MG Trophy Championship

FINAL RESULTS

After another fantastic and eventful season, congratulations to our new champion Andrew Ashton, 2nd place Chris Bray and 3rd Tom Butler (by 1 point from Alastair)

Class B 1st Chris Bray (again) 2nd Doug Cole and 3rd Paul Luti

Class C 1st Andrew Ashton, 2nd Tom Butler, 3rd Alastair Rushforth

Please see below for the final points table.

Once again, thank you to everyone for your support this year. We hope to see you all again next year!

 

RACE BULLETIN No. 6 – 9th October 2013

Snetterton – October 5th – 6th 2013

A good end of season entry of 21 cars made it to the last two races of the year at Snetterton. Again despite many hours on the ‘phone talking to local MG dealers this was a non sponsored event, maybe next year !

Testing

There was the normal pre-event testing on the Friday in groups, a lot of the Trophy cars were present, some doing the whole day some just the afternoon sessions. Robin Walker was giving the ex Mats Wahlgren car a try in favour of his usual car and Sarah Budby was out in her reshelled car now in green (with some bits of pink!). Jack Webster was also present with his new black car and Chris Boulton was testing having missed Oulton Park. Paul Luti was absent (along with the rest of the scottish contingent) having run out of time to get his new engine installed. Some were present but decided not to test including Andrew Ashton and Mike Harris. Problems included our old favourite HGF for Chris Bray and a broken wire in the throttle position sensor for Dan Jones. Some times noted were a 1:30.8 for Tom Butler and a 1:32 for Budby, in class B Walker was happier in the red and white car and Cole did a 1:28 but traffic meant these times had little relevance. It was good to see top Clio man Josh Files on hand giving Jack Webster some tips on how far you can push these great cars.

Qualifying

Our qualifying session started at 10.25 and early leaders were Neaves, Cole, Walker, Fraser-Burns in class B and Ashton, Evans, Budby, Rushforth in class C. On the third lap, Bray slotted into P1 on 1:26.776. At four laps it was Bray, Neaves, Makar and Cole and in class C it was Rushforth, Ashton and returnee Evans. After five laps the order was Bray, Neaves, Makar and Cole and in class C Rushforth, Marsh, Ashton and Butler. On lap six, Butler rolled his car at Murrays but managed to drive it back to the pits. This was followed by another roll from Jones at the same corner, which brought out the red flag at 10.39, bringing the qualifying session to an early end. Class B pole went to Bray with a 1:26.436 on his fifth lap, Makar and Neaves rounded out the top three. Class C pole went to Rushforth with 1:30.093 on lap three, Ashton and Marsh completed their top three.

Work commenced on the two damaged cars, Preptech managed to get a screen for Butler’s car despite an initial delivery of a TF screen! Jones had lots of help to repair his car but decided to run without glass in the race, both cars were ready in time for the start, typical Trophy dogged spirit.

Race 1

Racing with us for the first time were Ollie Coles in the ex Colebrooke car and Jo Martin in his brand new ZR160. Our first race was at 14.29, however Boulton’s car refused to fire up and was later diagnosed with three dropped valves! Twenty cars took the start, Bray held the lead and gradually pulled away from Makar creating a gap of six seconds at the end of lap eight. Neaves lost his P3 place on lap one when there was contact with Makar which dropped him right down the order to P18. Cole only held on to P4 until Riches where he overshot the corner dropping him to tenth, Walker then inherited third and Fraser-Burns fourth. These top four places held until lap ten when Cole regained fourth having worked his way back through the pack. Neaves also did the same and was up to sixth at the same point. Cole made up one further place into third, a position he held to the end. In class C the early pace setters were Marsh, Butler, Ashton and Rushforth. These places changed and at the half way stage the order was Marsh, Ashton, Rushforth all three having a very close race followed by Butler. Evans made his move on lap ten to take fourth place away from Butler, these positions then held to the flag. Contact between Mooney and Bellamy at Nelson just before mid distance left Bellamy trailing his sill.  Webster appeared to have taken on board the tips he was given, bringing his car home eighth in class behind Budby and Penfold. First time racer Coles did very well with a ninth in class.

Fastest laps  Class B was Chris Bray on lap 4 with 1:25.931s, class C was Andrew Ashton also on lap 4 with 1:29.470s.  

Driver of the Race Tom Butler.

Race 2

Boulton’s car was repaired literally in the nick of time, joining the green flag lap as it went past the garages! 21 cars therefore took the start of the last race of the day (and season) at 17:22, some twenty minutes early. Bray had the class B pole and Rushforth the class C pole. Marsh started at the back of the grid due to only completing one fast qualifying lap. Coles didn’t complete the green flag lap as his engine died. Bellamy’s race was over on his second tour when he lost power, Jones a lap later with engine problems. Neaves came in at the end of his third lap to have the wheel nuts checked before continuing. Bray held his lead but was initially pushed hard by both Cole and Makar, Walker and Fraser-Burns completed the top five. Bray gradually pulled away an ever increasing lead at the front which he held to the flag. Meanwhile, Cole had Makar seemingly glued to his bumper, on lap five the difference was 0.005s! Cole’s tyres went off sooner enabling Makar to make his move into P2 on lap twelve. In class C Rushforth was determined to hold his pole position and lead Butler, Ashton and Evans while Marsh passed ten cars on his first lap. Ashton moved ahead of Butler on lap two to take second in class joined by Marsh on lap three, already into third. Ashton suffered with brake problems dropping back as he was passed by Marsh, Butler and Evans. Mooney was out on his seventh tour with a blown engine on the Senna Straight.  Bray took the flag at 17:42 bringing an end to the championship racing for the year, Rushforth held on to take the class C honours.

Fastest laps  Class B was Chris Bray with 1:25.057s on lap 3. Class C was Richard Marsh on lap 6 with 1:28.939s a new lap record.  

Driver of the Race  Ross Makar, Class B.

Driver of the Day  Ross Makar, Class B.

 

RACE BULLETIN No. 5 – 11th September 2013

Oulton Park – September 7th 2013

An excellent entry saw 23 cars listed in the programme for the NW Centre’s special 80th Birthday Meeting at Oulton Park, a regular Trophy favourite circuit. Despite many hours on the ‘phone talking to local MG dealers this was a non sponsored event, their loss !

Testing

There was the normal pre-event testing on the Friday but as usual other race cars were testing as well. At least half the Trophy grid were present, some doing the whole day some just the afternoon sessions. No meaningful times were noted due to the wet conditions, however the best appeared to be on target for times close to the current lap records for both classes. Once again some of the drivers were experiencing the beautiful Oulton Park circuit for the first time. It was good to see Dan Molloy back after his travels in a new 4G racing ZR160 and Paul Streather in the DC Motorsport ZR160 hire car. Two of our scottish drivers had excursions with one saying hello to the tyre wall, several others had minor skirmishes as they explored the limits of adhesion. Budby was also in trouble in the afternoon with a heavy head on into the tyres following a brake problem, however the Preptech Team worked hard late into the evening to get it straight again. Tom Butler tested his brakes when a cat appeared on the track in front of him! Anyone with an eagle eye may have noticed an unusual MG on circuit later on in the day!

Qualifying

The weather on the day was again not as expected following the rain on the Friday. This caught out several

teams who were still on wet set ups and with our quali session starting at 9 am. a few were still making last minute changes as the final call for the session was announced. As it was, five cars were late in getting to the assembly area. Walker was in after just one lap with driveshaft failure. After two laps the order was Luti, Makar, Robertson, Ross, Fraser-Burns and Cole in class B and Streather and Ashton the class C pace setters. Bray moved into P1 after three laps followed by Luti, Robertson, Ross, Makar and Cole, in class C, Ashton moved ahead of Streather. Luti held the class B pole with a 1:57.45 on his final tour, his next fastest time securing the second race pole. The class C pole went to Ashton in another class lap record of 2:03.039, he also secured class pole for the second race. Fraser-Burns dropped coolant at Britten’s which resulted in Ross and Bray spinning off into the tyre wall with damage to repair, due in part, to the late appearance of the yellow/red flag. Budby had more bad luck with a broken hub.

Race 1

Our first race was at 12.31 and there was early drama on the first lap at Old Hall as Webster got a wheel on the grass which launched him into Budby as he rejoined the circuit, leaving Harris with nowhere to go. All three cars suffered considerable damage bringing their race to an immediate halt and the intervention of the safety car for one lap. At the re-start Bray held the lead but Robertson got the jump on Luti with Ross and Cole making up the top five.  Walker came in at the end of lap three after spinning on lost coolant, the car suffering with vibration, and, despite plenty of help he retired. In class C, Streather and Rushforth took the initial lead opening out a gap to Ashton in third place. At the front, Bray and Robertson were having a close race in first and second as was Luti and Ross in third and fourth. On lap five, Ross and Luti tangled leaving Luti parked in the gravel at Druids. Andrew Colebrooke called it a day after five laps, having incurred a ten second penalty for jumping the start. On lap seven, Makar was out with a broken hub and on the following lap James Colebrooke crashed into the tyre wall after attempting a pass on Penfold.

Bray and Robertson continued to dice at the front until Robertson made his move at Deer Leap at the start of lap seven to take the lead, these two swapped places with Bray back leading the race at the end of laps eight and nine, however Ross was in very close contention with this pair in third. Robertson made his move on the last lap at Old Hall to take the win with all 3 crossing the line almost together with Bray in second 0.25secs. behind and Ross in third 0.28secs. adrift. In class C, Streather held the lead, but Ashton took second passing Rushforth on lap eight, the first two crossing the line just 0.14secs apart.

Fastest laps  Class B was Graham Ross on lap 9 with 1:57.770s, class C was Andrew Ashton also on lap 9 with 2:02.398s., another race lap record.  

Driver of the Race  Not declared, held over until Snetterton.

Race 2

Non starters in race 2 were Webster, whose car was too badly damaged, both of the Colebrookes and Wetton. The Preptech team again did a sterling job on the front of Budby’s car, replacing both wings and Harris borrowed the alternator from his girlfriend’s road car to enable him to take part in the second race!

Our second race, the last of the day, got underway at 18.25. Butler and Marsh tangled resulting in Butler spinning off, dropping down the field as he rejoined the race. At the end of lap one, Luti already had a 2.3sec. lead over Robertson, Bray, Ross and Cole completing the top five. In class C the order was Streather, Molloy, Ashton and Rushforth. Walker was in again after just one lap with coolant loss problems, completing his disappointing day. At the end of lap two, Robertson had reduced the gap to Luti and continued to do this until by lap six the gap was just 0.23secs. Ross moved up one place on lap two at Old Hall to move into third, Bray dropping to fourth. Bray lost another place on lap six to Cole, who had been pushing him hard. On the penultimate lap, Luti’s engine sounded rough and threw a rod on the last lap, gifting the win to Robertson, the others all moving up a place, as Luti pulled off. In class C Molloy took the lead away from Streather on lap six at Old Hall Streather then spun off on water from Fraser-Burns’s car on the following lap gifting second place to Ashton and third to Marsh who passed Rushforth on lap seven.

Fastest laps  Class B was Colin Robertson with 1:56.712 on lap 4. Class C was Dan Molloy on lap 5 with 2:03.506.  

Driver of the Race  Colin Robertson, Class B.

Driver of the Day  Colin Robertson, Class B.

 

RACE BULLETIN No. 4 – 23rd July 2013

Cadwell Park 21st July 2013

For our return to Cadwell Park after 3 years both our races were sponsored by Oxfordshire X part Dealer College Motors, boss Simon Ballard also sponsors the #19 car of Richard Marsh so many thanks go to Simon for supporting the Trophy Championship.

Again some drivers were unfortunately missing but despite this we had a good grid (the best of the day) with 21 cars listed.

Testing

There was some testing available on the Thursday and Friday evenings and eight cars utilised these times to either reacquaint themselves with the circuit or, in most cases, try it for the first time. I was not present on these dates but I believe some good times were posted but the best was some way off the current lap records. There was an MSV meeting on the Saturday so the logistics of the meeting were not the best, however our designated overflow parking area prevented testers and early arrivals having to move pitches.

Qualifying

The weather on the day was not as expected, following several days of really hot weather in the high 20’s we were greeted by an overcast, misty and quite cool day, it was like being in another country, Spa sprang to mind.

The Trophy qualifying was the 2nd session on the Sunday and all 21 cars took to the circuit at 09:18, early pace setters were Luti, A. Colebrooke, Cole, Butler, Buckley and Marsh. At the half way point it was Luti, Bray, Cole, Walker and Butler. The black/white flag was shown for Savage after an off, with 5 minutes remaining the order was Luti, Cole, Bray, Fraser-Burns and A. Colebrooke who also got the black/white for exceeding track limits. Two visitors to the pits were Cole who went back out and Walker who had lost all his fluid after 4 laps. Further changes took place as drivers got to grips with the track and at the flag the order for class B was Luti, Bray, Fraser-Burns, Cole and Buckley. The class C positions changed with the top 4 posting their best times on either their penultimate or last laps, the final order being Butler, Ashton, Budby, A. Colebrooke and Rushforth.

Luti’s pole time was 1:40.346 on lap 7 and in class C Butler posted 1:45.714 on his 7th lap.

Savage lost his sill after hitting the kerb avoiding two slow runners, the DC team changed the head gasket on the Walker car and the CMC boys swapped the head on the Penfold car which had a bent valve. Buckley lost synchro on 4th gear continuing his run of bad luck. Luti lost alternator output after a wire came adrift and finished the session with a flat battery.

Race 1

Our first race of the weekend was just prior to the lunch break at 12:34, all 21 cars made the start. Luti got the better start off the line with Bray, Fraser-Burns and Cole in close contention, Cole quickly moving into P3 on the second lap. Walker was soon working his way through the pack from his P12 start slot, Buckley was the first casualty after 3 laps with no clutch. The order after 5 laps was Luti with Bray on his back bumper then a gap of almost 8 secs to Cole and a further gap of 3.5 secs to Fraser-Burns. The class C order at this point was Ashton from Butler with Rushforth, A Colebrooke and Budby. Colebrooke J lost his rear bumper just before disaster struck on the exit of Charlies on lap 7 as son, Colebrooke A, went off at speed into the tyre wall badly damaging his car, because of the severity of the impact the race was red flagged as the medical car went to his aid.

The result was declared at the end of lap 6 just after 10mins had elapsed with Luti the class B and overall winner and Bray 2nd and Cole 3rd. Class C went to Ashton with Butler 2nd and Rushforth 3rd. Fortunately Andrew Colebrooke was OK after a check over by the medical team.

Fastest laps  Class B was Chris Bray on lap 6 with 1:40.282s, class C was Andrew Ashton on lap 2 with 1:45.418s.  

Driver of the Race  Jake Fraser-Burns, class B.

Race 2

Non starters in race 2 were Savage with damage to his nearside following a collision in the race, Buckley with no clutch, and Mooney with damage following a hit from Marsh when the yellow flags came out in race 1. James Colebrooke gave up his seat to allow son Andrew to race his car instead which started from the back of the grid after being sanctioned by the Clerk of the Course.

Bray got the much better start this time as pole man, Luti, bogged down on the line. At the end of the first lap the order was Bray, Luti and Cole with less than one second covering all three. Seven seconds behind was the first of the class C cars, Ashton followed by Rushforth, Budby and Butler. First lap retirees were Walker with no clutch and Fraser-Burns who spun off into the tyre wall at the Gooseneck damaging the front nearside, briefly bringing out stationary yellows. Despite his big off in race one, Andrew Colebrooke was soon picking off places and at the end of lap one, was already up to 11th place. The top three, Bray, Luti and Cole soon opened up an ever increasing gap being the only class B cars left in the race. On lap three, Rushforth and Ashton had a coming together dropping Ashton down from the class C lead to fourth. Marsh was off on lap four with a blown engine following a missed downshift. Next to leave the party was Cole on lap six with no clutch. This left Bray and Luti to battle it out with less than a cars length between them. Ashton had rejoined the class C battle behind Budby and despite numerous attempts to get past she drove defensively and only succumbed on the last lap on the approach to the Mountain. Bray held on despite much pressure from Luti to take the win by just 0.29secs at the line. Butler did well to take the class C win following close attention by Rushforth, Ashton held on to third and Budby, a well deserved fourth. Behind them, Andrew Colebrooke brought home his dad’s car in fifth, having had a good race with Bellamy.

Fastest laps  Class B was Paul Luti with 1:40.071 on lap 7. Class C was Andrew Ashton on lap 5 with 1:45.699.  

Driver of the Race  Julia Penfold, class C.

The points after Cadwell Park stand as follows:

 

 

RACE BULLETIN No. 3 – 18th June 2013

Silverstone 15/16th June 2013

A lot of the Trophy Championship drivers made it a 3 day affair at the premier event in the MG racing calendar, MG Live! at Silverstone.

Both our races were sponsored by Dunlop Tyres and our thanks go to Michael Butler of Dunlop Motorsport.

Again several regulars were unfortunately missing but nevertheless we had a very creditable 25 starters in both races, this brings our grid average up to a healthy 21.2.

Testing
The testing was, as usual, on the Friday, as this was not an ‘MG day’ the testing was open to all, however the majority appeared to be cars that would be racing over the weekend. The slight drawback to this not being an MG day was that the circuit configuration in use was the Arena GP circuit utilising the chicane at Vale whereas the weekend racing would be using the historic cut through at Vale.
The day was broken into 45 minute sessions to suit open and closed wheel cars. At least 15 of the Trophy cars were present testing at some point during the day including our guest driver, reigning Ginetta GT Supercup points leader Tom Ingram, in a new B&G built ZR190. Our second guest driver was ex Trophy man Gary Wetton with his LE 500 the only rwd car to be racing with us. New drivers, Jake Fraser-Burns in the ex Ollie Neaves car and Chris Boulton in the Finishline hire car, were both racing for the very first time. It was good to have the full Scottish contingent present with the first outing for 12 months for Colin Robertson and Graham Ross.
Tom Ingram wasn’t getting much track time with persistent crank oil seal problems, Sarah Budby had a driveshaft failure at Woodcote and both Paul Luti and Chris Bray suffered with broken hubs. Better that these things happen in testing than in the races. Because of the circuit configuration in use lap times were not recorded in testing, however it was clear that new driver, Fraser-Burns, was on the pace almost straight away. The Ingram crank seal problem persisted on the B&G car but with help from Luti technician Claire, the problem was finally sorted on the Friday night.

Qualifying
The Trophy qualifying was the 2nd session on the Saturday starting at 09:33 with all 25 Trophy cars on track plus 19 of our friends from the Drayton Manor Park Metro’s. With a damp track, tyre choice was going to be of prime importance and several cars came in straight away to switch from wets to slicks, some going slicks all round but most, who changed, going to slick front but leaving wets on the rear. After 2 laps most of the front runners were the class C cars on their intermediate tyres, however Bray was first followed by Colebrooke A., Savage, Wetton, Butler, Ashton, Fraser-Burns, Buckley and Walker. At the halfway point, it was Bray, Ashton, Colebrooke A., Savage, Marsh, Fraser-Burns, Butler, Buckley and Wetton. Several cars had non-working transponders, manual timings then materialised and the top five were Ingram, Cole, Bray, Fraser-Burns and Ashton. With two minutes to go, Luti popped into second place, 0.15 secs. behind Ingram, with Robertson, Cole and Ross completing the top five. In class C, the order was Ashton, Colebrooke A., Marsh, Butler and Budby.
Ingram’s pole time was 2:31.43 and in class C Ashton posted 2:39.37.
Cole’s clutch went on the last lap of qualifying and Rushforth suffered with a burst oil cooler pipe and only managed four laps, fortunately he was able to switch off and coast off the track before any damage was done. Fraser-Burns finished the session early with an oil leak but still managed to post 8th in class in his first ever race event.

Race 1
Our first race of the weekend got underway at 13:44 on a dry track. The grid was split with the Metro’s starting 40 secs. after the Trophy cars. At the end of the first lap, the order was Luti, Robertson, Ingram, Bray and Cole then a gap of 4 secs. before the next group of Walker, Wetton and Fraser-Burns. The first of the class C cars were next with Ashton heading Ross, who had spun at Becketts along with Marsh, who suffered with a seized caliper, dropping them both down the order. Ingram made his move on lap 2 to lead Luti, Bray, Robertson and Cole, there was already a gap of over 10 secs. to the next man Ross, followed 2 secs. later by a group of six cars covering just five seconds. Luti kept on Ingram’s tail but lost second place to Bray on lap 5, Ingram taking the win just over 6 seconds ahead of Bray. Luti held his third place just 0.275 secs. behind with Robertson and Cole rounding out the top five. In class C, Ashton held the lead until lap five when Butler made his move only to lose it a lap later. Colebrooke A., Rushforth, Savage and Budby followed, racing in close formation most of the time. The final positions in class C were Ashton, Butler, Colebrooke A., Rushforth and Savage. All 25 cars finished the race.

Fastest laps
Class B was Tom Ingram on lap 4 with 2:26.353s, however, as he was a guest, it was given to the next fastest which was Paul Luti on lap 3 with 2:26.645s.
Class C was Andrew Ashton on lap 6 with 2:34.559s.
Driver of the Race Tom Butler, class C.

Race 2
Marsh’s car was checked by Mark Stacey and was found to be down on power, this was rectified. Just before the start of the second race of the day on the Sunday there was drizzle already in the air, so correct tyre choice was paramount. Luti decided wets all round while most of the other class B runners chose to opt for slick fronts, some making last minute changes as the drizzle continued. Most of the class C runners used the control tyre all round but a couple of others used the Dunlop wet on the rear, this was to prove critical. At 14:53, two green flag laps were given due to the conditions, and the race got underway. Jones came in immediately with gear linkage problems and took no further part. At the end of the first lap Luti and Ingram came past side by side 0.001s. separating them, then a gap of 5 secs. to Bray followed by Cole, Robertson, Ross and Wetton in close contention. The class C first five were Ashton, Savage, Colebrooke A., Budby and Marsh. At the front, Ingram opened out an increasing lead over Luti to take the win by 15.6secs. Luti’s alternator belt came off which in turn took the power steering belt off, leaving him with heavy steering. Bray, Cole and Ross tangled early resulting in Bray holding third to the flag, Ross fourth a further 15.5secs. adrift and Cole fifth despite taking fourth place briefly at the 14 min. mark and again a lap later. Penfold called it a day coming in on her third lap and retired. Robertson, Buckley and Colebrooke J. had lonely races on the large GP circuit. Wetton suffered with a broken alternator casting causing smoke in the cockpit. The class C race was a close run thing at the front with Ashton, Savage, Butler and Budby racing line astern, Budby took a position off Savage with a nice move at Copse to take P13, P3 in class. At the front, Butler took the lead off Ashton on the penultimate lap to take the class C win, his first by 2.47 secs., Budby held on to third, Colebrooke A. fourth, and Savage fifth. Webster was a non finisher retiring on lap 6.

Fastest laps
Class B was Tom Ingram with 2:38.158, but the point went to Chris Bray with a 2:39.182 on lap 5.
Class C was Tom Butler on lap 5 with 2:48.35.
Driver of the Race Sarah Budby, class C.