Steve Ferguson poses with his beautiful TR7 V8 dhc – don’t ya just love it!

***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***

Due to the unprecedented extreme weather conditions, and our desire to enjoy a club member’s day that is comfortable for all, not to mention our beloved Triumphs having to bake in century heat, . . . . . .
. . . . . the 2009 Day of Triumph scheduled for Sunday 15th November has been POSTPONED.

This decision has not been made lightly, but is seen in the best interest of TSOA and its members, their families, our Triumphs, the Concours and Pride of Ownership judges, and the volunteer officials.

We hope to have details of a re-scheduled event advised to you as soon as we can. This is likely to be sometime in the new year, and hopefully in cooler conditions.

Feedback (positive or negative) is always welcome –

Roger Lange – Ph 8132 1841 or rogncher@internode.on.net

Rory Gibson – Ph 8449 7814 or surogib@arcom.com.au

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

Bill organised another “twisty road” run through the hills ending up at Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary for afternoon tea on Wednesday 14th October.  This run was attended by about 18 people who all enjoyed coffee and cake at the destination.   It was good to see Bob and Natalie out in their new TR8 just in time for running it in before heading across the Nullabor to WA for the Nationals.   Thanks to Bill for organising this run.

Congratulations to Ian Rigby and his navigator, Eddy, on winning the All Triumph Rally for the Tony Esau Memorial Trophy on Sunday 18th October.   We couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions for this run and it certainly brought everyone out for the day, with over 60 people signing the Clubmans Book.   Second place was a tie between John Wood and Steve Ferguson and navigator Tracey.  It was a very tightly contested run with only 1/2 point separating first and second.   Ian of course has the honour of setting next year’s event.   It was great to see some new  members come along and participate.

Thanks go to Margie and Bill for bringing the BBQ, tables and all the utensils and for ordering the meat, Arrand Ellery and Greg Page who did a wonderful job of cooking the BBQ, along with Peter Davidge and Peggy (who made the green salad) who assisted with serving up and everyone else who helped on the day.

Christmas dinner bookings are being taken and full payment is required by the November meeting please as the venue needs numbers.

The Day of Triumph is on Sunday 15th November at Civic Park opposite Tea Tree Plaza so please come along, bring a picnic lunch and support this event.

Don’t forget there is no meeting in December.

Sue

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

Overall Entry – Concours and Pride of Ownership (POO)

To be eligible for entry, the owner of the car must be a current financial member of TSOA (SA) Branch –           entry will not be permitted to those joining/renewing on the day.
The car must be currently registered (with the exception of Competition cars).
Late entries, i.e. cars arriving after the published judging commencement time, will not be eligible.

Concours Section

All cars must be driven onto the judging site (except  Competition vehicles which may be trailered).
Entrants must score a minimum of 70% of the total points available in presentation section to be eligible for a   Class or Outright trophy.
Standard classes will be – TR2/3/3A/3B, TR4/4A/5, TR6, TR7/8, Stag, Saloon, Dolomite, Spitfire/GT6, Herald/Vitesse, Pre-54, and Competition
Classes may be split/combined depending on the number of entrants in each Class.  This will be determined by DOT Officials on the day.
Judges will award points for each car up to a maximum of 750 possible points in 5 judging sections as follows –Exterior (170 points) Engine bay (140 points) Underside (100 points) Wheels & tyres/boot (170 points)Interior (170 points)
Cars will NOT be judged on originality except in the event of a tie when the cars will be marked out of 250 points in accordance with the table shown on the entry sheet.
In the event of a tie, “originality” for each model shall be broadly determined as any equipment or manufacturing (i.e. official works modifications) produced by the original car manufacturer or an approved option available for that model.
Cars that win their Class for 3 years running, or win outright for 2 years running, will be placed in a Masters Class and are ineligible to enter the standard Concours Classes for 2 years.  Masters Class Awards will be given to all Masters Class cars in attendance.
Trophies will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall place getters.
The Register Trophy (TR2,3,3A and 3B), the Michelotti Trophy (TR4/4A/5) and the Harris Mann Trophy (TR7/8) will be awarded to the highest points getter in that Class. Where the winner is also the winner of a Concours Class only one personal trophy will be awarded.
Trophies will be awarded to 1st place only if 3 or less cars are entered in Class, and 1st and 2nd place if 4 or more cars are entered.

Pride of Ownership Section

Entrants will be scored on presentation only (originality will not be considered)
Judging will generally follow the processes outlined in the Concours section except that the underside will not be considered.
Standard classes will be – TR2/3/3A/3B, TR4/4A/5, TR6, TR7/8, Stag, Saloon, Dolomite, Spitfire/GT6, Herald/Vitesse, Pre-54, and Competition. Restoration projects may be considered depending on what is presented on the day.
Classes may be split/combined depending on the number of entrants in each Class – this will be determined by DOT Officials on the day.
Masters Class cars are ineligible to enter POO section until 2 years after their Masters Class qualification.
Trophies will be awarded to Class winners.

Thanks to Team Temby for organising the interesting  run to Mt Pleasant for morning tea and on to Springton where a direct descendent of the Herbig family gave an informative talk about the Herbig Tree, the Old School House and the Pioneer Cemetery.   It was a lovely spring day for a run through the hills and from what I understand (I was unable to attend) all who went along had a good day.    Good to see some new members joining in the social events.

The next event on the calendar is the Tony Esau Memorial Run on Sunday 18th October.  As winners of the trophy last year, we have set this year’s run.  Please come along and join in the day even if you don’t want to complete the questions, just come along for the club sponsored BBQ at the destination.  (for further information contact Rory and Sue)

The Day of Triumph will be held on Sunday 15th November at Civic Park Tea Tree Gully.   It is a good opportunity to bring the car out and enjoy the day and maybe win a trophy.

The final ladies Technical Session lunch for this year will be held on Tuesday 24th November.  The date has been changed as most of those who attend will still be away on 10th November.  There is also a change of venue for this lunch which will be at Cafe Dolci in the Mitcham Shopping Centre directly under the Wallis Cinema Complex.

Christmas dinner bookings are now being taken and payment is required in full by the November meeting please.  There will be club sponsored beer, wine and soft drinks from 6.30-7.00pm.

Sue Gibson

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.

Carolyn and Wayne Byrne enjoying the comforts of their TR2

The mid week run on Wednesday 12th August was well attended with 24 people enjoying a 2 course lunch at the Goolwa Hotel .   Some of the men then went on to the Goolwa Car Museum while the ladies wandered the main street of Goolwa.   A few members stopped off at Basham’s Beach Middleton on the way home to look at the whales, of which there were about 8 in view.   Thanks to John and Bill for organising this day.

Sunday 16th August saw 45 plus people assemble at Civic Park Tea Tree Plaza for the run to the Hills Market at Lobethal in, what could only be described as, atrocious conditions.   The rain certainly came down as we drove through the hills but everyone made it to Lobethal and a few other members met us there.   We then went on a circuitous route through to Williamstown and on to Lyndoch and Kies Winery and the Monkey Nut Cafe for lunch.  The food was very good and reasonably priced.  Thanks to Jack and Heather for organising the day which I am sure everyone enjoyed.

There will be a ladies technical session on Tuesday 8th September at Cafe Buongiorno Mitcham at 12 noon.   Would love to see you there.

The next Sunday run is on 20th September and is being organised by Team Temby, who are taking us to Mt Pleasant for a morning tea stop then on to Springton, ending up at Angaston and the Roaring 40’s Cafe for lunch.   Please let Mike or Trina know if you are attending as numbers are required for a tour of Springton and the lunch venue.

To all those people on the sick list we wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you out and about again soon.

Sue Gibson