The XR4Register at Fiesta In The Park & XROC National Day- Sun 18th May 2008

The day started out a bit dull but the forecast was for sunny intervals. Everyone had a fairly uneventful run to the show and we all got in OK. We were set up on tarmac this year which was good. There was a good mix of cars, a DOHC XR4i, an XR2i, the mad orange 2.9 P100, a DOHC turbo XR4x4, a 2.8 XR4i, a 3.7 supercharged XR4x4 and Gengis 2.9 twin turbo XR4x4 across in Concours.

The show had a better turn out than last year and with more facilities. The general standard of cars was as good as ever. There were also a lot more traders than in previous years. The weather turned out better than we expected, both Dave & John got a bit sunburnt. We were visited by Pete & Lisa, Ralph, Marcus and Les Gent to name but a few. A wander round revealed everything from a bubble arched Mk I Escort to the latest ASBO orange Focus ST and even an Australian XR6 Ute, as well as rather a lot of Fiestas.

Gengis did us proud again this year in Concours, taking first place in XR4x4 Modified class again. We could have had a clean sweep in this class if Dave and John had entered as there were no other contenders. This shouldn't detract from Gengis efforts as his car looked stunning as always.

We did have two slight casualties by the end of the day. John's 4be decided it wanted to empty all it's engine oil out, under the bonnet looked nice & clean but everything underneath was dripping, right back to the rear suspension arms, still it should help keep the rust at bay. On the 280 mile round trip it got rid of 3 litres of finest synthetic. On the way back home, Jot managed to run out of petrol in the XR2i. I think we have uncovered a Thaker family trait as, once again, John's jerry can came to the rescue. To add insult to injury, the filler cap locked itself once we had taken it out and it wouldn't unlock. At least the key didn't get stuck. A quick blast to the nearest services and the jerry can was refilled ready for next time and Jot got an emergency filler cap to stop the petrol coming out. Never mind the danger of spilling fuel everywhere, think of the cost!