PAST

Victorian State Circuit Racing Championship 25 – 26 September. Tom Hutchinson (TR8) participated in Round 4 of this championship at Phillip Island. Tom qualified 1st and scored two 2nd placings and a 1st  in the MG and Invited Sports Car class and qualified 9th and scored two 7th placings and an 8th in the Sports Car group. See http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?26/09/2010.PHIL

FUTURE

Australian Hillclimb Championships  16 – 17 October Collingrove

Legends of the Lakes Hillclimb 6-7 November Mt Gambier

MSCA Sprint Rd4 Mallala 24 October

SA Circuit Racing Championship Rd 4 30 – 31 October

Phillip Island Classic 18 – 20 March 2011 More than likely, I will be attending this meeting. Want to know more – give me a call.

Lake Gairdner Speed Week 21 – 25 March 2011.  I intend to venture to this venue again next year. If you are going or want to know more, please contact me. See http://www.dlra.org.au/

MSCA Dates for 2011 (Ist draft only) – very tentative

Rd1 – 27 March 2011

6HR – 15 May 2011

Driver Training or Come & Try – 19 June 2011

Rd2 – 3 July 2011

Rd3 – 14 August 2011

Rd4 – 18 September 2011

Rd5 or Driver Training – 23 October 2011

OTHER

As some may well know, my wife and I were overseas for 8 weeks getting away from the worst of Adelaide’s winter. Besides Paris, Vienna and London we called into a number of motor racing tracks. Mallory Park is located near Leicester, north of London and east of Birmingham. All Triumph races had been organised for Sunday 30th August and I was particularly keen to assess our overseas enthusiasts vehicles and performance. The day commenced with a barrel role and flip of a Ferrari 246 GT, which we were well placed to observe and was totally written off. The car clipped an official as it flipped over the safety barrier, but luckily the driver and official were both sitting up in bed in hospital later that day. There were 20 odd Triumphs in their own race. They included Heralds, Spitfires, GT6’s and TR3 – 6’s. I spoke to many of the drivers and they were all happy to discuss their cars and the competition scene in the UK. I was particularly impressed with an incredibly fast TR5.

We also attended the Goodwood Revival on the weekend of 18 & 19 September. This is an annual world renown purely historic meeting and the majority of people dress in 30’s – 50’s clothing and uniforms. The highlights for me were the grid girls, very fast Austin A30’s  and the classic car park. This car park would have had well over a thousand vehicles, and many were Triumphs in all sorts of condition. One example was a very battered and well used TR3A that appeared to have done the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally. There were also many Daimler SP 250’s, another interest of mine. There was one Triumph racing – a Triumph SLR. I had never heard of this model so had to hunt it down and take a few pictures. It unfortunately was not very reliable and didn’t get much track time. SLR stands for Sprinzel LawrenceTune Racing. Four cars were produced in the early 60’s with Triumph motors, three Morgan chassis based and one based on a TR4 chassis. All were apparently aluminium bodied. Looks nothing like a Triumph, but I did recognise a saloon overdrive switch on the gearstick.

While in Scotland, we called into Knockhill Racing Circuit where an open practice session was taking place. This circuit is located north of Edinburgh and I was impressed with the undulating nature of the track and mostly flowing corners. I would have loved to put my GT6 around there.

I spent much of my British childhood in Kent and well remember the sounds of racing at Brands Hatch which was nearby. Obviously, while visiting old haunts, I had to call into the circuit, which I had never before been to. An open practice day was being held and once again, I was impressed with the undulating nature and flowing corners of the track. Ideally suited to GT6’s.

Earlier this year I commenced collecting diecast triumph models. The trip to Europe was an ideal opportunity for hunting these elusive items. I brought 49 back to Australia with me, all different. Not that I expected it, but I found some hard to find ones in Vienna of all places. I figure that they are cheaper than the real thing, and besides, I don’t have room for any more full scale ones. For some reason, my wife was very supportive on these hunts. I would be interested to hear from any other Triumph collectors.

Some pictures from Mallory Park and Goodwood will be on our internet site soon.

Cheers,

Trevor Lindsay