This is the article as printed in the August 1965 MTWC Bulletin together with Results. 

OULTON PARK – JUNE 19 1965. WONDERFUL DAY

What a wonderful day this was! While the sun shone, 24 Mogs came to the line for the five-lap scratch race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Meeting. To mark this, our first invitation to a V.S.C.C. meeting, the turnout was excellent. Most entrants had arrived on Friday afternoon and got their required three laps in before Saturday morning, so they could take things easily, and hardly anyone was in last minute trouble-showing how careful preparation pays off. On the morning itself Lol Weeks was doing a rare imitation of Alfred Neubauer, with a similar attention to detail – all the Mogs were lined up in numerical order and, with very few exceptions. in really immaculate concours condition, a wonderful sight which drew much attention and favourable comment from both the large crowd in the paddock and from the V.S.C.C. entrants and officials.

Matchless or J.A.P to set the Pace?

The entry included a wide variety of models and engines. Of the 24 starters, 9 were Vintage, but only 2 were Fords. This shows where the enthusiasm lies. Andy Perry-Keene’s well-known 1926 Blackburne Aero was the oldest Morgan entered, but Colin  Wilson’s fascinating a/c Anzani – very rare – was suffering from tight pistons and only finished two practice laps, so failing to  qualify. Colin says that this engine has a 107mm stroke – l2mm longer than standard. Gary Caroline had a 1927 dog-eared  J.A.P. LTOWC with Best and Lloyd oil pump on a !932 Super Sports body. He, along with Matchless exponents Mike Guess and Tim Cameron, and Roger Richmond in the ex.Horton Brooklands car, were expected to set the pace.

Brian Clutterbuck had the 1927 Aero discovered recently in Coventry. It was taxed on the day before the race for the first time since I936. It is now adorned by a Kingston-built Anzani with a single-jet Bowden carb. A twin-jet version of the same carburettor also graces the LTOW/I dog-eared J.A.P. on Pete Thompson’s immaculately restored Aero (with front drums but rear band brakes –( what would Clarrie say?) The dash of this Mog is a masterpiece of tasteful restoration. Stainless steel cross tubes, drag link and track rod, were a feature of Nigel Musselwhite’s Super Sports, and while Bob Angell’s Mog looked most attractive most attention was distracted from it by the colossal rabbit that appeared to be the senior member of the Angell entourage.

Very Close Dice 

When the time came to go into the grid, non-starters included Mike Courage, who had been most unlucky to strip his timing gears during practice, Pettit and Bowen who had said they would be unable to turn up, Alan Breeze who turned up too late to practice, and Colin Wilson who had tight pistons which prevented him from completing practice.

As soon as the starting flag fell it was obvious that we were to see a very close scrap between Mike Guess and Tim Cameron, who both got away from the flag neck and neck leaving the rest of the field behind. At the end of the first lap. Mike was just ahead of Tim, the rest of the field way behind with Gary Caroline third, Phipps fourth, and Mike Duncan fifth, Roger Richmond’s Brooklands Morgan was back in ninth place but he was later to call at the pits on the third lap with blocked fuel lines which he managed to clear eventually. This left him way down the field, however, Andy Perry-Keene and Brian Weeks also stopped at the pits at the end of the first lap – Andy with loose plug lead and Brian with oiled plug-both got started again soon after.

As they came round at the end of the second lap Tim had got just in front of Mike, so this looked like being a really close dice for first place. Behind them Gary was still third while Roger Edmonds had fought his way up to fourth. Although this order was unchanged at the end of the third lap, the scrap between Mike and Tim was becoming red-hot and everyone watching was on their toes.

The end of the fourth lap was completely different – Tim Cameron came round alone and there was no sign at all of Mike – Gary was now second, and Nigel Musselwhite had overtaken Roger Edmonds for third place. While everyone waited anxiously there was still no sign of Mike while the rest of the field went by. We later heard that he had taken to the grass in the heat of the battle and was quite unhurt and his engine only slightly damaged. Very bad luck after such a splendid dice. The last lap was a slight anti-climax as the first twelve places remained unchanged after Mike’s disappearance.

RESULTS

Non-starters: 7. 12. 23, 24, 27, 31

Fastest lap : No. 6 – 2m 34.2 (64.46 m.p.h.)

* Speeds given over ¼  mile timed strip at Knicker Brook, where recorded.

Incidents :

2 – Plug trouble then restarted

4 – Plug lead off restarted later

I5 – Loss of fuel, restarted later

* Speeds given over % mile timed strip at Knicker Brook, where

recorded.

M.T.W.C. Awards :

Vintage 2 speeder class-1st No 18, 2nd No.8. 3rd No. 5

Standard class : No. 6. 2nd No. 29, 3rd No. 9

S.V., Ford 8 class-1st No. 11 (No award for 2nd as only 2 entered)

Race Rumblings

Bayley’s wide-track F2 had the most horrifying front-wheel patter due, we understand, to completely unlubricated sliders!

At 2 min. 34.2 sec., Tim Cameron was faster than some of the G.P. Bugattls at the same meeting.

Not one Mog failed to finish due to mechanical failure – showing that people are preparing their Morgans much more carefully than in the past.

We were delighted to see our President Peter Morgan, who had come up specially to see how we did.

 Finally. Congratulations to Lol Weeks, John Lindop, those who took part in the race, and all who helped make the event so successful; and our thanks to our hosts the V.S.C.C. for putting it on.

T.O.P. (Tom. O. Piercy)

5 Bruce Rollinson              6 G. Phipps         7 Mike Duncan

8 E. A. Bayley                     9 Roger Orford  I0 Mike Birch

11 J. Sutciiffe                      12 Cec. Wilson   13 Pete Thompson

14 Bob Angell