Barry ‘Sideways’ Sidery-Smith passes away

The MG Car Club is deeply saddened to hear the news that longtime member and racing driver Barry Sidery-Smith has passed away at the age of 81. Everyone associated with the Club would like to pass on their condolences to Barry’s family at this most difficult time.

Barry had been an MGCC stalwart for over 50 years running a local natter, serving as a South East Centre committee member for many years and was a joint founder of the BCV8 Championship which started in 1974.

He was most famous for his racing which he’d been taking part in since 1959, initially driving an Austin Healey 100/4 before he started racing MGBs in the 1970s before going on to acquire the 1965 ex-works, ex Paddy Hopkirk, Le Mans MGB DRX 255C, a car that Barry raced for a number of years.  As well as being renowned for his racing skill, he is well liked for his affable personality and for his generosity of spirit in helping others to get into the sport.

The following exert comes from Safety Fast! from May 2011 and was written by V8 Register Chairman Victor Smith.

“Barry Sidery-Smith’s life has been cars both as a well known MG trader with an uncanny knack for finding cars for fellow enthusiasts and as a very skilled motor racing competitor for over 50 years. Although known as “Sideways” to many, his racing style is, in fact, neat and quick, particularly in the wet. Barry’s interest in racing began as a boy when he helped out an amateur racing driver as his pit crew at race meetings. Barry had got chatting with him as he passed by on his paper round in Long Ditton and as soon as he was old enough to drive, talked the owner into letting him enter a race with the car, a Parker JAP Special. That uncanny knack has served Barry well over the years!  In 1959 Barry bought a Healey 100/4 and his first race was at Goodwood with another at Brands Hatch all over the same weekend. He went on to race Healeys and TRs for many years until his first association with MGs when he bought and raced a former works MGB – 94 HJJ – in 1970.

On returning from National Service with the East Surrey Regiment in 1955, Barry joined his father running a successful small car hire and trading business in Surbiton near Kingston in Surrey. Barry had wanted to go into the REME so he would be involved in vehicles but as was frequently the case he was disappointed – instead he was packed off to an infantry regiment and posted to Germany. Nevertheless, he ended up running the motor transport section. But it was not all cars – Barry was a keen and able football player for many years. He trialled with Fulham and Queens Park Rangers and often played three times a week for various teams – the Surrey County team, the Old Kingstonians or a local team in Molsey.

Barry can reflect on many high points over a long motor racing career – racing in the early 1970s in the popular BRSCC Prodsports series in his semi-works MGB JYH 770 D with the TVRs, competing in the BCV8 Club events with the ex-Colin Cork and John Carter MGB prepared by Gerry Brown and supported by Brown & Gammons and participating in the annual classic car race meetings on European circuits like Zolder, Zandvoort and Spa-Francorchamps with the generous support of DAF. Barry is particularly proud of a Francorchamps trophy he received in 1980 for finishing third overall against some very powerful machinery in a race which suffered torrential rain throughout. Yet again the combination of the MGB handling and Barry’s skill of racing in the wet brought success and a presentation from Fangio who had come over at the invitation of the Belgian Automobile Racing Club to open the shorter 4.5-mile circuit for its first event. Barry has played a major part in taking a party of historic cars there each year since.

Another magical moment for Barry was taking his ex-Le Mans MGB to the 24 Heures du Mans in 2002 for a supporting eight lap Motor Racing Legends race before the main event starting later that Saturday afternoon. “It was a phenomenal experience thundering around that 8-mile circuit racing against a pre-1966 field of E-Types, Astons, Ferraris, Maseratis, Jaguar C and D-Types and of course Cobras. It was a race, not a parade as in earlier years, where the MGB touched almost 135mph at points around the Sarthe. Andrew Hedges, the driver who had raced the car with Paddy Hopkirk to a second in class and 11^th overall in 1965, came into the pits to say hello and talk about the car.” Back in 1965, the car had a special nose for the Le Mans race which had to be removed for other races each season and was stored with Syd Enever. Barry says it has vanished after it was sold to the late Bill Nicholson and went to one of his customers.

Later Barry entered his Le Mans MGB for the 24-hour Classic Le Mans events and in 2002 met with an uncharacteristic accident when during a night session he was pounding down to Indianapolis from Arnage with a gaggle of cars ahead. A car clipped the edge of the track where there is a slight kink on the circuit and wobbled causing an E-Type on its tail to brake heavily and end up stationary across the circuit. Barry hit it broadside on and instinctively in a half daze turned off the ignition to avoid a fuel fire. Sitting there in pain his mind thought “without lights the next gaggle that came through Arnage in the pitch dark would see nothing of the accident until they are on top of us!” So he heaved himself out of the car and ran leaping over the Armco barrier into the trees – and passed out. He came round thinking he was in heaven with a buxom French lady marshal over him assessing his injuries – a broken sternum and more. The strong MGB structure had been his saviour. He was taken off in an ambulance for treatment and then taken home by Dr Rod Longton and others on a double bed in a motorhome. Julius Thurgood organised a campaign and raised £20,000 generously donated by supporters so the car could be rebuilt by Surrey Sports Cars at Ripley with support from the BMH Body Plant at Witney. Then with new aluminium wings found in Germany, it was back at the Classic Le Mans event in 2004.

The Goodwood Revival has been a favourite meeting for Barry – in recent years he raced Steve Dixon’s Le Mans MGA and then his Le Mans MGB in the Fordwater Trophy in a race with Stirling Moss who was driving the ex-Pat Moss Sebring Sprite. Meeting Barry was an enjoyable opportunity to learn more of a welcoming and most amusing Club personality with a passion for the marque and racing MGBs.”

#MGTrophyBigGrid Silverstone Review

MG Trophy Championship coordinator Pete Macwaters has put together the following review from the third round of the Championship that took place on the 17th & 18th June at Silverstone Circuit.

This was billed as #MGTrophyBigGrid and thanks to those who really helped to make this a very special event for me, you know who you are and you didn’t disappoint! I initially set a target of 40 cars but this soon looked too easy with 45 entered at one point and a few more that would have liked to attend but couldn’t for various reasons. 50 could have been possible, maybe next year what about #MGTrophyBigGrid2018? Considering the disaster we had at Brands to get 8 cars re-shelled in time was brilliant work by many of you, good job we had the 7-week gap! Welcome to new drivers Rob Griffiths and Sam Johnston, and guests Andy Mollison, Danie Van Niekerk, Alastair Rushforth, Julia Penfold, Dan Surridge and Jake Fraser-Burns.

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Photos courtesy of Dickon Siddall.

Testing

There was the usual test day on Friday and I counted 22 Trophy ZR’s on track at some point during the day. It was a very hot day with two 45 minute sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon, no times were noted due to the change in circuit configuration between the Friday and the race weekend, this caught a few drivers out and I usually remember to mention this, sorry. Excitement, if that’s the word, was there from the get-go with Ross Makar’s car on fire at Club in the first session due to an oil leak, the 4G team did a good job to get the car cleaned up and it was apparently none the worse for its fiery escapade! The Preptech team changed the exhaust on the Butler car due to a collapsed cat, not the first time we’ve had this happen. Gary Wetton’s rebuilt car was having the last details finished off, decals delivered courtesy of our supplier, driver Graham Ross, of “Write-on Sign & Display”. Newcomer Sam Johnston was having cooling issues (as were we all on this very hot day!). Andy Firth made a mess of his car as he introduced it to the tyre wall but set to in good spirits to get it straight again. The 4G team found the fire had caused more problems than originally anticipated and had to replace the front left damper.

Qualifying

In the end, 42 cars made it onto the track at 10:33 for the slightly earlier 4th qualifying session of the day. The early pole sitter was Wetton followed by Butler, Mollison, Roberts, Coles, Byrne and Hood. At the half way point, the order was Ross, Burgess, Roberts, Wetton, Luti, Mollison. Burgess then went top with Ross, Robertson, Wetton, Cole, Luti and Mollison next up. Ross & Burgess swapped places at the top and after the 8 laps, the order was Burgess with a 2:26.486, Ross, Robertson and Cole (D) the 190 cars taking the top 7 places as expected. The top 170 class cars were Luti, Mollison and Roberts and the 160 class was headed by championship leader Turnbull with Spencer and Croker next in line. The #164 two driver car saw Penfold out first before a quick driver change to allow Surridge to do his mandatory 3 laps. Johnston didn’t complete his 3 laps due to a buzzed engine, the head was changed and he qualified out of session on Sunday morning. I spotted a few familiar faces changing the engine on the Fraser-Burns car. The 4G team decided to replace the wiring loom following the earlier fire on the Makar car due to a disappointing performance. Ross replaced his oil filter housing having discovered a crack.

Race 1

The Saturday race commenced at 15:20 just 5 minutes adrift of the timetable, conditions reported as bright/dry. 41 cars started the race, Johnston sitting it out until he could qualify tomorrow.

Class A

Pole sitter Burgess had a poor start and lost several places as Ross stormed into the lead from the inside of the front row, at the end of the first lap he was already over 3 seconds ahead of the 2nd place man Robertson with Makar already up to 3rd, Wetton 4th, Walker 5th and Cole down in 6th. Burgess started his recovery and was up to 5th at the end of his 2nd tour and 4th by lap 4 as Ross’s lead extended to 4.7s.

Cole retired on his 4th tour with gear linkage issues. Ross continued to increase his lead his car going better than ever, two laps from the end he was 5.4s in front of Robertson when he hit oil at Copse dropping him back to 2nd gifting the lead to fellow countryman Robertson who was missed by the Chief Flag at the race end but soon discovered the race was indeed over. Ross reluctantly accepted 2nd and the recovering Burgess got his just rewards with 3rd after clinching the fastest lap. Wetton claimed 4th just 0.7s ahead of Makar.

Class B

Class B pole sitter Luti lead the pack of 24 cars into Copse and held his lead despite enormous pressure from Rogerson and Roberts, Mollison and Van Niekerk not far behind. Butler who had been running in 7th was out on his 2nd tour with no brakes. Byrne was out with a blown engine on his 4th tour. The order at the halfway stage had changed with Hood joining the train in 5th slotting in between Mollison and Van Niekerk. Rushforth was out on lap 6 at Brooklands with a blown engine and Fraser-Burns a lap later with the same. The top 3 held station as Hood took another place on the last lap to clinch 4th as he passed Mollison, Van Niekerk calling it a day on lap 8.

Class C

Spencer made a good start to lead pole man Turnbull on their first tour and held onto the class C lead for 7 laps but championship leader Turnbull made his move on lap 8 to take the lead and the race win by just 0.3s. Behind them, Cruttenden and Croker swapped places several times in a tightly fought race for 3rd this eventually going to Croker with Cruttenden taking 4th and Jones 5th. Newcomer Griffiths was out at the Loop after completing 5 laps.

Fastest laps Class A was Burgess with a 2:27.061 on lap 4. Class B was Mollison with a 2:32.939 on lap 3 and Class C, Turnbull on lap 5 with 2:39.964.

Driver of the Race & Driver of the Day Paul Luti.

Overnight, Wetton replaced his fuel pump and Marsh did the same. Doug Cole’s problems were due to gear linkage issues which were rectified. On Sunday morning, Johnston qualified out of session so was able to start his first ever race.

Race 2

With Byrne and Fraser-Burns not able to race but with Johnston added, 40 cars took the Sunday race start at a slightly later time of 12.50. Conditions noted as bright/dry.

Class A

Pole sitter Ross made another good start with Robertson in close contention. Burgess was left stranded on the grid as the rest of the pack drove around the stationary car. At the end of lap 1, Cole, Makar, Wetton and Walker filled the remaining class A places. Lap 2 saw Robertson in trouble as he dropped back to 5th, his race over a lap later. A stricken class B car at the Wing brought out the safety car for two laps leaving a three lap dash to the flag. Cole got to within 0.2s of Ross but Ross held on to take the win he should have had in race 1, Cole taking 2nd, Makar 3rd.

Class B

Rushforth drove into the pit lane at the end of the green flag lap electing to start from the back. Payne was pushed off the grid with drive shaft failure. Mollison’s class B pole evaporated as Rogerson, Luti, Roberts and Jackson led the field. Rushforth and Butler joined the retirees on their third tour. Butler’s predicament at the Wing brought the safety car out which slowed down proceedings. At the restart the order was still the same but Hood joined the five car train and at one point was up to 2nd. Van Niekerk faltered on the last lap with fuel pump problems dropping back from 5th place. A fantastic recovery drive by Mollison saw him take 3rd at the flag behind Rogerson and Luti, Hood 4th, Jackson 5th.

Class C

Spencer made the better start from the class C front row and at the end of the first lap just lead Turnbull, Booth, Croker and Jones next in line. As the safety car intervened Ballard had worked his way up to 5th. Lap 7 saw the demise of Jones and Heasman, at the flag Spencer took a well deserved first class win with Turnbull less than half a second behind. Croker held on to 3rd, Booth and Ballard rounding out the top 5.

Fastest laps Class A was Ross 2:27.585 on lap 8, Class B, Van Niekerk 2:33.595 on lap 7, Class C, Turnbull 2:38.825 on lap 2.

Driver of the Race Andrew Rogerson

MGLive! 2017 Silverstone Race Report

MGLive! came and went in the blink of eye, but what a weekend it was. With 16 races, over 300 drivers, and a mixture of 10 different championships and series’, it was a spectacular weekend, both on and off circuit. Report by Leanne Fahy.

Equipe GTS

With a sizeable entry for the Equipe GTS Series, once again drivers were separated into two races, Group A and Group B. Group B was the first to race, with pole-sitter Graham Pattle taking honours.

Pattle’s pole position pace was certainly reflected in the 30-minute mini endurance, as he steered his way to a commanding victory.

Behind, Rob Cobden had looked strong for a second place finish, however, a determined Ross Milner elevated himself to second place on the final lap.A mid-race roll from Paul Whiting raised cause for concern, however as he jumped out of his slightly battered MGB Roadster, the race resumed without issue.

David Russell-Wilks provided an outstanding performance, to race his way from 28th place on the grid to a strong fifth place finish.

Pattle recovered from a steady getaway to reclaim top spot in race two. His pole position start didn’t quite give him the launch he desired, however after an impressive recovery drive, he was ahead to steal the win by over 19 seconds.

From second place, Milner tried his best to hold onto Pattle’s coat tails, but after a mid-race-spin, he suddenly slipped to third place.

In his wake, Babak Farsian was in a prime position to take second place, which he held until the very end. Luke Spencer steered his MGB Roadster to a third-place finish, ahead of Milner, Richard McKoen and Oliver Friend, from the back of the grid.

The opening Group A race saw Mark Cole sign his name to the spoils, after a commanding lights to flag performance. Although sat with the upper hand firmly in his grasp, Cole was hounded throughout by Rod Begbie. By way of a fastest lap, Begbie reduced the 2.4-second deficit, to finish just 1.8 seconds adrift.

After seemingly struggling, regular front runner Tom Smith steered his way to third place, ahead of Wilf Penrose, Simon Cripps and Brian Arculus. Mark Cole was another double winner, after a commanding performance in race two. Finishing some nine seconds ahead, Cole’s race was unchallenged from start to finish.

Although Cole’s race was slightly uneventful, the same cannot be said for the rest of the field. Starting with second place, Begbie slotted into position, with Penrose and Smith hot on his heels. However, as the latter pair battled, Begbie was able to enjoy a bit of breathing space.

Separated by less than half a second for much of the race gave Smith the chance to make a bid for third place. After passing Penrose, Smith set his sights on Begbie’s second place, which he claimed in time for the chequered flag.

Penrose held on for a third-place finish, whilst Begbie slipped to fourth. After sailing through the field at a rate of knots from the back of the grid, Rob Cull eventually landed in fifth place. Behind, Brian Arculus won a fiercely entertaining tussle with Andrew Bentley to claim sixth, after the pair toured millimetres apart.

MGCC BCV8 Championship with MGCC Cockshoot Cup

Rob Spencer claimed a victorious start to his MGLive! weekend, with a commanding BCV8 Championship win in race one, and Driver of the Race. After an early safety car period, to rescue the stricken MG Midget of Ian Whitt, Spencer held on for a dominant victory.

Behind, Russell McCarthy’s MGB GT V8 filled Spencer’s mirrors, determined to muscle his way ahead, with Ian Prior in towUnable to distract the leader, both McCarthy and Prior held on for a second and third place finish, respectively.

Championship leader Neil Fowler disappeared on the formation lap, leaving him unable to defend his championship campaign. Race two was slightly more eventful, with Russell McCarthy enjoying a triumphant finish this time around.

It was a familiar sight at the front early on, when Spencer, McCarthy and Prior mirrored their race one performance.

With the top two emulating one another’s speed, lap after lap, it was difficult to find a gap between them. Before too long, McCarthy managed to edge ahead, however Spencer did fight back to lead once again, albeit briefly before a mishap dropped him to fourth place.

In his absence, an outstanding start from the back of the grid saw Jonnie Wheeler race his way to an eventual second place finish, much to his delight. Wheeler was sitting comfortably in fourth place after the opening laps before perfect opportunistic manoeuvres launched him into the runner-up spot.

Prior managed to avoid the chaos around him to cement another third place finish, whilst Spencer crawled into the pits on the final lap, to take the flag and fourth place in the pit lane. Our commentary team awarded the Driver of the Race award to Spencer McCarthy.

Ashley Woodward narrowly claimed a Cockshoot Cup victory in the opening outing, as he and Ray Collier raced their way through a challenging pack.

After seizing pole position, Collier led the way, hounded by Woodward lap after lap. As the pair navigated their way through backmarkers, it was Woodward who exited with the upper hand, to steal control in the dying seconds.

Howard Hunt steered his way to third place, ahead of Jonathan Harker, Mike Peters and Peter Burchill. Although he missed out on the race win, Collier was awarded Driver of the Race.

Collier doubled his success, with an untroubled race win in the second appearance. Woodward had followed him in second place for much of the outing, however not as closely as during race one. As Woodward’s MG ZS suddenly slowed, he was forced to vacate his second place, with Howard Hunt in prime position to collect it.

A good race from Peter Burchill saw him claim third place, whilst Woodward eventually crossed the line in sixth.

Millers Oils MG Trophy Championship

Colin Robertson triumphed in the opening MG Trophy Championship race, from a record 42-car grid.

In a bid to make Pete Macwaters’, MG Trophy Championship Co-ordinator, final season in charge a memorable one, the club and drivers worked tirelessly to ensure a record entry for this weekend. Together with many of the regular competitors, it was great to see a number of familiar faces returning, as well as some new drivers, one of which travelled all the way from South Africa.

As the race began, it was Graham Ross who jumped into the lead, as pole sitter Jason Burgess fell by the wayside. Behind Ross, it was Colin Robertson and Ross Makar, as the Scottish trio set the pace.

Ross’ lead was suddenly disrupted, evaporating into Robertson’s hands. Oil on the circuit caught Ross off guard, handing position to Robertson. Once in control, Robertson held on for race victory, even completing an extra lap when officials missed him with the chequered flag.

Despite narrowly missing out, Ross finished second, ahead of the recovering Burgess in third, Gary Wetton in fourth place and Ross Makar in fifth place.

Class B was a hive of activity as ever, with Paul Luti once again at the helm. As he raced towards the chequered flag, he was hounded profusely by chief rivals Andrew Rogerson and Jack Roberts. Before long, Andy Mollison made it a four-way scrap, with Luti forced to work hard in the searing heat.

Despite fierce pressure in the form of a three-car train, Luti finished ahead of Rogerson, Roberts and Oli Hood. Luti was also awarded the Driver of the Race and Driver of the Day awards.

Matthew Turnbull added to his class victory tally with Class C honours in race one, ahead of Andy Spencer and Paul Croker. Spencer narrowly missed out on a class win, finishing just 0.3 seconds adrift of Turnbull.

Ross’ determination paid off the second time around, as he crossed the line to take the win, in what was an eventful outing.

As the 41 car field thundered towards Copse for the first time, a problem for Will Payne saw him left behind, unable to get away. Luckily missed by those behind him, officials quickly pushed him back into the pit lane, before the pack completed lap one.

Back at the front, Ross held onto his lead for the 20-minute duration, challenged by Robertson, Cole, Makar and Wetton, whilst Rogerson led a 14 car train in Class B.

As Robertson toured he suddenly began to slow, before dropping down the order. Despite managing to carry on for a short while, he was eventually forced into the pit lane and out of the race. Upon closer inspection, it was found Robertson’s MG ZR had dropped to two cylinders, a fault that appeared in the first race. Although it rectified itself in race one, it was a terminal issue second time around.

With a clear space between him and Ross, Cole slotted into second place, whilst Makar aligned himself third and Wetton in fourth place.

As the race entered the final 10 minutes, an unexpected safety car appeared, simmering the pace for a number of laps. With stricken cars rescued from the sidelines, the race resumed, for just two final laps.

With Class A decided, all eyes were on Class B, as Rogerson continued to lead from Luti and Roberts. With just two laps to settle the battle, it was a frantic dash to the flag. Despite Luti’s best efforts, Rogerson claimed the win this time around, with Luti second, Andy Mollison third and Hood fourth. Driver of the Race was awarded to Rogerson.

Andy Spencer was crowned victorious in Class C, narrowly ahead of Turnbull, whilst Paul Croker collected third place, and Tylor Ballard finished an impressive fourth.

MGCC Iconic 50s Series

Steve Watton claimed Iconic 50’s honours just millimetres away from Jonathan Abecassis, in a furious last lap thriller.

Abecassis had led the way early on, but lost out to Watton as the end neared. Determined to reclaim his position, Abecassis fought profusely to the bitter end. Although he missed out on the race win, Abecassis did enough to be awarded Driver of the Race from our commentary duo.

Neil Cawthorn steered to a third place finish, ahead of Scott Quattlebaum, Robi Bernberg and Pal Kennelly.

MGCC Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprites Challenge

Stephen Collier won the sole MG Midget and Sprite Challenge outing, after a sombre end to the day. After gaining the lead early on, Collier remained in front, despite the race ending behind the safety car.

As the 26 car field lapped towards the chequered flag, the safety car made a brief appearance. With limited time left, the chequered flag was waved, as the train followed the safety car, to end what had been an exciting outing.

Unable to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre, Stephen Watkins claimed second place, ahead of early second placed man Ed Reeve, Paul Campfield and Andy Southcott.

Radical Challenge Championship

Bradley Smith raced to an unchallenged victory in the opening 20-minute Radical Challenge sprint, much to the dismay of his rivals. A pole position start gave him the advantage he desired, to lead the way into Copse corner for the first time.

After extending his grasp lap after lap, the chequered flag fell to crown him victorious, some six seconds ahead of nearest challenger, Jack Lang. Oliver Barker, Danny Keirle, Steve Burgess and Richard Baxter completed the top six.

Smith emulated his performance in the second 20-minute sprint, with another dominant race win, by over five seconds. Lang had looked set to steal second place once again, but chased by Keirle this time around meant it wouldn’t be as easy.

The pair lapped just inches away from one another before Keirle managed to move ahead. Lang held onto third place until a late mishap saw him land in the gravel trap and out of the race. In his absence, Barker collected third place, whilst Burgess, Dominik Jackson and Jack Manchester rounded out the top six.

Smith tripled his weekend’s successes in the 40-minute pit stop race, to claim victory in as many races. The first half saw Smith hounded this time around, as Keirle followed his every move. As the fuel levels reduced, the lap times increased, allowing Smith to edge to a 2.3-second advantage.

Following the mandatory pit stops, Smith managed to regain his lead, to finish over 18 seconds ahead of Barker. It was a somewhat solitary end to the race for the top few, with Jackson third and Lang fourth. Stuart Maloney finished just over two seconds adrift of Lang, with Kristian Jeffrey sixth.

Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars

Henry Mann dominated the hour long Pre-66 Touring Car outing, to finish over eight seconds ahead of nearest challenger Chris Beighton.

A front row start gave Mann the perfect advantage, as he directed the way into Copse for the first time. As he led, pole sitter Steve Soper slotted into second place aboard his Lotus Cortina. With the top two very much in control, Beighton made third place his own.

As the mandatory pit stops came into play, the order reshuffled itself slightly, however, Mann managed to hold his ground at the head of the field.

As Soper made his pit stop, a frantic effort by the team discovered an issue. A broken differential meant his race was run after just 12 laps. As his Cortina was pushed back into the garage, it left a gap for Beighton’s Ford Mustang to slot into.

With Ford Mustangs confirmed in the top two positions, it was John Spiers in his Lotus Cortina who claimed third place. Despite a 24 second penalty for a pit stop infringement, Martin Strommen finished fourth, ahead of Graeme Langford and Alex Thistlethwayte.

The Petro-Canada Lubrications Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli

It was a double McAleer victory in the opening Porsche Club Championship outing, with father Mark and son Jake each winning their respective classes.

Sole invitation class entrant, and British GT regular, Nick Jones, started at the head of the pack on his own. Given the speed difference of his Porsche Cayman GT4 to that of the rest of the field, his pole position launch saw him given a 20-second head start.

With Jones enjoying his own race, behind it was McAleer who was forced to defend. Kevin Harrison made himself known throughout, to eventually finish just 0.5 seconds behind McAleer.

Mark Sumpter had held third place for much of the 25-minute race, however, when Craig Wilkins spied a Porsche 996 sized gap alongside him, it quickly elevated him above Sumpter for third place.

As Jones travelled to an unchallenged victory on the road, it was McAleer who crossed the line to take the win and championship points, despite an apparent mid-race slump.

Class 2 was either going to go in favour of Jake McAleer or Steve Cheetham. However, as the pair battled, it was Jake who grasped the upper hand, as Cheetham collected second place.

Although Jones steered to invitational class honours on the road once again, it was Mark McAleer who claimed victory in terms of the championship.

McAleer was able to enjoy breathing space this time around, to finish over two seconds ahead of nearest challenger, Sumpter. Sumpter’s race, however, was far from easy.

As Sumpter circled, he was forced to defend his second place from Harrison, Wilkins, Dyer and Gary Duckman for the duration. Drama hit on the final lap when a collision between Harrison and Sumpter saw the latter slip to sixth place. Dyer was promoted to second place, ahead of a recovering Sumpter, Wilkins and Harrison.

It was a McAleer clean sweep again, as Jake scored another Class 2 triumph, ahead of Cheetham once again.

With fantastic racing and perfect weather, the weekend couldn’t have been any better. A huge thank you to everyone at the MG Car Club, for putting on yet another spectacular event, and of course to all drivers and teams for providing the high-speed entertainment trackside. We look forward to seeing most of you at Cadwell Park on 22nd July.

Largest EVER MG Trophy grid expected for MGLive!

The Millers Oils MG Trophy Championship is on course to set a new grid record at MGLive! as they welcome 45 cars to the home of British motorsport, Silverstone, on June 17th & 18th.

This will be the biggest grid the Championship has ever had since it began back in 1995 as the ‘Dunlop Rover Trophy Cup’.

Current racers have been promoting the event as the #MGTrophyBigGrid across social media, something which has directly influenced the high number of entries. Spectators coming to MGLive! will be pleased to hear the Championship will be racing on both days, giving those coming the chance of watching history unfold.

Pete Macwaters, the MG Trophy coordinator, has been the main reason behind the Trophy’s success, presenting drivers young and old with the opportunity of racing in an exciting and affordable Championship. MGLive! will mark 10 years since Macwaters began his role as coordinator, in a Championship that has come on leaps and bounds since 2007, when the Championship had just 26 cars on the grid for the event that year.

Macwaters said: “To have so many cars lined up is an incredible achievement and something everyone involved is incredibly proud of.

“In all my years of working in the Championship, I never thought we’d manage to get a grid this big, but hard work has paid off and we’re all delighted. We hope spectators enjoy the racing as much as we will.”

The Millers Oils MG Trophy Championship has given many aspiring drivers the chance of breaking into motorsport, including the likes of Jack Goff who has been racing in the British Touring Car Championship since 2013. Jack will also be at MGLive! this year, appearing in a special one-off BTCC Q&A alongside former MG BTCC driver Sam Tordoff and the recently returned Josh Cook.

With 45 cars confirmed, the Championship doesn’t want to stop there. More cars are rumoured to be on the horizon, meaning a half-century of cars lining up isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for next weekend. The MG Trophy Championship’s sponsor for the weekend is Millers Oils, and you can find out more about what products they can offer for your car by visiting their website. For more information on the MG Trophy Championship, please visit their website.

MG Trophy Brands Hatch highlights now online

Round two highlights of the MG Trophy Championship from Brands Hatch are now online and can be watched on the YouTube link above.

The highlights come courtesy of Digitex TV and Motorsport.tv – the rebranded version of Motors TV. The channel shows highlights of motorsport from around the world and once again in 2017, they’ll be broadcasting the MG Car Club’s MG Trophy Championship and Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup. The two Championships compete at a variety of circuits throughout the UK, and Motorsport.tv will be the only place to see exclusive highlights of each round.

Motorsport.tv is available on Sky TV channel 447 and Virgin Media channel 545.

Below is the MG Trophy Championship Round 2 report from Brands Hatch on Saturday 29th April & Sunday 30th April courtesy of Leanne Fahy.

“A red flag ended the action earlier than planned in the first MG Trophy adventure. Despite an abrupt end, Ross Makar managed to fight his way to the head of the pack, to claim victory, and Driver of the Race.

A front row placing left Makar wheel spinning at the start, as the field surrounded him into Paddock Hill Bend. Despite this, he managed to weave his way ahead of the pack, as he pulled out quite a distance.

Pole sitter Jason Burgess fell foul of a spin at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend. Despite leading the way at the start of lap one, he was sent into a pirouette. As the field swept by, his MGZR remained in one piece, as he rejoined unscathed at the back of the pack.

Doug Cole led the way early on, however hounded by gearbox issues, he was unable to defend his position from the charging Makar. With Makar disappearing into the distance, Cole was forced to battle Gary Wetton, with the latter eventually finishing slightly ahead.

Class B was a hive of activity, with Paul Luti, Andrew Rogerson and Jack Roberts nose to tail for the duration. Rogerson led the way early on, but after much deliberation, Luti managed to sneak ahead. With his mirrors filled by Rogerson’s MGZR, Luti had his work cut out, but as a sudden red flag flew, his advantage was confirmed.

As three cars simultaneously left the circuit at various points, the red flag was thrown, deeming each to be in dangerous positions. With less than four minutes to go, the result was called, crowning Makar, Luti and Matthew Turnbull as class winners.

An eventful start saw race two red flagged before it barely began. An 11-car coming together at the top of Paddock Hill Bend saw the race immediately stopped, as cars were scattered across the track.

Giving officials the chance to clear the circuit, the race was restarted somewhat later, albeit sadly missing nine cars. Tom Butler and championship leader Turnbull were the only drivers able to take the restart after being caught up in the incident.

With the grid reformed, it was pole-sitter Burgess who secured the best launch, Makar settled in behind. By way of a series of fastest laps, Makar piled on the pressure, determined to match his race one winning performance.

As the pair lapped, a coming together with a backmarker saw Burgess caught out, as Makar sailed passed. With just minutes left on the clock, Burgess’ determination saw  him make the most of an MGZR sized gap beside Makar, to reclaim the lead, and seal the race win.

Doug Cole steered to a somewhat lonely third place finish, whilst fourth place was awarded to Class B winner, and Driver of the Race Jack Roberts.

Luti had led Class B early on, however once Roberts leapt ahead, Luti was unable to reclaim his position, with the pair separated by just 0.121 seconds by race end.

Championship leader, Turnbull turned his luck around and doubled his success, with another Class C victory, ahead of Andy Spencer and John Booth.”