2015 MG Classic At Manfeild

[Steve Holmes]

Is anyone attending this event? Maybe they could snap a few photos for us?

[Steve Holmes]

Looks like plenty of quality in the Historic Touring Car field.

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[Spgeti]

I will take my camera tomorrow Steve but I ain't a photographer.....

Very nice historic touring car field and quite a few HSS, HMC and HMC guys to keep me company..

[AMCO72]

Isnt it amazing. Looking through the entry list you are hard pressed to find a Mini racing any more. What has happened ? Are we too slow now, or have real Minis joined the ranks of the too valuable.....Mk 1 Lotus Cortinas etc....to risk space on the track. Owners spend, in one case in excess of $100,000 on their cars, so are reluctant to risk damage......stone or otherwise. It seems to me that this is general over all Classic meetings in NZ.......Australia manages to get a good bunch of Minis to race together but not here, where once upon a time.....like the fairy story, there were masses of them, and Anglias, which also seem to have disappeared. If it hasnt got a V8 well forget about it........I see I was entered in the 1986 Whitakers event, and my times were pretty woeful compared to what is par these days......

[ERC]

Without either speed groupings, handicaps or speed bars, I'm afraid it is all about big horsepower now. There are three Minis heading back to the ERC Series AMCO, and they are not going to be monstered by 800bhp dragsters. I think we'll see a resurgence in replica Coopers as drivers see them as a cheaper alternative to the V8s.

[CUSTAXIE50]

What a great too days Friday and Saturday...pissing down today when I got up..has stopped now may be all right for today not going.The driver of the day on Saturday has to be Graham Barnes in his Capri..on the Friday 3rd gear let go they fixed it that night and came back Saturday talk about driving the wheels off this old girl.. the best run he has had for sometime.. and the way he went about getting up to the front in the last race for the day.On top of that Central Muscle Cars..F5000 (Ken Smith) Pre65's a top show put on by all the drivers..and on top of that 8.3 can-am car not much more one can say about this car.

[Kiwiboss]

Isnt it amazing. Looking through the entry list you are hard pressed to find a Mini racing any more. What has happened ? Are we too slow now, or have real Minis joined the ranks of the too valuable.....Mk 1 Lotus Cortinas etc....to risk space on the track. Owners spend, in one case in excess of $100,000 on their cars, so are reluctant to risk damage......stone or otherwise. It seems to me that this is general over all Classic meetings in NZ.......Australia manages to get a good bunch of Minis to race together but not here, where once upon a time.....like the fairy story, there were masses of them, and Anglias, which also seem to have disappeared. If it hasnt got a V8 well forget about it........I see I was entered in the 1986 Whitakers event, and my times were pretty woeful compared to what is par these days......

So if that’s the case, what’s the difference between Australia and here?(and other country’s I guess) I know what the difference is, CAMS have a strong Historic and Classic commission that has regulated their historic motorsport for 30 years, they have stopped the technology creep which intern stops costing competitors more and more dollars!! A mini built 20 years ago still has a regulated class to race in Gerald, or if you park it up(your Mini) for a couple of years and come back and it’s still basically the same(having raced in Australia myself an spoken with many racers I DO have a pretty good idea). Over here they(Minis) get more and more modified until owners/racers throw their hands in the air(of period cars) or those that just plan don’t want to modify them by adding modern technology and go away and then the fields get smaller and smaller and then the event organisers keep adding more and more “modern” or “Allcomers” type cars to make up the numbers and so the viscous circle starts until the class implodes and disappears. Remember the cars don’t vanish, they are still out there somewhere but the owners chose not to race at events like this where the format is based on “Allcomers”(or they have sold them and moved on) and also on the other side of the coin I do understand the event organisers have growing costs but if proper regulations were implemented all those years ago we would(like Australia) have more correct cars and more of them at events, that is a proven fact.

The crazy thing Gerald is myself and others have been pushing MSNZ into getting involved(there total hands of approach has not worked) so we can have grids for these historic cars(like Australia and elsewhere) because few as there may be it would be nice to try and prize them out of the wood work(or in the case of HMC build new cars with new people getting involved but this takes time) and part of this was the recent Strategic Plan I posted up the other week, all that happened was it getting shot to pieces by the vocal FEW, several private messages and E-mails made me understand that most with common sense don’t want to post on open forums but do agree with the process, like our government not everyone one is happy but it is all we have to work with and that is what we are trying to do with MSNZ, for better or worst.

[Spgeti]

Yes, drive of the day was Graham in his 40 year old Historic Capri....in the allcomers class along with Mark Allen, Freinza, Roger Davis, Torana SLR, John Telford, Mazda RX8 shoved in with latest Porsche RS, Mini 7, Mini Challenge, MX5s and a whole lot of those that just did not fit. Graham and the boys did well to get through the traffic with out a problem and a deserved win to Graham fighting of the wizz bang Porsche and showing his skill of tolerance and preservation.

Great Heritage Touring car field of 28 but suffered from mechanicals by a few. F5000 x 8 off and a good display by them and their supporters after all 14 off them had been overseas and one can accept the grid numbers. Formula Juniors, FF's, historic sports cars ie U2s etc put on great show. The sports car grid was a mixture of real modern Radicals etc along with the sole vintage McLaren ...beautiful car but the grid was a let down. BMW open was a good race and the same goes with Pre 65's and CMC.

The rest was just shoved in together......

Classic event ?.....no, but good on MG for what they put on, but it reflects the state of our classic race scene.

To our HMC, HSC and HSS guy's.....thanks for your attendance and your hospitality. I enjoyed meeting you all.

Cheers
BruceD

[Powder]

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[Powder]

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The info board next to this M3 implied it was the original Cecotto/Brancatelli car from the 1987 WTCC.
I think Mark Petch might have bought it after the Wellington round, but does anyone know where it's been for the last 25 years? Roger Townshend (of Cologne Capri fame) was driving it.

[Andrew Metford]

Who is that in the orange M8E/F?

Can we see an entry list / results online somewhere?

[beowulf]

Who is that in the orange M8E/F?

Can we see an entry list / results online somewhere?

The McLaren M8E was driven very well by Warwick Mortimer. There was also a McLaren M1B driven by Andrew Robertson. Both cars were fantastic to see and listen to. Unfortunately no match for the modern sports cars who are so much faster through the corners. But to hear the two McLarens winding up down the straights was worth the entry fee.
Some great racing through all the fields. A large and varied entry with true classics up against relative moderns. Purists might get a little sniffy, but I will guarantee if you talk to the drivers they all had a ball. And that is what it is all about.
Thank you MG Car Club, Ron Robertson and Naomi Bray and all your helpers for another thoroughly enjoyable event.
Beowulf

[conrod]

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The info board next to this M3 implied it was the original Cecotto/Brancatelli car from the 1987 WTCC.
I think Mark Petch might have bought it after the Wellington round, but does anyone know where it's been for the last 25 years? Roger Townshend (of Cologne Capri fame) was driving it.

Yes correct, bought by MP in 1987, and it has been in NZ ever since. It has had a bit of a chequered history as far as some of it's owners go, and has been unused since recently. Was one of the first Group A M3's ever built, and this weekend just gone was the first time Roger had driven one, which to his credit he drove very well. Now belongs to Pete Sturgeon, so it is in good hands how :)

[Howard Wood]

Who is that in the orange M8E/F?

Can we see an entry list / results online somewhere?

marktime.co.nz Full results there: http://www.marktime.co.nz/results/mg-classic-motor-racing/2015/11/14

[Andrew Metford]

Thank you Howard and Beowulf.

I don't care for the modern sports cars being quicker, they have no soul or character. I'd pay the admission price any day of the year to listen to that sweet big block music winding up.

Found some pics here http://www.tracktorque.nz/reviews/2015-mg-classic/