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Midland Centre Previous Sporting Event Reports ... |
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| Midland
Centre Summer Sprint 2 August 2020
Your Centre plucked up courage and went ahead with our
traditional August Sprint at Curborough. But given the
uncertainties surrounding any event during the current
Covid pandemic we elected to join with owners of the
Curborough circuit, the Shenstone and District Car Club, in
co-promoting a Practice Sprint. That means under the MSUK
Permit granted to the Midlands Centre we could stage the
meeting but devoid of any awards, FTDs, and club championship
rounds. We could still use timing equipment even if printed
results on paper had to be replaced with a digital app
retrieved via smartphone. With us so far?
With entrants
self-scrutineering their cars and everyone complying with
Covid-19/MSUK strict requirements, overseen (or was it
‘policed’?) by Centre chair Roger King acting as official
Covid-19 Officer, the 55 entrants, including 26 MGs (thank you
fans), seem to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. (Or so they
kept saying). Blessed with
great weather, and with five runs on offer, the sprint
represented a 2020 first time run for most. The ever-present
Covid-19 Officer meant no huddles of humanity, strict
queuing for the loo and on site café, and a lot of distance
shouting, and no spectators. But all agreed it was worth it. Compliments to
S&DC for all the work they put in to make it happen
together with the marshals and the relatively busy recovery
guys. The Centre is
particularly proud that committee member Simon Morris was Clerk
of the Course and a great job he did. Now a
cautionary note: One of the Midget drivers had a bad fuel leak
which was traced to decomposing fuel lines, so if your car has
been laid up for some while check the fuel lines. The possible
ravages of E fuel might have affected their integrity. Next up our
Autumn Trial on the 27 September at Bromsgrove. Again under
strict Covid rules; we remain determined to keep motor sport
going in these trying times. Watch our web site for
details. Roger King Midland Centre Chairman Well Sunday was all the weather forecasters said it would be and then some, not a day for low scores. It is reported that Adrian Tucker-Peake, C of C, and George Houghton had sunburn setting up on Saturday, but made the right call in spite of the dire warnings about low pressure (thought it strange that the BBC weather forecasts were talking about tyre pressures, what do they know?). We all looked like drowned rats until about 10:30 when the rain stopped, by then the BTRDA gang were off and judging by some of the engine noise were drying out the hills on their own, I guess that’s what they do when the sun don’t shine. Our fears about
mud and the hills were ill founded, everybody got out of their
predicaments somehow or other. Good job too because our friendly
tractor driver with about twenty to choose from was on holiday
in Wales. The T type MGs had a torrid time, what with cross-ply
tyres and low ground clearance it was very difficult, but great
to see them and an Austin 7 saloon campaigning amongst the
moderns. The Autumn Trial
was a clear win for Steve Courts in his Imp, we’ve lost count of
the number of times he’s walked off with the Autumn Cup, but
richly deserved. Colin Reid in a Golf finished second and won
class 1 equally convincingly. Richard Tompkins/Ed Nikel were
third in another Imp. Jimmy
Milligan/Graham Moore were best MG in a ZR winning the Allen
Trophy. Five of the entry in the Autumn Trial were driving MGs,
that’s what we like to see. Jan Richings with Kevin Sharp in a
Saxo was Best Novice in only her second trial this year, she
finished 5th overall, a polished performance. The Taster Trial
was a clear win for Stephen and Pam Yates in a Reliant Tempest,
a rare car that was driven very well in the conditions. Steve
Patten with Nigel Whiten in the Fiesta passenger seat was the
most improved driver on the day. Good to see the Wills family
out in force; father Mike and son Matt in the AT and Mike with
14 year old Andy in the TT, quite a challenge in the one Mazda. Ian Webb drove a
Smart, on the basis that it had very good traction in snow. He
was pleased with the grip on an even slope but found that the
short wheel base got a bit confused on downhill adverse camber,
in fact quite challenging. Where would we
be without our marshals? A total of sixteen turned out when I’m
sure they doubted their sanity early on Sunday morning,
heartfelt thanks to them. How do solar powered stop watches work
in the rain? The Autotest times got slower as the day
progressed, I put it down to the mud, I think I’m right! A big thank you
to Adrian who plotted a course to suit the weather and called up
a lot of marshals ably managed by Graham Austin. David Bowlas,
scrutineer, had the thankless task of peering under bonnets and
axles whilst most of us were sheltering under umbrellas, much
appreciated. Thanks also to Tim Beard of the BTRDA for providing
waterproof score cards for drivers and marshals. On behalf of the
MGCC Midlands Centre it only remains for me to thank you, the
competitors, for keeping the faith. See you all next year and if
you’re a practicing rain dancer, stop it. Photos of the event can be found on our Facebook page. Tony Lake - Trials Secretary MGCC Midland Centre |
MGCC
Midland Centre 53rd Annual Autumn Trial
Clerk of the
Course Adrian Tucker-Peake and a gang of helpers had laid out 6
very dry, long and twisty sections, where was the rain when we
needed it? Class 2
was dominated by a variety of Austin 7s keenly competing with
Dave Rushton’s 1930 M type. Class 1 winner
was Ian Webb in his VW Lupo on 45 dropped, evidently a more
tractable steed than the Smart he used in the Taster trial last
year which was a tad skittish on downhill mud.
Class 7 was a
clear win for Dave Middleditch in his Dutton Phaeton on 9
dropped. Dave is the architect of the on-line trials admin
system purchased by the MCC,” myclubhouse”. He was followed by
Richard Houlgate and Jim Wood in a Marlin on 28. Class 8 was
another win for young Joe Leach with Dad Jeremy bouncing, in a
Cannon. He dropped 11 and enjoyed a clear run all afternoon,
same result as last year when he was also best Novice. Nigel
Glover in another Cannon on 22 was second. Simon Morris,
the centre’s chief marshal, recruited a veritable platoon of
marshals, many thanks to them, we really needed them. Simon
Woodhall was present in his role as MSUK Trials co-ordinator;
taking a look at Clubman Motor Sport, a rare sight in the
current climate. The
weather was glorious, after lunch C of C Adrian instituted two
devious restarts to add some spice, with odd exceptions all the
classes felt a bit more sporting pain as failure to make
progress increased! Some drivers wished for a bit more power. Ellie’s
chuck-wagon from Bromsgrove Hog Roast was well patronised, the
sanitised portaloos were appreciated as well, thanks to Nigel
Whiten and his connections. Covid 19
definitely made a difference particularly when one was speaking
to a masked old acquaintance and then realising after a minute
that it was somebody else!
Everybody complied; masked-up and socially distanced. The
universally rewarding feedback; as the awards were presented by
Roger King, was that everybody found it so refreshing to get
outside on a Covid secure site for a brilliant day’s sport with
responsible company. |
The
Midland Centre has a long sporting history, it goes back to 1938
when the first car trial was organised in the Church Stretton
area; WW2 intervened, trials restarted in 1967. The Autumn Trial
enjoys an almost unbroken run since then, except for a
waterlogged site in 2000, so we were keen to keep that record
intact. We were encouraged once we heard of the MSUK Back on
Track initiative. By July directives were published. That
resulted in our sprint at Curborough in August from which we
learned how well-behaved competitors are when provided with
sound Covid 19 guidelines. A consequence of a paperless event
was a lot of email communication with entrants which of
necessity replaced the traditional C of C briefing at the start
of the trial.
By
Sunday 27-09-20 at 08:30 East Lodge Farm near Bromsgrove was
open for business, by kind permission of Maggie Mason. We bought
a package of Covid 19 signs from MSUK. Self-scrutineering
worked, so scrutineer David Bowlas and Covid 19 Officer, Centre
chairman Roger King, manned the gate to check that everybody
entering was the on the list of self-declared with no Covid 19
contacts in the last 14 days. David recorded body temperature
with a contactless digital thermometer, just like the NHS. We
had a good entry of 28 drivers; the paddock was spaced out for
each competitor, looked very tidy, not at all like a trial
start.
He
had a good battle with Robert Renshaw’s A7, they both finished
on 21 dropped 
The
winners of combined classes 5 and 6 were Alan and Jane Bee in
their 1275 Midget with 35 dropped; they also got 203 Air Miles
for the furthest travelled from Hamsterley, Co Durham! 
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