News
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 Spinning at turn 12 |
 still spinning |
 still spinning - lucky the Porsche has good brakes! |
 still spinning |
 almost finished |
 Keith waves goodbye! |
MG Festival of Sports Cars - Oran Park July 2006
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Denis Elborn +8 |
The MG Racing Festival of sports Cars run over the weekend of 14,15 & 16 July, saw representation from Team Morgan on the track, in the tower and in the scrutineering bays, with the +8's of Geoff Williams and Denis Elborn tearing up the track, Choy-Lin in the tower and Todd & Daph Hamilton, Wayne & Loreen Paterson and Bob & Bev Little in scrutineering.
All were kept very busy, as the wet weather on the Friday and Saturday resulted in a number of incidents, with quite a number of vehicles requiring some panel work before the next meeting. The sun appeared on Sunday and all classes enjoyed excellent racing on the dry track, though the races after lunch had the laps reduced to four, following a severe shunt off the grid with a Mustang ploughing into the rear of a Ford Capri.
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Geoff Williams +8 |
Vern Dale-Johnston, fresh from Canada, was at the track Saturday and Sunday as pit crew for his brother-in-law racing in an Alfa. We look forward to Vern joining Team Morgan at these events in his racing Plus 8.
Those who bought new tyres at the track found that the Yokohama A32's are no longer available, as they have been replaced with A48's. Members who have A32's may have to consider pooling their stock in the future if tyres are damaged.
Bob Bailey
2006 Phillip Island Pics from Bob Bailey
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Bob Bailey - 2005 CSCA Champion Driver
Congratulations to Bob Bailey who in his first year of CSCA competition has scored equal top points with Jeff Wards of the Triumph Club to become joint Champion Driver for 2005. Runner up was last year's winner Tim Hurst, also from MOCA.
Bob has successfully campaigned "Molly", his 1974 Plus 8, all year finishing up with a hillclimb event on the 30th October at Ringwood.
Trophies were presented on Sunday 6th November.
Well done Bob!
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Winners All! From left to right: John Coneybeare, Tim Hurst, Bob Bailey & Graham Dell |
"Molly" providing a suitable platform for the MOCA trophies |
Speed on Tweed 2005 - view from a three wheeler
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Our
three wheeler (1928 Super Aero) continues to excite me and others, even after 34
years of ownership. We have just returned from "Speed on Tweed", a
1.2km street sprint through the streets of Murwillumbah, northern NSW. It
is a fantastic 3 day weekend with many social events in the evenings as well as
two full days of sprinting (7 runs this year).
Reg
Darwell runs his Sunbeam Alpine and Trevor Chappel is always there with his +6
that was owned for many years by Rob Robson.
Since
my last monumental blow up - broken rod and smashed the near side barrel off!! -
the Anzani has been rebuilt in UK by Phil Spencer and is now 1320cc and
supercharged.
With
only 2 speeds, you seldom have the correct one and at Murwillumbah it is
quickest using low gear only, but this means 6000rpm!! It has held on so far -
let's hope it continues.
I
can recommend the event - mid September, '06 - and I'm sure any Morgan would get
a start, regardless of how many wheels.
Cheers,
Joe
Wilson
Phillip Island Historic Racing 2005
By Bob Bailey
This year MOCA was represented at Phillip
Island by five cars and a team of eleven supporters posing as pit crew.
Competitors were Noel Bryen, Stuart Littlemore, Denis Elborn and Tom Ffrench all
in Morgans, plus Ken Ward in his Renmax and Pete Ffrench in an Elfin Clubman.
Last year I was informed that the Phillip
Island historic meeting was something not to be missed, so I was determined to
make the pilgrimage and am delighted to report that I was not disappointed.
Phillip Island itself is most picturesque with a thriving tourist industry and a
thrilling motor racing circuit. Noel had recommended an alternative route from
Sydney that avoided the ordeal of Melbourne suburbia and E-toll ways. Travelling
via Cooma, Bombala, Cann River and through Victoria’s beautiful Gippsland
region, with an overnight stay in Marlo, a sleepy little seaside village near
Orbost, north of Lakes Entrance, we arrived in near perfect weather.
Friday’s practice was a little cooler with a couple a brief periods of misty rain that failed to disrupt the day’s schedule. The Morgan team performed well and were looking forward to the events of Saturday and Sunday. Following Saturday mornings practice session Denis won his class in the first group Sb race. The three Morgans swapped positions throughout the race and provided plenty of entertainment for the large appreciative crowd that supported the event. Unfortunately Alby retired with engine trouble and was unable to participate in further events.
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Stuart Littlemore (red) and Denis Elborn dicing in their Plus 8s. Honda Corner |
In Sunday’s Handicap event both Denis and
Stuart had to battle their way through a large field and enjoyed themselves
immensely, with Denis coming in third. The afternoon session had Stuart and
Denis locked in battle with a Pantera running interference. Unfortunately
neither of them finished the race, retiring on the last lap with mechanical
problems.
Peter Ffrench and his son Tom ran in the Regularity events where their Morgan also suffered mechanical problems. In comparison to the various Morgan troubles, Ken Ward’s weekend was most successful with the Renmax being returned to the trailer undamaged and in good working order.
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Ken Ward enjoying his Renmax at PI |
The Phillip Island circuit and facilities are magnificent and it is little wonder that the event attracts such a diverse range of pedigree machinery from both interstate and overseas. Vehicles competing and on display included:
1934 ERA R1A from the UK; 1951 Jim Robbins Special from the UK;
1936 Laga Talbot T26C from the UK; 1954 Maserati from the USA;
1971 Surtees TS8 from Ireland; 1964 Elva Mk7S from Ireland;
1955 Parsons MG from the UK; 1967 Ford GT40 from the USA;
1958 Lister-Jaguar from the UK; 1937 Maserati 8CM from the USA;
1966 Eagle Westlake V12 from USA; 1950 Allard J2 from the USA.
I hope to return next year with spouse and if possible incorporate two weeks touring the beautiful Gippsland region. Maybe it is worth considering making it a club run, where we could encourage as many Morgan’s as possible to participate in the Regularity events. Please give it some thought.
Driver Training Day 2004
Here are some pics from the very successful driver training day held at Oran Park on Saturday 23rd October 2004 . Thanks to Neil Hurst for the photos.
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| Bob Bailey under the bridge | Col Davidson skid!! |
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| David Rose | David Rose |
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| Graham Henderson | Graham Henderson |
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| Graham Downer | Peter Chatfield |
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| Robin Saunders | Tim Hurst |
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| Tim Hurst | Driver Training Lecture |
Classic Adelaide 2004
Congratulations to Laurie Burton and co-driver Melissa Shead for an 8th placing in the late classic section and First in Class in the 2004 Classic Adelaide Rally. Driving their 1978 Morgan Plus 8, Laurie and Melissa were up against some very strong competition in this year's five day event.
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Other MOCA members also competing in Classic Adelaide were Brian and Pam Williams in the Amaroo Clubman, John and Norma Moss in the Plus 8 and Geoff and Choy-Lin Williams in their newly built BMW Alpina B6.
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Brian and Pam Williams - Amaroo Clubman |
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John and Norma Moss - Plus 8 |
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Geoff and Choy-Lin Williams - BMW Alpina B6 |
