Motorsport for the poor | Trialling |
fragile or valuable machines. Nevertheless,
cleaning every section in Class O is no mean
feat and earns successful crews the MCC’s
much respected Tin medal.
It has been said that Morgan is to classic
trials what Ferrari is to Formula 1. While
Scuderia Ferrari has competed in every F1
season since its beginnings in 1950, Morgan
sports cars - whether they be three-wheeled or
four-wheeled; works prepared or privateered have competed in every Exeter Trial since 1910.
Peter Morgan in particular, was especially keen
to promote the versatility and ruggedness of
Morgan’s motorcars through MCC events; so
much so that in he even loaned his personal +4
drophead coupe to a novice crew from Autocar
magazine entering the 1954 Exeter Trial where, to everyone’s surprise, the two delighted
journos claimed a Silver medal.*
After cheering on the Morgans at a few more
sections later that morning we finally met up
with TTM in the bar of the trial’s HQ in Torquay,
some fourteen hours after leaving the Haynes
Museum. Bleary eyed, over a well earned pint,
the post-mortem seemed to suggest that, sadly,
none of our crews would be taking home a Tin.
However, two rounds later, no one seemed that
bothered, and the hotel bar did roaring trade
as crews continued to swap their tales of
derring-do into the wee small hours.
Classic reliability trials like The Exeter are
steeped -if you’ll pardon the pun - in history.
This once mainstream motorsport is now
championed by a small band of the finest
British eccentrics you are ever likely to meet.
And because you’re not in direct competition
with the other crews, classic trialling is one of
the friendliest forms of motorsport there is;
sponsorship and financial gain is non-existent,
and only a genteel rivalry exists between
competitors. On numerous occasions we
saw bikers stopping to assist their stranded
comrades, or several pairs of legs sticking out
from beneath a troublesome trial car - that’s
not something you’ll often see on road rallies,
hill climbs or other types of motor racing.
* Charles, if you are reading this: any chance
MotorPunk might borrow your AeroMax for
the next MCC trial? I’m sure the chaps at the
factory could lash on a sump guard of some
sort ... just to be on the safe side.
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