Published Wednesday, 08 February 2012
Last Saturday the 4th Febuary saw the 23rd running of the MG Car Club's Ulster Centre's Derek Walker Classic Trial and showed us all that grassroots motorsport is very much alive and kicking in Northern Ireland.
Leading up to this years event the MGCC decided it was time to give Delamont Country Park and the local County Down landowners a rest and so a new event hub was acquired in the form of Ballymena Livestock Market, County Antrim.
The new site provided a perfect match for the event as the market allowed the club to provide breakfast and refuge away from the elements and the large expanse of outside space provided enough room for event scrutineering and the first 3 autotests of the day.
The day's action started at 9.30 with the 44 crews attempting to make their way through the 18 newly sourced autotest sites, dotted around the areas of Broughshane, Aghadowey and Ballymoney and visited sites ranging from farmyards, business premises and even a laneway and quarry.
The event's ever growing reputation saw crews travelling from as far away as Dublin and Loughgall to take part, with the public able to see an eclectic collection of entries ranging from a 1924 Bugatti Brescia to a 2011 Nissan Micra, with a brace of MG Midgets for good measure.
After an horrendous day, brought on by the weather, the spoils overall went to Ashley/Wesley Lamont (825.1) aptly in a 1972 MG Midget, finishing 2nd place Frank Lenehan/Olwen Blair (855.2) driving a 1989 Toyota Starlet and 3rd place going to Robert Woodside Jnr/Dean Beckett (856.8) in a 2001 Mazda MX5.
Incidentally, a total of 16 MG's appeared on the entry list, which was the best ratio in years.
To the uninitiated, the essence of these trial events is that the various crews have to navigate themselves through the provided road book and complete the autotests against the clock, whilst incurring the minimum of penalties and this was no mean feat given Saturdays atrocious weather, with high praise going to the large number of volunteers who stood out in the weather and ran the various tests.
The MGCC literally brought local motorsport right into the community and its backyards and should be commended.