2008 is off to a flying start competition wise, with some excellent events already held, and much more to come.

Feb 10th saw the commencement of the Austin 7 Club’s Regularity series at Mallala – unfortunately clashing with the MSCA picnic presentation day at Tanunda. Peter Nelson (TR8) was TSOA’s only representative, posting very consistent times around 1:29 during the day finishing second in the last session.

Tom Hutchinson (TR8) competed in Round 1 of the Victorian Motor Racing Series held at Sandown on Sunday March 2nd placing consistently in the top section of the field, with a best result of 5th in the final race. Tom enjoyed a stellar season in 2007, placing 2nd in the championship, and with consistency during 2008, should place well again. Good luck Tom!

The 2nd March also saw Round 1 of the MSCA Sprint Series get under way at Mallala, but sadly, only one Triumph on the track, that being Neil Martin in his TR7 Sprint. Neil has been busy over the summer break installing a new 16 valve head sprint motor in his wedge, the pay back being his first venture under 1:40 with a best time for the day of 1:39.03. Well done Neil.

The traditional Easter weekend historic race and hill climb events have also concluded, with several TSOA members competing. The race meeting at Mallala saw Keith Williamson in his Farrell clubman compete in his historic racing class, Laurie Cousin in his TR2 having a go in Regularity, and two TR’s from Victoria competing in both the Group S historic Sports races and the Regularity event. Keith and son Alistair Ondarchie ran Keith’s TR4, (Keith in the Group S races, and Alistair in the Regularity) and Barry Pritchett and Ursula Weidenmuller shared Barry’s TR6 in a similar fashion.

Good to see some TR’s out there having a go! . . . and some great results as well! Out of the five Regularity runs for the weekend (separate sections for open and closed cars), Alistair produced two 1st places and a 2nd, Laurie scored two 1st and two 3rd places, and Ursula a 1st as well. One could be forgiven for suggesting that Triumphs ruled the Regularity events for the weekend! Well done drivers!
Our Victorian friends were the only entrants in their Group Sb Historic racing section (1961-69) with Barry Pritchett winning out over Keith in all races. Barry also won the first Group S handicap race, holding off the entire field for a well deserved result and placed second in the final event. I believe that all Triumph drivers went home with smiles and satisfaction for a great weekend of friendly motor sport.

Neil Martin entered the new Regularity section of the Collingrove Historic Hill Climb event on Easter Monday, and we look forward to hearing of Neil’s experience in due course.

If you are interested in seeing what hill climbing is all about, the Sporting Car Club is once again holding a “come-and-try” day at their Collingrove facility on April 5th. If you are interested, have a look at the Sporting Car Club website for entry details (refer to the “links” section of the TSOA site).

Also held over the Easter weekend was the Festival of Sporting Cars meeting held at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. This was the first event of its kind, and attracted an enormous level of entrants resulting in large fields of cars for each race category. Our own Tom Hutchinson travelled over to experience the Bathurst circuit at speed, and from the results on the Natsoft website, it looks like he enjoyed it, placing 4th in Race 1 and 3rd in the main feature race for Marque and Production Sports Cars. Tom’s best time for the weekend looked to be 1:34.41 – not too bad for an old Trumpy!

The MSCA is looking at new ways to gain the support of flag marshals for the sprint season, and has allocated that responsibility to each affiliated club (TSOA being one of these) to man the bunkers for just one day for the year. Our allocated day is the next sprint to be held on 13th April. Several members have nominated to attend, but I need some more. If you commit to a full day on duty, your reward will include lunch, drinks, a $25 MSCA redeemable voucher, parade laps around the Mallala circuit during the lunch break, and the sincere thanks of all competitors. So if you can help out, call Roger Lange and put your name forward.

This year’s MSCA 6-Hour Regularity Relay is being held on Sunday June 1st so if you are an experienced regularity competitor or sprinter and would be keen to join a TSOA team, contact Roger and register your interest.

For all upcoming events, refer to the full Competition Calendar contained on this site.

That’s enough from me . . . see you trackside!

Roger

DATE    EVENT    WHERE    BY
10-Feb    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
17-Feb    MSCA Presentation Day     Lehmann’s    MSCA
21-24 Feb    Clipsal 500    Adelaide     SAMSB
2-Mar    Super Sprint Round 1    Mallala    MSCA
22-23 Mar    Race – National Historics    Mallala    SCCSA
24-Mar    Hillclimb – Historics    Collingrove    SCCSA
5-Apr    Hillclimb – “Come and Try”    Collingrove    SCCSA
6-Apr    Hillclimb, Winter Cup Rd 1    Collingrove    SCCSA
6-Apr    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
12-Apr    SA Race Championships Rd 1 (Twilight)    Mallala    SCCSA
13-Apr    Super Sprint Round 2    Mallala    MSCA
3-4 May    SA Race Championships Rd 2    Mallala    SCCSA
25-May    Hillclimb, Multi Club    Collingrove    SCCSA
1-Jun    6 Hour Regularity Relay     Mallala    MSCA
29-Jun    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
29-Jun    Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint    Adel. Hills    SDCC
13-Jul    Hillclimb, Winter Cup Rd 2    Collingrove    SCCSA
20-Jul    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
3-Aug    Hillclimb Multi Club    Collingrove    SCCSA
17-Aug    Super Sprint Round 3     Mallala    MSCA
23-24 Aug    SA Race Championships Rd 3    Mallala    SCCSA
31-Aug    Hillclimb, Winter Cup Rd 3    Collingrove    SCCSA
13 Sep (Sat)    Super Sprint – Twilight    Mallala    MSCA
13-21 Sep    TSOA NATIONAL RALLY     Queensland    TSOA (Qld)
14-Sep    Modern Regularity SA Championship (&S’karts)    Mallala    A7C
20-Sep    Hillclimb – “Come & Try Day”    Collingrove    SCCSA
21-Sep    Hillclimb – Multi Club    Collingrove    SCCSA
4-5 Oct    Hillclimb – Vintage     Collingrove    SCCSA
11-12 Oct    Historic Demonstration    Lobethal
18-19 Oct    SA Hillclimb Championship    Collingrove    SCCSA
19-Oct    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
26-Oct    Super Sprint Round 4    Mallala    MSCA
8-9 Nov    Hillclimb – “Legend of the Lakes”    Mt Gambier    SEAC
9-Nov    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C
15-Nov    SA Race Championships Rd 4 – Twilight    Mallala    SCCSA
19-23 Nov    Classic Adelaide Rally    Adelaide     Silverstone
7-Dec    Modern Regularity & Superkarts    Mallala    A7C

There are just a couple of final events for the year to report on, and then it is a whole new 2008 season to look forward to. A new event for our calendar each year will be the Adelaide Hills Tarmac Sprint – a one day tarmac rally that takes in some of the closed sections used for the Classic Adelaide. It provides a practice opportunity for those entered in the Classic, but also allows other enthusiasts a taste of tarmac rally conditions for just one day at a fraction of the cost of the big event. Ian Wilson did the former in his TR7 V8 tarmac car, finishing 4th overall, and with a class win.

The 2007 TSOA National Rally hosted by Victoria was held from 3rd to 11th November and centred activities on Phillip Island and the south eastern Gippsland area of that State. Competition events comprised a Hillclimb at Morwell and track day at the fabulous Phillip Island circuit. The track day included a Super Sprint, Regularity competition, passenger laps (at about 80% speed) and parade laps – a little bit of something for everyone.

Neil Martin’s TR7 didn’t make it past the Tollgate on the day of departure due to fuel / carburetor problems. Unable to find a quick and permanent fix, Neil parked the TR7 and hitched a ride with John Wood in his GT6. The first day of the Rally is traditionally reserved for the Concours event but judging of the best cars had to be postponed due to heavy rain that fell all day. No complaints though, as everyone needs the rain much more than looking at shiny cars. It did make us a little nervous about the Hillclimb the following day though, as Morwell is not very nice when wet.

Not to worry – Monday turned out to be sunny and dry. There were just three competitors in the Hillclimb event from SA, being Bryan Young in his Vitesse, Rod Carey in the AMI Spitfire, and Roger Lange (that’s me) in the Dolomite Sprint. Morwell is a great little track – not a true Hillclimb in the climbing sense, but a short circuit that goes up and down and around, returning to the starting pad. What this means is that competitors get two runs in succession, which is just great! After an excellent day’s competition, Roger finished equal 4th outright, and winner of the modified saloon class with a time of 39.60, Rod posted a best of 40.98 and Bryan 45.04. Excellent fun! The quickest time of the day went to Brian Falloon (Qld) in his potent TR5 with 37.73

The track day at Phillip Island was also blessed with sunshine but a wind down the main straight would take a bit from potential maximum speeds during the day. This day was also the opportunity that the Concours judges were looking for the complete their job. Many of the cars being judged were also competing in track events, so it was a little unusual to go out for a flog on the track, and then come back to a reception of judges wanting to pore over your car. It all seemed to work though, and the favoured entries took home the silverware. Roger’s Dolly shone again (literally) with a Competition Class win.

Given that the main reason Neil Martin wanted to attend the National Rally was to experience the track events, it seemed such a shame that he would be destined to become a spectator. Roger offered him a drive in the Regularity event in his Dolomite Sprint, and you just couldn’t wipe the smile from Neil’s face! Not only that, but Neil came a close second in the competition! (He was to become a winner later in the Rally though, by taking out the major raffle prize!)

Roger’s Dolomite showed some potential in the Sprint, posting a best lap of 2:10.30 and once again winning the Modified Saloon class. Rod Carey put in lap times not up to where he was a lifetime ago in the same car,  but nevertheless, put in a best lap of 2:14.20. Neil Martin’s times in the borrowed Dolly were consistently around 1:20 and Bryan Young’s Vitesse produced a best of 2:34.40. Of the National Rally entrants (i.e., not recognizing day entrants in the Sprint, just the Rally trophy winners) Brian Falloon was once again the class act to beat, with a best time of 2:00.10, second went to Grant Turnbull in a borrowed TR8 with 2:03.90 and third to Greg Morsillo (TR7 Sprint) with 2:06.80. NSW took home the Competition Cup as overall team winners from both events.

Everyone enjoyed a great day, even Kevin McEnroe who had trailered his TR3 to the event. He and Chris thoroughly enjoyed their parade laps around the track at Phillip Island, as did John Wood in his GT6. Next year we look forward to the Rally being hosted by Queensland, and with their programme already well developed, I am sure that they will get excellent support next September – full details on the web site soon.

The only other event to report on was Round 4 of the SA Race Championships held on Nov. 17 with Ian Wilson (TR7 V8) competing in the Sports Cars races. Ian only qualified 9th with a best of 1:19.95, but improved to finish 3rd in the first race – best lap time was 1:14.12. From then on, gremlins struck, with a no-show for Race 2, and a DNF for Race 3. Keith Williamson (Farrell Clubman) also competed at this meeting in Historic Racing / Sports category.

Then it was time for the Classic Adelaide Rally. I have reported this event elsewhere on this site.

That’s enough from me . . . see you trackside!

Roger

This year’s event came to a close on Sunday 25/11 after four fun filled days for competitors and spectators alike. Unfortunately, luck was not on the side of Ian Wilson and Jahmeil Taylor, with the TR7 V8 sliding off the road on loose gravel during the first stage after lunch on Sunday. The car protected both Ian and Jahmeil from injury, but was destroyed in the rollover that ensued. Ian remains optimistic about the future, and is thankful for a strongly built and engineered car that left them sore but not seriously injured. Ian’s Rally had not gotten off to a great start with a broken shocker mount causing some grief on Day 1. However, after repairs, the TR7 was very competitive, with several fastest section times recorded over the following days. What a pity it had to end the way it did. Comiserations Ian and Jahmeil, and better luck next time.

There was not much joy for the other Triumph entrants, with the Queensland team of Rochester (TR3A) showing as a DNF and Steve Fisher’s TR7 V8 having to retire after looking and sounding great early on. Good news for our Peter Nelson (TR8) and Peter Jaede who finished 6th in the Regularity section – well done to the two Peter’s.

2007 Classic Adelaide (21- 25 November)

There are a number of Triumphs entered in this year’s Classic, plus TSOA Life Member Geoff “Bum Biter” Bills, so if you have an interest in this event (and you must, mustn’t you!) then keep an eye out for the following:-

Thoroughbred Touring
#1      SA – Geoff Bills (driving for Sir Jack Brabham) : Mercedes SLK 350
#93    SA – Grant Trotter / John Veale : Triumph TR7 V8
#114  SA – John Nelson : Triumph TR8

Regularity
#175  SA – Peter Nelson / Peter Jaede : Triumph TR8

Competition
#206  Qld – Stephen & Ginetta Rochester : Triumph TR3A
#617  SA – Ian Wilson / Jahmeil Taylor : Triumph TR7 V8
#661  SA – Steve Fisher / Michael Twycross : Triumph TR7 V8

We hope these entrants have an enjoyable, trouble free run . . . . . and keep it on the black stuff people!

The “VRROOOOM” REPORT

(a.k.a. Competition Report, by Roger Lange, Competition Secretary)

Results from recent events include the MSCA Twilight Sprint held on Saturday 22nd September, at which we had 5 TSOA members competing. Colin Gaetjens had a great day in his Mitsubishi TR Evo with a best time of 1:24.03, Rod Carey had the little Spitfire jumping with a best of 1:31.65, Neil Martin produced a personal best from his TR7 with 1:39.60, and el Presidente Bill also a personal best with 1:50.79 in his blue Dolomite. My day was abruptly ended after just a lap with a snapped accelerator cable . . . bugger.

As reported last month, Neil Martin fronted up for the SA Championship round of the Austin 7 Club organised Regularity event the following day (Sep 23rd), and along with Peter Nelson (TR8) proudly flew the Triumph flag – after the first round, Peter and Neil were placed 1st and 2nd respectively! The Championship was decided over 4 rounds however, but still great results for these two, with Peter placing 2nd overall, and Neil coming in 4th. Congratulations!

Whilst in the celebratory mood, let’s give it up for Neil Martin one more time! Neil competed with his trusty TR7 in the Australasian Masters Games Hillclimb event held at Collingrove and came home with a silver medal! Well done Neil!

Tom Hutchinson travelled to Winton with his TR8 racer for the Historic Meeting held over the weekend of Oct 14/15 and enjoyed some success in the Marque Sports category, placing 2nd, 1st and a DNF after suffering a fuel overflow problem – it seems Tom was looking for more traction and filled the fuel tank to get more weight over the rear wheels. The idea worked, with Tom streaking away in the lead from the start, and should have resulted in another win, but the “meatball” flag saw his race come to a premature end.

Of the upcoming events, I understand that the Mt Gambier Hillclimb is great, and it would be nice to think that we could have some Triumphs competing in future years. Many of the people I have gotten to know through the MSCA tell me that they thoroughly enjoy this weekend, so maybe next year?

I am not sure if Tom Hutchinson or Ian Wilson intend to do the Rd 4 of the SA Race Championships, but do know that Ian (TR7V8) will be having a strong go in Classic Adelaide in a few weeks. Ian suffered a broken diff in the early stages of Targa West that effectively put him out of the placings, but after repairs, went on to post some fastest stage times and great spectator appeal with the sound and sideways attitude of his bright yellow beast. Ian featured on the television special on Targa West as well – so let’s hope that all goes well for Classic Adelaide.

Speaking of which, if you are interested in getting up close and personal with the Classic, you can volunteer as a marshall – they give you training and support, and you get really close to all those lovely cars with several famous drivers. Give it a go!

I will report on the National Rally next time around . . . that’s enough from me . . . see you trackside!

Roger

Nov 3-11    TSOA National Rally,
Phillip Island TSOA Vic    Victoria
Nov 10-11    Hillclimb – “Legends of the Lake”    Mt Gambier
Nov 17    SA Race Championships Round 4    Mallala
Nov 21-25    Classic Adelaide Rally    Adelaide
Dec 2    Modern Regularity (& Superkarts)    Mallala

Southern Districts Car Club are hosting a Tarmac Rally Sprint this coming Sunday 28th October. Ian Wilson in his awesome bright yellow TR7V8 will be competing. The event takes place over four stages including Wickham Hill and Willunga Hill. Google “Southern Hills Tarmac Sprint” for full details and check out the action up close and personal!