Meanwhile at Brands Hatch...
There was that perennial favorite, the Formula Ford Festival, taking place over the weekend.
Although no Morgans on track, spectators would have enjoyed Jerry Knight valiantly holding off some much more modern machinery in his gorgeous Tiga Sports 2000 car. And Ray Higg's son Michael dominated the Fiesta race.
The Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone this weekend is highly recommended for anyone who wants to see Formula Ford racing at its best...see you there!
Formerly #64 - Class E 4/4 Sport Comp and Class R Lwt Roadster...
Hi
My first post here - thanks to the patience of the admin team for sorting me out.
Anyway - here is a link to some photos from the Birkett meeting (including one showing just how hard Bob Bull works). I was only there for a couple of hours, so didn't capture all the cars on track. Should anyone want copies without the watermark, just let me know.
Welcome aboard Chris, I am sure that you will be well received by all and sundry (and there are plenty of sundry types here). The important thing is to always remember it is a site for Morgan folk who rarely recognise that there is any other marque. Never! Never, mention Caterhams, to do so would be regarded as blaspheme.
Never offend Mary, she is very touchy, steer clear of Jack, he has a way of causing embarrassment, avoid getting into conversation with Mark Shears, he knows everything there is to know about Morgans and would love to complete your education.
Leigh is alright, most of the time and you will be able to swap football stories with him. Other than that most are reasonably civilised.
As ever the Birkett was a great event. Morgans For Fun lived up to our name. The constant rain somehow added to the excitement. It was a great pity to see Paul's car injured and a pity that cooling system problems struck two of our team. Jack was magnificent in the wet. Unlike in most races, with the rain and being in one of the slower cars on road rather than wet tyres, this race required constant concentration. There was no time to relax even down the straights. The sun did come out at about 5.15 but it did not stop the rain. It just made the drive down the Hanger Straight blind.
Best of all was the camaraderie from all our helpers, from the catering to the pit board team. The pit board can be difficult to read at the end of the straight into Copse in the rain. When I saw a word rather than a time on it, I thought the board said 'tea' not 'fuel' so I came in for a nice cuppa!
Thank you all including Simon and Kate for all their organising- even if they disappeared of to sunnier climes.
As one who quickly pointed out my 'phot' mistake may I respectfully ask you to explain; "...... what do mean that ...."? Sounds somewhat like a Jamaican patois.
Kelvin Laidlaw wrote:A The pit board can be difficult to read at the end of the straight into Copse in the rain. When I saw a word rather than a time on it, I thought the board said 'tea' not 'fuel' so I came in for a nice cuppa!
Thanks for the kind words Kelvin, you followed the golden rule of the Birkett Relay - if in doubt, stop for a cuppa
And just noticed that 'meanwhile at Goodwood' a Mr Tony Lees was taking F T D in the VSCC sprint, beating the much fancied ERA. See the VSCC website for a glowing report of his expertise.
VSCC report
I can't think where Mr. Lees acquire his way weather expertis
"The rain could not deter Tony Lees as he piloted the ex-Ron Footitt AC/GN Special ‘Cognac’ to an impressive ‘Fastest Time of Day’ at the Autumn Sprint Speed Season Finale at Goodwood on Saturday 24 October.
The Leicestershire-based racer mastered the testing conditions as he overcame the challenge of the much-fancied ERA R4A of Nick Topliss to take the victory, with a trio of Morgan Three Wheeler Competitors hard on their heels, led by Sue Darbyshire, a winner in the wet back in 201
Unsurprisingly, experience appeared to be the ultimate telling factor, with a number of Class leaders from across the season enjoying success on the day, including victories for Kevin Morton’s Riley 9 Special, Dudley Sterry in his HRS and David Pryke’s dominant Morgan/Riley 4/4 amongst the Sports-Car classes, and Julian Grimwade’s Frazer Nash Norris Special a winner again in the Racing Car classes, whilst experienced Historic racer, Spike Milligan topped the Post-war Class in his Connaught A7.
But it was Lees who prevailed, expertly sliding his chain-driven Vintage machine around the challenging circuit to beat the Pre-event favourite ERA by over a second, as R4A struggled to put down the power out of the corners on the damp surface. Following victory at the season opening Curborough Speed Trials in May, it was a bookended success for ‘Cognac’ across the Club’s 2015 Speed calendar. "
