MG Motoring 2019 April Issue 2019 | Page 32

MG Car Club of South Australia PHILLIP ISLAND HISTORICS From ...Terry Wright T his year’s event was held on the 8th, 9th and tenth of March, and a party of six club members drove from Adelaide, departing on the 7th. All were members of the ‘T’ Register at the time of their departure, but their cur- rent membership status is under a cloud due to some vague dispute with the Boss of the Register who alleges their involvement in a conspiracy to disrupt the proceedings of his Register Meeting held on 7 th March at Murray Bridge. The Boss’ version of the dispute is men- tioned briefly in his report found else- where in this journal, but all allegations are denied by the touring party which was dining at the Isola de Capri in Cowes at the time. (Some tourists have conceded privately that they may have operated their mobile phones during the course of a very pleasant meal.) The group travelled under the auspices of the Schapelli Racing team, although Bob Schapel did not enter as a competi- tor this year. A base was established in the pit area, with gazebo, chairs and table, to provide a rest and meeting point during the event, and to allow for a quiet drink and chat with nearby competitors after the close of racing each day. Members Wayne and Geraldine Hough also visited the island and dined with the group on a couple of occasions. A feature of the Phillip Island Classic is the ability of all people attending to ac- cess the pits and enjoy the atmosphere as well as close-up inspection of the entered cars. As always, there was an outstanding range of cars (some from overseas) competing, as well as club displays in the outer area. Overseas cars included an AC Cobra, light-weight ‘E’ Type Jag- uar and a Cooper Monaco. The racing was well-organised and vigorous, and conducted in fine weather conditions. A sizable number of MGs was racing, including TCs, MGBs and Midgets, al- though there were none from South Australia. The next event on the historic racing calendar is at Mallala in April, followed by Winton (Benalla, Victoria) in May. 30