfe and Gerhard Memmen-Krueger. 3rd place trophy went to Barry Manning who had improved on his 13th of 2008. 2nd place went to Gerhard Memmen-Krueger who had lifted himself up 2 places from 2008. And that left Mr Roalfe and his BMW R1150GS as Number 1 for the second year running. Incredible performance.

It doesn't take a man to win the Brit Butt Rally. It takes a machine. And, as in 2008, that machine was called Robert Roalfe.