It was a fine spring day in the field opposite Claverham Court Farm (thanks go to George Atwell for permission to use the field), where we have held our auto tests on grass for many years. We had ten competitors signed on by the time of the drivers briefing, with six from the MG Car Club SW centre and three from Bristol Pegasus Motor Club (BPMC) and one from Minehead Motor Club (MMC).
As an introduction to Bruce’s involvement in the MGCC, Dave Mothersdill paid a fitting tribute to Bruce at the start of the drivers briefing.
There were 4 tests laid out in the field, Test 1 was a long test, follow the cones but don’t hit any! Test 2 was a shorter test with two laps and some tight turns. Test 3 was a special test using the initials of BW (see the photo at the top of the page taken after the event) which caught a few competitors out as the turns were tight (especially in my MGF which doesn’t have the best turning circle, or understeer/oversteer depending on how it feels!). Test 4 was a simple cloverleaf with for cones in a square in the middle and four outlying cones. From the start through the square and turn right, around the outlier and back through the square at right angles to the first pass through etc. (again I had terrific understeer in the MGF and on wet grass at the start).
Each test was attempted four times with the worst time (or wrong test) discarded and the times for the other three attempts added to give an overall score.
As there were only 10 entrants, the competitors were split into two classes,
Class 1 MGCC and Class 2 Other Clubs.
At the end of the first 4 attempts lunch break was called and the scores cards were collected and totalled and the provisional results were then announced.
The Overall Fastest Time Of The Day (FTD) was Jim Karthauser (BPMC) driving a Daihatsu Siron Rally
1st in Class 1 (MGCC) was Ben Delafield in his dad John’s MG Midget
2nd in Class 1 (MGCC) was John Delafield in his MG Midget
1st in Class 2 (Other Clubs) was Clive Rayson (MMC) in his Caterham
2nd in Class 2 (Other Clubs) was Mike Karthauser in the Daihatsu Siron Rally
The full results are available on the Results Page of the website at this link.
In the afternoon, Test 1 was used for a knockout competition where a pair of drivers, seeded from the morning results went head to head, time wise with the fastest time going through to the next round. The eventual winner was again Ben Delafield beating his dad John into second place.
Carole Brown Photography took photos of the event and she has posted some on her website at the following link https://carolebrown.co.uk/mgccswbwmem/
The page is password protected and to unlock the page use BWmem. The photos are low res jpgs for website viewing and will remain on the page for the next two weeks, then they will be removed. If you would like higher resolution digital copies of any of these images, Carole has kindly offered these FOC on request. Also available are processed images or prints which can be purchased. Click the button at the bottom of the page to contact Carole for more information.
Finally, I would like to thank the competitors for participating in this fun event, the marshals, without whom the event could not take place and Dave Mothersdill, Simon Lott, Pete Hiles and Chris Pelmear for their assistance in setting up the courses on the Friday prior to the event.
Jim Lott
Chairman MGCC SW Centre
