So here we were back once again for MG Live at Silverstone (Historic GP) for our annual biggest meet of the season. After a cracking turn out at Donington we were all looking forward to healthy grids at Silverstone and we weren’t disappointed. With 24 entries (Class B once again looking the stronger supported) the Peter Besters were out with the Cook shoot Cup with a combined grid of 55.

Qualifying graced us with unsettled weather. The on off showers and humid temperatures had the paddock in turmoil as to what set ups to run. Piggott wasn’t sure how to keep the Marlboro red’s dry on his way down to assembly area and Ashley Cross more concerned with keeping the car dry. Rod Oakenfull concerned if engine number 3 would make the distance (Good luck!)

Qualifying was upon us and Lord Gammons decided that two green flag laps were needed and this was more than enough time for Rayment to test the levels of grip, quickly leaning there wasn’t any and stuffing his B into Hewers V8. Luckily for Rayment, Kev had been on the Ginger cake and despite seeing rainbows on the grid, was very calm about the whole thing.

Qualifying got off to a good start with Darby and Eales looking strong in the B’s. Following on were the gaggle of ZR’s led by Davies. The track was drying and everyone was putting in quicker times lap by lap. Lap 5 Buckley through a spanner in the works (or should I say a crank pulley) and pulled off with terminal damage. Cross in his Jet powered ZS narrowly missing the lump of metal sat in the middle of the track. Strike (not a lover of the wet) had a broken throttle cable which ended his trip out. The V8’s of Hewer and Khouri were struggling with the damp conditions and despite struggling for grip put a great show on for the spectators. The flag fell and Darby claimed poll position with an impressive time, Eales took 2nd on the grid and first in class A in his flying machine. Davies 2nd in class and Coles 3rd. A great drive by Cross to see him start 3rd row on the grid.

Race One:

Well as expected this season, the heavens opened, the rain came down and Strike put on his rubber pants once again. The PBIC lined up on the grid behind the Cook shooters and starting 30 seconds behind under waved Union Jacks.

Engines revved, flags dropped, tyres sprayed and Coles stalled! Cross and Brown darting out the way to avoid collision the race was underway. Darby (class B) and Eales in the Class A Flying machine fired into the first corner whilst Davies in his mobile bath lost a few places. Visibility was limited but Dowler seemed to be the man on the move. Further down the grid the class a battle was underway with Jones, Tyler and strike scrabbling for grip and charging towards the grey abyss.

Piggott, Eales senior, Mason and Oakenfull bringing up the rear. Piggott more concerned which article to read from his carefully position Daily mail in the foot well as he gets onto hanger straight.

The rain kept falling and everyone was tip toeing around trying to keep it on the black stuff. Coles soon made his way to the front and drove an impressive race to claim victory by 10 seconds from Dowler. Davies fought his way back up to third with an impressive drive but was too far back to catch the leading two. Slippery Eales slid back to 5 overall (1st in Class) with the yellow flying machine not being able to put down all that power in the wet conditions. Darby had fuelling issues due to the standard B fuel pump not coping with the big horsepower it produces (we think) and didn’t finish.

Great results for Dave Brown and Ashley Cross in class B Finishing 4th and 5th in class respectively. John Gould had a solid result gaining 5 places and coping well in the wet conditions, as did David Thompson.

Class A honours to Eales, with Jones taking a solid 2nd and Steve Tyler in the immaculate Maestro 3rd.

The big V8’s and C of Khouri, Hewer and Holmes struggled in the wet and spent more time looking out the side window than in front of them.

Well done to Ollie Coles who took Driver of the race and Driver of the day honours. Unfortunately due to technical infringement, Dowler was disqualified from the results due to running illegal tyres. This awarded Davies 2nd and Brown 3rd.

Race 2

Race 2 blessed us with dry conditions which were welcomed with open arms by the majority of us. The B of Darby looked to be the favourite going by his performance in qualifying. The Peter Besters were preparing well in their own way by eating, drinking and chatting a lot. I did see Cross polish his car and put some fuel in it. Team Coles and Gould were relaxing in their village fete array and it was all becoming very quintessentially English.

However in the assembly area, the gloves were off and Eales was proclaiming to beat the ZR’s once again. Coles was focused, alongside him his mind coach talking him thorough the first corner.

Rayment yet again getting his car out of shape and parking it in the wrong place having to be pushed back. JD cool as a cucumber and Cross more concerned about the in bored camera than what faces ahead.

Flags drop, Darby has a bad start and goes backwards, Eales jumps into the lead followed by Cross and Davies battling it out for 2nd. Further down the grid the big V8’s and C were pushing up the order along with Wilson from the back.

The ZR’s were enjoying the conditions as they were all making good progress. Dave Thompson looking very racy was flying through the pack. Lap 2 and Davies had fought off Cross and took the lead from Eales. The class A battle was hotting up further back were Strike had the rubber pants pulled off and was charging putting in some impressive times. Wilson was sideways as always and catching fast. Rayment and Strike had a coming together as Rayment got a tank slapper on and collected Strike firing him into the gravel. A good battle broke out between Thompson and Dowler; Thompson under pressure spun and went off to explore the exhibitors. Once back on the track (and possibly off the track) Jones and Thompson had their usual close encounters (Say no more).

Hewer was driving the wheels off the V8 (We can see the orange paint!) and got up to 3rd only to be hampered with fuel starvation. Darby had head gasket problems which ended his campaign. Piggott, Tyler and Oakenfull were battling it out at the back, Rod still concerned about reliability issues but stood up to the task (Well done Rod!)

Coles settled in 2nd but Davies out of sight and way out in front taking the win by an impressive 13 seconds. Congratulations Ed, great drive.

All in all a great weekend. Even Lord Gammons thought so as he personally invited some of us up to his boudoirs for a chat. Bad luck yet again for Team Strike, a few late nights ahead. Well done Ollie and Ed for the wins. Thanks to Stone & Moss for the hospitality, those of you that didn’t come and see us, you missed out on free beer! Thanks to Hannah for the cake, and not forgetting Mr Jones our coordinator (according to the MGCC) and anyone else I’ve missed. See you all at Combe where I will be back out in a ZR, not sure which class yet? Maybe class A

Tom Diment

MGCC Peter Best Insurance MG Cup

Richard Buckley was the man to beat in the MGCC Peter Best Insurance MG Cup outing. After a fifth place

start Buckley battled his way to the head of the field to claim honours.

As the race began it was Tom Diment who took the lead, as he led the way around Redgate for the first

time. Chased by Ed Davies, the pair headed into a fiercely entertaining scrap, as they each tried to claim

control.

A brief slip off track for Diment saw his chances diminish, as Davies sneaked ahead. Before long, Diment’s

second place also came under threat when Ben White attached himself to the rear of Diment’s MG ZR 170.

As the pair tussled, another moment for Diment saw him drop from second to fifth place. In his absence,

White was elevated to second place.

As others battled, Buckley kept his head above water to finish ahead when it counted, seizing victory in the

closing laps. A slightly early chequered flag ended the race before expected, due to a lack of time to deploy

the safety car to recover a number of cars.

Davies held on for second place, ahead of James Darby, who moved up from 18th on the grid to finish

third. Diment managed a fourth place result after his troubles, ahead of Paul Khouri in fifth place. Driver of

the Race was awarded to Richard Buckley this time around.

Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge

Paul Sibley dominated the MG Midget and Sprite Challenge once again, to triumph in his MG Midget from

a pole position start.

A cautious start from the front row of the grid saw Sibley slip to second behind Andy Southcott as the field

rounded Redgate. Before long Sibley launched an attack, as he fought back to reclaim control.

Despite starting 12th on the grid, James Dunkley quickly made his way to second place, to chase Sibley for

the duration. As the pair controlled the pace at the sharp end of the grid, it was the battle for third place

that remained under scrutiny.

After an entertaining drive through the field, it was Martin Morris who held on for a third place, to finish

just ahead of early leader Southcott.

James Dunkley teamed his efforts with an extra award when he was awarded Driver of the Race by our

commentary team.

As I arrived at a damp and cold Donnington Park, I was greeted by many bleary eyed revellers, Dave “I only had one pint”, Strike looking very much the worst for wear after Ginny’s birthday celebrations. Piggott and Thomson (F) having spent the night in the back of their vans had the dishevelled look that only this kind of sleeping arrangement can offer, Piggott slightly worse as he had forgotten his sleeping bag. Thomson benefiting from the anaesthetic effects of three pints of “Badgers Old Rat Urine” or some such cloudy offering from Kent.

There was much activity around Hewers car, despite the car being prepared by our very own qualified electrician it seemed to be being plagued by wiring issues, some parts clearly destined for domestic shower applications should prove useful in the very wet practice that loomed. An errant spark box proving to be the guilty party but found too late to prevent starting at the back. The track was looked very slippery as the field tippy toed around, Hanna, in her Metro seeming to have the most balls (clearly borrowed!) with a superbly held slide around Redgate! Strike managed to bury his wet race demons and put in some very good lap times. Browns dampers in his ZR (that appear to predate the car) having been re-fettled helped in the wet track. Arden in his immaculately straight panelled Maestro clearly not taking it seriously pottered around to the admiring approval of the crowd, “not often you get to see a Maestro with such good body work” I overheard one of the marshall saying.

Darbys technical issues continued, a real shame as he was doing some lovely slides around Redgate. This time with water in his fuel, the car cutting out in the middle of the track James prudently pulled over, parking it with great aplomb into the tyres at some speed, the damage actually making the car symmetrical again. I’m not sure if Darby did find the time to repair the car, it can be hard to tell! Certain other drivers couldn’t get enough of the terrible conditions and chose to ignore the chequered flag and continue with the practice long after everyone else had finished, Thomson (F) and Dare seizing the opportunity to improve their times, bettered only by the fire tender and the safety car. Both were summoned for an interview with Ron, who was less than impressed with Thomson’s (F) suggestion that the meeting to which he had been summoned was to sample the chocolate biscuits. Eales posting the quickest times despite a big moment at the final chicane.

Positions looked like this: The class B ZRs locked out the front of the grid with Coles and Diment on the front and Davies and Thompson on the second row. Thompson asked me not to make any hairdressing comments as he was getting rather fed up about it so I agreed. Thompson noting that the paint from other cars on his had come off “It looks like the blue rinsed off” he told me, not sure if this happened when he clippered the kerb?

Class C was headed by Buckley in his ZR ahead of the potent V8 roadster of White, not the tool for the job in those conditions. Eales easily ahead of class A but Jonsey and Strike posting near identical times. Bringing up the rear was Conner Holmes in his FIA MGB running on Dunlop L sections, that must have been terrifying for a first outing ever, but he brought it back in one piece. “I didn’t really enjoy that” he said in what must surely be a master piece of understatement. Piggott reported that he “enjoyed having the $hits more” but was more concerned about the state of his flattened and rather damp Marlboro so he set off to find a way to dry his ciggies “if only someone had a hairdryer he thought….”

The cafe filled up with damp drivers hiding from the rain, which after an hour or so petered out. With the wind drying the track it promised dry and cold race.

The race got off to a good start, Coles dropping back from his front row position to fourth by the first corner. Browns start hampered by selecting third rather than first, (a feat only to be bettered had he selecting reverse, sadly for the spectators this was not to be). Darby going around the outside of Redgate with his arse end out, the ZRs heading the field with Diment leading Davies and Eales in third, Coles back in fourth, Thomson (F) dropping down the field with engine problems, The Green House Effect’s oil temperature rising and pressure dropping,  Class A headed by Eales mixing it with the 170 Zrs leaving the rest of the class As to scrap around Red Gates, Strike leading Jonsey (never a good thing to have in your mirrors) with Arden holding station behind them, Piggott, Dare and Eales Snr having a great dice, The two ZRs of Diment and Thompson duking it out at the front but Hewer storming through the pack in his rumbling V8 starting from last place he passed five or six cars on the opening lap and made it up to to 10th  place, then 14th place then tenth place then ….. etc etc…The main scrap was ended when Diment got all agricultural at the top of the hill, he must have carried impressive speed when he left the track because he later said he just missed Derby…. Jonsey’s tyres by this time where crying “enough already” and his notorious elbows where being readied for action as he was being hauled in by a steadily closing Arden, the longer race distance suiting the FWD car, then suddenly Arden’s race was cut short when Dowler, now racing car number 99 (rather than 66 as at Brands) tried an over ambitious move on Arden on the climb from The old hairpin hitting the Maestro hard in the rear. Arden once punted onto the grass was a passenger and hit the tyres taking a bit hit on the driver’s side, car and his championship lead in tatters. Piggott, Dare and Eales senior scrap carried on with Piggott finally making it stick but once through was left to a rather lonely race, behind him the action continued when Whites V8 tapped the front of dares car forcing the Golf coloured GT into the bunker. The immaculately prepared car now wearing the black swirls on its flanks and gravel in its arches. You don’t get this sort of thing in hill climbing you know!! The race was shorten rather than bring out the safety car to rescue Dare and White from the bunker, at the waived flag it was a determined Buckley in class C from Davies in the class B in the Zrs with Darby doing a sterling job in his battle scarred GT coming in third overall and second in class from a very poor starting point. Class A Eales proved un-catchable in his GT with Jonsey in second place (this place nearly forfeited for talking in the presentation). That would have gone to Strike ten seconds behind him. After the race the paddock banter was in full flow, Cross and Hewer continued with their vulgar hand signals and Dare showing an excellent stiff upper lip saying he had really enjoyed himself, other noteworthy performances where series returnee Rayment in his father’s semi FIA car having not raced for five years had a great race, “I’ll take that” delighted with his lap times.