EVENTS   (page 3)

Cliveden   Silverstone  PLumpton

Was the weather going to hold off for today's run - the English summer had done it's worse on almost every other run this year - however today, although overcast, was warm enough to go topless for the whole day !! We gathered at the Wisley car park with a good assortment of other MG's from a YA saloon to a Trophy 160. We had no problems following the tulips this time, probably because the route took us to within about two miles of our own home - so for the first hour we were really on home territory !. After this we veered towards Windsor and out to Taplow and were soon arriving at the gates of Cliveden. No sign of the rich scandals of the past as we  parked up in the F enclosure on a slight incline. All the marques were in their own areas on the spacious show grounds. The B register had arranged their own Pride of Ownership competition and the A's had a round of their Concours. The rest of us were happy to wander around the extensive grounds and admire both the machinery and the house (now turned into a luxury hotel !)

There were about 350 cars on the field which was a very good turnout considering it was Brazil v Germany in the World Cup Final on the same day. Interest must have waned amongst MG Enthusiasts as only a couple of them huddled around the small TV to watch the game.

The B's were the largest contingent but there were also a good selection of A's and F's including several TF's. A couple of  the lesser spotted colours turned up including a sienna Gold and a Volcano amongst the F's and a nice colour coded Le Mans Green TF with green hood.  Other cars of note included a very nice SA saloon and a metro with it's roof chopped off. Two Z cars put in an appearance and two Maestros although the day was dominated mainly by the B's.

The weather held off despite a few  threatening clouds and a couple of minor rain spots. Saturday is traditionally more of a racing day at the MG Car Club's Silverstone International and , accordingly, we were treated to nine races including the fantastic sight of the only non MG race of the day - the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship. What a selection of great sports cars - including a Jaguar XKD, selection of Lotus's, Cooper Monaco, Lister Knobbly, Lola Mk1 etc etc. Probably the highlight of the day although there was an excellent tussle in the MGF dominated Jamie Hunter Memorial race between the two JHR drivers resulting in Steven Warburtons no 2 car just pipping Steven Hunters no 1 car at the post. It was also good to see MG boss, Rob Oldaker, getting his hands dirty on the track in a ZR. 

The rest of the show was up to the usual high standard - plenty of MG's in the register parking areas including many rare and interesting models. On the F front it was good to see quite a few TF's turn up even if one did get a puncture !. Most were fairly normal although some had gone over to the "dark side" considerably with huge spoilers and assorted chrome bits but nothing too outrageous- even Scarlet Fever was clean for the day !.  The MGF Extreme was also on display at the back of the MG Sport and Racing pit. It was a real pleasure to walk through the pits and see the mechanics and drivers tweaking the engines and in the case of one  BV8 looking tearfully at a completely wrecked front end after a spin. 

The B register had put on their 40th anniversary display in the main marquee and you could find several interesting cars in here including the very last roadster and GT LE's off the production line and a unique Aston Martin prototype B when that company made a failed bid to take over MG. The vintage section were also in evidence with a fine display of the oldest MG's including the rebuilt "Old Speckled Hen".

Taking a stroll among the many retailers and trade stands  you could find just about any "bit" imaginable and in whatever condition - there were some rusty old parts on offer and even rusty old cars at exorbitant prices ! There were also some fine cars for sale including an interesting MGBGT "Combo" with a roadster trailer and a V8 conversion 2+2 roadster (a GT with it's roof cut off !). You could also "accessorise" your favourite MG, buy pictures of it, buy models of it, buy covers for it - anything really. Yes Mike Satur was there so all the F'ers could make a bee line for his stall and buy their chrome cigarette lighters and door knobs in an even greater attempt to "Saturise" their cars.

Once again there was a huge turnout and despite reports from the British Grand Prix that the new road was open - it wasn't and there were still plentiful supplies of roadworks to hold you up en route. Sadly I could only make the saturday this year but I'm sure the sunday was just as good with even more MG's descending on Silverstone for another excellent day of parade laps, Gymkhanas, autotests and condition competions.

First I ought to say that we didn't stay for the whole weekend but only visited on the sunday. We therefore missed the Martlett Run which , I gather, had a slightly competitive element in the form of clues and also encountered the first of many torrential downpours over the weekend.

Sunday started looking reasonably bright and by the time we'd recovered from getting lost on the South Downs and finding Plumpton Race Course it was actually quite warm and pleasant. We found our spot in the Class E Pride of Ownership enclosure (cars from 2000 onwards) and set about with the polishing cloths. The Gymkhana was in full swing as we arrived with guest of honour , BBC South TV Weather girl Kaddy Lee Preston enthusiastically taking part. We settled in for what looked like a rather nice day - with an autojumble and several trade stands to look at and a marquee exhibiting various items from an extensive radio collection to model aircraft.. The marquee was to prove the most useful part of the whole afternoon for no sooner had the Gymkhana finished than the first spots of rain began to fall causing all the rag top owners to rush back and get their tops back on just before the first downpour. This was the pattern for the rest of the day - brief dry spells punctuated by torrential rain and even hail stones at one point. Just as well we had a TV weather girl present - perhaps she was a jinx - how do they keep so perpetually jolly ? 

In between the showers there was just time to vote in the Self judging Pride of Ownership competition. Finally the rain took over and the event looked in danger of totally collapsing - the overnight campers were making their sodden way home, the bar mopped up the lake that had formed under the tables, day visitors drifted away through the gloom. The more stalwart took shelter in the marquee and watched the Old Star Morris Men thump each other rhythmically with sticks.

Unfortunately there was a lot of confusion at the prizegiving particularly in the POO class D and E with a winner from class D and no runner up and a runner up in class E but no winner and also  in the Ladies choice competition. I'm not quite sure what happened here but luckily a friend spoke to the organisers about it and they then realised the mistake and JayPeG had, after all, won the Class F POO. Two weeks later the trophy arrived with Elaine at Loseley !. 

It was a shame the weather caused so many problems for the East Sussex MGOC who had put a lot of hard work in to organising the weekend - let's hope the sun shines on them next year.

As we took our leave from the show and headed up the A23 to London we came across a rather sad looking R reg MGF with crumpled front and rear end with emergency services around it - I don't think it was a car from Plumpton and we hope no one was badly hurt.