An Introduction by Ed Holly
I have raced an MGA here in Oz since Jan 1993. I race in Group S of
the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association. Group S encompasses 3
sub-categories, as follows:
1...Sa up to 1961
2...Sb 61-70
3...Sc 71-75
We have a lot of MG's in Sa and Sb, and at
present there are between 60 -70 cars consistently turning up for 6
home meetings a year, competing with a usual grid of 35 cars in Sb and
20 cars in Sa. If we travel interstate we could do an Historic
meeting about every 3-4 weeks !
I am presently the registrar for
Group S in NSW and our only club in our state is the Historic Sports
and Racing Car Association (HSRCA) which itself organizes 5 meetings
The Historic Movement goes back a long way in 'Oz' when a lot of
our "old" racing cars were not getting any track time. At the time we
had a significant race track in Sydney namely Warwick Farm.
As a 14 to18 year old I used to go there and watch the Internationals
do battle during the Tasman Series races and often just to see Club
Racing itself...
It was at Warwick Farm that a bunch of
Enthusiasts got together to firstly form a a formal Association with
the sole mandate to promote Historic Racing in its own right....
That Association became the Historic Sports and Racing Car
Association. I think that was back in around the late 70's....
In
Victoria our next largest state they have a couple of Clubs which
promote Historics but here in NSW we only have the one...which now has
about 1000 members.
Until about 1992 the racing categories comprised:
Groups J&K for Prewar cars
Group La, Lb for Sports and Racing cars 1946-1960 (La for
Production cars without History)
Group M Sports and Racing Cars
1961-1965
Group O Sports and Racing Cars 1966-1969
Group N
Production Touring Cars up to 1965
Group Q Sports and Racing Cars
1970-1977
All the above except La and Group N are categories for cars only
with a proven and documented history of racing...and the cars must
race as per their individual Certificate's of Description
From 1992 our governing body the Confederation of Australian Motor
Sports (CAMS) allowed Historics to introduce Group S in lieu of Group
La and then Group S was split into 2 sub-categories.
Sa up to 1961
and Sb from 1961-1969
Initially there were many Sa cars and only a
few Sb cars, as the Sa cars came straight out of the Group La ranks.
Now some 6 years later the Sa numbers have dropped off a little and Sb
gets full grids of 30-35 cars and Sa get the overflow of the slower Sb
cars in our races.
More recently CAMS have approved Sc which is for cars 1970-1977
But it is early days yet and only 4 or 5 cars have appeared.
The HSRCA holds general meetings about 9 times a year at a Club in North Sydney .These are reasonably formal affairs with each of the Committee members giving a report along with our Eligiblity Officers keeping us updated as to new cars etc....
Incidently the HSRCA put out its own publication called the OILY RAG
this comes out 4 times a year and is a well anticipated magazine from
the HSRCA editor John Sexton
I am told it is one of the best
Historic Club magazines in the world!
Ed Holly.
January 1999
For More Information Contact
Ed Holly
Welcome to the last newsletter for 1998. Since the last one we have
had two meetings. The All Sports Car meeting and then the Historic
meeting both at Wakefield Park.
H.S.R.C.A. Club Champion
1998
Dick Everett was named our Club's Champion for 1998. I
have personally known Dick for around the last 12 or so years. It was
Dick more than anyone else who took the time to explain to me what was
required to get into our beloved sport. This was over a period from
1990 to 1992. Dick's obvious enthusiasm for La racing as it was then
took a step up around this time with the introduction of Group S,
dedicated to Production Sports Cars. When I finally started competing
in 1993 , it was Dick I again turned to for advice on matters of
racecraft ,and for improving the way the coupe went. All this time
Dick never held anything back, he went into great detail to ensure his
message got accross without misinterpretation, and eventually I
managed to climb through the field to do battle with him in our
A's. Well the score is still well in Dick's favour as to our on
track battles,he might give you plenty of encouragement off the track
but he sure as hell gives you none when you get on it !
Congratulations Dick from all of us in Group S . You have not only
been a great ambassador within and for Group S but for the whole
Historic scene over the last 15 or more years.
The All Sports Car meeting
This event was held at Wakefield Park on Sunday 25th October in fine
cool conditions.There was an early practice followed by 3 scratch
races all on the one day.The Sa honours for this meeting were taken
out by myself followed by Wes Dayton and then Richard Rose. The event
was marred by Dick's MGA firstly suffering a deflated tyre
which put him into the flag point approaching the chicane, causing a
fair amount of damage to the front RH guard and adjacent apron area,
then later in the meeting his engine threw a rod, making the
inevitable hole in the block. A new car on its first outing was Bob
Priddle's pretty MGA Coupe which set the 3rd fastest time for
an Sa car ( in the mid 22's ) behind Dick and myself .There were 6 Sa
cars and 9 Sb cars
The Sb honours and indeed the Wakefield Trophy
was won by Chris Smith in the Alfa GTV-1750 followed by Noel Bryen in
the Morgan then Mike Wilson in the Fiat 124 (being the only 1300-1600
competitor helped Mike) and very close behind was Greg King in the
MGB then Mark Alchin in the Morgan.
Historic Wakefield Park
This meeting was very well attended and in fact oversubscribed for Sb
and 4 cars from this field were placed in the Sa field which worked
out quite well. It was held over the weekend 21, 22 November in cool
sometimes overcast conditions.
The Sa honours went descisively to
Don Thallon in that monster Sa car , the Corvette, Roy Best from
Victoria and I shared equal 2nd with Geoff Morse not far behind. In
fact Roy said to me after the meeting "oh well thats one each"
meaning we both managed to beat the other in the 2 scratch races.
Typical of the Victorians in that they can't count, he forgot, that,
in the handicap race I slipped past him mid-race ,so I reckon its 2
to 1 my favour. Anyway it was nice to see Roy and the Canetoad (John
Bate) again. In fact as you will see later John actually managed a
class placing in our Championship...well done. After the meeting just
4 weeks prior, unfortunately Dick Everett was a non starter. There
were 15 Sa cars in all.
The Sb honours were taken by the Marcos
of Roger Ealand followed by Michael Byrne in the Lotus Europa then
came Howard Fletcher in the Datsun 2000 equal with Robert Rochlin in
the MG Midget followed by Noel Bryen in the Morgan Super
Sports. In all there were 30 Sb cars and 2 Sc cars with Chris Gray
taking the honours.
Two newcomers in Sb were at the meeting, Bob
(Hotrod) Thomas...apparently he got his nickname whilst in the Navy
which he thought had slipped into history until Nigel Brookes was
talking to his Dad about a fellow 6 hour team member !! And Brett
McManus driving the Ex Ray Fletcher MG Midget. Brett finished
all 3 races and consistently broke the 1 minute 20 second
barrier...well done.
Both Brett and Hotrod had their first race 2
weeks before at the Alfa 6 hr Relay race and were part of a team of 5
with Nigel ,Bruce Smith and myself in the coupe ...sure enough he
lived up to his name breaking his time on 4 consecutive laps....so he
might be one to watch in the future !!!
New Cars
As mentioned Brett McManus in the MG Midget and Hotrod Thomas
in an MGB have both had their first taste of circuit racing.
Bob Priddle's MGA Coupe was missing at the Historic meet whilst
he played in a blue block of flats called a Zipper in Nb. Another car
we should see soon and has been given a logbook is that pretty blue
fastback Bugeye that has been at Bob Rountree's of late. Also given
logbooks lately are Doug Matley with an Alfa GTV-1750 and Denis
Elborn in a Morgan V8. Hopefully it wont be too long before we see
these cars on the track. Dennis was also in the 6 Hr race.
1999 Championship 1.Oran Pk...........................Feb 6-7 2.Wakefield Pre 60's Sa only........Mar 27-28 3.100 km race Wakefield.............Jul 4 4.Post 60's Oran Pk Sb & Sc only...Jul 24-25 5.Eastern Creek Historics...........Sep 18-19 6.Wakefield Pk......................Oct 24 7.Wakefield Historic................TBA
Feb 6-7 | Oran Pk...Sydney NSW |
Feb 28-Mar 01 | Philip Isl.............. VIC |
Mar 01 | Pre 60's ..Goulbourn NSW |
Apr 18-19 | Mallala.....Adelaide SA |
Apr 18-19 | Thunderbolt Grande Parade...Uralla NSW |
May 29-30 | Winton...Wangaratta...VIC |
Jul ?? | Lakeside...Brisbane....QLD |
Jul 24-25 | Post 60's....Oran Pk Sydney NSW |
Sep 18-19 | Eastern Crk Sydney NSW....usually the biggest Historic event of the year 350+ cars |
Nov ?? | Sandown Melbourne VIC |
Nov 20-21 | Wakefield Pk Goulbourn NSW....great meeting, great track MGA 's love this track |
Driver | Group/Class | MG Model | Year | Engine CC | Colour |
Ed Holly | SA B | MGA Coupe | 1959 | 1650 | Red |
Ed Holly | SA B | MGA | 1960 | 1650 | Red |
Peter Cohen | SA | MGTF | |||
Richard Rose | SA B | MGA | 1959 | 1650 | White |
Dick Everitt | SA B | MGA | 1959 | 1650 | Blue |
Robert Rochlin | SB A | MG Midget | 1968 | 1310 | White |
Geoff Pike | SB C | MGB | 1971 | 1860 | BRG |
Michael Spruyt | SB C | MGB | 1964 | 1870 | BRG |
Bob Rowntree | SB C | MGB | 1964 | 1868 | Red/White |
Bob Thomas | SB C | MGB | 1967 | 1800 | BRG/Silver |
Brett McManus | SB A | MG Midget | 1968 | 1275 | Red/ |
David Davies | SA B | MGA | 1959 | 1650 | BRG/Yellow |
Greg King | SB C | MGB | 1962 | 1860 | Red |
Ray Fletcher | SB A | MG Midget | 1967 | 1300 | Red |
John Young | SB C | MGB GT | 1967 | 1866 | BRG |
Bob Priddle | SA B | MGA Coupe | 1960 | ||
Ian Jenson | SB C | MGB | 1969 | 1869 | Yellow |
Mike Gunnel | SA B | MGA | 1959 | 1650 | Red |
John Stevens | SB C | MGB | 1973 | 1800 | BRG/White |
Adam Ciocarelli | SB C | MGB | 1969 | 1830 | Green |
Darren Hodson | SB C | MGB | 1967 | 1800 | Burgendy |
David Healey | SB A | MG Midget | 1970 | 1293 | BRG |
Nigel Brookes | SB C | MGB | 1970 | 1840 | White |
Steve D-Constant | SB C | MGB | 1970 | 1800 | Red |
Avis Fowler | SB A | MG Midget | 1971 | 1293 | Blue/White |
Bryan Wells | SB A | MG Midget | 1964 | 1330 | BRG |
Max Pegler | SA B | MGA Twincam | 1959 | 1650 | Red |
Michael Robson | SB A | MG Midget | 1971 | 1293 | Blue/White |
We hope to bring you news and pictures throughout 1999
Our thanks to Ed Holly
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