MG Car Club
Largest EVER MG Trophy grid expected for MGLive!
The Millers Oils MG Trophy Championship is on course to set a new grid record at MGLive! as they welcome 45 cars to the home of British motorsport, Silverstone, on June 17th & 18th.
This will be the biggest grid the Championship has ever had since it began back in 1995 as the ‘Dunlop Rover Trophy Cup’.
Current racers have been promoting the event as the #MGTrophyBigGrid across social media, something which has directly influenced the high number of entries. Spectators coming to MGLive! will be pleased to hear the Championship will be racing on both days, giving those coming the chance of watching history unfold.
Pete Macwaters, the MG Trophy coordinator, has been the main reason behind the Trophy’s success, presenting drivers young and old with the opportunity of racing in an exciting and affordable Championship. MGLive! will mark 10 years since Macwaters began his role as coordinator, in a Championship that has come on leaps and bounds since 2007, when the Championship had just 26 cars on the grid for the event that year.
Macwaters said: “To have so many cars lined up is an incredible achievement and something everyone involved is incredibly proud of.
“In all my years of working in the Championship, I never thought we’d manage to get a grid this big, but hard work has paid off and we’re all delighted. We hope spectators enjoy the racing as much as we will.”
The Millers Oils MG Trophy Championship has given many aspiring drivers the chance of breaking into motorsport, including the likes of Jack Goff who has been racing in the British Touring Car Championship since 2013. Jack will also be at MGLive! this year, appearing in a special one-off BTCC Q&A alongside former MG BTCC driver Sam Tordoff and the recently returned Josh Cook.
With 45 cars confirmed, the Championship doesn’t want to stop there. More cars are rumoured to be on the horizon, meaning a half-century of cars lining up isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for next weekend. The MG Trophy Championship’s sponsor for the weekend is Millers Oils, and you can find out more about what products they can offer for your car by visiting their website. For more information on the MG Trophy Championship, please visit their website.
MG Trophy Brands Hatch highlights now online
Round two highlights of the MG Trophy Championship from Brands Hatch are now online and can be watched on the YouTube link above.
The highlights come courtesy of Digitex TV and Motorsport.tv – the rebranded version of Motors TV. The channel shows highlights of motorsport from around the world and once again in 2017, they’ll be broadcasting the MG Car Club’s MG Trophy Championship and Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup. The two Championships compete at a variety of circuits throughout the UK, and Motorsport.tv will be the only place to see exclusive highlights of each round.
Motorsport.tv is available on Sky TV channel 447 and Virgin Media channel 545.
Below is the MG Trophy Championship Round 2 report from Brands Hatch on Saturday 29th April & Sunday 30th April courtesy of Leanne Fahy.
“A red flag ended the action earlier than planned in the first MG Trophy adventure. Despite an abrupt end, Ross Makar managed to fight his way to the head of the pack, to claim victory, and Driver of the Race.
A front row placing left Makar wheel spinning at the start, as the field surrounded him into Paddock Hill Bend. Despite this, he managed to weave his way ahead of the pack, as he pulled out quite a distance.
Pole sitter Jason Burgess fell foul of a spin at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend. Despite leading the way at the start of lap one, he was sent into a pirouette. As the field swept by, his MGZR remained in one piece, as he rejoined unscathed at the back of the pack.
Doug Cole led the way early on, however hounded by gearbox issues, he was unable to defend his position from the charging Makar. With Makar disappearing into the distance, Cole was forced to battle Gary Wetton, with the latter eventually finishing slightly ahead.
Class B was a hive of activity, with Paul Luti, Andrew Rogerson and Jack Roberts nose to tail for the duration. Rogerson led the way early on, but after much deliberation, Luti managed to sneak ahead. With his mirrors filled by Rogerson’s MGZR, Luti had his work cut out, but as a sudden red flag flew, his advantage was confirmed.
As three cars simultaneously left the circuit at various points, the red flag was thrown, deeming each to be in dangerous positions. With less than four minutes to go, the result was called, crowning Makar, Luti and Matthew Turnbull as class winners.
An eventful start saw race two red flagged before it barely began. An 11-car coming together at the top of Paddock Hill Bend saw the race immediately stopped, as cars were scattered across the track.
Giving officials the chance to clear the circuit, the race was restarted somewhat later, albeit sadly missing nine cars. Tom Butler and championship leader Turnbull were the only drivers able to take the restart after being caught up in the incident.
With the grid reformed, it was pole-sitter Burgess who secured the best launch, Makar settled in behind. By way of a series of fastest laps, Makar piled on the pressure, determined to match his race one winning performance.
As the pair lapped, a coming together with a backmarker saw Burgess caught out, as Makar sailed passed. With just minutes left on the clock, Burgess’ determination saw him make the most of an MGZR sized gap beside Makar, to reclaim the lead, and seal the race win.
Doug Cole steered to a somewhat lonely third place finish, whilst fourth place was awarded to Class B winner, and Driver of the Race Jack Roberts.
Luti had led Class B early on, however once Roberts leapt ahead, Luti was unable to reclaim his position, with the pair separated by just 0.121 seconds by race end.
Championship leader, Turnbull turned his luck around and doubled his success, with another Class C victory, ahead of Andy Spencer and John Booth.”
MGLive! Sprint volunteers required
The MG Car Club’s MGLive! Sprint will take place at 9am on Sunday 18th June, and extra volunteers are needed to marshal the event.
Located on the Stowe Circuit, the Sprint consists of cars running against the clock where each driver lines up at the start line near the pit exit and when given the green light starts a run, which consists of nearly two laps of the circuit. The car cuts the finish beam, a time is recorded, and the run ends up back in the pit lane.
It’s fantastic to watch, and with the free bus service at MGLive! you can easily make your way down to Stowe Circuit. The volunteers need to be keen car enthusiasts that will be manning certain parts of the circuit. They will receive full training and be given specific instructions in the morning before it starts. Duties also include waving red flags, switching off the engine of a car if it’s touched a barrier and to help to put tyres back on a tyre wall after they’ve been knocked down.
No previous marshalling experience is necessary and any help would be greatly appreciated. If you’re interested in stepping forward or finding out a bit more, you can contact the MGLive! Sprint organiser David Rainsbury on 01614 274861 or david@rainsbury.com.
MGLive! goes Radical
The MG Car Club looks set to welcome the exciting Radical Challenge Championship to MGLive! and the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on June 17th and 18th.
The Radical Challenge Championship was born out of the previous UK series to offer a more diverse racing weekend than ever before. Large grids and close racing ensure that the Radical Challenge is a hotly-contested domestic sportscar series. The Radical Challenge Championship incorporates the SR1 Challenge, aimed at graduates of Radical’s SR1 Cup rookie-to-racer championship. The Team Challenge, which allows for two drivers to share one car and is open to SR3, ideal for Pro/Am entries or dual-Am pairings and finally the Solo Challenge which is open to single drivers in the SR3.
With a strong grid of 30-35 cars expected, spectators can expect fast, loud action all weekend long. The Challenge also features previous Radical champions including 2016 Radical Challenge victor Steve Burgess, multiple Radical UK and European champion Bradley Smith and current reigning European Masters champion Marcello Marateotto. Each race day features a split qualifying session, two fast-paced 20-minute standing start sprint races and a 40-minute endurance finale, incorporating a mandatory pit-stop for all classes. For more information on Radical, please visit their website.
Alongside Radical is the all powerful Petro-Canada Lubricants Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli who will be racing on Saturday and the Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars, with us on the Sunday, which will give visitors the chance to see BMW 2002s, Alfa Romeos, Lotus Cortinas, Ford Falcons and Mustangs battling it out against the ever competitive Mini Coopers.
Advance tickets are still on sale for members and non-members, with both receiving a big discount by ordering before the deadline on Thursday 8th June. To book your tickets, please visit the MG Car Club online shop.
Huge Equipe GTS grids expected for MGLive!
At MGLive! you’ll get to see cars from the 1940s right up to the 2000s compete for glory on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, with the Club’s Championships and Series providing huge grids for the world’s largest MG event on the 17th & 18th June.
But the biggest grids of the weekend will be from Equipe GTS, who will provide spectators with an eclectic mix of vehicles from Alfa Romeos to TVRs and of course MGs – with Midgets and MGBs completing a varied line-up. Such is the demand to take part, the organisers have sanctioned four races over the weekend with a total of 80 Equipe entries including two genuine ex-works MGBs. At MGLive! you’ll see all of these and more racing around the hallowed tarmac at Silverstone.
Equipe GTS is designed for pre-1966 cars with engines spread across five classes from under 1150cc to 2700cc, and includes a broad range of marques. Eligible cars include Lancias, Morgans, Rochdales, Volvos, Daimlers, Austin Healeys amongst others. Running to Appendix K rules (FiA papers not demanded) their aim is to provide a competitive yet gentlemanly, safe and friendly race series with a high standard of driving and car preparation. Equipe GTS has always been a great place to start Historic Racing, with affordable cars and good value entry fees combined with a friendly atmosphere that draws more drivers to the sport each year.
To see further details on our regulations and class structure please click here and for more details on the series please contact info@equipegts.com.