After countless years of watching others enjoying themselves racing cars, I finally took the plunge in late 2003 and decided
to join in myself.
I wanted to find a race series that was mostly populated by gentlemanly drivers, where the sport of motor-racing was more
important than gaining a place on the podium at the end, because I do not have the physical skills nor financial status to
enable a rebuild of the car bodywork every time someone hell-bent on collecting any prize money decided to punt me out of
their way and into the armco - motor racing should not be a contact sport !!!
Hence I decided on the Historic Touring Car Race Series. There are a number of events held all over Europe at some of the
most famous circuits in the world - Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Zolder, Zandvoort, Silverstone and Brands Hatch, to
name but a few. Also, if I purchased a pre-'65 race car, it would be eligible for many more events (including classic
rallies??)
So with this in mind, I started my search to find a suitable car. I crossed off my first choices very early on (Ford
Mustang, AC Cobra 289, TVR Griffith 400, Chevrolet Corvette, etc. - all with large thundering V8 engines) on the basis that
their initial purchase price and later running costs would be much too high (I also didn't want to find out that I couldn't
handle such monsters, and perhaps I should learn to walk before I tried to run with the big boys?)
The sensible choices for a beginner such as myself were an Alfa Giulia or MGB (Minis are very hard to work on, and their
handling appears to be quite tricky at the limit). Since my BRA 289 (Cobra replica) is based on a 1963 MGB, I contacted Jim
Lowry (one of the few specialists for MGB FIAs, at
"Historique" Race & Rally
in Chelmsford, Essex, England ), who didn't have a suitable vehicle for sale at the time, but he knew of one that he had
owned, restored and sold about two years ago, that was now on the market again. I jumped at this chance in October 2003 to
acquire a fully race-prepared 1963 MGB FIA.
Once I had purchased and fitted a towbar to the Alfa 156 2,5 V6 Sportwagon
that was destined to become the transporter / support vehicle / overnight accommodation for the forthcoming seasons, I could
start my journey (to view, pay for and collect the MGB FIA). I left the office directly after work at 17:10 on Friday
14th November with a rented trailer (at a cost of Euro 90 for 4 days).
Last stop before the drive to Calais - to fill up with petrol.
The twin-axle, hydraulic tilt-bed with manual winch, 6 metres long, 2,5 metres wide and 610 kg unladen weight trailer.
A minor inconvenience was that this MGB was located in Leslie (north of Edinburgh, Scotland), but the owner (Dr. William
Carr) was generous enough to offer me his spare room for the night, and also insisted that I attended a fund-raising Celidh
that he was organising and just happened to coincide with my visit to collect the car.
The drive to Calais was very uneventful, with a 30 minute delay on the ring road around Brussels caused by three accidents
in the Friday evening rush, but I still managed to get to the port at 21:20 (445 kms in 4 hours 10 minutes, 125 kph at
23,92 mpg). Although I was booked on the 23:00 ferry, P & O let me board their next sailing at 21:45. The time that I
thought I had gained was lost just as quickly by the bad weather - 50 knot gusts of gale-force winds meant that docking was
difficult, and the ferry had to cruise up and down along the coastline outside Dover harbour for over 1 hour before a berth
finally became available, and I was able to continue the drive northwards at 00:45 (CET, 23:45 UK). I then drove on up to
Milton Keynes before crashing out in the Travel Inn on Friday night at 02:15 (229 kms in 2 hours 30 minutes at 110 kph).
On Saturday 15th November, I left Milton Keynes at 09:00, and the next stop was a slight detour into
Wolverhampton (from 10:30 to 11:30), to collect the cash required to pay for the car from the Royal Bank of Scotland - all
arranged before my departure).
Approaching Scotland, the scenery becomes somewhat more hilly.
Not far from Glasgow.
The view of the drivers door mirror, showing how much wider the trailer is than the car.
What happens when the Loch Ness Monster wants to go on holiday? Why, she simply hitches a lift on the back of a Land Rover!
This was part of the Loch Ness 2000 Exhibition display.
Lovely scenery, almost deserted motorways.
I finally arrived in Leslie at 17:00 (666 kms and 8 hours from Milton Keynes, 110 kph at 25,61 mpg), but it was too dark to
allow a good look at the MGB, least of all a test drive - and there were still some final preparations for the Celidh
outstanding, before it started at 19:30.
The band at the Celidh.
Carr Senior (Bill) and Carr Junior (Richard) awaiting their turns in the dance.
Bill in full swing.
Bill and Sally Carr (right).
Sally Carr (centre).
Richard Carr and Fiona.
Some of the other guests at the Celidh.
On Sunday 16th November, we returned to the storage hall, and I took the MGB out for a test drive on the local
lanes - fairly bumpy, very narrow, slight wet and slippery in a few places - but the MGB coped superbly, showing that
although it is set up as a race car, I could possibly use it for tarmac rallies later (after moving the plumbed-in fire
extinguisher and dry cell battery to fit a passenger seat).
Bill showed me just a part of his incredible car collection - this 1968 Silver Shadow is just one of many Rolls Royces.
How about a race-prepared Daimler XJ Double Six - this car was also for sale (at only £2500), and has since been bought by a
German !!!
A 1938 Rolls Royce Barkers limousine.
A 1934 Rolls Royce Windovers saloon.
A 1925 Rolls Royce Berlin Phantom - this one is a concourse winner - with a white 1928 Dodge 6 in the background.
A 1926 Ford Wayfarer.
After loading the MGB onto the trailer and exchanging a lot of £20 beer vouchers for the paperwork ....
.... it was time for a final "auf wiedersehen" to Bill and Richard ....
.... and I set off on the return leg of my journey ....
.... passing the beautiful Loch Leven (an RSPB Bird Reserve) ....
.... and the famous railway bridge across the Firth of Forth.
The rear view mirror was now filled with the front grill and bonnet of the MGB.
Climbing back up into the hills, just south of Glasgow.
A deserted stretch of motorway, just before sunset.
Not any more - the M6 was stop-and-go (mostly stop) from junction 23 all the way down south to junction 6.
I made a brief detour off the A34, to take the MG back home to Abingdon.
Outside the MG Car Club head office (the largest car club in the world).
The next stop was at my parents in Winchester - 754 kms in 9 hours, 110 kph at 22,52 mpg.
On Monday 17th November, I completed the last leg of the journey, from Winchester to Dover (through even heavier
stop-start traffic on the M25 either side of Leatherhead - 227 kms in 3 hours 10 minutes, 120 kph at 21,22 mpg), then from
Calais to home (455 kms in 5 hours, 100 kph at 19,57 mpg), before returning the trailer on Tuesday morning - in all, a total
of 2835 kms (1399 kms towing an empty trailer, 1436 kms with the extra ballast of the MGB) in just over 3 days.
My goal was to take part in the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hour Classic race, and Peter & Silvia Auto (the organisers) confirmed
that my 1963 MGB FIA is eligible for the event in July 2004. However, there was a major obstacle which prevented me from
taking part .... I needed to obtain a full FIA International Racing Drivers' Licence; in order to get this, I had to apply
for a provisional licence and then finish three major approved events within the top 50% of the starters. Hence I applied to
the DMSB (Deutsche Motor Sport Bund, the organising body in Germany) for my provisional licence in November 2003. Because I
am British, they required confirmation from their partners, the RAC MSA (Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association) in
England that I have never been issued or revoked a licence in Britain. I paid the RAC MSA their required administration fee
of £20 by Mastercard in February 2004, but to date have still not received the letter that I require from the RAC MSA (or a
refund of the money paid), and hence I still have not got a FIA International Racing Drivers' Licence yet.
A further complication is my expensive divorce, which means that the money that I had allocated to racing this car is now
going in alimony to my almost-ex. Hence I reluctantly agreed to sell this car, even although I never had the priviledge of
driving it anywhere (except for a brief test run around the narrow, bumpy lanes in hills of northern Scotland on the day
that I purchased the car).
