Some dates to take note of:-
Monday 26 April (Anzac holiday) – Come & Try Hillclimb at Collingrove.

Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 May – Rd 2 of the SA Circuit Racing Championship at Mallala.
Sunday 23 May – MSCA 6hr at Mallala. We have a couple of interested parties to form a team, but if more interest isn’t shown shortly there won’t be a TSOA team entered this year. Contact Roger Lange or myself soon.

Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 May – Winton Historics at Winton Motor Racing Circuit. There are usually a small number of TSOA members attending this.

Friday 25 – Sunday 27 June – Australian Rally Championships – Rally of SA

Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 June – All British Race Meeting and Sprint at Wakefield Park, NSW. Anyone interested in tagging along to or competing in this event please contact Myself or Roger Lange. Roger and myself are not competing this year however Rod Carey and Neil Martin are possible entries from SA.

Sunday 4 July – MSCA Sprint Rd 2 at Mallala. TSOA flaggies are required. Free lunch and drinks and a close up of action on the track. Please phone me to volunteer your time and show your support for the TSOA and those in our club who participate in motorsport. Please don’t make me phone you.
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 August – Rd 3 of the SA Circuit Racing Championship at Mallala. A round of the Victorian MG Race series is being run as part of this meeting, and with “Invited Marques” allowed to take part, there could well be some Triumphs creating trouble for the MGs!

Sunday 19 September – MSCA Sprint Rd 3 at Mallala.
Sunday 24 October – MSCA Sprint Rd 4 at Mallala.

Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 October – Rd 4 of the SA Circuit Racing Championship at Mallala.
It would appear at this stage that the Classic Adelaide Rally may be at an end following the apparent collapse of Silverstone Events, the organising body.

Cheers,

Trevor Lindsay

Sunday 21 February     MSCA Picnic/Presentation Day at Peter Lehman’s Winery – Tanunda. Great venue for a relaxed lunch in the shade with fellow car enthusiasts. BYO or buy lunch there.

Friday 26 & Saturday 27 February     Ballarat Swap Meet. Boasts to be the biggest in Australia.

Saturday 27 February     Round 1 of the SA State Championships at Mallala. This is a twilight meeting that commences around lunch time and usually concludes around 10pm.

Saturday 28 February     Skills enhancement day run by Alfa Club in conjunction with the MSCA.

Sunday 7 March     Collingrove Hillclimb Round 1.

Monday 8 – Friday 12 March     Lake Gairdner Speed Trials. Cars from all over Australia and overseas travel to salt flats west of Port Augusta to compete. This year is the 20th anniversary. It is a 550km trip from Adelaide.

Friday 19 – Sunday 21 March     2010 Phillip Island Classic. A great weekend of historic and classic motor racing. Amongst others there are over 100 Group Sa, Sb and Sc sports cars entered and 35 Formula 5000’s, many from the recent McLaren Revival in New Zealand.

Sunday 28 March     MSCA Sprint Round 1 at Mallala

A reminder that TSOA volunteers are required for assisting with the MSCA Sprint on 4 July.

Please contact me if you require details of the above or know of other events that may be of interest to club members.

Cheers,     Trevor Lindsay

PAST

Classic Adelaide 18 – 22 Nov

Four Triumphs competed in the 2009 event – Stephen & Ginetta Rochester in their TR3A and Steve Fisher, Craig Haysman and Ian Wilson in TR7V8’s. In Classic Competition, Stephen & Ginetta came 16th out of a field of 19, and in Late Classic, Craig was 19th, Steve 21st and Ian 30th out of 35 cars. Ian suffered a tyre failure leading to an inability to finish a section – in essence, putting him out of contention. However, the TR7V8 continued to place in the top order for the whole rally, that particular disappointment notwithstanding. There were only 2 cars in the Historic section. Not sure about you, but my interest is waning with the demise in numbers of the older vehicles. See ‘www.classicadelaide.com.au/ca09/results.html’

Mallala Racing 14 Nov

This was a scorcher. Temperatures gradually built up to 43 degrees as the day progressed. I was pit crew for an Elfin ME5 and was glad to leave after our events had finished which was before the evening session commenced. No Triumphs.

FUTURE

MSCA Tentative Calendar For 2010 (updated)

Picnic/Presentation Day:                     Sunday 21st February
Skills Enhancement Day:                    Sunday 28th February
Round 1:                                             Sunday 28th March
6 Hour Relay:                                      Sunday 23rd May
Round 2:                                             Sunday 4th July (TSOA providing officials)
Advanced Driver Training:                 Sunday 8th August
Round 3:                                             Sunday 19th September
Round 4:                                             Sunday 24th October

OTHER

For those wondering about the costs involved in competing in MSCA Sprint meetings, the following may be of interest:-

TSOA or other MSCA member club membership (12mths)               $60

MSCA membership(12 mths)                                                             $20

CAMS basic licence (12 mths)                                                           $95

Event entry (single)                                                                             $75

Fire Extinguisher CAMS approved with metal bracket                        $25

Dorian Timer (see explanation below)                                                $395

You will also need wool or cotton clothing, predominately leather shoes and a CAMS approved helmet. The vehicle’s bonnet requires an extra safety wire (or similar), seatbelts need to be in good condition and the vehicle has to pass safety scrutineering at the track. Cars range from the every day users to full race.

The other thing that you will need is an electronic timing device commonly called a “Dorian”. This allows for electronic timing of laps with an accuracy factor of a thousandth of a second, and renders the old manual methods of lap timing redundant. If you are interested in giving sprinting a try, a Dorian unit will be provided to you for the first event. After that, you will need to purchase one – current cost is $395 – this is a significant discount to the current market price for these gadgets, currently available through the MSCA. Seems a lot, but bear in mind that these things will continue to carry a value of close to the original outlay on the second hand market should you ever decide not to continue – they just don’t depreciate unless they have been poorly looked after.

If you wish to get more serious and compete in State or National series races, it gets more expensive.

TSOA or other MSCA member club membership (12 mths)              $60

MSCA membership (12 mths)                                                            $20

CAMS CC or NC License (12 mths)                                                 $245 or $395

Event Entry (single)                                                                          $270

Fire Extinguisher CAMS approved with metal bracket                       $25

Fire proof clothing, boots, gloves etc                                             $1200 +

Dorian Timer                                                                                      $395

CAMS approved seatbelts                                                                $250 +

CAMS approved helmet                                                                    $800

CAMS License medical (every 2 yrs for us old ones)                     $100

The costs above are approximate and the major ones less the car and on goings such as fuel. Your average Triumph race car will use approximately 1 litre of racing fuel per lap at Mallala. At around $2.40/litre, this can add up. There are also accessories like a car trailer. Before getting too serious, I suggest you look at the racing classes. What you can and can’t as well as what you are required to do to your car is regulated and varies from class to class. If you want to be competitive, look at the types of vehicle in the winning circle of the class and assess what they have changed in the vehicle to make it competitive. Remember though, horsepower generally = $. CAMS CC and NC licenses require passing an exam and a satisfactory observation of driver on the first race day.

The information provided here is purely to give an idea of costs associated with circuit sprinting/racing. If you would like to know more or require assistance to prepare your car – give me a call. Personally, I think the MSCA sprints are great value for money and provide an important feeder to State and National series racing.

See ‘http://www.cams.com.au/’ & ‘http://www.mscasa.com/index.html’

Cheers, Trevor Lindsay

PAST

Phillip Island 26/27 Sept

Wild and variable conditions hosted Round 4 of the Victorian Motor Racing Championships. Whilst leading the pack in Race 1 and full of confidence in wet conditions, Tom Hutchinson (TR8) spun off the track at Lukey Heights into the gravel trap assisted by oil dropped by a fellow competitor. After this it was a matter of wrong tyre choice in the constantly changing wet/dry conditions and Tom was continually caught out so elected not to continue. Lyn Punshon, a fellow South Australian in a Cobra, destroyed his wet tyres and as there were no more available elected to race on slicks in the last race – a wet start. However the conditions changed to dry and he won that race. Such was the gamble on tyre choice over the whole weekend. See ‘www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi’

Mallala  MSCA Sprint Rd4 25 Oct     Rod Carey, Roger Lange and myself took our GT6’s out for the last time this year. There was a full field of entries that varied from the older historics to every day drivers and modern race cars. None of us had any problems and all did respectable times. I am still out on whether my change from a 4.1:1 diff to a 3.7:1 diff was an improvement as my 2+ year old tyres have now lost their edge. My best time of 1:18.04 was 1.5 secs of my best. However, I didn’t run out of revs this time.

FUTURE

Mallala Racing 14 Nov       This is Round 4 and the final round of this years State Race Championships. It is a Saturday twilight meeting that generally starts around midday and extends into the evening. Come up for a look.

Classic Adelaide 18 – 22 Nov       There are still only two confirmed Triumph entries so far this year being Stephen & Ginetta Rochester in their TR3A and Steve Fisher in a TR7. See ‘www.classicadelaide.com.au/ca09/index.asp’

MSCA Tentative Calendar For 2010

Skills Enhancement Day:                      Sunday 21st February

Round 1:                                               Sunday 28th March

6 hour:                                                  Sunday 30th May

Round 2:                                               Sunday 4th July

Round 3:                                               Sunday 8th August

Advanced Driver Training:                   Sunday 19th September

Round 4:                                               Sunday 24th October

OTHER

Strathalbyn Swap Meet       A note to myself. Next year get there well before midday or the show will have been and gone.

the-roadster-factory      My parts arrived safely and I am particularly impressed with the quality of the rubber products. Much better than I have previously received from the UK.

World Championships       Hopefully Casey Stoner (Aus) has come third in the MotoGP bike championship after missing a number of races with a mystery illness. Mark Webber (Aus) has secured 4th position in the F1 world championship. Not bad results for a small populace.

Car Movements            Following the exodus of the ex Dennis Hawkins GT6 racer to Queensland a little while ago, Tom Hutchinson’s Mk11 GT6 race car has followed suit. (And then there were three!). However, a fellow work mate has just acquired a yellow Mk1 Spitfire from Queensland. Hope to see him as a new club member soon.

Presidential Rumblings            It would appear one of our fold has caused a stir amongst our MG brethren by recent remarks published in this magazine. The offender was seen pushing an MG to try jump starting it at the October MSCA meet – perhaps somewhat tongue in cheek. Another racing year has drawn to a close. It would be nice to see some new faces from our fold on the track next year. If you think you may be interested, please give me a call and I will allay your concerns.

Cheers,

Trevor Lindsay

PAST

Winton 29/30 Aug     Tom Hutchinson in his TR8 achieved three 2nd placings and a 1st at the Winton round of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship. The top three placed cars all swapped positions during the races, the other two being an MGB V8 and an MG Midget that I can personally attest to being very quick. Tom now sits 2nd in the points tally for MG & Invited British Cars. See www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/result wws.cgi

Mallala 6 Sept     The MSCA Come & Try Day by all reports was a great success despite the Fathers Day conflict. Neil Martin (TR7 V8) introduced his family to the delights of the Mallala circuit and may have woken some hidden desires. A slightly modified format is planned for next year following the popularity of this years event.

FUTURE

Collingrove Hillclimb 17/18 Oct    The South Australian Hillclimb Championships will be held over the weekend of the 17th & 18th October at Collingrove. See www.sportingcarclubsa.org.au/Events.mvc/Hillclimb/SAHillclimbChampionships

Mallala  MSCA Sprint Rd4 25 Oct     The last sprint for the year will be held on Sunday 25th October. Neil Martin is a likely starter in his TR7, Rod Carey (GT6) also plans to be there as do I with my GT6. I wish to assess a different diff to see if I can keep off the rev limiter at a few locations. Roger Lange (also GT6) may be there depending on his national meeting trip organisational skills.

Climb to the Eagle 6 Nov      This will be the 25th anniversary of the event. The cars will start in Victoria Park, travel to the Hahndorf Resort for morning tea and then on to Victor Harbor for lunch. Entries closed in September – just in case you were wondering.

Mallala Racing 14 Nov       This is Round 4 and the final round of this years State Race Championships. It is a Saturday twilight meeting that generally starts around midday and extends into the evening. A good opportunity to spot whose brakes glow the hottest.

Classic Adelaide 18 – 22 Nov       There are two confirmed Triumph entries so far this year being Stephen & Ginetta Rochester in their TR3A and Steve Fisher in a TR7. No news at going to press as to Ian Wilson’s intentions. Perhaps it is not a priority after last years disqualification and reinstatement fiasco.                                                See www.classicadelaide.com.au/ca09/index.asp

OTHER

18 October Strathalbyn Swap Meet       New Venue at the Strathalbyn Harness racing Club (Milne Road 500 metres from the West Tce/South Tce Roundabout). Buyers admitted from 7am on Sunday. Admission $5 adults, children free. Car parking free in complex plus street parking.

www.mag.gpweek.com       I find this site informative for international categories of racing such as F1, MotoGP and World Rally. It may be worth a look if you don’t know of it. It is good for following Aussie Mark Weber’s F1 achievements and those of Casey Stoner in MotoGP, not to mention the politics of motor racing. It is refreshed weekly on Tuesday’s.

www.the-roadster-factory.com      I recently stumbled across this site on the internet and I am sure there are some out there that haven’t yet found it. This is an American company that has weekly and monthly specials on parts for Triumph and MG sports cars. Some specials are 50% off normal price. I receive weekly newsletters and have just ordered some parts. I will be happy to share my experiences with anyone that is interested. Have a look at the site.

Auction 24 Sept        A rusty rustic powder blue unregistered SA 1968 Mk3 Spitfire sold locally at auction in Kilkenny for $5250. My assessment was it would be worth $2000. In its favour, it was relatively complete and appeared original with minor panel damage to the rear. It was put forward as a 1965 Mk1. Purchaser was unknown but described as elderly, hairy and grey – which describes most of our club members.

Cheers,

Trevor Lindsay

You will find information and reports from other parties in the September issue of TRak, so I won’t dwell on the All British weekend held at Wakefield Park south of Goulburn over the weekend of 1st and 2nd August. Needless to say, “Team GT6” from South Australia had a great trip and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend’s sprint and race activities.

Trevor Lindsay placed 3rd in Saturday’s Super Sprint (hosted by the NSW Austin Healey Owners Club) with a sizzling time of 1:06.58 and Roger placed 5th with a personal best of 1:09.14. Rod Carey produced a best time for the day of 1:16.70 but it was Rod’s son who came up with 1:14.94 in his first drive in the car. It just shows once again that allowing your son to drive your race car may be embarrassing! Rod got quicker the next day, and was happy with his results overall, and who knows, he may let Michael drive the car again one day.

Race day on Sunday saw Trevor qualify in pole position for the All Triumph races, Roger in 3rd and Rod 13th – Race 1 saw Trevor sprint off from the start and retain a healthy lead for the duration of the race. Roger embarrassed himself again by spinning amongst the excitement of the first corner and had to do a lot of work to make his way through the field from last to finish in 7th and Rod had a lot of fun dicing with the competitors around him with finishing with 14th place.

The All Triumph Trophy Race was once again a strong result for Trevor, but the TR7V8 of Jeff Wards seemed to keep him honest with a very good 2nd place. Third was Mark Morsillo in his turbo Dolomite Sprint, whilst Roger came from 7th on the grid to 4th by the end of the first lap (no spins this time!) but just couldn’t catch up the leaders. Rod placed further back in 14th but was still smiling.

The All British Trophy Race saw a combined field of Triumph, Austin Healey, Jaguar, MG, Lotus and anything else  British looking to have a go. The race was won by an astonishingly quick MG Midget from Victoria, with Trevor placing a close 2nd, and Roger 5th. Rod jumped a few places from his starting position to finish 12th. My personal thanks to Richard Sutherland and his brother Don for their company and support on this trip, and to my “pit popsie” Hans who provided valuable help and navigational guidance. All in all, it was a great weekend for “Team GT6”!

Also held on the 2nd August was a Modern Regularity event at Mallala, hosted by the Austin 7 Club. Neil Martin competed but wasn’t very regular this time mainly due to having fuel surge problems in his TR7V8. Neil posted a best time of 1:31.01 nevertheless.

The MSCA Super Sprint held on a very cold and windy Sunday 16th August saw Roger, Rod Carey and Neil Martin all take part. Neil seemed to have found a cure for the fuel surge problem and is hopeful that this will prove to be the case longer term – particularly at the National Rally in WA in a few weeks time. The performance of my GT6 suffered with what I think is a failed alternator, and whilst the engine continued to run for a while, the battery was simply not strong enough to run the ignition system effectively. I only did a few laps in the first sprint and then had to pack up disappointed. Rod Carey enjoyed a trouble free day and posted a best time of 1:27.38 and Neil Martin was happy with his best of 1:30.75.

Some upcoming events worthy of special mention are :-

Sunday 6th Sep           MSCA “Come and Try” fun  day

Saturday 26th Sep       Come and Try Hillclimb at Collingrove – refer SCCSA website for details and entry form

3rd/ 4th October           Historic Demonstration in and around Lobethal – 50th Anniversary of the Lobethal Australian Grand Prix

Sunday 17th Oct         SA Hillclimb Championships at Collingrove

Full details of all upcoming events can be found on the Competition Calendar found under this News tab.

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

Roger

NB – Trevor Lindsay will be taking over the role of Competition Secretary for a while, so we all look forward to Trevor’s slant on the competition scene for TSOA and its members.

On Sunday 6th September, the MSCA has decided to do something a bit different by providing a day at the track where pretty much anyone and anybody can participate (on the proviso they are of legal driving age and possess a current driver’s licence, or if just a passenger, at least 12 years of age). There will be several components to the day’s activities, ranging from parade laps to full sprinting.

Parade Laps : there will be at least two sessions conducted for people who have registered their interest at the driver’s briefing to be held at 10.30am. There is no special preparation or requirements to participate other than a road worthy vehicle and a licenced driver, and laps will be completed behind a Course Car at a controlled speed. There is no cost for this activity.

Come & Try / Driver Training : here is an opportunity for participants to go a bit faster and get some helpful tips and guidance from some of our experienced sprinters. Passengers in vehicles will be allowed, and track density will be limited to eight cars at time. Speed will be limited to 80% of sprint speeds and this will be a non competitive activity.

Novices Practice : following on from the come and try / driver training session, newcomers will be able to put their new skills to the test if they so desire. This will be an untimed non competitive session, and track density limited to a maximum of ten cars at a time.

Untimed Practice : two sessions are scheduled for experienced sprinters looking to get a bit more practice through completion of laps at sprint speeds. Up to eighteen cars will be allowed on the track in each group, and usual rules and guidelines for practice will apply.

For all of the activities other than Parade Laps, all usual requirements for sprinting will apply. Vehicles will need to have been passed through scrutineering, and basic items such as a valid fire extinguisher and appropriate clothing / helmet will be needed.

Entry Fee for the day’s activities, regardless of participation level, is $70- and the MSCA will cover the cost of a CAMS day licence for those who do not currently possess one. Full details can be found within the Supplementary Regulations on the MSCA website, as well as Entry Forms. If in doubt, refer to your Competition Secretary for guidance.

If you have ever wanted to try sprinting but may have been a little unsure about what it is all about, then this is your opportunity. Help, guidance and friendly advice is all on offer here – why not give it a go!

Roger

Neil Martin took his TR7V8 out for the Modern Regularity event on Sunday 28th June and whilst he enjoyed the first couple of runs, including placing 3rd in Run 1, he became increasingly frustrated with traffic that made consistency difficult. So rather than just try to be “regular” as it were, he decided to see if he could improve on his previous best lap time. With regularity out the window, Neil posted a best lap time for the day in Run 4 with a 1:31.57 – improving with each outing . . . . good on ya Neil!

The MSCA Sprint series was back in full swing with Round 2 held on Sunday 5th July. The weather was cold, and the rain held off until mid afternoon, so we enjoyed a reasonable day at the track after waiting since Round 1 way back in March. The 6-Hour Relay was held in between, but some of us didn’t run in that, so it has been a long wait.

We had three Triumphs out for a fang, Rod Carey’s GT6, Neil Martin’s TR7V8 and Roger Lange’s GT6. Rod has a relatively new engine in his car, and whilst it is not an overly powerful unit at this time, it is sufficient for Rod to get used to the car, which is quite a different handful from the AMI Spitfire that he has punted over recent times. Rod best lap for the day produced a time of 1:27.02 and a big smile!

Neil Martin’s day got off to a shaky start after arriving at Mallala only to find that he had left some important stuff at home and had to go back to Adelaide to get it. He was last through scrutineering, but then put his mind to track work and improving on his previous best time – which he did! 1:30.80 – now to break into the 1:29’s!

I had a good day as well, qualifying 3rd quickest and placing 3rd after the first sprint with a best of 1:19.98 even though the cold conditions produced some significant under steer in my little GT6 – something I wasn’t used to, as the car has had very good turn in up to now. I can only put it down to the cold, and to a slippery track, and efforts to adjust tyre pressures didn’t do much for the next run. Some confusion in form-up saw me lose my position at the front of the grid for the start of the second run, but it was good fun chasing and overtaking much of the field. Not good from a fast lap time perspective however. And then it rained . . . . definitely not good for a car on slicks. A high percentage of cars on road tyres did go out in the rain however, with the drivers enjoying the challenge of car control at speed in wet conditions. Round 3 of the Sprint series is set for 16th August.

Tom Hutchinson continues his racing in the Victorian Circuit Racing Series with a great performance in Round 3 held at Sandown over the weekend of 18th / 19th July. With two qualifying sessions, Tom placed 4th and 1st but I am not sure if that meant he had pole position for Race 1 or not. I can only presume that grid positions were based on the fastest time overall. Whatever, Tom produced an excellent result for Race 1 surrounded by Porsches, a Lamborghini, Maserati and other exotics, with a 2nd place and a best lap of 1:17.08 – anyone who knows Sandown will agree that this is very fast! Tom continued his good form with 3rd places in the following two races. A great weekend that sees Tom sit at equal 2nd on the championship table with one race meeting to go – Phillip Island later in the year. Go Tom!

Team GT6 is off to Wakefield Park for the All British Race Meeting set for 3rd August, preceded by a Super Sprint on the Saturday 2nd Aug run by the Austin Healey Club for the CSCA (the NSW version of MSCA). Trevor Lindsay, Rod Carey and myself are all looking forward to this great weekend of club level motorsport – full report in next month’s issue of TRak. NB – TRak editor Richard and his brother are also making the trip to experience the fun and report back to the TSOA membership.

Full details of all upcoming events can be found on the Competition Calendar found elsewhere under this tab.

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

Roger

There is little to report since last month but there is a lot to come over the next few months with a string of events for those who are interested.

Tom Hutchinson (TR8) has once again shown just how good his race car is when mixed with all that the modern machinery can muster. Tom enjoyed a great 23rd/ 24th May weekend at Sandown competing in the Victorian State Series for Production Sports Cars qualifying in 3rd position and finishing the first two races in 3rd place. Tom also competed as an invited marque in the MG race series, and after qualifying fastest, finishing with mostly 2nd places over the four races held. Let’s just say, Tom wants to be asked back.

By the time you read this, Round 1 of the Winter Cup Hillclimb series at Collngrove  and the Austin 7 Club’s Modern Regularity at Mallala will have been held, both on Sunday 28th June. Also the second round of the MSCA Super Sprint Series on 5th July at Mallala – more on these events next month. Also coming up is the All British weekend at Wakefield Park near Goulburn NSW – Team Triumph GT6 will be travelling from Adelaide for this.

Full details of all upcoming events can be found on the Competition Calendar located within this website.

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

Roger

The 2009 Victorian State Circuit Racing season commenced with Round 1 at Phillip Island over the weekend of 25th / 26th April, with our local member Tom Hutchinson (TR8) once again doing his best against modern technology competition including latest model Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin etc. Tom did well for the weekend, qualifying in 7th position, and finishing with two 4th placings. Race 3 was abandoned due to the icy weather that had caused the flag marshals to freeze – the officials and competitors took pity on them and decided to abandon the last few races on the Sunday.

Tom reported that he had both dry and wet races where his best dry time was a 1:41.94 and 260 kph down the straight, and a 2:04.95 in the wet, with a speed of 250 kph down the straight. That sort of speed in wet conditions is just insane. Tom is now also invited (as are other Triumph and Austin Healey racers) to race with the MG’s in what has been to date, an all MG affair. Naturally, Tom is able to run at the front of this field and probably win most races, but clearly, that is not the intention. In fact there is a 130% rule that would exclude some of the slower MG’s if Tom just went out as fast as he can go. So he has had to slow it down a bit – he still recorded one win and two seconds whilst having a bit of fun.

Neil Martin took part in the Regularity events at the Austin 7 Club meeting at Mallala on 26th April and enjoyed a trouble free day circulating in the 1:32’s and gaining one second place for the day.

Which brings us to the MSCA 6-Hour Regularity event held on Sunday, 17th May at Mallala. TSOA again fielded a team, with drivers Andy Ansell (TR7), Neil Martin (TR7V8), Rod Carey (GT6) Robin George (TR7V8), Colin Gaetjens (Mitsubishi Evo TR6) and Jon Fechner (German Mini Cooper S). We were all looking to have a fun day, and perhaps finish with a good result as we did last year when we placed third. However, that was not to be . . . . although we did succeed in having fun.

Our day got off to a disappointing start during the practice session before the event, when Robin George downshifted from 5th to 4th but slipped into 2nd instead. The engine didn’t like it at all, producing some rather nasty noises internally, and Robin was forced to retire from the event. That left us with five drivers – enough to comfortably complete the event and still do well . . . . . which we could have done with a bit more discipline.

Unfortunately, our team incurred too many laps where the driver broke his nominated time. This meant that not only did the lap not count, but we also suffered a deduction of a penalty lap from our score. We did gain 47 bonus laps when drivers did a time within one second of their nominated time without breaking it, but with 24 broken times where the lap does not count plus incurring a lap penalty meant that we broke even on the bonus / penalty score. Not good enough!

Consequently, we finished mid field with an official 8th place (this was advised initially as 6th, but a check of the scoring over the following days saw this corrected down to 8th). Still, we had fun, so no complaints.

A few acknowledgements – thanks to John Tuohy, Arrand Ellery, Bill Berlemon, Frank Llewell, Jon Williams and Stephanie George for their willing assistance at the pit wall and with sash changeovers. Our team could not run without you – thank you.

Also thanks to TSOA for the sponsorship that allows us to hire pit garages and provide lunch and drinks for all team members – this is very much appreciated as well.

And finally, my thanks to the queen of trackside catering, Cherri. The muffins were excellent, and lunch was just great.

Upcoming events can be found on the Competition Calendar on this website.

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

Roger