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Midland
Centre Sporting Events
2022 ... |
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| NEW
- MGCC Autumn Trial &
Taster Trial - East Lodge Farm, Sunningdale Rd, Bromsgrove, B61 7NN . |
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| Entries
have now opened for the Midland Centre Autumn
Trial & Taster Trial at East Lodge Farm, Bromsgrove on
Sunday 25th September. There will
be the usual proper trial which this year is a round of the WMMC
Championship - the first time for many years and the first for
us at this venue and there will also be a Taster Class for those
new to the sport. Why not give it a try, or at least come along to see how it all works. Should be fun! Entry Forms now available....... See below |
More details of these events and others, the regulations and entry forms will be available on our 'events' page on this website nearer the date for the event. |
| NEW
- MGCC Summer Sprint Report
- |
Curborough 7th August ... |
| Crisis
– what crisis? (With apologies to Supertramp).
While it can’t be denied that we’re all going through cost-of-living concerns right now, you wouldn’t have known it from the excellent number of competitors and spectators who turned out at Curborough for the Midland Centre’s Summer Sprint.  Let’s continue with a comment on the weather because that sets the scene for the day, hot sunshine, a bit of a breeze and good track temperature. So, few mishaps that kept a busy event on schedule. The figure of eight course is demanding, all point and squirt, it brought out the best driver skills with close competition in all classes competing in a round of the MGCC Speed Championship.  For much of the day spectators filled the viewing areas and brought with them an eclectic variety of vehicles, ranging from a vintage-looking Essex, through a huge Pontiac Catalina, to a rebuilt Austin Allegro fitted with a K-series engine and turbo which the owner believed may be the fastest Allegro in the world – who could argue? Either way, the workmanship was impressive. Class SA, up to 1400cc unmodified, for cars which must be driven to the event, heavily populated by MG ZRs was a win for Les Wilson on 72.06. Close behind on 72.73 was Mike Smith. 3rd, Jack Twomey on 73.44, his ZR features in a YouTube series about whether it’s possible to get a car to win trophies for an annual layout of less than £1000. It’s called project Stinky, watch it to find out why. Class 1 for standard cars was won by Richard Froggatt’s MG ZT260, V8 4.6L, 71.85, which doubles as tow car, family transport and sprint car. Weighing in 1850kgs it eats up tyres and brakes and does 8mpg on track. He beat David Coulthard’s 1.8 ZR on 72.49.  Class 2 was another fastest time for Martin Lunn in a Midget. Class 3 for road going MGBs was a win for Paul Drake on 69.59, maybe the Weber carb made all the difference over Terry Pigott’s similar B on 73.13.  Thanks to Andrew Robson & Tony Lake for this report.. Full list of results here.. Image Gallery here.. |
Class
5 for Group 4 racing cars was a win for Andy
Walker in his 4.6L V8 MG B roadster. Ear wigging on
a conversation about V8s between he and Brian Osborn, who
wants to sell his V8, the Peter Burgess magic continues to
deliver the goods. Andy has 460 lb. ft of torque under his
right boot, exactly double the original factory V8 figure. As
AJ Foyt wisely opined: There ain’t no substitute for cubic
inches.
 Class 7a for up to
1400cc road legal race cars saw Graham
Harvey set 69.38, his beautiful 1380cc 120hp Austin
Mini is crossflow, fuel injected and home brewed.
Class 8b, over 1700cc road legal; Simon Price in a 1998cc Westfield SE iW set fastest time of 62.55. Mark Williams was fastest in class 10, modified specialist, his 1300 Westfield Megabusa ran 55.75, what a difference a set of slicks and a lightweight engine make, very close to FTD. Class 11a, up to 1700cc sports libre was a win for John Bradburn, his Radical beating Lloyd Bettison’s 998cc Stm Phoenix. For those whose MGs compete in both the Spring and Autumn sprints; their combined times resulted in the award of the Kjell Qvale Trophy for pre 1956 MGs to Dave Morris, s/c 1350cc TC.  The post 1956 MG Ernie Foster Trophy, went to Martin Lunn, 1328cc Midget.  A very busy meeting, slick organisation, lots of smiley faces and a full entry list, thanks to all the usual culprits, you know who you are! A special pat on the back to commentator Owen Cule for his insight. To the awards......... Fastest Lady went to Rosemary Collins, ZR with 75.04. Best Novice was Ioan Evans, Van Diemen FRF88, on 63.72, still striving to beat Uncle Chris, the car owner, who was just .01 sec faster, nearly there Ioan! The Kimber Trophy for Fastest MG driven by an MGCC member, 60.96, went to Andy Walker. FTD set by John Bradburn; 1300cc Radical Prosport with 55.54 who wins the John Arrowsmith Trophy.  |
| MGCC Spring Sprint Report - | Curborough 3rd April ... |
|
Any ice racing fan must have
wondered why the first practice group of ZRs and TFs weren’t on
studs. Sunday 03-04-22 dawned close to freezing, but no snow
this year, low track temperatures and very cold tyres are not
good friends which made for several spins and other involuntary
scenery exploration on 4 wheels, that kept the marshals warm
sweeping up. There was an abundance of spectators, good to see
after two years of enforced absence and all able to take
advantage of free entry.
Once again, some historic cars
featured. The Bellevue Special was built by
Walter ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson on a 1935 MG Magnette to create a
naturally aspirated 1.5-litre offset monoposto. ‘Wilkie’ and
Bellevue founders, the Evans brothers, raced the car with some
success in its first season. Two years later it was sold to
Brooklands racer Charles Mortimer. In 1948, it was purchased by
Basil de Lissa, who fitted a supercharger to replace 6 Amals,
that would be quite a tuning challenge. He raced it at
Goodwood’s first ever meeting in September 1948, lining up
against the likes of Stirling Moss and John Coooper. After de
Lissa sold the car, it was fitted with unattractive GRP bodywork
and ended up in a scrapyard in Co. Durham. Norman Hart acquired
the car and carried out a thorough restoration, including new
aluminium bodywork by David Royle. Now owned by Charles McAvoy
the car sprang a fuel leak before practice which took a little
time to fix, it then digested an irritant that blocked the float
chamber, once removed it ran briskly as son Steven did
41.53.
 James Thacker
forsook his Modsports Midget for the ex-Alec Poole Frogeye
Sprite which he has owned since 1970. TZA 238 was campaigned
extensively until 1977 when brake failure at Copse, Silverstone
resulted in a bad accident which side-lined the car until a
rebuild was completed in 2015. Its last outing at Curborough was
in 1973, 38.5 secs, Sunday yielded 39.75.
 John Hawley’s 1964 Midget
has been campaigned at MGCC Midland Centre sprints since he
bought it new. Now in its 58th year of competition it is
still a quick car, up against James, nip and tuck in practice
0.5 sec between them; but in the runs he had to give best to the
Frogeye.
 |
Fastest MG went to Andy Walker with 4.6 litres of V8 under the bonnet on 33.17.  Fastest
Lady in an MG was Helen Waddington’s
ZR 1800 with 40.78, now in its twentieth year at
Curborough. FTD went to Paul
Webb in his 998 OMS PR in 31.08 who said it was his
first award in several years competition never mind being
fastest on the day, his previous best had been 31.45. He was
clearly delighted and even more so that his parents had made the
trip from Devon and were able to bask in his success.
 MGCC Midland Centre thanks
its organising officials, the marshals, eighty one drivers and
particularly the seven competing for the first time at a sprint.
Sixteen year old Ben Robinson did 40.04 in father Steve’s
Caterham 7 Supersport, he had the biggest grin, we think they’ll
all be back soon.
The awards ceremony
was very well attended. The results sheet was available quickly
after the last run at 16:00 thanks to Resultsman, which meant
that by 16:20 we’d presented 21 out of the 23 awards in person
which rounded off the event in a much more rewarding way.
Tony Lake.
(Thanks to Martin Price for all images) The 'Special' Trophy winners were awarded to:-.  Fastest Lady Driver
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Helen Waddington (MG ZR) 40.78 Fastest Novice - Ioan Evans (Van Diemen FRF88) 36.18 The 'Midnight Cup'
for Fastest MG of the Day -
Andy Walker (MGB V8) 33.17 The 'Weston Cup' for
Fastest Time of the Day -
Paul Webb (OMS PR) 31.08 |
| WHAT
ARE THEY ALL ABOUT?... Midland Centre Trials... |
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| MIDLAND
CENTRE TRIALS - Spring and Autumn production car trials have been a strong feature in the MGCC calendar for decades. The Spring trial had seen a dwindling entry in the last few years to the point where it was no longer a viable competition and the 2016 event was cancelled. This was quite a big blip in over 80 years of organisation and competition for the MGCC in the Midland Centre, so what to do about it? At the 2016 Autumn Trial we had a good discussion with competitors about the future of the Spring Trial. As a result of that and another debate that Adrian Tucker-Peake had initiated early in 2015 with Midland Auto Club and the MSA GoMotorsport regional development officer the framework for a taster trial has emerged. It is clear that with a mature but still enthusiastic entry for the autumn event it makes sense to plan for the future; something which both MSUK and the MGCC have recognised. TASTER TRIAL - The objective is to involve newcomers; youngsters and adults who might have heard about trials but haven’t taken it any further yet. An opportunity for experienced drivers to bring their boys and girls and to help on the day. The MSUK acknowledges that clubs need to be able to attract new faces and on a one off annual basis will issue a permit that allows non-club members, members of the public, to take part in a taster event whilst being covered by the MSUK public liability insurance. All you need is an RS Clubman licence, available free on the MSUK website. It will be a production car event which means that standard road cars are both eligible and suitable. We typically see, MGZR, Rover25, MG F and Citroen Saxo among other small cars competing at the Autumn Trial, all are competent handy vehicles. The course will be grass and mud, essentially non-damaging with some AutoSolo type forward only tests. |
The format will include an
explanation of the different types of trial, the classes, how to
prepare a vehicle, completing paperwork, driving instruction,
driving practice and some good takeaways as a reminder of the
event, and if you’ve enjoyed the experience, we hope you’ll join
a club and compete.
So, its now YOUR chance to have a go, this event is for young drivers and novices to Trialing, we will be able to give you expert guidance and let you get out there in a mild way to try your skills on a safe grassy field.  This is where car control and
careful movements can really help you with conditions which you
may experience in regular Winter driving, but while you practice
there are very few ditches, trees or other immovable objects to
worry about. So why not give it a go, or at least come and watch
what happens on the day, after that you may want to have a go
next time.
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| Sporting Events - How can I get started? ... | Sprinting & Hillclimbing ... |
|
Are
you interested in Motorsport but not sure how it all works?
To
try and give you as much information as possible the MG
Car Club Midland Centre have created information
sheets for various Sporting events, most of which the Centre
will be holding during the year.
If
you would like more details or like to discuss further, please
contact the following who will be keen to assist you.
Tony Lake - Midland Centre
Trials Co-ordinator David Russell - Midland
Centre Sprints Co-ordinator |
The
MG Car Club has been organising motor sport since the 1930’s and
the Midland Centre also has a very long history of doing so.
Currently, we organise two speed events each year at the
Curborough Sprint Course, which is situated three or four miles
north of Lichfield in Staffordshire, just off theA38, near the
Fradley Industrial Estate. The Centre has recently celebrated
fifty years of running these successful meetings there.
MGCC
racing, sprints and hill climbs are well publicised in Safety
Fast Magazine.These
are speed events, often connected to championships for which More photos on our Facebook page HERE More Information on the pdf download HERE |
| Sporting Events - What is a Naviscat? ... | |
|
This
style of event involves plotting onto an Ordnance Survey
1:50000 scale map twenty or twenty-four clue-point locations
and then selecting a maximum of three quarters of them to
visit. They will likely be within a radius of eight to ten
miles of the start and the plotting will require an
understanding of basic navigation techniques such as grid
references, tulip diagrams, map symbols, spot heights or
herringbone diagrams.
More information HERE
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| Sporting Events - What is an AutoSolo? ... | |
|
'Autosolo' is a forward only version of an autotest ideal for unmodified road cars, they must be driven to the event and have an MOT, although this can vary depending on the regulations. The rules allow for a passenger as young as 12 and a driver aged 14, though not in the same car! MGCC members have an invitation from the Cannock and District Car Club to enter their events. If you want a fun day out then
visit http://www.cdcc.org.uk
or see them on Facebook. An ideal opportunity to exercise
your daily driver and still get to work on Monday morning.
Other events may be open to MGCC
members. Anyone interested in taking part in any of these events
should contact the Cannock & District Car Club directly.
Their website contains details of entry forms and regulations.
|
 Thanks to MGCC
Member Ian Webb for this summary which has previously been
printed in Safety fast Magazine.
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| Sporting Events - Young Members in Motorsport ... | |
|
It’s
been highly encouraging to learn that some of the Young
Members Branch recently obtained Clubman’s licences. The Midland Centre of the MGCC is registered with AWMMC, the Association of West Midlands Motor Clubs. This organisation acts as a forum and clearing house for regional motorsport, avoiding date clashes and providing publicity for all the affiliated clubs in the area.
The
AWMMC
website is a gold mine. It lists all its
affiliated members and their principle activities in motor
sport which makes hunting down a club event in your neck of
the woods pretty easy. You will find annual calendars,
regulations, entry forms; so pretty straight forward to
organise your weekend pursuits in which ever discipline takes
your fancy. The
MSUK rules for clubman events encourage the organising
club to invite up to 15 MSUK affiliated-clubs to
participate; this information can be found
in the regulations. |
A
quick scan through the clubs listed in your
geographic areawill reveal all sorts of sport which is
impossible to publish in Safety Fast
but nonetheless could be open to MGCC members.
If
the MGCC is not listed as an invited club you will likely
find that a call to the organisers will welcome the MGCC
and we will be added to the list, clubs don’t turn down
potential entries.
The
Midland Centre is keen to help the Young Members Branch
become involved in motor
sport, in whatever way it can, visit
the Midland Centre 'events'
page for up-to-date event listings, contacts and motor sport
opportunities.
As a way to encourage the younger drivers, all 'Under 21s' qualify for a discounted entry fee. |
| Sporting Events - Start Trials with a 'Taster Trial' event ... | Sporting
Events - Start as a Marshall... |
|
MSUK
encourage Taster events which are designed to whet the
appetite of novices for Clubman level competition. The Midland
Centre has organised an annual Taster Car Trial for several
years which has been
popular, a friendly all-inclusive low cost day out with your
daily driver, no special preparation needed.
More photos on our Facebook page HERE & HERE
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Another
way to get a feel for the many and varied disciplines is to
volunteer as a marshal, they are always in relatively short
supply and if it is your forte you will find yourself in
demand. Contact the chief
marshal
for the event to make yourself known.
Simon Morris - Sporting
Event and Marshal Co-ordinator |
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The MG Car Club Ltd - Midland Centre Registered Office: Kimber
House, Cemetery Road, Abingdon OX14 1AS.,
Click HERE to view the MG Car Club Privacy Policy |
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