July 2018
this event happen and it is hoped you
enjoyed the day.
The field of ninety five cars initially had
a few laps behind a safety car to see the
track then all had a practice session to
set grid times. Very few had seen the
track and almost none had competed on
the West circuit configuration.
Competitors had two timed competition
sessions each managing a total of ten to
fifteen laps depending on red flags.
Fastest MG on the day was Peter Math-
win’s MGB GT V8 with a time of 1:39.6
and the fastest car on the day was a VT
Commodore at 1:31.6. Unfortunately
Peter’s engine was making some horri-
ble noises after seven laps and he with-
drew with probably a damaged big end
bearing.
The fastest MGCC members were Sean
Mullins (1:33.3) and John Davies
(1:33.7) both in Mitsubishi EVOs. All the
MG centres were represented in the top
10 MGs including one MGA, six MGBs,
one MGC and Rob Hall’s MG ZS180.
There were a number of spins and a few
cars suffering from the extended time at
full throttle but everybody enjoyed the
occasion.
This is not a track for the average club
run MGA or MGB, particularly if you mix
it with the faster groups. The long
straight can be boring and the high clos-
ing speeds make for some exciting driv-
ing although most drivers behaved well.
The initial intention was to book the East
circuit which has a lot more corners and
less straights so is more suited to lower
powered cars that can handle. Unfortu-
nately the track was not ready but we
are assured it will be ready by 2020
when it is next SA’s turn!
Sunday night was the awards presenta-
tion night at the Murray Bridge Golf Club
and people headed off home on the
Monday morning.
A full set of results is published on
the MGCCSA website and the Chal-
lenge result is shown below.
Congratulations to the MG Car Club of
Geelong on their victory. They came
with a good team and placed them-
selves well to take away the trophy.
Maybe that earns them the privilege to
organize the 2019 Challenge?
Thanks to all who came to compete,
official and support. It was a great event
with good competition and social fun.
Centre
Hill-
climb
Entries
7 Sprint
En-
tries
7 Score
South Aus-
tralia
Victoria 21 20 5.707
11 11 4.954
New South
Wales 2 2 2.400
Geelong
Photos from the Bend Sprint
From Terry Wright
29
6.071