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 and here is a transcript of what was said:
“As it is our Centre’s 90th year we have chosen to hold some of our events in memory of influential members who are no longer with us, so welcome to the Bruce Weston Memorial autotest. We are pleased that Bruce’s son and granddaughter are here today, travelling in style in Bruce’s TC.
Every organisation can point to a few people around whom that organisation revolves, and Bruce was certainly one of those. He bought his TC in the 1960s, used it vigorously and competitively for years until, like a lot of people, family life, children, career etc got in the way and it lay dormant for many years in the 80s and 90s.
While the car was off the road Bruce dedicated himself to helping others enjoy motorsport. He was diligent in reading the rules, so any event he was involved with was always meticulously planned and efficiently run, so he became the main organiser of our more prestigious events.
He ran the California Cup Autotest at the national meeting at Silverstone, the Kimber Classic Trial weekends which attracted international competitors, and for many years ran our flagship event, that being a speed hillclimb at Wiscombe Park
Talking to Mark (Bruce’s Son) just now, clearing Bruce’s house involved burning about 40 years of paperwork relating to these events, Bruce was never one for throwing anything away.
Bruce was also an integral part of the South West Centre Committee, he joined the club in the 1960’s, and the committee in the 1970’s, serving as secretary for many years. He was still on the committee last year when he lost his long battle with illness. The centre honoured him the best way possible by creating the post of President and appointing Bruce to that post, the only person to date to hold that position.
Bruce was a quiet kingpin to the centre, all he did was without fanfare or noise, the only reward he ever sought was to facilitate others enjoying themselves. He also would not have welcomed this much attention, but would have said just get in your cars and have a good time.
I would ask you to reflect on the huge contribution Bruce made to our Club, to grass roots motorsport, to appreciate his dedication and organisational skills and above all the friendship and support he gave us all. Without such people the world is a poorer place.”
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
