MGs in Historic Racing in South Africa in 2016
Robin Clarke who is taking a year off from racing reports that a number of club members are participating in local historic races and hill climb events:
Rod Green -MGB and T-type special
Heyns Stead – MGA and T-type special
Dave Alexander – MGA
Di Dugmore – MG Midget
Franco Resca – MGB
Nick Parrot – MGA, MGB, MGC Sebring recreation
Les and Cameron McLeod – MGB
Johannesburg MG car club youth project – MGA and Midget being prepared
Roger Houston – MGB
Chris Champion – MGA Twin Cam
Anton Rollino – MGB
Nigel Stokes – MGB
Fred Phillips – MG Midget
William Kelly –MG Midget
Robin Clarke – MG Magnette “Granny Hilda”
Zwartkops International 2012
The 11th Zwartops International Racing on 27th and 28th January 2012 saw several MGs in action - including the TC Specials of Heyns Stead (Spider), Rodney Green (Fatman), and Hedgehog driven by Roger Lewis, Nick Parrott's MGA, Chris Champions's MGA Twin Cam, and the MGCC Johannesburg Youth Project MGA and MGB. Also driven by MGCC members were Rodney Green in a Bristol Cooper and Clive Winterstein in his Porsche 356.
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MG Youth Project
The Johannesburg Centre of the MG Car Club has embarked on a project that will allow twenty youngsters to build two MG race cars and race in the 2010 HRCR series. The cars are being built by the young people under the supervision of Roger Pearce (MGB GT) and Nick Parrott (MGA).
The MGB GT project involved a running car which was stripped, the mechanical components rebuilt, reassembled and set up while the MGA came in the form of a chassis, body and spares from club members.
The MGB GT made its debut at the Execuline 9-Hour Retro at Kyalami on 5 December, and the aim is to have the MGA ready for the Piper event at Zwartkops on 30 January 2010. (Click on these images for larger views:)
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Zwartkops David Piper International 2009
The Golden Age Racing/David Piper International at Zwartkops on 31 January 2009 saw a number of MGs in action - including the TC Specials of Heyns Stead, Rodney Green (driven by Edwin Green) and Jacques Debeil (driven by Fanie Viljoen) in the Historic Single Seater races, Nick Parrott's Magnette, MGA and MGB, Rodney Green's MGA Twin Cam, Edwin Green's MGB, and the MGBGTs of Franco Resca, Roger Pearce and Peter Mac Ildowie in several of the day's events.
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 D Piper in Ferrari 365 P2 |
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 MGBGT head |
The best results of the day by club members were by Joe Texeira who took second place in the Marque Cars races with his Ford Capri, and by Nick Parrott who took fourth place in the Pre 1963 Sports and GT races with his MGA. Roger Pearce pipped Franco Resca and Nick Parrott in their MGBs in the SA Tourist Trophy, while Heyns Stead was ahead of Fanie Viljoen and the Greens in the Historic Single Seater events.
MGs at the Racetracks
At the initiative of the Historic Racing Car Register as well as of the MG Car Club, several races for classic vehicles and MGs take place at South African racetracks each year. The events seen by the largest numbers of spectators are those which co-incided with the David Piper visits to Zwartkops and Killarney the last few years, but there are several others featuring on the racing calendar. These are the Marque Car, Fine Car, Touring Car, Historic Single Seater events, and the MG Challenge. A highlight during recent David Piper events at Zwartops and Killarney was the C-Type Midget of Barry Foster from the UK. Enthusiastic participants from the Northern Centre include Nico Kleyn, Esra Martins, Roger Pearce, Franco Resca, Heyns Stead, Kollie van der Westhuizen, and Fanie Viljoen (in Jacques Debeil's car), and there are many others from the Johannesburg Centre as well.
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MG T-Series Specials
TC Specials have been seen frequently on South African racetracks since the 1940s. Les Miller built three MG special single-seat racers in the late 40s/early 50s and raced them successfully under the name "Ecurie Miller" - "Jasper" (now owned by David Gouws), "Spider" (now owned and raced by Heyns Stead) and "Fatman" (now owned by Rodney Green and Raced by him and his son Edwin) .
In the early 1950s, Harry Pierce built several TC-engined specials, of which "Flo" has stayed in South Africa, the others having gone to the UK. Flo has been rebuilt by Jacques Debeil and is now raced by Fanie Viljoen.
Roger Pearce has built a TD special "Ndlovu" with 6-cylinder engine and lengthened chassis.
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All of these cars are still to be seen on racing circuits. Heyns Stead in Spider won the Historic Racing Car Register's "Historic Single Seaters" series in both 2007 and 2008.