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| Triple-M Register Event Reports |
| Event : Future Event Reports 27/03/2009 |
Reports on events now appear in the Triple-M Bulletin, which is available to read and download from this web site (see Bulletin On The Web). It is not intended to repeat these reports here.
As back issues of the Bulletin become available on the web, duplicated reports will be removed from this section and eventually the Event Report section will be closed down.
Currently, events back to August 2008 are covered in the Bulletin web library.
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| Event : 2nd Flat Cap and Whippet Weekend 30/05/2008 |
Murder at the Lodge at East Ayton
Triple-M’s are the only way to travel in N Yorks (provided you carry a boot load of spares with a rescue vehicle following!! (provided by management)). Or, in my case with “mid air” refuelling from the oil tanker following behind.
The w/e started at East Ayton Lodge Scarborough on Friday evening 30 May after the hottest day for a while and we arrived to a perfect setting - the hotel would have pleased Agatha Christie. MGs on the lawn with the murder mystery about to unfold.
Most of the cars arrived in good order and looked fabulous. George and Jo Ward arrived in their blue drophead coupe Bean, but she (not Jo) had been a naughty girl and was showing some fuel evaporation temperament! So some TLC was applied on the lawn with the help of our competition secretary (Mike Linward).
Mike arrived in a beautifully unrestored original classic Vauxhall (his J2 temporarily being indisposed) and I in my N type “Miledi”. She has been restored in the style of a musketeer but is a femme fatale and stubbornly poured oil from the dynamo area consuming a sump load of oil every 50 miles! On arrival I took her apart, but could not properly fix her as I did not have the bit - a spare vertical drive drain lipseal.
During the pre dinner drinks on the lawn and conservatory there was a blood chilling scream – a body had been found in reception! Not all was lost (apart from a life) as Miss Maple was at the hotel and on hand to carry out an investigation. All the hotel guests were taken to see the body which appeared to have been murdered with an MG trophy by a heavy blow to the head – damaging the object d’art!
During the chaos and mayhem the dinner gong sound and we took our places for a delicious meal and a detailed investigation into the murder. Various suspects were seated with the guests and during the courses we had to quiz them within an inch of their lives to see if we could discover the murderer. These included Maurice Garages, Emma Gee, Jackie Handle et al. Between courses Miss Maple carried on her sleuthing and by the time coffee was served she had solved the murder. No - it was not the butler, but Jackie Handle who had actually carried out the murder with a tool from his concourse winning MG! In short a great way to involve everyone and start the weekend in style.
Saturday started with gorgeous sunshine which continued all day. The first cars were away around 9.15 am (and there must have been at least 35 of them). They included an M type (John and Angela Haine), 1 D (Ted and Janet Hack), 2 C types (Messrs Hudson and Bayne-Powell), 3 or 4 Fs (incl Messrs Shorten, Vernyns, Walker and Wilson,), perhaps 3 J2s (Messrs Chamberlain, Forster and Hawke) , one or 2 Ls (incl Peter and Marianne Sutcliffe), a good deal of lovely Ps (incl Messrs Andrews, Davies, Holl, Jackson, James, McLachlan, Reid, Richards, Stewart, Vanlint, Warr, and Wild, a stunning KN (Peter and Celia Hemmings), about 7 Ns (Messrs Abbott, Bayne-Powell, Hartley, Hay, Hogg, Jenkins and Thomson) and a couple of VA tourers (incl Tony Margel, Alan Dakeyne and Ernie Peake) plus an “around Britain” Wolseley Hornet special (Charles and Stan Brotherton). Terry’s daughter sent them off in good order with her hunting horn tuned to the sound of an N engine with two timing 2 teeth out! She did it in style and they all looked stunning.
Out onto the N Yorks moors with our tails up and it was wonderful. Thru to Pickering, coffee at the Coach House in Rosedale, then up Rosedale Chimney Bank which was a well used trials hill in the 20s and 30s (then know as Freak “ hill!!) now metalled. Lunch was provided at Cliffemount Hotel over looking Runswick Bay. Thereafter home to East Ayton Lodge via Whitby seeing Captn Cook and Whitby Abbey. The route went via Blue Bank and Goathland Railway station (which doubles as Hogwarts for the Harry Potter films) and Aidensfield for ITVs Heartbeat. After endless 1 in 3 hills (with little in the way of brakes) we went thru Hole of Horcum (or Devil’s Punchbowl), the ford at Littlebeck (another pre-war trials hill) but no water in the ford which was the only disappointment. Travelling thru Dalby the Great Yorkshire Forest was lovely, but not an ice cream in sight – just when you need one!
Lucky upon return to the Lodge teas and drinks were laid on and the atmosphere was buzzing. Dinner was enjoyed with relish and the day closed on a high. You can picture the MGs in the warm dry moonlight in crescent shape parked on the manicured lawn (not a drop of oil to be seen!).
Sunday brought the rain and a line of recovery low loaders ready to carry off the wounded cars, whilst the valiant continued onto Castle Howard via Oliver’s Mount race circuit and home or to the next event.
We had a great crowd from Belgium with Ps and Fs. Jacques Vanlint broke a diff and Stefaan Vernyns tried everywhere to get a spare. In the end Richard Hardy arrived before breakfast on Sunday with the magic bit from his F type. After much filing of a spacer washer they got to Hull and back home. The car ran fine which was a blessing as he gave them his rebuilt 8/39 diff (F type) so he was worried the P engine may not pull it, but it did. Sounds like they will be bringing a bag full of diffs back to Silverstone then!!!!!
Richard also provided the critical vital vertical drive drain housing for Miledi (for her oil leak), but by the time I received it she was also on a low loader ready to head south. A job I am now fixing.
A magical weekend made possible by Terry Hartley and Bob Walker and their wives and families, with the sponsorship of Barry Walker, Baynton Jones, Frost and Longstone Tyres.
Bring on the 3rd Flat Cap & Whippet weekend if you have the strength!
Thanks to everyone for the fun.
© RJ
04.06.08
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| Event : The MacAlpine Railway and Museum Visit 12/08/2007 |
The Triple-M Register Visit to The McAlpine Railway & Museum, Fawley Hill
12th. August 2007
Taking “Ernest” to the Event
Introduction
The event had been kindly organised by Dick Morbey (PA , APB.eng. and Starting Handle). There were two interesting preliminary problems encountered just prior to the day.
The first was that, by August 6th, I had received no ticket, info, location, map or plaque. The second was that Colin Butchers who lives close by, badly sprained his ankle and was doubtful whether he could attend even though he had a ticket, info, map……….
Now Dick entirely took the blame for my initial exclusion for the list of approved attendees. Very magnanimous of him but I’m not sure that it wasn’t my increasing senility that was the root cause – perhaps I never confirmed that I was interested, I can’t remember.
Anyway enough of such nonsense. Colin accepted the offer of a lift to the event and we set off from my Worthing base at 8.00a.m. precisely, in fair weather and fine spirits. My chosen route was through Guildford, Bagshot, the dreaded Bracknell and up the A 330 onto the A 308M and thence onto the A 4130 to Henley.
All went well until we made the turning off the A 308M at which point we spied a lot of smoke beneath which was nestling a sad Triumph TR3 (or possibly a 3A – model obscured by smoke and urgency). So, a quick stop and rush to the scene with extinguishers in mind if not in hand. At this point we detected the driver, head beneath bonnet – was this a smoking habit we wondered? No, he was as panicked as we were. However, the smoke abated and we pondered the cause. “Try starting it up again” I suggested. Well it wasn’t an MG was it? He did and smoke fit for a Destroyer obfuscation was immediately generated, apparently from every pore.
“Stop” we cried. He did and the smoke disappeared. More pondering. “That’s not going any further today” says I with gravitas. “Not advisable at all” says Colin. “Thanks and I agree” says the driver. Then I notice that the rear of the choke tie bar on the carbs was hanging loose. The driver finds the missing pin. I find that the only spare I don’t have with me is a split pin so chop a bit off a spare throttle spring and bend it in the split pin hole with pliers. “Try it now” we chorus. And behold, all was well, we had triumphed (sorry about that) and left the happy driver to go to his event after all.
In spite of the good deed doing, we still were the first to arrive at the preliminary rendezvous at Toad Hall Garden Centre on the A 4155. (If any reader lives nearby, I can recommend their bacon butties). The rest of the group straggled in with the exception of the Reid brigade which suffered detached carb. float chamber problems on the J2.
Coffee, tea, bacon butties and cakes were all consumed before we set off in convoy, properly instructed on keeping a good distance between cars on the narrow approach road to the Museum, by our valued Hon. Treasurer Paul Duncombe. T’was he who led the way.
The Visit
The McAlpine Railway and Museum are only open to members of the public by invitation so we had to hand in our tickets, duly signed, before we could enter. We were parked up in the area next to and indeed amongst the sidings and made a brave show. It is obviously customary to invite pre-war car owners to this venue since a nice Lagonda, an HRG and an Austin 7 were amongst the non-MGs there.
Oh that I had a back garden big enough to house a mile or so of standard gauge rail track, several stations or halts and such exotic side shows as a peacock enclosure, roaming Wallabies and some form of tiny deer(?) and a full scale carousel complete with organ accompaniment!
Colin and I took the first train to leave the station. I didn’t realise that the track descended sharply down the valley – so sharply indeed that any loss of brakes would have been very dodgy indeed. However, the nice saddle-tank engine did an excellent job, taking us to such delightful stops as “Bourne Again Junction” and “Invergordon”. It climbed back up the hill to the main station again without complaint (obviously on an 8/43 diff!). In the station we were reminded more directly that the days of steam were not all joy when the driver opened up the blower to clear the smoke-box and covered us in those oh-so-well-remembered clouds of hot fine ash (Waterloo Station in the ‘50s – for me at any rate).
Which brings me to the museum. What a wonderland that is! I could have spent a week there asking questions about the exhibits and marvelling at the scope and variety of items which ranged from a really beautiful 10” D Class 4-4-0 (at least that’s what I think it was though unlabelled – experts will correct me if I’m wrong), through a vast 0 gauge working track layout, to sets of silverware and fine china from the elegant days of dining on steam-trains. There was also a set of the biggest reamers I’ve ever seen together with many other engineering tools of such gigantic proportions that Triple-M engineering now seems like child’s-play.
And it was not only the solid ephemera which drew one’s attention but also the huge collection of documents, photographs and very fine paintings on display.
It was revealed that, with the exception of most of the paintings which I believe were commissioned for the museum, all these exhibits and the outdoor hardware, had been saved from the scrap heap or bonfire by Sir William McAlpine over the years that his companies had been involved in major civil engineering contracts. Well done to him! There was also a fascinating selection of presents made to Sir William, mostly relating to turning the first sod for a development, or on the completion of a project. I can tell you that I have never seen a more exotic wheelbarrow than the ornately carved presentation example on display! How did he get it home? On the train perhaps.
For those who had developed a thirst, tea and biscuits (and other non-alcoholic beverages) were available in the station café and served by a delightful selection of lady volunteers.
Our cars were also the centre of some interest from the other members of the public present and from staff members also. Little crowds gathered from time to time to ask questions and admire our machinery.
All in all, a very rewarding day and my personal thanks go to Dick for organising it and for the McAlpine dynasty, without whom there would have been nothing to visit.
Epilogue
The journey home was uneventful until we were past Guildford when an increasing smell of hot Smoothrite suggested a locking brake. Sure enough the nearside back was tight and the drum very hot indeed. The hand and foot brake adjusters were slackened off and we travelled slightly more cautiously, reaching Worthing without incident. I stripped the brake but couldn’t find any reason why it should have apparently tightened itself. Any ideas from readers would be welcomed..
Bob Clare
13/8/07.
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| Event : Triple-M Register Summer Gathering 15/07/2007 |
“More of the same next year” had been the universal request at the 2006 gathering, and so it came to pass on 15th July 2007 at Peter Green’s home at Farnham Royal.
Upon arrival it was immediately evident that Peter and Thelma, Andrew and Elizabeth Taylor, Pat and Diana Boghossian and other helpers had put in a huge amount of effort in preparing for the event. The site had been made ready, food and refreshments were on hand, tests and puzzles were waiting to tease the guests and, importantly as it turned out, there was plenty of protection against the English “Summer”.
We were urged to open and read our sealed orders at the earliest opportunity. On doing so it became immediately apparent that Team Green had not been content to rest on the previous year’s laurels, as numerous new tests had been devised, including one for the ladies – but more of that – and them – anon !
The essence of the day was entirely relaxed and informal, with most of the guests arriving in time for lunch, but with a few stragglers joining a little later. Despite the unseasonable weather, altogether three dozen Triple-M vehicles made the trip, many from far afield. Amongst cars not previously seen by your scribe was the very smart “just out of the box” red J2 driven by Andrew Henderson. Also in evidence were the F1, listed as driven by Peter Tabb but clearly under the control of Philip and Rosemary Bayne-Powell during the afternoon’s tests. Their splendid blue NA saloon as well as the NA Allingham also made appearances.
All of the senses were catered for - the cars provided a feast to the eyes, the Castrol R-istes were treated with an occasional whiff of that castor oil brew, whilst audiophiles were able to enjoy the whine of the supercharged machinery.
Feasts were also available at lunch, thanks to the sterling efforts of Andrew and Pat on the barbecue and the whines, sorry, wines and other beverages, through the generosity of the host. Those who still had room were able to enjoy seconds of the scrumptious fare.
Two of our number had taken the theme of “Maintaining the Breed” literally, and it was a delight to welcome Sarah and Alexander Reid’s recently-born son Thomas and Diana and Pat Boghossian’s even more recently delivered son Daniel. – just 6 days old.
Peter had lined up a series of non-driving tests for us:
• Identify the Triple-M component in the bag. An old favourite, which favoured those who had actually taken their cars to bits;
• Guess the number of Triple-M parts in a jar. The correct answer was 73, but the range of answers was 33 to 537!
• A distinctly MG/North American themed quiz for the ladies;
• A non-scored MG logo puzzle, and
• And a self-scored Pride of Ownership competition.
Then came a gentle gymkhana, supervised with tact and good humour by Brian Ditchman, Peter Green and Andrew Taylor who was helped by Mike Allison’s grandson Tom. With characteristic generosity Peter allowed visitors the use of his NE ‘Aramis’ and the PB Cream Cracker if they wished. Thus Colin Butchers, Nick Dean, George Eagle and others who were not able to come in a Triple-M car were able to take part in the gymkhana.
Four tests had been devised:
• Width test (another old favourite, but it doesn’t seem to get any easier!)
• Navigating round obstacles whilst wearing a bucket on head. (Did nothing for the driving, but improved the appearance of some of the entrants)
• Throwing balls into buckets (trickier than you might think), and
• Navigating a rough course against the clock without your passenger spilling water from a vessel in a hand-held tray. The threatened downpour arrived while this test was in progress and it’s rumoured that some competitors thereby returned with more water than they had been allocated!
The afternoon’s festivities drew to a close with the presentation of awards. This included a special award of an ex-W.J. ‘Dickie’ Green trials trophy, presented to Elizabeth Taylor (Peter’s daughter) on behalf of the Green family in recognition of their contribution to the Register. “Stay as long as you like” urged Peter, but alas not all could do so, and we reluctantly departed with resounding thanks to our hosts, perhaps a bit soggy but in extremely good spirits, having enjoyed a great day of camaraderie, good cheer, another Triple-M fix and the promise of a repeat in 2008.
Gymkhana Results
Test 1 (Width test)
1.Rosemary Bayne Powell
2. Colin Butchers
3. Bill Abbott
Test 2 (Distance test)
1. Nick Dean
2. Alex Reid
3. Andrew Henderson
Test 3 (Ball throwing test)
1.Peter Hemmings
2.= Rosemary Bayne-Powell
Alex Reid
Paul Millar
Test 4 (Water test)
1. Nick Benger
2. Colin Butchers
3. Dick Morbey
Overall Gymkhana Results
1. Paul Millar 62 points
2. Peter Down 57
3. Alex Reid 56
4. Peter Hemmings 54
5. Andrew Henderson 53
6. Dick Morbey 52
7.= Rosemary Bayne-Powell 51
Colin Butchers 51
9. Nick Benger 50
10. Philip Bayne-Powell 46
11. Rodney Lambert 41
12. Colin Henderson 40
13.= Nick Dean 38
Gil Collins 38
15.= Bill Abbott 37
George Eagle 37
17= Peter Scott 36
Ken Robinson 36
19. David Dutton 35
20. Wendy Cooksey 20
Pride of Ownership Results
6 CYLINDER CARS
1. Philip Bayne-Powell NA saloon
2. Peter Prosser KN
3. Peter Green K3
4 CYLINDER CARS
1. Robin Hamblett J2
2. Andrew Henderson J2
3. Bob Hudson C
Other competitions:
Ladies Picture Quiz
1. Rosie Parish
2= Jacqueline Abbott
Rosemary Bayne-Powell
Lesley Henderson
How many items ?
1. Lisa Darcey
2= Liz Benger
John Reid
What is it ?
1. David Cooksey
2= Roger Thomas
Mike Cleary
Report by Dick Morbey
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| Event : Triple-M race at MGCC Silverstone International 23/06/2007 |
Practice started at 11.10 am on a dry, but cool and cloudy, morning. 23 cars lined up in the assembly area making it a well attended Triple-M only race. With practice under way it was clear that the early pace setters would be Richard Last (Parnell K3), Tom Dark in Mark Piercy’s R type, Tony Seber (Wolsey) and Paul Mullins and John Dutton both in K types. Unfortunately, both Andy King (KN/s) and Dave Cooksey (C type) suffered mechanical difficulties and only managed to complete the required 3 laps to qualify for the race.
At the conclusion of the qualifying and the issuing of the timesheets it became apparent there was a major problem with the timing. John Seber (PA/N) was on pole in a time that an MGBV8 would have been very proud of, closely followed by Tom Dark (R type) and Fred Boothby (PA). It turned out that the problem was caused by most of the grid not running with Transponders (or Transpotters as referred to by John Dutton’s Mum Julia), despite it having been agreed with MGCC officials that the Triple-M racers would not have to run with them. Peter Green was called to the Clerk of the Course after practice and told that all racers had to use transponders or else they would not be classified at the end of the race. After some discussion it was agreed that people not using transponders could race and the timekeepers would do their best to time them manually. For those that do not know, a transponder is a device the size of a packet of cigarettes that automatically sends a signal to the timekeeping equipment every time it crosses the Start/Finish line and is accurate to 1/1000 of a second. At a cost of about £200 each Triple-M racers do not want to buy a transponder for just one race a year (the VSCC supply transponders as part of their entry fee) but it looks as if they will have to for next year’s race.
A subsequent re-issue of the qualifying timesheet corrected the previous times and saw Tom Dark on pole, with Paul Mullins (K1/s) along side on the front row and Richard Last and Tony Seber on row 2.
So, the 23 cars prepared themselves for race 7. Much fettling in the paddock saw Richard Last try and fathom how he had managed to consume 40 litres of methanol in just 5 laps of qualifying (now there’s a car with a serious drink problem!!). Andy King identified the cause of his loss of power as a broken supercharger drive chain which was ably ‘fixed’ with the help of the Ducati motorbike workshop at the entrance to the circuit. Dave Cooksey made a hasty dash home to get a spare supercharger and got it installed just before the due start time. John Dutton, assisted by his children Poppy and Harry, had the K2 rear brakes apart to clean out the leaking axle oil. The remaining Triple-M racers spent the time discussing the pros and cons of various tyre compounds, damper settings and race overall colours.
Finally, the call for race 7 was heard over the paddock tannoy system and right on queue the heavens opened. The afternoon went from being an overcast but dry day to conditions that Noah would have taken as confirmation that building the ark was maybe not such a bad idea after all. The cars took up their positions in the assembly area and those that had them hid under umbrellas, those that didn’t wished they had. The race prior to the Triple-M race was stopped prematurely due to the water logged state of the circuit, this did not bode well for a grid of twenty three 70 year old cars predominantly on cable drum brakes and skinny tyres . As the assembly marshals gave the order to start the engines the rain relented and the cars were soon making their way out to the grid. As the practice had been dry and the race would be wet the Clerk of the Course instructed a second green flag lap to allow the drivers the opportunity to ‘feel’ the change in the track (Richard Last was probably worrying if he had enough fuel on board for the extra 2.2 miles he would have to do…!). Several of the drivers found the conditions extremely slippery just on the out lap, with both Paul Mullins and Tim Metcalfe (Lagonda Rapier) having big sideways moments and they weren’t even at racing speed.
The cars made their way around to the grid and lined up ready for the lights. When the lights went out and battle commenced Richard Last made an absolutely banzai start from row 2 and was in the lead by the first corner, unfortunately this was as far as his race went as he proceeded to perform a series of beautiful pirouettes finishing up pointing in the right direction and luckily not having collected anyone else on the way, he then continued for a short distance before suffering an engine failure and inevitable retirement. Another impressive starter was Fred Boothby in Hamish McNinch’s PA who gained several places in the first 200 yards, obviously BHP is not everything when the track resembles a lake. With Richard’s demise the lead was taken over by Tom Dark, hotly pursued by Tony Seber, Paul Mullins, Henk De Vries (who had made up 3 places from the start), John Dutton and Tim Metcalfe. As they came under the bridge approaching the Priory corner on lap 1 Tom Dark had a 5 car length lead over Tony Seber, this was reduced to a single car length as Tom took it upon himself to see how sideways an R type could go around the corner. The crowd in the BRDC grandstand (completely packed as a result of the earlier rain) were holding their breath (presumably Tom was as well) and then stood and cheered when he held the slide and maintained the lead. On the second lap Tom had learnt from the first lap and had a much less eventful trip through Priory, only to put it completely sideways in the very next corner, saving it once again and receiving loud cheers and applause from the now hooked crowd. Further down the field there were other battles and in some cases between the most unlikely cars such as Fred Boothby(PA) and Brandon Smith-Hilliard (KN/s) - the rain and a greasy track are great levellers in a race like this. By lap 3 Fred was now scrapping with David Cooksey who was making his way through the field having had his qualifying curtailed by the supercharger failure. The fight at the front was fast and fair and very nearly ended there for Tony Seber as he had a big slide/partial spin on the exit to Luffield, the final corner, where he proceeded to enter the pit entry lane backwards and destroyed the polystyrene pit entry sign, this dropped him from 4th to 7th at the start of lap 4. Lap 4 saw the fastest lap of the race by John Dutton, some 2 seconds quicker than the next fastest. David Downes (NA/s) was tussling with Jane Metcalfe in Mike Allison’s N/s (racing with number 40 and celebrating a birthday of the same value). Unfortunately, Jane was starting to struggle and was making disappointing progress to the back of the field, resulting in a retirement on lap 5 (a great shame as she was the only lady in the race). Laps 5 and 6 saw the continued battle between Stuart Evans’ J1/s and John Seber’s PA/N. Unfortunately, lap 5 saw the retirement of Andy King despite his valiant efforts after qualifying (reluctantly admitting, after the race, to the writer that it may have been fuel starvation or more accurately “not putting enough fuel in to get to the end of the race……..!”). The Dutch contingent of Henk De Vries and Argen Van Gelderen, both in KN/s, were enjoying their mid field battles with Barry Foster, Mike Dowley, James Brice and Andrew Bradshaw. Peter Green in his K3 had made his usual cautious start but by lap 5 had made up 5 places and was mixing it with the other K3 of Howard Maguire. At the start of lap 6 Tom Dark was leading, closely followed by Paul Mullens, John Dutton and Tim Metcalfe, all was going well on lap 6 until they arrived at the Abbey hairpin and speed, traction, slippery track, colour of his race suit and anything else that could be blamed got the better of the R type with the resultant spin and loss of several places. So, as they came under Bridge for the 7th time it was Mullens leading with Dutton and Metcalfe all smelling a chance of victory. The crowd initially taken aback by the loss of Dark suddenly realised there was a real fight at hand for the lead. On the exit to Luffield Dutton made his move for the front by taking a much tighter line than that of Mullens allowing him the opportunity to get the power down slightly earlier. Mullens’ larger engine came into its own as he got lined up on the exit of the corner and he began to claw back the gap to Dutton. Post race discussion with John Dutton revealed he was willing the chequered flag to be waved at the end of lap 7 whilst he was in the lead, as it was they had one more lap to do. So, to the final lap - all was going well until the Abbey hairpin, it was becoming a trap for race leaders. Dutton had a ‘moment’, Mullens was caught off guard and Metcalfe capitalised on the moment and put himself in the lead. As they approached Luffield for the final time it was Metcalfe leading, Mullens second and Dutton third. Dutton opted for the tighter inside line that had worked so well on the previous lap and again he was able to get the power down earlier than Mullens and out drag him to the finish line, earning him the class win and the Kimber Trophy for the first Triple-M car to finish. Further back Andrew Bradshaw was cementing a gutsy drive bagging him both a class win and the Mary Harris trophy for the most improved handicap time.
As mentioned earlier, rain and a greasy track are great levellers of car and driver and so it proved to be with the leaders failing to lap the back markers and the differential between the fastest and slowest cars being significantly smaller than had the race been a dry one.
Having not watched a Triple-M race for 12 years, I am usually taking part, it was fantastic to watch the crowd’s reaction, appreciation and enthusiasm for the drivers and their efforts. Sitting with the children of two of the front runners was great fun as they watched the race with all the enthusiasm of a child playing with his playstation. It didn’t seem to matter which Dad beat the other, they were just enjoying the opportunity to cheer them on. For those Triple-M racers who have not sat in the Grandstand for many years, please believe me that your effort was greatly appreciated and applauded loudly – long may the Triple-M’ers have their own race.
Well done to all the drivers and their teams, 19 finishers, 3 retirements, no damage, close respectful racing and most importantly fantastic entertainment. Now we appear to be on the upslope of a revitalised enthusiasm for the Triple-M race, let’s see a full grid at the VSCC See Red Festival at Donington in September where there is a Triple-M only race followed by the 2 hour 4 car team race. All those considering entering please contact either Peter Green or Paul Mullens and they will help to put you in touch with others to enable teams to be formed.
Race Results
Class A Winner Andrew Bradshaw
Class B Winner James Brice
Class C Winner Tim Metcalfe
Class D Winner John Dutton
Class E Winner Tony Seber
Kimber Trophy John Dutton
Marry Harris Trophy Andrew Bradshaw
Don Moore Trophy Andrew Bradshaw
Report by 'Monoman'
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| Event : Triple-M Register Summer Gathering 16/07/2006 |
This year’s Summer Gathering, the second to he held at Peter Green’s residence in Farnham Royal, took place on one of the hottest days of the year. Sixty-three Triple-M owners had expressed a keen interest to attend, but not surprisingly with such a large number, there were a few ‘non-starters’. Nevertheless there were over fifty cars counted, on the lawns of the estate and over one hundred people had arrived by the time the barbeque was lit. In between times, a Pride of Ownership competition was organised and some light-hearted tests were to be completed. Among the many well turned out cars, Jim Collier’s J1 Salonette stood out and there was much interest in the other rare saloons present; Mike and Anne Allison had forsaken their blue N type and were driving a very attractive M type Coupe while Peter Prosser brought his green KN saloon. Bob Hudson’s C type and Rodney Lambert’s J2 also featured strongly in the Pride of Ownership as did Peter Hemmings’ KN Tourer and Peter Fenichel’s K1 Special, race car. Pat Boghossian had brought along his recently completed supercharged L1 racer, albeit now with a two-seater body and pre-selective gearbox. The car had recently put up a creditable first-time performance at the Car Club’s Silverstone International Race meeting in June. A full list of Pride of Ownership participants is included with these notes.
Following an excellent lunch, professionally organised and executed by members of the Green family, a set of four driving tests were on offer to the assembled gathering. About half the owners present elected to take up the challenges, which were a combination of judgement, speed and ingenuity. Late in the afternoon, after the lunch apparel had been cleared away, the Green’s came out to join in the Gymkhana and, not surprisingly, performed rather well at it!
The afternoon was rounded off with a short presentation of awards, graciously undertaken by Thelma Green. It was an excellent day and everyone present was exceedingly grateful to Peter, Thelma, Elizabeth, Andrew, Diane and Pat for all their hard work and efforts, which made the occasion seem so effortless. More of the same next year was the universal request. Amen to that.
Mike Linward |
| Event : Triple-M Race - Silverstone International 24/06/2006 |
Last year at MG International Silverstone the Triple-M cars were amalgamated with the T types in order to make up sufficient numbers to race. This year was different. Much advance effort by Peter Green, Triple-M Register chairman, had produced a full grid of Register cars so we were racing amongst ourselves. Twenty two four and six cylinder OHC cars, the majority with superchargers and covering fourteen different models along with a Wolseley Hornet Special, lined up on the grid. There should have been twenty five but unfortunately two cars did not practice in the morning; one of these was Mark Piercy who had entered the Ex. Evans R type which, unfortunately, had broken its Zoller supercharger at Oulton Park a couple of weeks earlier. The third person who did not make the grid, although he practiced in the morning, was Robin Butler in his Ex. Dougdale N type as he discovered his car had a puncture in its nearside rear wheel just before the race which he could not repair in time.
With a dry track and sunshine this promised to be an exciting race. As well as the Kimber Trophy for the first Triple-M car past the chequered flag the Mary Harris Trophy would be awarded to the handicap winner of the race. For those that do not know, the MSA appointed handicapper gives each competitor a ‘bogy’ lap time, this is then multiplied by the number of laps completed and the car that finishes nearest to their ‘bogy race time’ is the handicap winner. The ‘bogy’ times are set on previous known times or if a ‘new’ car is racing it is based on practice times. The Don Moore Trophy was also competed for, this goes to the highest placed un-blown four cylinder car to finish.
Pole position was taken by Richard Last in the Parnell K3 (1:51.348), next was Tom Dark in his Q copy (1:52.838), followed by Tony Seber in the Wolseley Hornet Special (1:54.929). Lap 1 saw the Parnell K3 in the lead followed by Seber (WHS) and Mullins (K1/s). Tom Dark had dropped two places to these three larger engined cars. The next lap saw Tom Dark in third place with his blown (35psi) engine, or rather the exhaust, making an appropriate maximum effort noise. On lap 3 Richard Last found himself going wide on a corner. This gave Tony Seber his chance to change places with Richard and he gained a good lead in the process. The leaders started lapping the slower cars on Lap 5 which muddled the field from a spectator viewpoint especially with Andrew Taylor (slowest car) all of a sudden (or so it seemed from this spectators position) being right behind Tony Seber the front man. Lap 7 saw Tom Dark out of the race. Mike Dowley (PB/s special) drove a very consistent race having started 5th on the grid and finishing 4th. Also evident was the spirited driving of Barry Foster (Montlhery C Type) started 9th and finishing 8th. Paul Mullins hung onto 3rd place for most of the race. The final placings overall were 1st Tony Seber, 2nd Richard Last, 3rd Paul Mullins. Since the Hornet Special did not qualify for a placing in this Triple-M race the results for the Kimber Trophy were 1st Richard Last, 2nd Paul Mullins and 3rd Mike Dowley. The Mary Harris Trophy was won by George Rozwadowski driving Richard Last’s NB.
Tony Seber said after the race that he knew if he didn’t overtake Richard Last in the first few laps he wouldn’t manage it. When Richard gave him his chance Tony didn’t miss the opportunity – we can look forward to some excitement next year! Richard was pleased that the half shaft problem (it broke) encountered at the last VSCC meeting at Silverstone seemed to have been solved (he made a batch for himself). Tom Dark’s problem was nothing more than a vertical drive coupling failure which he intends will not happen again. It seems a redesign is on the cards. Tom did not have a good start to the day as his tow car broke down on the way to Silverstone. Peter Green saved the day by providing emergency recovery of his race car. Andrew Taylor enjoyed his race too, owing, unusually, to having a couple of cars in his class to compete with in the form of Andrew Bradshaw’s, very light, replica of the Don Moore PB and Fred Boothby driving Hamish McNinch’s very quick P type. They amused themselves, changing places throughout the race at the back of the field. There were several other ‘mini races’ throughout the grid which the competitors enjoyed. One of these was between Peter Green’s K3, Pat Boghossian’s blown L1, Arjen Van Gelderen’s blown F type and Mark Boldry in Peter Plasket’s blown PB. At the end of lap one the order was L1, F1, K3 and PB. By the end of lap 3 the blown PB had got past the F1 and Peter was still at the rear of the group. By lap 5 he had got past the F1. On lap 7 he got past the PB and was then chasing son-in-law Pat Boghossian. On the last lap Peter just managed to get past Pat, so the family pecking order was restored!
I am indebted to Rosemary Bayne-Powell for lap by lap records, Keith Leaver and Peter Green for photographs and miscellaneous race details.
Full results are listed below.
Overall Winner - Tony Seber Wolseley Hornet Special
Kimber Trophy Winner - Richard Last K3
Mary Harris Trophy Winner - George Rozwadowski NB
Don Moore Trophy Winner - Fred Boothby PA
Class A Winner - Fred Boothby PA
Class B Winner - James Brice NA
Class C Winner - Barry Foster Montlhery C
Class D Winner - Paul Mullins K1/s
Class E Winner - Richard Last K3
Report by Paul Duncombe.
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| Event : Flat Cap & Whippet Weekend 21/05/2006 |
Report of the Flat Cap and Whippet Weekend May 19-21 May 2006.
“Good Morning”, said Miriam O’Reilly of the met office when she read out the weather forecast for the weekend. Her report went downhill from the word “Good”. “The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning. Rain has swept over Northern Ireland into Northern England and got stuck there. Heavy rain will persist in the NW and NE of England. Local Flooding will occur from Merseyside to Yorkshire. Tomorrow will be similar”.
This was the week that the water authorities in the SE have imposed an emergency ban on water use. That should have been the warning (remember that the appointment of a Minister of Drought some years ago brought the deluge?). But Triple M enthusiasts are born optimists, aren’t they? Why else would they go out into remote parts with flimsy cars and cable brakes?
Miriam was not wrong.
.
By the time we got to Burley-in-Wharfedale the river Wharfe was like the Rhine at Koblenz and it looked like frothy hot chocolate. The five great rivers of Yorkshire seemed to have fused into one - and we couldn’t see the join! We sailed on.
Mike Hawke and Ann (normally a good navigator) appeared in my mirror as I stopped at the first main road in many miles and then….their 1932 open J2, suddenly appeared on my LHS with wheels astride the busy Halt Sign with modern Euro cars flashing past his front number plate. “Water in the brakes, I think ..” said Ann.
Just to make Philip and Rosemary Bayne-Powell feel at home the organisers (Terry Hartley and Bob Walker) had found a few speed hump infested villages. It was the hump placed illogically within 20 yds of the speed de-restriction sign that shook my PA such that the coil to distributor lead jumped out and left me stranded in a puddle. Terry and Margaret Andrews from Sidcup in Kent in their well sorted 2 seater PA, first on the scene, offered encouragement and some Werthers Originals whilst I made a fresh connection and we were on our way.
Many examples of MG comradeship later, we all checked in to the warmth of the Crown Hotel Boroughbridge and compared our experiences.
The views and driving experiences had been exceptional. The same route in sunshine would have revealed even more beauty of the far off hillsides and leafy valleys. We had travelled 140 miles through glorious countryside. Cow and Calf at 33 miles, Bolton Abbey at 39, Malham Cove at 61, Kettlewell 74, Hawes at 89, Muker at 97, All Creatures Great and Small (Reeth) at106, Ripon 114. We felt in tune with dry stone walls, pretty villages, open moor land, expansive views, twisty undulating roads where crests of the road disappear below the radiator cap (and you trust that you have judged the direction of the road correctly). We had stopped for coffee, fiddled with the cars, wrung out a few towels, visited some ancient abbeys, and had some retail therapy at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes. We looked at the rain and felt sympathy for farmers and young lambs, the many Gardens Open today, flower shows, village market stallholders, Otley Show, and yet when we returned we were content that we had had a GOOD day.
Saturday had been billed as the main day of the weekend and was topped in the evening with a fine meal and friendly discussion. A little bit of speechmaking reminded the gathering that Yorkshire is not really very far north, and that Yorkshire hospitality is second to none. Terry bribed the southerners with gifts of Yorkshire tea (does it really grow on the south facing slopes of the Pennines outside Bradford?). John and Dorothy Greer were blamed for bringing the bad weather over from Northern Ireland. Dorothy was not amused. She had endured a terrible 8 hr crossing to Birkenhead and John had foolishly said that he would take her on a wee 3 week trip to the Yorkshire Dales, Lincoln, Hertfordshire, Lymington and would round it off with a tour of Wales. Things had not started out in his favour….but Dorothy had been seen out early on the Sunday morning polishing the beautiful Black J2 into concourse condition again. And I guess she will be doing this every morning until they get home. How do these MG enthusiasts get their navigators so well trained?? (Answers in a sealed envelope please).
This was not a ONE day event. We had met on Friday evening and started the ‘catch up news’, and ‘where are you from?’ process by the time the bus arrived. Bus? Yes this was a special treat bus. This was a red single decker historic vehicle.. It was presented in the livery of the United Bus Company, complete with all of its period signage and a driver in sharp creased uniform. His navigation was a bit scatty because after an hour we were within 3 miles of base, but we had enjoyed the fine evening sunny drive around the pretty villages of North Yorkshire. A Satnav on a 40’s bus was not considered ethical. The Crown at Roecliffe was our host for the rest of the evening and the conversation flowed.
Undaunted by the experience of Saturday and the weather warnings of Miriam O’Reilly we set off on the final day (Sunday) for a leisurely run through the Vale of York to the City of York and its fine Minster Cathedral. The many visitors taking photographs of the Minster quickly adjusted to a shot incorporating a funny old car in front of the Minster. A drive through the old arched medieval gateways (Bars) and round the City Walls then led us to WW2 bomber station at Elvington just to the east of York. This is now a museum and home to some wonderful old aircraft. This gave us the chance for a rather classic group photo of Triple-M’s in front of a Dakota. Resisting the temptation to enter the Triple M’s into the nearby airfield dragster competition we met in the NAAFI for coffee and cakes and farewells before we departed.
Terry Hartley and Bob Walker had decided to put something back into the Triple M fraternity. They had volunteered to put Yorkshire on that map and had managed the whole process with impeccable style. Everyone was full of praise for the thoughtful arrangements (even down to the coins “open envelope now” as we approached the toll bridge over the River Ouse). 20 cars had participated (M’s, J’s, F’s, P’s, N’s, V’s …including a long, graceful yet ungainly Lagonda). All of the cars were from the 1930s.
The roads were from the 1930s, and the owners were from the…..present time, and we were all enjoying a bit of nostalgia and a lot of friendship.
They called it the First Yorkshire Flat Cap and Whippet Weekend. Let’s hope there are many more.
Keith Jackson
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| Event : Triple-M Chiltern Hundred - 70th Anniversary of the MGCar Co. Trials teams formation 29/10/2005 |
A total of fifty-four cars took part in the Triple-M Chiltern Hundred Event on the 29th and 30th October, a weekend to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the formation of the M.G. Car Company’s Trials Teams of Cream Crackers and Musketeers. Original Factory Team cars were represented by Alan Grassam’s and Jonathan Toulmin’s PA Crackers, the PB Crackers of Ian Williamson and Elizabeth Green and the TA Cracker of Derek Pearce. Musketeers were represented by Peter Green’s NE ‘Aramis’ and John Reid’s Musketeer ‘Aramis’, the only survivor of the three cars built by the Factory in 1935/36 as trials specials. Other trials cars were much in evidence, including the ex-Doreen Evans’ J2 owned by Keith Hall and the J2 of Mr. G. F. Pentony now owned by Patrick Gardner. Mr. Pentony competed in this J2 with considerable success between November 1936 and March 1939, gaining First Class Awards in the Harrow CC Chiltern Trial in February ’37 as well as the MGCC Chiltern Trial in January ’38, among many others. Another pre-war trials winner present was the PA of Mr S. Curry, winner of the C.M.I. Banana Challenge Trophy, the premier award for the 1937 MGCC Chiltern Trial. Today, the car is owned by John Reid and driven on this event by Alexander and Sarah Reid who incidentally won the Novice Award (The Charles Shepstone Trophy) in this car in the 2005 Kimber Classic Trial. Also present was the J2 of Bill and Liz Bennett, and the PB of Gerald and Trish Burridge both of whom have won MCC ‘Triples’ in these cars in recent years. Along with Ian Williamson and John Wells, these four are the only Class 2 drivers of ‘pre-war’ MGs to have won ‘Triples’ in the modern era of trialling. The line-up also contained the PA of George Ward and the J2 of Mike Linward, both recently returned from their trip to France were they competed in ‘Le Kimber’ trial and were still displaying the muddy evidence! Most of the other entrants were enthusiastic Register members enjoying the opportunity to be part of this unique event in the mild autumnal weather on offer. Particular mention should be made of Henri de Jong who was a late entrant and had come over from Holland in his swept-wing J2 and of Frank Allocca who made a special week-end visit to the UK from the United States of America specifically for the event. Frank was driving his supercharged J2, which he first drove to the Luxembourg event last year and which now resides in the UK. Henri has been over to the UK twice to compete in the Kimber Classic trial in April and is one of a growing band of Dutch visitors to this popular trials event. Entrants also had the unusual opportunity to view some of MGs’ contemporary opposition at close quarters in the shape of three Austin Grasshoppers, three Singer Le Mans and a Singer 9 who were present together with Roger Ugalde’s 1946 Allard J1, which was the first of the successful post-war trials Allards and one of the ‘Candidi Provocatores’ Team cars driven by Godfrey Imhof.
After coffee and Signing On at the Lambert Arms, a traditional trials starting venue, the entrants were invited to complete a 45-mile road run in the form of a Touring Assembly, which was a composite of the road sections linking the various trial hills or ‘observed sections’ used by a number of Car Clubs in the 1930s in the Chiltern area. With the passage of time, usage of some of the trials sections has changed and some are now un-driveable having been washed out and left un-repaired so it was not practical to drive any of the sections. However, all entrants were encouraged to identify the sections passed 'en route' and take the opportunity at a later date to return and walk the sections to obtain a more vivid understanding of what 1930’s competitors had to face. To this end, each entrant was given a splendid Route Book, which also contained detailed information about the sections together with a brief history of their use. The Register’s thanks must go to Colin Butchers and John Reid for assembling this magnificent publication and to Bryan Ditchman and Roger Thomas for working out such an interesting and varied route. The morning’s Tour finished back at the Lambert Arms with a short driving test before lunch. Plenty of time was allowed to view the cars and indulge in relaxed conversation, and a little fettling, before the afternoon’s Tour of approximately 35 miles was started. The time-table for the whole Tour was quite relaxed and there was plenty of time on arriving at Horwood House in the late afternoon to prepare for the Gala Dinner in the Cooke Suite, part of the extensive facilities on offer at this luxury conference venue. The Dinner combined the Chiltern Hundred celebration with the Register’s Annual Dinner and Prize-giving and was graced by a thought-provoking speech from Ian Williamson on the past trialling scene and the future prospects for trialling in the UK. There was an extensive pictorial presentation of Chiltern trialling activity from the 1930’s as well as a comprehensive display of W.J. ‘Dickie’ Green’s trials awards and photographs, which had been assembled by Brian Ditchman. Dickie’s first trial MG, a swept wing J2, which featured strongly in many of the photographs, was also present at the week-end, owned and driven by Jeremy and Bobbie Prince. Special thanks should go to Dave Ward of Digital Photography Inspired, who was the Register’s ‘official’ photographer for the event. All the pictures taken on the Tour by DPI were available for inspection at the dinner and a brisk ordering session for copies was soon underway. If you would like to view the photographs of the event, please go to the DPI web site on www.dpiphotos.com (access to their web site can also be obtained via our ‘Links’ page) where photograph enlargements can be ordered. Alternatively, DPI can be contacted at 13 Broomfield, Chippenham, Wilts SN15 1DZ. Tel: 01249 660180.
On Sunday morning ample time was given to wander around the display of trials cars assembled in a marquee specially provided for the occasion. Each car was accompanied by a detailed ‘History Board’, which greatly enhanced the quality of the display. The provision of the marquee was much appreciated later in the day as the weather, which up to that point of the week-end had been mild and sunny, closed in and it started to rain. Most people took this as their cue to pack up and return home but several stayed on and in the afternoon visited the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton. This steam museum, one of several local attractions advertised as part of the weekend celebrations, is home to one of the largest collections of steam locomotives, carriages and wagons in the country. Displayed over a 25-acre site, our visiting party was able to wander at leisure amongst the giants of the steam age and chat to the helpful, friendly and experienced guides, on hand throughout the afternoon
The Chiltern Hundred event received overwhelming praise from those taking part and many have offered personal thanks to the organisers who had helped make the event such a success. While an event on this scale is not possible to organise on an annual basis, a similar trials reunion cannot be ruled out in the not too distant future.
Mike Linward
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| Event : Triple-M Register Summer Gathering 26/06/2005 |
Last autumn our Chairman, Peter Green, held an event at his home to celebrate 25 years of ownership of his K3. As the event was such a success Peter decided that he would organise a similar gathering in 2005, to which any Triple-M Register member could attend.
The gathering this year proved to be even more successful; the weather, although overcast in the morning, broke out into sunshine in the afternoon and stayed that way for the rest of the day. Last year we all had to resort, on more than one occasion, to sheltering in one of Peter’s capacious workshops to dodge the rain.
The turnout of cars was mouth watering. With 38 of them drawn up on three sides of a square to surround the lunchtime tables and chairs, we could admire them all almost at a glance. From Gunther Stamm’s very purposeful looking green K3 to Mike Cleary’s M type it seemed the whole gamut of Triple-M machinery was present. Peter Green, unfortunately, had only parts to show for his K3 as it is being rebuilt after an altercation, whilst on a trailer, with some boy racers on the M20 last year whilst returning from a race meeting at the Nurburgring. It was nice to see George Eagle’s N type back on the road after the engine rebuild and to learn that, thus far, the oil and water are remaining separated. Peter Prosser had brought along both his usual green KN saloon and his second, very nearly finished, superb KN saloon in two tone blue complete with a front mounted supercharger – what a gem! There were the Hudson’s and Cooksey’s C types, George and Jo Ward’s green K1, looking, as always, as if it had been untouched since birth and was planning to go on forever, Keith Leaver’s PB, so close to being original, except for the air in the tyres, and so on………………... There were too many cars to list here but what a glorious spectacle they made.
It has to be said that despite the owners and navigators love for their cars, not far behind in their thoughts is the question of food (viz Normandy Raiders etc etc). This must be based on the fact that driving a Triple-M car requires energy and not a little concentration (show me an overweight driver?). In this respect this particular gathering must surely have satisfied the needy amongst us! In charge of the lunchtime BBQs were Peter’s sons in law, Andrew Taylor and Pat Boghossian. The chicken and lamb, burgers and sausages were cooked to perfection and wives Elizabeth and Diane had obviously worked very hard in carrying out a multitude of tasks required to provide a menu to feed close on 80 guests, - no mean feat. The strawberries and cream too were especially delicious – I believe no food was left over!
As usual, Peter likes to offer everyone a challenge and so, after arrival and a coffee, there were a few tests to do, along with a Pride of Ownership competition, before lunch and the afternoon gymkhana activities.
The first test (What is it?) was to identify single items enclosed in twelve cotton bags. Most, not all, of the items appeared to be car parts (what else?). For the next test (What year is it?) competitors were given a series of pictures showing a number of different front covers from Triple-M Yearbooks and were asked to identify the year for which they were published. Other tests included the Bent Wire Test, moving a metal ring along a bent wire in the shortest possible time with minimum soundings of the horn, and two large jigsaws, both MG related, to be done against the clock.
Despite all the lunchtime food and wine there was a good turnout for the gymkhana tests which were greatly helped along by the unfailing good humour and strictest impartiality (I had considered offering money) of the test authorities, namely Messrs. Linward, Taylor, Henderson, Ward and Boghossian. In turn the drivers had to judge the minimum width between two barrels through which their cars would go, park the car as close as possible, first forwards, to a marker and then backwards to a second marker, drive a distance between two markers in, as near as possible, 23.5 seconds, and from a distance of approximately 15 meters judge the height of ones radiator cap represented by the tip of a carrot on a string. Finally, and the most hilarious, was the blindfold driver test ably, or not, instructed by the passenger. The idea was that canes would be collected from cones on the way round the course and finally they all would be deposited in a box. Time was of the essence. The device for the blindfold was a green plastic bucket unceremoniously placed over one’s head by Andrew Taylor. It was no good complaining about the fit. Like many people who qualify for a bus pass I have found that my wife’s voice has got steadily fainter with time (she will deny it) and on some carefully considered occasions actually cannot be heard, so, bearing in mind the added impairment caused by the bucket, I urged her to speak up. I did not want to lose the front apron as one car did when it hit a plastic cone inadvertently and Peter had, after all, urged us all to take care when driving around. Fortunately, I found that after a few moments of ‘being under instruction’ my wife’s voice reached such a pitch that I began to query my driving ability but it enabled me to hear better than for a long time. It was therefore no fault of hers that our performance was not of the highest quality. However, we completed the course without the sound of shattered glass from the nearby greenhouses. So that was alright.
The gymkhana activities kept a lot of drivers very busy and provided excellent spectator sport. The prize giving was well after its scheduled time of 4.30pm; well, everyone was having such a splendid time. Some were clever enough to win more than once. However, the ruling was that you could only accept one prize which at least helped to distribute prizes more widely. The prize giving ended the day’s formal activities but the warm and sunny weather resulted in a very slow exodus of cars with crews who were no doubt looking forward to the possibility of a return next year.
I feel certain that everyone who attended will want me to express their thanks to Peter and Thelma and their family of helpers for organising and providing such a varied and interesting programme, lets hope this will become an annual event.
The winners* of the competitions were:-
Pride of Ownership, 4cyl - Bob Hudson ‘C’ Type
Pride of Ownership, 6cyl - Peter Prosser KN
Bent wire - Jo Ward
Jigsaw (MG) - Walter Kallenberg
Jigsaw (Safety Fast) - Jo Ward
What Yearbook? - Russell Thomas
What is it? - Walter Kallenberg
Gymkhana Width test - Philip Bayne-Powell
Parking test - Colin Henderson/Alex Reid
Time test - Geoffrey Jarvis
Blindfold test - Alex Reid
Height test - Rosemary Bayne-Powell/ Bob Hudson
*A more comprehensive listing of all competitor placings can be viewed and downloaded from the ‘Document Download’ page and pictures taken at the ‘Register Summer Gathering’ can be viewed on the ‘Pictures - Events’ page on this website.
Report by Paul Duncombe.
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| Event : Triple-M Prescott Weekend 28/08/2004 |
Prescott hill climb, owned by the Bugatti Owners Club, is set in the beautiful and scenic Cotswolds the nearest town being Winchcombe.
Our event was based on the Hotel De La Bere - an old manor house set in its own large grounds with ample secure parking for our cars. There were 17 rooms reserved by entrants, we had our own separate dining area on Friday evening 26th thus ensuring the weekend got off to a good social start; the bonus was that several non-residents decided to also dine at the hotel. The car park was a Triple-M delight with some 30 cars parked. The award for the longest drive to Prescott must surely belong to Ian Coxon who drove all the way from Falmouth, Cornwall, in the rain and in the Bank holiday traffic.
On Saturday morning we moved to the paddock area of the Prescott hill climb to sign on, also there was Pride of Ownership (POO) concours. The entry totalled 41 cars ranging from Ted Hack’s D type through all the models including the PA Airline owned by Curt Jensen for over 40 years. It was also very pleasing to welcome Christian Hopner who bought his J2 from Germany, Frank Allocca who came over from the USA to drive his recently acquired J4 replica, and John and Brenda Hancock who had shipped their J2 from New Zealand to tour Europe. After the POO, entrants were able to enjoy a scenic tour with the route and quiz set by the Bayne-Powell’s. This ended at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe. We had negotiated a discount on the entry fee to the castle and had our own dedicated and roped off car park; it looked fantastic with about 30 cars parked in the welcome sunshine. Allan and Jeanne Herring were passengers in Chris Lewis’s PB 4 seater, it was a good job the weather was fine as they may not have all fitted in with the hood up.. Those who chose not to do the tour were free to enjoy the other attractions in the area.
The Gala dinner was held on Saturday evening at Prescott Lodge overlooking the paddock area and with distant views over the Cotswolds. We had 73 people sit down to a very enjoyable evening meal. Allan and Jeanne Herring, John and Helen Gillett, all on holiday from Australia, joined us for the weekend. There was a raffle and Frank Allocca gave a very amusing “off the cuff” after dinner speech during which he recalled the problems encountered with his recently purchased J4 replica, these had been rectified at short notice by Barry Foster. Frank had only collected the car from Barry on the 26th and driven it up to the Hotel De La Bere that afternoon! Frank also said how much he enjoyed the company and camaraderie of his fellow Triple-M owners. Once again the Cotswolds echoed to the sound of Triple-M cars being driven from Prescott after the dinner – the prize for the noisiest cars definitely belonged jointly to the blown C types of Bob Hudson and Phil Bayne-Powell.
Sunday was the day for runs up Prescott hill the local Rotarian’s motor club joining us; their entry ranged from an Austin 7 saloon right up to XK Jaguars and a Cobra replica. Our entry was boosted by Colin and Sue Alderman’s K3014, John Adams in J4003, Robert Ward and Brian Rhead in their PA’s whilst Len and Chris Goff were spectators with K2015. Rodney Lambert organised the successful Bring and Buy stall, and both Barry Walker and Andy King had trade stands – the latter exhibiting his newly acquired ex Roger Sweet single seat K type racer. The extended Bugatti Trust Museum was also open for the day. This is an extremely interesting museum and the exhibits were enhanced with the presence of a genuine Bugatti Royale belonging to the VW group. It had been brought to the UK as part of the 75th Bugatti anniversary event based at Prescott earlier in the summer. As a further bonus the Royale was started up and driven from Prescott on its way back to Germany. Frank Allocca found the museum to be of particular interest as he discovered numerous period photos of his Type 35B Bugatti, at one stage it was driven to a record Prescott time for lady drivers.
Those who drove their cars up the hill thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and needless to say there were some very spirited drives including Colin Alderman in his K3 and John Adams in the J4, unfortunately John was stopped from driving because the car exceeded the noise regulations. Mike Allison was also very rapid in his Monte Carlo NA until clutch maladies in his ENV box led to a ride home on a break down truck. Our Australian friends also enjoyed rides up the hill as passengers.
The comments on the event from all entrants was very favourable, the weekend was held in a very happy and relaxed atmosphere added to which was the enjoyment of driving our Triple-M cars in very picturesque scenery on un-crowded minor roads and of course up the historic Prescott hill.
On a personal note my enjoyment was thoroughly enhanced by the very generous loan by Peter Green of his NE Aramis, a lovely car that goes as well as it looks.
In closing I would like to thank our sponsors Barry Walker who supported the event, and Mike Dowley of Sports and Vintage Motors who sponsored the Pride of Ownership concours. Thanks are also due to Andy King for bringing his trade stand, exhibiting the K type that had not been seen for many years, and his contribution to our funds.
Paul Duncombe experienced the only downside to the event when he discovered someone had swopped a very poor engine oil dipstick for his good one. The person concerned should return the item in an unmarked envelope.
George Eagle.
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| Event : MGCC Silverstone - Walker Freight Services - Kimber Trophy Race 24/07/2004 |
This year the Triple-M race was again amalgamated with the T type race due to the lack of entries for both races. The Triple-M part of the race comprised of 15 Triple-M cars, 2 Wolseley Hornet Specials and a Lagonda Rapier, the T type part comprised of 11 T types and 5 ‘T ‘ engined specials. This report deals only with the Triple-M part of the race.
Official practice took place on Saturday morning. Dick Last in his Ex. Reg. Parnell twin cam K3 (K3009) was the fastest car overall and about 4 seconds faster than the next Triple-M car which was Tom Dark in his re-creation of Doreen Evans’ single seat Q type. Third fastest, 16 seconds behind Dick, was Tim Metcalfe driving Mike Allison’s NE looking race car. As usual there was a vast difference in speed between the fastest and slowest Triple-M cars about 40 seconds difference between the single seat K3 and a standard unblown P type - which meant that the slowest cars were only going to complete six laps compared with the winner’s eight.
The front row of the grid comprised Dick Last in his K3 and Tony Seber in his Wolseley Hornet Special, the second row contained Tom Dark in his Q type re-creation. The next Triple-M car was Tim Metcalf in 15th place followed by Peter Altenbach’s ‘P’ type special in 18th position, with the rest of the Triple-M cars occupying places 21 to 34.
At the drop of the flag Tony Seber got a better start than Dick Last and at the end of the first lap he held a slender lead, Dick was able to get ahead on the second lap and opened up a gap of forty seconds by the end of the race. Further down the field there were some close battles - Michael Coles in his very nice red K3 replica was always closely followed by Robert Dean, who was driving Robin Butler’s Ex Dougdale blown N type and John Dutton in his blown K2. Peter Green and Colin Alderman were never more than a couple of seconds apart in their K3’s and Gunther Stamm (NE) and Andrew Taylor (PB) were also having their own race.
Dick Last was the only Triple-M car to cover the full 8 laps as he lapped every other Triple-M competitor at least once, he finished 40 seconds ahead of second place man Tony Seber in his Wolseley Hornet Special and 42 seconds ahead of the leading T type which was in third place. Tom Dark had mechanical problems and pulled into the pits at the end of his seventh lap, but unknown to him Dick Last had already taken the chequered flag so he was classed as finishing in 14th place (second Triple-M car) just ahead of Tim Metcalfe in Mike Allison’s N type. Fourth Triple-M position went to Peter Altenbach, who was closely followed by Michael Coles, Robert Dean and John Dutton. The only non finisher was David Cooksey in his C type which dropped a valve.
As usual there was a handicap element to the Triple-M race for the Mary Harris Trophy and this year the result was very close with under 8 seconds covering the top eleven places, the winner was Tim Metcalfe followed by Peter Altenbach, Dick Last, Gunther Stamm and Peter Green.
Trophy Winners
Kimber Trophy (First Triple-M car), Dick Last K3 twin cam.
Mary Harris Trophy (Handicap winner), Tim Metcalfe NB
Don Moore Trophy (Fastest un-blown 4 cylinder car), Andrew Taylor PB ‘Cream Cracker’
Class Winners
Class A. Andrew Taylor, PB ‘Cream Cracker’
Class B. Gunther Stamm, NE ‘Aramis’
Class C. Peter Green, K3
Class D. Tom Dark, Q copy.
Class E. Dick Last, K3 twin cam.
Peter Green
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| Event : Merry Fiddlers Classic Car Night 18/05/2004 |
Over 120 cars took part in the Merry Fiddlers Classic Car Night held on 17th May near Epping in Essex. The event was blessed with warm sunny weather and this brought out the cars in large numbers. All classic vehicles were welcomed and ages ranged from an early 1920’s Vauxhall to 1970’s Lotus 7s. Triple-M MGs were represented by Ian MacKay’s K1, Mike Linward’s J2, both recently returned from the Caledonian Two Day Scenic Tour, Len Bull's J2 and Keith Hall’s newly restored NA on its first run from Southend. The field next to the Merry Fiddlers was not quite full of cars so there is room for more next year. Make a note in your diary against the third Monday of May and come along.
Mike Linward |
| Event : Shelsley Walsh 07/07/2003 |
On Sunday 7th July 2003, Martin Walford broke the Shelsley Walsh class 4 record in K3020. Martin's time was 42.22 seconds. The previous record, 42.43 seconds, was held by Ken MacMaster in a BMW 328.
Thanks to E. Dean Butler for the news. |
| Event : MGCC Silverstone - Walker Freight Services- Kimber Trophy Race 21/06/2003 |
Unfortunately, this year the International Silverstone Weekend clashed with three other events that attracted Triple-M cars so the number of entries for the Walker Freight Services – Kimber Trophy Race was reduced to just seventeen cars. As a result, the organisers were forced to amalgamate ‘our race’ with the T type race. The race took part on the 2.25 mile International circuit, which is liked by Triple-M competitors.
As usual there was an un-timed practice session on the Friday for each race that was taking part over the weekend; before the Triple-M session started there were drama’s as George Rozwadowski was unable to start his Turner MG single seat race car and the engine in Dick Last’s K3 (K3009) would not turn over when the starter button was pressed (later diagnosed as the engine having hydraulic’d due to the supercharger being full of fuel). Things were not much better out on the track as John Seber (driving the ex-Roger Sweet KN single seat race car) had supercharger problems and Philip Walker had missed a gear in his very quick K3 replica which caused the engine to go way past its rev limit, resulting in a valve coming into contact with a piston.
Official timed practice took place in dry sunny conditions on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, only fourteen Triple-M cars took part as Philip Walker, John Seber and Dick Last were not able to rectify the previous day’s problems - Dick’s turned out to be much worse than first thought, when the engine hydraulic’d it bent a con rod to such an extent that it would not even go up the 60mm bore. George Rozwadowski had been able to get his car running on Friday afternoon, the problem being caused by contaminated methanol.
At the end of the practice session the published times were more or less as expected, George Rozwadowski was the fastest Triple-M car in class E (the other three cars in his class all non-started for the reasons mentioned above). Tim Metcalf was fastest in class D driving Mike Allison’s cream and brown supercharged N type race car (Mike was over in Ireland taking part in the TT’s 75 Year Celebrations with his Monte Carlo NA). Class C was headed by Gunther Stamm in his K3 (K3017), but he was complaining that it was getting too hot and losing water. Unfortunately, classes B and A only had one competitor each which meant that Oliver Richardson (driving Peter Green’s NE) and Andrew Taylor in the Cream Cracker headed their respective classes. Mention must be made that due to the small number of Triple-M entries Tony Seber was allowed to enter his Wolseley Hornet Special, but was not eligible for any Triple-M awards. For those who do not know this car it is a very quick 1750cc supercharged special, his best lap was just half a second quicker than George in the Turner MG.
When the cars formed up on the grid for the race the first three cars were T types followed by Tony Seber in the Wolseley Hornet Special and George Rozwadowski in the Turner MG. Further down the grid K3017 had not taken up its place, Gunther Stamm having decided to scratch as he thought that the car was not capable of racing the full race distance as he had not been able to cure its overheating problem, this was unfortunate as it reduced the number of Triple-M cars on the grid to just thirteen.
When the lights went to green Tony Seber was able to power ahead of the three T types that were in front of him on the grid to take the lead which he held to the chequered flag. All the way down the field there were private battles. George Rozwadowski, the leading Triple-M driver, who was in fifth position at the end of lap 1 was being chased by a TC, he was able to stay ahead of it until lap 5. George finished the race in seventh position but lead the Triple-M cars home.
Mike Dowley in his very quick P special got up to tenth place by the end of lap 1, having started in fourteenth position, and was lapping in close company to Tim Metcalfe (N special). The pair were never more than three seconds apart for the whole race, Tim finishing just ahead of Mike.
John Clark who was having his first race in his recently restored ex-Tom Wisdom Alpine Trial L2, which now has a 1408cc supercharged engine, was able to gain five places on the first lap, in the process getting ahead of John Dutton’s blown K2. The two were neck and neck for three laps until the K2 was able to get ahead on lap 4, a position it held to the end of the race.
Peter Altenbach (J4006), Peter Green (K3011) and Geraint Lewis (supercharged J2 special) spent the whole race in close company, each leading the group at different times. At the end, the K3 was just over a second ahead of the J4, with the J2 special a further 6 seconds behind.
The next group of Triple-M cars consisted of Reid Yates (supercharged N), Colin Alderman (K3014) and Andrew Taylor (PB Cream Cracker). On paper Reid’s N type should have been the quickest as it had a blown 1408cc engine, but unfortunately it had an ‘off day’ and was overheating. Colin was not ‘giving it all’ as he was running in a rebuilt engine, which explains why Andrew was able to keep up with both of them. Although Reid was able to get ahead at the start he soon started to drop back, which meant that by the end of lap 4 he had been overtaken by both Colin and Andrew, as well as Oliver Richardson who was driving Peter Green’s NE.
Taking up the rear of the field was Gilbert Collins in his J2, which was unfortunately also having an ‘off day’. He had to retire, in the pits, at the end of lap 3.
Although the race was run on a scratch basis there was also a handicap element for the Mary Harris Trophy. Our Competition Secretary, Mike Linward, arranges for an official MSA Handicapper to work out the handicaps, which are based on the practice times and times from previous events. When the handicap results had been worked out John Dutton (K2) was the winner, 8 seconds ahead of Tim Metcalfe (N) who was 6 seconds ahead of Geraint Lewis (J2).
Trophy Winners
Kimber Trophy (First Triple-M car) George Rozwadowski, Turner MG
Mary Harris Trophy (Handicap winner) John Dutton, K2
Don Moore Trophy (Fastest un-blown 4 cylinder car) Andrew Taylor, PB ‘Cream Cracker’
Class Winners
Class A. Andrew Taylor, PB ‘Cream Cracker’
Class B. Oliver Richardson, NE ‘Aramis’
Class C. Peter Green, K3
Class D. Tim Metcalfe, NB
Class E. George Rozwadowski, Turner MG
Report by Peter Green
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| Event : Pre-War Sports Car race, BRDC Silverstone 24/05/2003 |
As there was no 'Coys' event this year the BRDC decided to include a two driver Pre-War Sports Car race as part of their May Bank Holiday Weekend Meeting. Two teams of MG's were invited to take part - a 6 cylinder team which comprised of three K3's (Peter Green's K3011, Colin Alderman's K3014 and Dean Butler's K3020) and a 4 cylinder team which comprised of Barry Foster's C type, David Cooksey's C type and Hamish McNinch's P type. The rest of the entry, which totalled 40 cars, comprised of teams of Alta, Alvis, Aston Martin, Bentley, Riley and Talbot and mixed car teams which included Alfa Romeo, Delage, Frazer Nash, Invicta, Lagonda, Lea Francis and Maserati.
Practice took place late Saturday afternoon in dry conditions with both drivers having to qualify, the time set by the fastest driver in each car determined the starting grid positions. The fastest MG driver was Andrew Taylor, driving Peter Green’s K3 who qualified eighth, just ahead of Steve Hyett driving Dean Butler’s K3 which qualified tenth. Barry Foster and David Cooksey qualified in twenty sixth and twenty seventh places respectively in their C types which was a very good performance as they were by far the smallest cars taking part, Colin Alderman and Hamish McNinch qualified just behind the C types.
The race was scheduled as the first race on Bank Holiday Monday which the competitors were pleased with as it meant that they could watch the rest of the day’s racing. The organizers had decided that there would be a mock Le Mans start for the benefit of the spectators so the cars were lined up in echelon against the pit wall with the drivers on the other side of the track, as the flag dropped the drivers sprinted across the track into their cars and raced away. The drivers were very glad that this was not the proper start of the race as the track was very congested with four and five cars across it in some places. The drivers had been told at the drivers briefing that this was not going to be the start of the race, they were told to drive round the track and line up on the grid for the official start.
At the end of the first lap the order was Alta, Maserati, Alta, Talbot, Frazer Nash, Lagonda, Aston Martin and in eighth place was Andrew Taylor in Peter Green’s K3, the next MG was Dean Butler’s K3 in seventeenth place, the rest of the MG’s were not far behind. By lap three Andrew Taylor was up to sixth place but that was as high as he was to get as he was having gear selection problems, when he came into the pits to hand over to Peter he had slipped down to thirteenth place but was still the leading MG. The car by this time was stuck in top gear, so the engine stalled during the driver change and could not be started on the starter so had to be push started. With Peter having to do his whole stint in top gear the car gradually slipped further back to finish in seventeenth position. By contrast, Dean Butler’s K3 driven by Steve Hyett and Michael Windsor-Price steadily climbed up the field and finished in fourteenth position. The K3 of Colin Alderman which was co-driven by Pat Boghossian finished further down the field.
The four cylinder team all ran well, with Hamish McNinch’s P type co-driven by Fred Boothby finishing in twenty fifth place, they were followed by David Cooksey’s C type co-driven by Oliver Richardson and Barry Foster’s C type co-driven by Mark Green, these three cars did exceedingly well considering that they were by far the smallest capacity cars in the race.
Andrew Taylor was the fastest driver in the six cylinder team and Barry Foster was the fastest driver in the four cylinder team.
Peter Green.
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| Event : Merry Fiddlers Classic Car Night - Epping, Essex 19/05/2003 |
There were a disappointing number of cars attending this year's Merry Fiddlers Classic Car Night, probably discouraged from even starting out by a torrential downpour early in the evening. However, about sixty or seventy cars, mostly post-war classics, braved the cold wet weather and were well entertained by the Frog Island Jazz Band, but there was little call on the outdoor barbeque. There were only two Triple-M cars; the K1 Tourer of Ian MacKay and the J2 of Mike Linward, both back from their recent trip to Scotland. Keith Hall’s J2 only managed a few miles from its home base in Southend before a fuel problem, probably the reserve petrol tap, brought progress to a halt. The rest of the journey was completed in the family Rover. Although the rain had stopped by about 8 p.m., conditions were not conducive to remaining out doors and the whole assembly retired to the bar. Although numbers were disappointing, those who were there enjoyed the evening and hoped for better weather next year.
Mike Linward
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| Event : Colerne Sprint 05/05/2003 |
This was the second event in the 2003 Speed Championship and took place on May 5th and, as usual, was organised by the South West Centre of the MGCC.
There were seven Triple-M cars entered but only four turned up on the day, John Neighbour’s N type was feeling a bit sick so he took part in his MGB, Colin and Sue Alderman had forgotten when they submitted their entries that they would be on holiday, which was a shame as Colin had entered his K3 and Sue was down to double drive the Cream Cracker with Elizabeth Taylor. This left Mike Hawke who had entered his J2, Elizabeth Taylor in the Cream Cracker, Richard Last in his NE look-a-like N type and Peter Green in his K3.
As usual Mike Linward had produced handicap times for each competitor, these being based on known performance figures from previous events. Peter Green and Richard Last had been set the fastest times of 105 seconds for the 2900 yard course, Mike Hawke’s time was 114 seconds and Elizabeth Taylor’s 122 seconds.
The practice runs took place in the morning in fine weather. Mike Hawke was able to get below his handicap time with a best time of 112.90 sec’s which indicated that Mike Linward might not have got Mike’s handicap time correct. Richard Last was the closest to his handicap time with a time of 105.90 sec’s followed by Peter Green with a time of 106.43 sec’s and Elizabeth Taylor with a time of 126.29 sec’s, she was complaining of front wheel wobble which, on examination, was due to the tyres on the front wheels she had borrowed not being fitted correctly, these were changed before the afternoon timed runs.
Each competitor had two timed runs in the afternoon, Mike Hawke was only able to improve on his practice time by 0.16 sec’s which indicated that Mike Linward’s handicap times were OK after all. Elizabeth Taylor steadily improved her times, her best being 122.55 sec’s, only just off her handicap time. Richard Last was able to improve on his best practice time by 2.59 sec’s with his last run at 103.31 sec’s. Peter Green also steadily improved his times, his last run stopping the clock at 103.92 sec’s just slower than Richard.
After Mike Linward had worked out the handicap results Richard Last was declared the winner followed by Mike Hawke, Peter Green and Elizabeth Taylor. All the competitors quickest times were within 1.5% of Mike Linward’s handicap times which goes to show how good his data base of times is, perhaps Bernie Ecclestone should employ him to handicap the current Formula I Grand Prix’s to make them more exciting.
Peter Green.
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| Event : MG Car Club – Caledonian Centre Two Day Scenic Tour 03/05/2003 |
This year’s Caledonian Tour took place in poor weather. A full entry of 61 cars started out from the Dalmeny Park Hotel, Barrhead of which 11 were Triple-M cars. These were; Duncan & Betty Lang, M; Mike Linward, J2; Ian & Sheila MacKay, K1; Ron & Joan Spinks, PA; Tony Wild & Heidi Moran, PA 4 seater; Ernie & Elizabeth Page, PA; Malcolm Kirby, PA; Colin & Elizabeth MacLachlan, PA; Dave & Mary Stewart, PA; Keith & Jill Jackson PA 4 seater and Keith Hall who should have been in his NA but that car is still off the road so instead drove his J2. George & Carol Cooper were also down to drive their J2 but this too is off the road at present and instead joined the Tour in an MGB GT, which was very appropriate, considering the weather. The Saturday route took in Lock Tom, Largs and Dunoon (via the ferry from Gourock) where there was a lunch stop. The afternoon included Tignabruich, Glendaruel, Strachur and Inveraray where the tour halted for the night having covered 134 miles. While the party enjoyed the evening dinner at the Argyll Hotel, the rain started and by Sunday morning was more or less persistent. Following an informal concours, those brave enough to continue the route took in Taynult, the Connel Bridge at Oban, and lunch stop at Port Appin. Then through Glen Coe, Tyndrum, Crainlarich and Ardlui with a final stop at the Tarbet Hotel. The Sunday drive covered 125 miles topped off with 50mm of rain. Fortunately the weather could not stop everyone enjoying themselves and Secretary of the Meeting Ron Spinks and Clerk of the Course David Mcleod and all the helpers from within the Caledonian group are to be congratulated for a well organised and well run event.
Mike Linward |
| Event : Kimber Trophy Trial 26/04/2003 |
An enjoyable day was had by all the entrants to the Kimber Trophy Trial, with the emphasis this year being on making the course non-damaging. Alan Grassam and his team are to be congratulated in achieving their aim, at the same time providing a route which took one through delightful countryside.
The owner of the winning car, that well-known entrepreneur Patrick Gardner, has never been in the awards, but clearly there is nothing wrong with the car as his friend Tim proceeded to win the Triple-M class with a fine consistent performance, using Patrick as ballast. |
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20 records found
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