What a great time of the year, the weather for the last few weeks has been tremendous, it makes you want to get out as often as humanly possible and cruise through those magnificent Adelaide Hills. Who would want to live anywhere else.

Another great Breakfast Run was set by Ian and Raelene Rigby starting at Burnside Town hall with a run through our wonderful hills to Gumeracha for a chance to show off our culinary skills cooking breakfast. This was followed by late morning tea / lunch (?) at Cuddly Creek. The reason for the (?) ….. well it is time to fess up  that Barb and I had an interstate visitor and didn’t make the run this year. I am sure that a full report will be documented latter in the magazine.

Those members who attended the general meeting on the 17th April, would have discovered that we didn’t have a member’s Triumph on the display stage for the evenings “show and tell”. Due to a lack of available Triumphs for the night we broke the long tradition and showed a member’s second pride and joy. This proved to be a successful option and from time to time we will endeavour to show member’s other cars.This Month we had Rick and Maree Staehr’s recently purchased and superbly presented 1966 Ford Mustang, and while not a British Marque it attracted a lot of attention.

Historic Registration Scheme update,

I thought that this report was going to be a repeat of the last couple … still waiting info,                                           but Just before leaving for the meeting I received some information via a third party advising that the DPTI had issued a statement, In brief the statement states:

(1)  The proposed amendments to the CHVR scheme along with the draft amendments to the legislation have been put forward for final deliberation at the highest level within Government.

(2)   As soon as any changes are confirmed the DPTI will contact all car clubs currently HVRS authorised with the information directly

(3)   The Transport Minister will issue a formal media release and the DPTI web site will be updated to reflect the news.

(4)   There will be an opportunity for the SMASA and FHMV and as I read it some key clubs to provide comment on the final draft of a revised Code of Practice, this will happen as soon as any legislative amendments have been approved.

I can only assume that the process is close to completion and we will finally have the understanding to move this forward in our club as needed / required.

Look forward to catching up soon,

John Sampson

The breakfast run organised by Ian and Raelene on Sunday 15th April was held in glorious autumn conditions.  The run took us up through Norton Summit, Lenswood, Lobethal and on to Gumeracha where 22 people set up their portable cookers and the smell of bacon and eggs was soon wafting through the air.   Thanks to Ian and Raelene for organising the morning.

The mid week run on Wednesday 9th May will be departing The Place Next Door at 1.00pm and heading to Lobethal Bakery for afternoon tea.   See advert in TRak.

The annual weekender is fast approaching and full payment should have been made at the April meeting.  As usual it promises to be an excellent 2 night/3 day weekend starting on Friday 18th May and heading to Barmera where we will stay both nights in the caravan park opposite Lake Bonney.   Margie and Bill have put a lot of time and effort into organising the 3 days so if you are able to come along, even if you can’t make the Friday, you won’t be disappointed.

The run on Sunday 17th June is taking us down the south coast to Lady Bay for lunch with a stop for morning tea at Croissant D’Or.  Meet at 9.30am for a 9.45am departure Victoria Hotel Top of Taps.   See advert in TRak.

Sue Gibson

Sporting Triumphs The MSCA picnic and presentation day was held at Serafino Winery at McLaren Vale on the 26th of February.8 hardy and brave members, Noel & Cindy Schmidt TR3, John FrickeTR4, Bryan Young Spitfire, Cherri and Roger TR8 and Maree & Rick Staehr TR4 turned up in less than ideal weather conditions. Hot and humid weather with the threat of rain possibly kept others away. Despite our small numbers we still managed to pull off 3rd place in the best display competition. The MG car club won best display with over 25 cars in attendance.

Trevor Lindsay attended the Historic Race meeting at Phillip Island on the long weekend. 12 Triumphs were entered for this event.Trevor is also in the process of collecting parts for a motor to put in his TR6 and will hopefully have it back on the track soon. Rod Carey as reported last month is planning to race his Spitfire in the Historic meeting at Winton in May.

The 1st round of the MSCA sprint series at Mallala was held on Sunday 25th of March. A full report will be in next month’s TRak.

I’ve had an expression of interest from 3 local competitors, Neil Martin, Geoff Bills, and Roger Lange, plus 3 Victorians for the 6 hour regularity event on the 6th of May. This will qualify the TSOA for 1 team in this event. Entry forms opened for competitors on the 25th of March for this event. Private practice is available on Saturday 5th of May. We need a pit crew for this event to support our drivers. So far the pit crew consists of just two; Duane and myself with Maree helping out in the control tower. Please contact me if you are interested in joining us as a pit crew member.

The club or individual club members are invited to display their cars on the lawn on Saturday of Easter Weekend at the National Historic meeting, Mallala. You would need to phone the Sporting Car Club to see if you could still enter as entries closed on the 26th of March. Cost is $25 per car, including all occupants.

Also on the 6th of May is the British Classics Tour hosted by the Historic Motor Vehicles Club. Entry is $10 per car. The entry form and more details on the event can be found elsewhere in this edition of TRak. Please note this is not a competition event.

Cheers Rick Staehr

Coming Events

April 7-8 -National Historic Race meeting Mallala

April 9 – Hillclimb Historic Collingrove

April 13-15 Shannons Nationals Mallala

April 21  Hillclimb Come & Try day Collingrove

April 22 Hillclimb 1st Round Winter Cup Collingrove

May 6th  Modern Regularity Mallala

Again during the last month we had three great runs the first being a small contingent of members attending the annual MSCA picnic and presentation day at McLaren Vale where we were placed third in the club display on the day. The MG car club had a significant milestone with their marque this year, and created a big display to mark the event, this display took out first place. Thanks to all who attended and represented our club, it is understood that a good day was had by all at this new venue.

The second was a mid week run from Crafers through the Southern vales ending up at Pt Noarlunga for lunch overlooking the jetty and surrounding beach, again a good drive, good company and a good meal was had by all.

The third was a run to the “Hindmarsh Island International Airport” organised by Rod Dent, again a great run from Burnside through Sterling, Strathalbyn and Goolwa, with many members taking the opportunity to have joy flights in one of the three Tiger Moths, that were available on the day, and from the smiles on the faces after the flights it was obvious that this was a very successful event.

Many thanks to those who organised these events, full reports and photos will be presented later in the magazine.

This year is the 31st running of the Mallala National Historic Race meeting over EASTER will be held and we have been invited by the Sporting Car Club of SA to attend this great annual event. Details of all events can be obtained by looking at the SCCSA web site, or contact Rick Staehr.

This year’s weekender is planned to be a 3 day weekend in the Riverland starting from Friday 18th May.

At the March meeting we were advised that there are only 2 or 3 vacancies, so be quick as it promises to be a great weekend. There will be some flexibility in attending for two days if you have difficulty in attending the full 3 day weekend. Full details later in the magazine.

Just a reminder that the TSOA Nationals will be held in the Victorian Goldfield area in early November 2012 and it is still not too late to enrol. There is a proposal to continue on after the Nationals for an extra week exploring Tasmania in our Triumphs. Preliminary details are being worked on with our Tasmanian club organiser Tarni Reynolds and details should be available soon. If you are interested and have not indicated so, then please contact Natalie Farrell.

Historic Registration Scheme update,

It is my understanding that approximately 26 clubs made submissions for consideration to the revised code and these are being worked through, hence the delay in the proposed original implementation date of March this year, until advised otherwise it will be business as usual.

In the mean time we have proposed dates in June, July and August for the proposed mandatory inspection of Historic cars should it be introduced and implemented soon. These indicative days will start to be shown in the club calendar on the last page of the magazine soon, but they are not firm at this stage just an indication.

Till we meet again

John Sampson

Thanks to the 22 people who came on the mid week run on Wednesday 14th March.  Hopefully all enjoyed the run despite the hiccup with road works at Seaford and being led via a detour into a maze of dead end streets.   Andy who was here for a couple of weeks from Honolulu brought his blue Stag out for a run and it was nice to catch up with him.  The destination was Horta’s at Pt Noarlunga right on the beach and it was a lovely outlook over the ocean before the thunderstorm hit with a vengeance.  Trust you all got home before the rain came in.

The weather for the run to Hindmarsh Island International Airstrip on Sunday 18th March could not have been more perfect.  The sun was out and there was hardly any wind.  Three people were booked to fly at 9.00am and another three at 10.00am, the other members meeting at The Place Next Door and stopping at Strathalbyn en route to Hindmarsh Island.  In all 19 people each had a 1/2 hour scenic flight out over the coast to Pt Elliot and down to the Murray Mouth and over the township of Goolwa.  Thanks to Rod for organising the day.

The next Sunday run is the annual breakfast run on 15th April heading to Gumeracha.  This run is a BYO everything – see advert in TRak.  Meeting time is 7.30am for a 7.45am departure from Burnside Townhall Carpark.  The organisers are Ian and Raelene Rigby.

There will be a mid week afternoon run on Wednesday 9th May departing The Place Next Door carpark at 1.00pm.  Bill is the organiser for this run – see details in TRak.

The annual weekender on 18/19/20th May is filling fast so if you are intending to join in the 3 days of activities please contact Margie or Bill and get your name down.  Full payment is required at the meeting on April 17th.

Sue Gibson

Bryan Young heads out for a go at the Auto Khana event held at Mount Gambier during the 2011 Nationals. Bryan won his “6-cyl modified” class and helped SA to a win in the overall Nationals award for the Competition Cup. Good on ya Bryan!

Other Triumphs in this shot are Bruce Pollock (TR4A) from WA, Robert Hanton (TR7V8) from Qld, and Ron Marion (TR5) from WA.

The 1st Round of the State Road Racing Championship was held at Mallala on Saturday the 18th of February. Trevor Lindsay entered his white GT6 in what was supposed to be the event for MG’s and invited British Sports Cars. This event turned out to be one invited British Sports Car, Trevor’s GT6 and a group of only slightly modified MGF’s and a group of Hyundai Excels. Trevor started his first event on pole and led the race from start to finish. He didn’t enjoy the same success in the second event breaking a rocker in the second lap ending his weekend of racing.

Neil Martin had a great day in the first round of modern regularity at Mallala on the 12th of February. Neil finished the day in overall first place. Well done Neil!

We’ve had an invitation from the Sporting Car Club to display our cars, along with other clubs, on the lawns at the Easter National Historic race meeting at Mallala, Saturday 7th of April. A group of club members displayed their cars last year and enjoyed a great picnic race day. Entry is $25 per car, including occupants and parade laps around the circuit in the lunch break. If you are not going away over Easter I look forward to seeing you at Mallala. Please refer to the advertisement in this month’s edition of TRak for further details.

I’m looking for volunteers to form a pit crew for the 6 Hour Modern Regularity Teams event to be held on the 6th of May at Mallala. Last year we had a great day and finished the event in 3rd place. If you are interested in volunteering for a spot on the pit crew please contact me by phone, email or see me at a club meeting/event. My details are inside the front cover of TRak.

This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Triumph Spitfire and will be the featured display at the Annual Winton Historic Race meeting on the weekend of 26th & 27th of May. The organisers are seeking entries for their Spitfire display. So if you have a Spitfire and you’re looking for a great weekend away please refer to the web site address for further details.http://www.austin7club.org/historic_winton_update.htm

Until next month.

Rick Staehr

Coming Events for March

March 11th-12th         Phillip Island Historics

March 15th-18th         Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix

March 18th              Clare Swap Meet

March 25th             MSCA Supersprint Round 1 Mallala

The next mid week run is on Wednesday 14th March meeting at Crafers Inn carpark at 10.30am and will head south to Pt Noarlunga for a light lunch.

The run on Sunday 18th March to the Hindmarsh Island air strip has created a lot of interest from people wishing to have a flight in an old Tiger Moth. Please note it is a BYO everything and NO gas BBQ’s are permitted on the air field.  See more details in the magazine.

Ian is organising the annual breakfast run on Sunday 15th April and we are this year returning to Gumeracha.   BYO everything – portable cookers, breakfast food, chairs, tables etc. Meeting at Burnside Townhall carpark at 7.30am for a 7.45am departure.

Bill & Margie have again taken on organising this year’s weekender which will be going to the Riverland on the weekend of Fri/Sat/Sun 18/19/20th May. This year we are going for  two nights.   I suggest you get your name down early to reserve your place in what promises to be another full weekend with a variety of activities. Accommodation will be at the Barmera Caravan park in cabins and the cost of $375 per couple (two members) includes all meals, morning and afternoon teas and entrance fees where applicable so the only thing you need to provide is drinks and of course a sense of humour.

Sue Gibson

Happy New Year. I trust everyone had a safe festive season and enjoyed some motoring in your Triumph(s).This time of year is a very quiet time on the motor racing circuit scene. Most competitors use this time of year to do major overhauls, carry out maintenance jobs or perform planned major improvements to their machines.I know that Neil Martin was planning to do some major maintenance on the brakes and other components of his TR7 V8 in preparation for the upcoming 2012 racing season.

The 1st event on the “Sporting Triumph” calendar is the Annual Marque Sports Car Associations picnic and presentation day on the 26th of February at Serafinos Winery, (formerly McLaren’s on the Lake) Mc Laren Vale.

Each car club is required to put on a display of their Marque on the day. As we are the current champions I am keen to once again win the prize for best display.I’m hoping to see you there on the day with your Triumph to join our display and have a relaxed picnic day under the trees. Please see the advertisement for this event in the January edition of Trak for further details.

Another date to put in your calendar is the 6th of May for the 6 hour regularity relay team event. Last year the TSOA finished on the podium in 3rd place against some strong competition. This year we will once again be looking for competitors to form a team and club members to form a pit crew for this event. There are numerous duties to be performed on the day. If we get enough volunteers these duties can be shared and provide breaks for each person on the day. I’m sure last year’s crew would agree with me, that this was a fun day.

Until next month . . . . Cheers,

Rick Staehr

Coming Events

February 18th –S.A. State Motor Racing Championship Round 1 Mallala

February 25th – MSCA Picnic and Presentation Day Serafino Winery (formerly McLaren’s on the Lake) McLaren Vale

February 25th – Modern Regularity -Mallala

March 1-4 – Clipsal 500 Adelaide

March 4th – Campbelltown Swap Meet Campbelltown Oval TBC

March 4th – Mt. Barker Swap Meet

March 9th-11th – Historic Motor Racing Phillip Island

March 15th -18th- Australian Formula One Grand Prix Albert Park Melbourne

March 25th – MSCA State Super Sprint Series Round 1 Mallala

Welcome to 2012 and I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year.  This year’s Nationals are being held in Victoria (near Ballarat) from 3rd to 10th November so not too far for South Australians to travel with no need for an overnight stop.  First instalment is due by 1st March.

To all those people who attended the Christmas Dinner I hope you had an enjoyable night and it was pleasing to see a good number of TRophy winners in attendance.  Once again the Golf Club did us proud with the quality of the food, service and general ambience of the surroundings.

The annual after Christmas run is always a very popular event and the one on Wednesday 28th December was no exception with well over 50 people turning up for coffee at the Crafers Inn before heading off to Middleton Tavern for lunch.  Thanks to all those who attended and I trust you all had a good run, in what can only be described as perfect weather conditions for a drive.

The Ice Cream run is on Saturday 28th January with a new route to Noonies at Semaphore Park being planned.  This year we are also starting earlier, meeting at 7.00pm at Beaumont Road off Greenhill Road Eastwood.

All British Day is on 12th February at Uraidla Oval from 10.00am.   TSOA has a record number of cars entered and if you haven’t entered, come along and have a look at the hundreds of cars that will be on the oval.   Bring a picnic lunch or support the local CFS and purchase lunch from the venue.    The Uraidla market will of course be open which is across the road from the oval and always good for a  wander around.

Sue Gibson