MR2 RACING - MALLORY PARK
SUNDAY 19th OCTOBER 2003
Club pitch overlooking the circuit
Fred finally manages to open his boot
members get their first view of the racing MR2s
Ted Collins in conversation with Peter Betts
Ted raced motorbikes at Mallory in his
youth, Peter was a rally driver
Fred Sanderson and Alan Jones
Fred tries the racing seat for size
Thomas Morgan
Alan is more interested in the roof
Doris Sanderson....
...needs a bit of help getting out
Racing Driver Kevin Poole makes some last minute adjustments
750 MOTOR CLUB – FINAL MEETING OF 2003 SEASON
9 members from around the country made the trip to
Leicestershire’s Mallory Park to witness the first motor race involving a MK1
MR2 since the mid 1990’s.
We arrived early to set up 2 club gazebos, one on a bank
overlooking the start finish line, which also gave a good view of most of the
1.35 mile circuit. The other was set up in the paddock for use by Red Dragon
Racing, who are the team behind the MR2 Racing Challenge.
A red Tbar driven by Kevin Poole, was down to take part in 2
races in the afternoon, preceded by a mid morning practice session. The white
coupe was brought along for paddock visitors to look around.
The practice session went well, giving Kevin the opportunity
to see if his suspension modifications would have the desired effect of knocking
a second or so off the lap times.
The Mallory race breakfast renowned in racing circles for
many years still lived up to its reputation and set us up for the afternoons 10
race programme.
The weather was kind, slightly overcast but with bright
autumn sunny intervals, and the rain held off until it was time to go home.
The MR2’s attracted a lot of interest in the paddock, as
they are such an unusual sight in their race prepared state. Several racing
drivers came over to see them and one chap expressed an interest in next years
MR2 Challenge.
The first MR2 race got under way at 2.45, so we all gathered
on the bank overlooking the start line as the grid formed up. Kevin was on the
last but one row with a Clan Crusader behind him. When the lights changed to
green he shot off the line and had already made up 2 places as the field passed
under the Dunlop Bridge. An altercation between Morgan’s and Porches at the
front caused the following pack to back off slightly as the cars all headed off
around the track. This gave me very little time to make my way around the
circuit to watch the cars coming around the Devils Elbow and get the camera
ready.
By the next lap I had made my way to the Hairpin and got some
good shots of the MR2 braking hard before taking the tightest bend on the
circuit.
There was quite a crowd around the team when I got back to
the paddock and Kevin seemed pleased with the MR2’s first ever race. The lap
timer on the car showed a time of 1.02 for the 1.35 mile circuit, an average
speed of around 80 mph with 100 plus being attained on the long straight.
Everyone thought that the MR2 looked fantastic on the track,
I hope some of the pictures give an impression of the days excitement.
MR2 racing for real gets under way next year with a full
season of 12 races taking place at most of the UK’s famous racing circuits. As
soon as the dates and venues have been confirmed they will be added to the clubs
events calendar in the magazine and on the website, so look out for MR2 Racing
at your local track.
Have you thought of racing an MR2? The red Tbar racing
at Mallory was pottering around Hertfordshire being driven by its previous owner
until a few weeks ago. It is virtually identical to your MR2 – the engine is
totally standard, the suspension is lowered slightly. Apart from safety
modifications amounting to a roll cage and fire extinguisher it is essential an
ordinary MR2 with the interior removed, a racing seat, and lots of stickers. And
it has over 100,000 miles on the clock!
These days there are many rusty but mechanically sound MR2s
for sale for a few hundred pounds or even less. Rather than face being scrapped
they could enjoy a new lease of life being watched by crowds of thousands of
people around the country.
