President’s Report – February 2024
We are back into the swing of things with normal club meetings resuming for 2024. We had a good turnout of members to our February meeting, and we had two cars on stage, both of which had been winners at last year’s Day of Triumph.
Firstly, Chris Marshall displayed and told us about his lovely “French blue” 1974 Stag. He purchased it from NSW about 5 years ago, and we heard about it being impounded upon delivery by the police, because it did not have an engine number stamped on the block. It did seem a bit of an overreaction by Motor Registration, but I suppose “rules are rules”. Luckily, this is now a distant memory for Chris, who is enjoying driving this very nice car whenever possible.
We then heard from Life Member Roger Lange about his TR7V8 which he also had on display. Roger purchased the car from another club member, Dino Vettese, and after lots of work previously by Dino, and then by Roger, this is now a really great Wedge, of which Roger is justifiably, very proud.
Bill Berlemon also gave us details of an exciting Weekender program for the weekend of 17th to 19th May, based at the Goolwa Motel. The club executive has increased the subsidy for the event to make its cost within the reach of all members, at only $260 per head (twin share) all inclusive. Bill and Margie have already put in a huge amount of time developing and fine tuning the program, and with only 15 rooms available, these will fill very quickly. If you have not booked in with Bill and Margie yet, I strongly suggest you do so as soon as you read this report.
The MSCA 50th Anniversary picnic was held at the Mount Barker Oval on Sunday 25th February. We had a record number of club members and well over 20 Triumph vehicles attend, and it was a most enjoyable day. Thanks to Roger Lange’s efforts to establish the theme of “Triumphs in the Pits” with lots of props, race numbers on cars etc, TSOA were runaway winners of the “best display” of any car club at the picnic. MSCA also made various presentations to drivers who had completed through the year, and as well as winning his class, our own Neil Martin won the prestigious “Sprint Driver of the Year” award. This is a great achievement, considering the amount of competition in MSCA, and it is the second time Neil has been awarded this trophy. Congratulations Neil, for doing our club proud on the racetrack.
Lastly, a final reminder that the All British Day is at Echunga Oval of Sunday 3rd March. If you have not registered, please still think about coming along as a spectator. It is always a great day, and this year, we plan to have our gazebos firmly tied down to heavy objects (e.g. Triumphs) to avoid a repeat of last year’s debacle. Stephen Wade has allocated specific parking for each TSOA entrant, so please look at Stephen’s email to know which spot you have been allocated.
Regards
Alex Smithson – President