Australian MGA to race with the MGCC

The MG Car Club’s Iconic 50s Series is set to boast extra international flavour over the next two seasons, with the news that Australian Dave Godwin has shipped his MGA racer all the way from Down Under so he can compete in the UK.

Having only just completed his National B race licence at Brands Hatch on April 17, Dave will return to the Kent circuit with the MG Car Club on April 28-29 and hopes to make regular appearances on track in 2018 and 2019.

Affectionately known as ‘the Birdcage A’, the car is well known as one of the most successful racing MGAs in Australia.  Dave became the car’s fourth owner in 2006, with it already having spent the best part of 25 years as a front-running race car.

Starting life in 1958 as an Australian-assembled Monza Red 1500cc example, the car was stripped out for racing in the early ‘80s and fitted with a 1600cc motor by Sydney-based Malcolm Smith. Its nickname came from a notable motoring journalist; not because of its similarity to a Maserati Birdcage, but because it was so filthy inside at the time!

Malcolm was the ringleader of a group of eight cars that made up the ‘MGA Mafia’ – all Australian built and raced together. One of these cars is owned by Englishman Richard Line, who now races it in the UK after importing it, and it was this that would lead Dave to ship the Birdcage A over.

Recounting the tale, Dave said: “I was at Brands watching Richard race his MGA three years ago. I joked that he wasn’t trying hard enough as he couldn’t get past a DB2, and he responded with ‘bring your Birdcage over and see if you can do any better’. So it’s all a bit of fun.”

Dave and Richard will race together at Oulton Park in May, with the strong Iconic 50s grids at Brands set to be the perfect warm-up. And having managed to negotiate Australia, China, Africa, South America, Russia and just about all of Europe in his road-going 1961 MGA, we’re sure Dave will have no problems with the Kent venue’s 1.2-mile Indy layout!