MG Car Club
MG Trophy goes down to the wire
The MG Trophy Championship will once again being heading into Snetterton for the final two rounds of the season with the championship still to be decided. On the weekend of October 1st & 2nd, the 2016 season will draw to a close as one of two drivers will be crowned this year’s champion.
MG Trophy Co-ordinator Pete Macwaters said: “This will be the tenth year in succession the Trophy Championship has gone down to the wire, and Snetterton has been the scene of some exciting racing down the years – which only adds to the drama.
“This year we have two drivers in the running, both with a mathematical chance of taking the title. One of which is novice Will Payne who races in the 160 class and Lee Sullivan in the 170s.
“Payne has been the consistent winner in Class C but has competition from Paul Croker. Sullivan has also had some great results and he’s currently 19 points adrift in second place. It’s certainly going to spice things up a bit!”
All of the MG Car Club’s Championships will be ending their respected 2016 seasons at Snetterton in just over a weeks’ time. If you’d like to get tickets for the final round of racing, click here to be redirected to Snetterton Circuit’s website.
MG Trophy Oulton Park Report
The hope was that we could fill the OP grid with 34 cars, there were 32 already entered when I left for my holiday with the promise of two more to come. This unfortunately had slipped to 28 when I returned, however it’s a great total when I think back to 2006 when there were just 7 starters! Our average to date is 24.8 and that includes Mallory and Knockhill where we only had 20 cars. Once again John Woods Motorcare came up trumps and enjoyed the day so much that they have already confirmed their support for us in 2017. These rounds were filmed for later showing in our 4th ‘Motors TV’ programme. Words by Pete Macwaters, photos by Dickon Siddall.
Testing
There was testing available on the Friday but I was still in sunny Malta so these facts have been gleaned from Facebook. Mike Harris apparently had fun with a photo of his engine in bits spread around the paddock, a new head gasket was fitted along with a new cambelt and a repaired sensor wire. Richard Marsh had gearbox issues (again!) and Paul Bryson’s recurring coolant leak was finally sorted along with a replaced inlet manifold gasket. I’m sure there were other issues but surely the biggest disappointment was the lower rumblings from the Paul Luti 190 engine, a car we haven’t seen for a while and one we were hoping to see do battle with the 190 guys again. Playing safe, the decision was made to race his 170 car and a quick call to Dreadnought HQ was made early enough to get his regular mount down in time.
New Drivers
The only ‘new’ driver was Ryan Firth in his 170 and because #46 is very significant to him, friend Simon Byrne had agreed to let his number go to Ryan, Simon will use #4 for the rest of the season. We wish Ryan all the best in the Trophy championship.
Qualifying
All 28 cars were ready for the second qualifying session which started at 08:55 on a cloudy/dry morning. After just one lap Campbell’s new engine expired in a big way just as he came out of Deer Leap, Doug Cole was next up and he lost control on the resulting oil and did well to hold the slide but still made heavy contact with the barrier on the outside of the track just before Old Hall, this brought out the red flags to stop the session. The marshalls attended to the oil slick but at the restart at 09:08 just 10 minutes remained and the cars set off again as it started to rain with all the 190’s on slicks ! Luti took the initial lead with Marsh, Roberts, Robertson, Walker, Sullivan and Ross next up. Bray made a late call to come in and put wets on the back but only managed his out lap before the session was over which saw him down in 25th position. Luti held on to take the overall pole with Marsh and Roberts next in line, Robertson in 4th had the class A pole and Turnbull the class C pole in 8th place. With Firth and Doug Cole having not completed the required 3 laps this was going to be the most mixed up grid for some time ensuring two interesting races!
Race 1
The DC Motorsport team did really well to get the Cole car repaired in time for the last qualifying session of the day at 11:26, Firth also joined this session to post the mandatory 3 laps. Bray changed his alternator, Campbell was obviously out and and Jones joined him with a head full of bent valves leaving 26 cars to take the start at 12:37. Weather/Track : Rain/Wet.
Class A
Robertson was straight into second place from 4th on the grid and Ross was up to third (from 9th) at the end of lap 1, Burgess was the next class A car in 6th place.
Cole was already up to 9th from last on the grid and Bray came past in 11th both following visits to the escape road along with several other cars, Walker pulled off into the pits but rejoined a lap later. Robertson was into the lead on lap 2 Ross joining him in second place a lap later, these two circulated with Ross just 0.3s in arrears a couple of times. At the flag Robertson took the win by 0.56s from Ross, Burgess was in P3 until lap 6 when Bray, who had moved relentlessly through the pack, took 3rd spot. Cole snr also made up places hand over fist to finish in 5th behind Burgess, Perkins was the 6th class A car home (8th overall), Walker calling it a day after 6 laps.
Class B
Luti held his overall pole at the end of the first tour with Roberts and Sullivan next up in class B. Roberts was given a 10 second penalty for jumping the start and dropped back a place on lap 2 as Sullivan moved ahead. Several cars made trips via the escape road, both Marsh and Cole jnr moved ahead of Roberts on lap 6 as he had a moment and Coles demoted Roberts at the flag as the 10 second penalty was applied. Luti’s win was dominant being over 14secs ahead of second place man Sullivan.
Class C
Turnbull held his class pole to lead after the first lap but Croker was into the lead on lap 4, Turnbull, Payne and Picone next up. Despite cars in this class also visiting the escape road Croker excelled in the wet with a good tyre choice and took the win by almost 26 secs from Turnbull, Payne held 3rd to keep his championship hopes alive and Picone was 4th.
Fastest laps Class A was Robertson with a 2:07.847 on lap 9. Class B was Luti with a 2:10.314 on lap 4 and Class C, Croker on lap 7 with 2:23.339.
Driver of the Race – Paul Croker Race 2
The same 26 cars grided up at 17:56 for the last race of the day, Weather/Track: Cloudy/Drying. All the class A cars went out on wets and similarly classes B & C were predominantly the same bar Croker who took a gamble and ran the Direzza tyre on the front.
Class A
Ross was up to second overall from 7th on the grid by the end of lap one and first by lap 2 with just Luti (class B) separating him from Robertson in P3. The other class A cars were still several places behind due to the mixed up grid but Bray was already up to 8th and Cole snr 9th by the end of lap 2. Bray and Cole snr continued their march through the class B cars and by lap 5 were already in 5th and 6th overall. Burgess had a recurrence of his loss of power problem and called it a day after 5 laps leaving Perkins and Walker to fill the remaining class A places. Despite trying, Bray couldn’t get past Luti and finished 4th overall with Cole snr 5th as the race was halted at 18:11 with a class B car off in a dangerous position. Walker was flagged for mechanical failure as part of his exhaust fell off but was credited with 12th overall on countback.The drying track saw various drivers looking for the remaining wet spots to cool their tyres.
Class B
Luti held overall pole for just one lap as the class A cars took over the lead. The class B train of Luti, Cole jnr, Sullivan, Roberts and Marsh ran together until lap 5 when they got separated as the faster class A cars came through. Cole jnr had his best race for some time with some amazing moves at Old Hall, he did well to hold his nerve as the class A cars came through running at one time in front of Cole snr for part of a lap. The order remained the same and Luti took the shortened race win by just over 6 secs from Cole jnr.
Sullivan was 3rd, Roberts 4th and Marsh 5th.
Class C
Payne made the better start and was in front of class C pole sitter Turnbull by the end of lap 1 with Croker 3rd. Croker made his move on lap 3 to take second place and was into the lead on lap 5 as Payne had a spin off into the barrier but rejoined to hold second place. Further back Picone, Heasman, Bryson and Webber fought over the remaining places. Heasman was out on lap 6 with a broken drive shaft which put him off in a dangerous position and this brought out the red flags one lap later to finish the race early.
Croker took his second class C win but again Payne held on to second to bolster his championship hopes.
Fastest laps Class A was Robertson with a 2:04.252 on lap 6 , Class B, Luti 2:06.871 on lap 7 , Class C, Payne 2:14.817 on lap 7 .
Driver of the Race and Driver of the Day – James Cole
Oulton Park race report
With the summer break behind us, the MG Car Club arrived at a very wet Oulton Park for the penultimate round of 2016. We were pleased to be joined by the Sylatech Porsche Club Championship and Aero Racing Morgan Challenge once again. Despite the weather, everyone put on a great show for some spectacular racing performances. Report by Leanne Fahy, photos courtesy of Dickon Siddall.
MGCC MG Trophy Championship
Colin Robertson made light work of tricky conditions in the opening MG Trophy outing. Paul Luti led the way from pole position, however, Robertson soon caught the distinctive yellow MG ZR to replace him at the front.
A few dramas befell the MG Trophy paddock before the race. Problems with his race car and truck saw Luti forced to make some last minute changes, whilst others suffered problems during qualifying. An engine blow out for Rob Perkins sent Doug Cole into a spin, when oil on the track saw him lose grip.
With Robertson out in front during the race, Luti soon found himself under pressure from Graham Ross. Unable to fend off the charging 190 machine, Luti slipped to third for much of the outing.
Before long, Chris Bray entered the mix. Despite starting 25th on the grid, Bray managed to weave his way to a third place finish. Jason Burgess held on for a fourth place finish, ahead of Cole in fifth, who battled his way through the pack from the very back of the grid.
Luti landed in sixth place overall, to also claim Class B honours. Lee Sullivan followed Luti to second in class. Paul Croker was the man to beat in Class C, ahead of early class leader Matthew Turnbull and William Payne.
A red flag with just one minute 30 seconds left on the clock signalled an abrupt end to the final race of the day. It was Ross who claimed honours this time around, with Robertson close behind in second place.
Luti had led the way from pole position once again at the start, as fellow front row starter, Jack Roberts slotted in behind. Luti’s control soon came under threat, when Ross and Robertson quickly latched onto his tail.
Before too long, Ross had manoeuvred his way ahead. Robertson echoed his move shortly afterwards, to settle himself in second place.
Just before the race end, Chris Bray once again steered his way from the back of the grid to land in third place. Luti held on for fourth place, to secure a second Class B victory of the day, ahead of Doug Cole and James Cole. Croker claimed Class C honours, ahead of William Payne and Matthew Turnbull.
Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge
James Dunkley’s dominant performance ensured he stole the show in the sole MG Midget and Sprite Challenge race. Despite treacherous conditions, Dunkley’s MG Midget proved to be the car to beat.
With an eventual four second gap on his side, Dunkley claimed an unchallenged victory. Andy Southcott steered his way to second place, in what became a strong yet solitary result, ahead of Stephen Collier in third place.
Peter Kennerley held on for fourth overall and third in Class B, whilst Stephen Pegram and Richard Wildman completed the top six. John Collinson and Jon Simpson claimed Class E and D victories, respectively.
Dunkley’s victory was enough to secure him the championship lead.
MGCC Watt Electrical BCV8 Championship
James Wheeler and Neil Fowler swapped positions between qualifying and the race end, to crown Wheeler victorious. Fowler’s pole position swiftly came under threat when Wheeler set his sights on the lead.
After claiming control, Wheeler proceeded to launch to a 32 second advantage. Behind, Fowler battled the conditions to steer his way to a second place finish, with a comfortable gap to third placed man Ian Prior in his MGB GT V8.
Jonnie Wheeler and Russell McCarthy finished 4th and 5th, respectively, ahead of Andrew Young. Benjamin Tovey steered his way to a Class B victory, whilst Bob Luff was awarded top spot in Class AB.
MSCC Aero Racing Morgan Challenge
Russell Paterson claimed his first win of the season, in the sole Aero Racing Morgan Challenge outing, as son Elliot fell by the wayside.
A pole position start for Elliot gave him the immediate advantage he craved. However, as the race progressed, a spin onto the Foster’s circuit saw Elliot forced out of contention, as the lead was handed to father Russell.
Although he relinquished his lead, Elliot held on to claim a second place, ahead of Philip Goddard. Tim Parsons and Tony Hurst, followed, whilst Kevin Laidlaw completed the top six finishers.
MGCC Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup
Andrew Ashton triumphed ahead of Oli Hood in the sole MG Metro Cup pursuit. As the lights went out, it was Hood who claimed the better start to lead into Old Hall from second on the grid.
Despite his early advantage, Hood soon came under threat when Ashton launched an attack. As the MG Metros fired themselves around the challenging Oulton Park circuit, Ashton managed to find a gap alongside Hood, big enough to squeeze his racer into the lead.
Once in front, Ashton managed to stretch his advantage to just over five seconds. Behind Hood, Lee Connell completed the top three finishes, ahead of Richard Garrard and early front runner Dan Willars. Mark Eales completed the top six.
MGCC Cockshoot Cup
Ross Makar overcame a brief safety car period to secure Cockshoot Cup spoils. Hard work from the MG ZR driver in qualifying gave him the advantage he desired, as he stormed towards Old Hall ahead of his rivals.
Regardless of the brief interruption, Makar returned to form at the restart, to steer his way to an commanding victory.
Second place was awarded to Gary Wetton, who challenged Makar early on. Behind, the battle for third was a fierce pursuit, with Ashley Woodward eventually claiming the position, ahead of Ray Collier and David Coulthard.
Philip Standish had stood himself in good stead for a top three result, however after a side by side moment with Woodward he slipped back to sixth place.
MGCC Motoring Classics Thoroughbred Sportscar Championship
Neil Fowler dominated in his MGB GT V8, to walk away with his first win of the season. The chequered flag appeared slightly earlier than planned, as officials tried to reclaim lost time from the schedule. But after leading the way from the start, it was Fowler’s race.
Ian Prior trailed Fowler’s distinctive white machine for the duration, but as time ran out he was unable to dismantle Fowler’s advantage.
Russell McCarthy secured a third place finish, whilst the battle for fourth ignited a fire amongst the pack. Jim Bryan narrowly held on, despite the best efforts of his pursuer, Babak Farsian. The pair had raced mere inches apart for much of the outing, however settled into a steadier rhythm by race end.
Sylatech Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli
Mike Johnson claimed victory in the opening Porsche Club Championship race, to start their season finale in style.
A storming start from fourth on the grid saw Johnson use the wet conditions to his advantage, as he splashed his way around the outside into Old Hall, and into the lead.
From here, Pete Morris tried his utmost to distract Johnson from his incoming spoils, however was unable to make a difference. Despite this, Morris held on for a strong second place finish, ahead of Chris Dyer in third. Steve Cheetham collected Class 2 spoils, ahead of Andrew Toon and Jake McAleer.
Johnson returned to the victory circle in race two to claim his second win of the day, to end his season in victorious style.
As Johnson led the way once again, Morris followed, as Mark McAleer hassled him for position. As the pair circled, McAleer seized his opportunity to launch himself alongside and around his rival into Old Hall. A brave manoeuvre saw McAleer elevated into second place, where he stayed until the chequered flag came into sight.
Steve Cheetham doubled his success in the second race, to claim Class 2 honours once more. Ross Morris followed him home this time around, with Toon third.
With the 2016 championship going down to the wire, it was Toon who was crowned 2016 Porsche Club Championship champion.
Despite difficult conditions at times we sailed through the penultimate race meeting of the year, quite literally at times. Here’s hoping for better weather at Snetterton in a few weeks time. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for another great season finale.
Presenting the BMH classic 4 hour relay
The MG Car Club is pleased to announce that it will once again be hosting the annual BMH classic 4 hour relay race at the Snetterton 200 circuit on Sunday 2nd October.
Over the past 12 years, the classic endurance race has become very popular amongst competitors, with the event open to vehicles from all marques – not just MGs. Teams can be of one marque or a mixture of manufacturers.
Only 26 teams can enter with each one consisting of three to six drivers and an allocated garage. Cars that enter are not allowed to lap faster than 1minute 20 seconds, to control and limit performance differential.
There are both Scratch and Handicap results, with awards in capacity classes decided by the organisers and dependent on entries.
The Club will reinforce the sensible and clean driving it promotes throughout all of its motorsport activities so that everybody enjoys the race.
The entry fee for each team is just £875, and that can be split between six drivers, prior to September 2nd. After this date, the fee rises to £975. Team registrations are £200 and are open now to enable team managers to organise their entries.
Qualifying for the race will begin at11:30am on Sunday 2nd October, with the race starting at 2pm.
With a truly brilliant atmosphere every year, the Club is seeking drivers from all motoring marques to step forward and represent their Club for a chance to win the Club Team Shield award.
MG Car Club Competitions Secretary John Hutchison said: “We’re delighted to be holding the BMH 4 hour relay race at Snetterton once again, and we’re looking to build on the success of recent years.
“The race we organise is very unique and affordable for all vehicles that wish to enter – whether that’s three people or even six in each team. It’s a great day out, with a friendly atmosphere all around the circuit.”
Those who would like to take part but lack fellow competitors should contact John Hutchison, who will endeavour to assist with collating team entries.
For more information regarding the 4 hour relay race at Snetteron, and to apply through invitation, please contact John Hutchison on 01235 849738 or email johnh@mgcc.co.uk.
Jack Sears 1930 – 2016
It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of double champion and cherished member of the British Touring Car Championship community, Jack Sears.
‘Gentleman Jack’ has been a popular and important part of the BTCC right throughout its near 60 year history, having seen it evolve from the British Saloon Car Championship which he won in its inaugural year of 1958 and again in 1963.
In recent seasons MSA British Touring Car Championship rookies have challenged for the ‘Jack Sears Trophy’, with which Jack helped to nurture and support the next crop of BTCC stars, with current MG driver John Cook the current champion of the coveted prize.
Jack was present at MGLive! back in 2015, when the Club celebrated 60 years of competitions.
Everyone associated with the MG Car Club is saddened to hear the news of Jack’s passing, and would like to send their condolences to Jack’s family and friends at this difficult time.
The next Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event, which takes place this coming weekend at Knockhill (13/14 August), will be marked with a minute’s silence.