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I am pleased to announce the establishment of a group for those interested in British Leyland & Austin/Rover/MG motorsport.
The encouragement of a number of people (not to mention a very positive response to my display stand at Race Retro 2012), has led me to believe that recent momentum can be captured into a fledgling organisation, that will then hopefully grow over time.
SITUATION
It became clear to many of us in the MMOC & MG 'M' Group clubs (of which I am a member of both) that there is little capturing of the history of Leyland/Austin Rover motorsport (for example there are few books, especially compared to other marques), and much of it is being lost as the participants thin out. As such, a couple of us have resolved to glean as much as possible and pool it for posterity (available to any interested parties), as historical material for future value. The development of an association will help formalise this process, raise awareness of the topic, and provide a focal point for others.
ISSUE
There are various relevant marque and/or model clubs e.g. the Rover SD1 Club, but there is no club that draws together all the various competition vehicles from the various associated marques. Additionally, the general public do not always make the link between the array of different marques e.g. few would naturally associate the humble rally Austin Allegro with the mighty Austin Rover MG Metro 6R4, despite their shared heritage. The various marques’ motorsport activities were diverse and often impressive, but the more unusual and esoteric vehicles are in danger of being forgotten, engineering/tuning techniques lost, and even vehicles disappear forever with the passage of time.
Relevant competition vehicles include:
BMC/BL/Austin/Rover/Morris Mini
Austin Healey inc. Sprite (Frogeye) & 3000
Landcrab
Austin Allegro
Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Triumph TR7 V8
Jaguar inc. D-type, E-type, XJ-S, XJR-11 & 220
Land Rover inc. Range Rover (Paris-Dakar)
Rover SD1 V8
Rover 200 Tomcat
Rover 216
Rover 827 Vitesse
MGB
MG Maestro
MG Montego
MG Montego 6R4 (A little known privateer vehicle)
MG Metro
MG Metro 6R4
MG ZR
MGF
MG ZS
MINI John Cooper works WRC (Included as the MINI was developed by MG Rover while owned by BMW, is now produced at the former Rover plant in Cowley, the marque remained under BMW's ownership, and the car is widely marketed and recognised as the successor to the original Mini))
MG6 GT
[and many more]
NAME
I am considering naming the organisation either:
British Leyland & Austin Rover Motorsport Association (BLARMA)
or
British Leyland & Austin Rover Group motorsport association (BLARGMA )
However, the above does not obviously include the post Austin-Rover era (MG Rover and MINI marques), so it's not perfect (but to include all marques might make it quite a mouthful). Ideally, the name needs to have an acronym that rolls off the tongue.
Other alternatives include:
Cowley, Longbridge & Abingdon Marques Motorsport Association (but this name would exclude cars from other factories e.g. British Leyland's Jaguar & Land Rover)
MG, Leyland & Austin Rover Motorsport Association (MGLARMA) The acronym is reasonably pronouncable & it's not too bad at including the MG Rover era.
Leyland Legacy Motorsport Association (LLMA) It's not immediately clear that the association includes marques from the post-Leyland era.
However, if you have any other suggestions for the name, please let me know!
SCOPE
The term ‘Associated Marque’ is defined as any marque falling within British Leyland, its predecessors (or successors) e.g. Austin, Nuffield, Austin Rover Group, Rover Group & MG Rover, MINI etc. and includes the following:
Austin
Austin-Healey
BMC
British Leyland
Jaguar
Land Rover
Leyland
MG
MINI
Morris
Rover
Riley
Triumph
Wolseley
Vanden-Plas
MISSION
The objective of the Association shall be to preserve and promote the history & future of Associated Marque motorsport.
ELIGIBILITY
Any person who fits into any of the following categories is eligible to join the association:
• A past or present competitor of an Associated Marque vehicle (works, privateer or clubman cars)
• Worked for or was involved in the motorsport activities of an Associated Marque team (works, privateer or clubman)
• Is an enthusiast of Associated Marque motorsport cars & activities
CAR ELIGIBILITY
A car wishing to be listed under the Association's register must comply with all the following criteria:
a) Have been produced by an Associated Marque
b) Have been modified for the purpose of competing in motorsport
c) Have competed in some form of motorsport competition (Autotest & Autosolo cars are eligible but Track Day cars are not)
N.B. Cars not complying with b) above will be considered on their merits if they have a suitably interesting competition background e.g. a standard car which has competed in prestigious Historic Road rallies would be considered.
OUTLINE OF PLAN
a) Establish a website & forum
b) Provide links to other relevant websites, marque owners clubs etc.
c) Provide an online museum & information resource
d) Expand membership
e) Expand the pool of post-holders (i.e. those who contribute to the running/work of the association)
f) Orchestrate car display stands at selected shows (e.g. Race Retro, Classic Car shows & marque-specific owner days etc. It is hoped to have a range of competition cars at show displays spanning various marques and decades e.g. a Triumph Dolomite Sprint/TR7 V8, an MG Maestro, a Rover SD1, an Austin Mini, a Metro 6R4, an MG ZS and a MINI circuit racer would make a good display.
g) Garner publicity wherever possible
WHAT WE NEED
a) People to scan and upload any photos, memorabilia, magazine clippings or other info on any of the above
b) Digital recordings of verbal recollections/interviews, videos etc. from people who have competed (or been a team member) with Associated Marque vehicles
c) A volunteer to collate & archive electronic or paper copies of the docs
d) Volunteers to stand for positions such as Treasurer, Membership Secretary etc.
e) People to exhibit suitable cars at shows under the Association banner to raise awareness & profile
f) Articles for website and/or newsletter
SPECIFIC REQUESTS
Are you (or any of your contacts) able to offer us any assistance with the following (or leads on how to achieve the aims), please?
a) Getting a website up & running
b) Commissioning design of an Association emblem
c) Commissioning some banners/flags (displaying the Association emblem) & outdoor display boards that people can take to shows
d) Any publicity/media opportunities
I would be very grateful if you can assist or advise in any way.
Yours sincerely,
John Clayton
Annex A: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
My day job is as an RAF Officer, and I am also the Manager of the Armed Forces Rally Team, but one of my spare time interests is doing historical research on Austin Rover (AR) motorsport. I am particularly interested in the AR Rally Sprints at Donington Park; and Tony Pond’s motorsport career/links with AR.
My interest stems from becoming the owner of 3 works MG Maestro 1600s from the ‘83 BBC ‘Austin Rover Rally Sprint’ (1 of which was raced by Tony Pond), and I have recently got into rally-sprinting with one of the cars. There is a blog on my car (with photos) here:
Maestro & Montego Owners Club > General Forums > Motorsport > BLOG MY RIDE: MG Maestro 1600 rally car
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/sho...142#post138142
I did a display on MG Maestro motorsport (including one of my cars) at the prestigious historic motorsport show Race Retro in Coventry Fri 24 to Sun 26 Feb 12. The display was a great success and showed the interest in this oft-overlooked marque.
I recently made contact with the father of the late, great Tony Pond and was honoured to be entrusted with an array of Tony’s memorabilia. Mr Lewis Pond also strongly encouraged me to perpetuate the memory of Tony’s rallying achievements through show displays etc.
I compete myself in 3 Associated Marque vehicles; an Austin Mini, an MG Maestro 1600, and a Land Rover Defender 90.
The encouragement of a number of people (not to mention a very positive response to my display stand at Race Retro 2012), has led me to believe that recent momentum can be captured into a fledgling organisation, that will then hopefully grow over time.
SITUATION
It became clear to many of us in the MMOC & MG 'M' Group clubs (of which I am a member of both) that there is little capturing of the history of Leyland/Austin Rover motorsport (for example there are few books, especially compared to other marques), and much of it is being lost as the participants thin out. As such, a couple of us have resolved to glean as much as possible and pool it for posterity (available to any interested parties), as historical material for future value. The development of an association will help formalise this process, raise awareness of the topic, and provide a focal point for others.
ISSUE
There are various relevant marque and/or model clubs e.g. the Rover SD1 Club, but there is no club that draws together all the various competition vehicles from the various associated marques. Additionally, the general public do not always make the link between the array of different marques e.g. few would naturally associate the humble rally Austin Allegro with the mighty Austin Rover MG Metro 6R4, despite their shared heritage. The various marques’ motorsport activities were diverse and often impressive, but the more unusual and esoteric vehicles are in danger of being forgotten, engineering/tuning techniques lost, and even vehicles disappear forever with the passage of time.
Relevant competition vehicles include:
BMC/BL/Austin/Rover/Morris Mini
Austin Healey inc. Sprite (Frogeye) & 3000
Landcrab
Austin Allegro
Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Triumph TR7 V8
Jaguar inc. D-type, E-type, XJ-S, XJR-11 & 220
Land Rover inc. Range Rover (Paris-Dakar)
Rover SD1 V8
Rover 200 Tomcat
Rover 216
Rover 827 Vitesse
MGB
MG Maestro
MG Montego
MG Montego 6R4 (A little known privateer vehicle)
MG Metro
MG Metro 6R4
MG ZR
MGF
MG ZS
MINI John Cooper works WRC (Included as the MINI was developed by MG Rover while owned by BMW, is now produced at the former Rover plant in Cowley, the marque remained under BMW's ownership, and the car is widely marketed and recognised as the successor to the original Mini))
MG6 GT
[and many more]
NAME
I am considering naming the organisation either:
British Leyland & Austin Rover Motorsport Association (BLARMA)
or
British Leyland & Austin Rover Group motorsport association (BLARGMA )
However, the above does not obviously include the post Austin-Rover era (MG Rover and MINI marques), so it's not perfect (but to include all marques might make it quite a mouthful). Ideally, the name needs to have an acronym that rolls off the tongue.
Other alternatives include:
Cowley, Longbridge & Abingdon Marques Motorsport Association (but this name would exclude cars from other factories e.g. British Leyland's Jaguar & Land Rover)
MG, Leyland & Austin Rover Motorsport Association (MGLARMA) The acronym is reasonably pronouncable & it's not too bad at including the MG Rover era.
Leyland Legacy Motorsport Association (LLMA) It's not immediately clear that the association includes marques from the post-Leyland era.
However, if you have any other suggestions for the name, please let me know!
SCOPE
The term ‘Associated Marque’ is defined as any marque falling within British Leyland, its predecessors (or successors) e.g. Austin, Nuffield, Austin Rover Group, Rover Group & MG Rover, MINI etc. and includes the following:
Austin
Austin-Healey
BMC
British Leyland
Jaguar
Land Rover
Leyland
MG
MINI
Morris
Rover
Riley
Triumph
Wolseley
Vanden-Plas
MISSION
The objective of the Association shall be to preserve and promote the history & future of Associated Marque motorsport.
ELIGIBILITY
Any person who fits into any of the following categories is eligible to join the association:
• A past or present competitor of an Associated Marque vehicle (works, privateer or clubman cars)
• Worked for or was involved in the motorsport activities of an Associated Marque team (works, privateer or clubman)
• Is an enthusiast of Associated Marque motorsport cars & activities
CAR ELIGIBILITY
A car wishing to be listed under the Association's register must comply with all the following criteria:
a) Have been produced by an Associated Marque
b) Have been modified for the purpose of competing in motorsport
c) Have competed in some form of motorsport competition (Autotest & Autosolo cars are eligible but Track Day cars are not)
N.B. Cars not complying with b) above will be considered on their merits if they have a suitably interesting competition background e.g. a standard car which has competed in prestigious Historic Road rallies would be considered.
OUTLINE OF PLAN
a) Establish a website & forum
b) Provide links to other relevant websites, marque owners clubs etc.
c) Provide an online museum & information resource
d) Expand membership
e) Expand the pool of post-holders (i.e. those who contribute to the running/work of the association)
f) Orchestrate car display stands at selected shows (e.g. Race Retro, Classic Car shows & marque-specific owner days etc. It is hoped to have a range of competition cars at show displays spanning various marques and decades e.g. a Triumph Dolomite Sprint/TR7 V8, an MG Maestro, a Rover SD1, an Austin Mini, a Metro 6R4, an MG ZS and a MINI circuit racer would make a good display.
g) Garner publicity wherever possible
WHAT WE NEED
a) People to scan and upload any photos, memorabilia, magazine clippings or other info on any of the above
b) Digital recordings of verbal recollections/interviews, videos etc. from people who have competed (or been a team member) with Associated Marque vehicles
c) A volunteer to collate & archive electronic or paper copies of the docs
d) Volunteers to stand for positions such as Treasurer, Membership Secretary etc.
e) People to exhibit suitable cars at shows under the Association banner to raise awareness & profile
f) Articles for website and/or newsletter
SPECIFIC REQUESTS
Are you (or any of your contacts) able to offer us any assistance with the following (or leads on how to achieve the aims), please?
a) Getting a website up & running
b) Commissioning design of an Association emblem
c) Commissioning some banners/flags (displaying the Association emblem) & outdoor display boards that people can take to shows
d) Any publicity/media opportunities
I would be very grateful if you can assist or advise in any way.
Yours sincerely,
John Clayton
Annex A: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
My day job is as an RAF Officer, and I am also the Manager of the Armed Forces Rally Team, but one of my spare time interests is doing historical research on Austin Rover (AR) motorsport. I am particularly interested in the AR Rally Sprints at Donington Park; and Tony Pond’s motorsport career/links with AR.
My interest stems from becoming the owner of 3 works MG Maestro 1600s from the ‘83 BBC ‘Austin Rover Rally Sprint’ (1 of which was raced by Tony Pond), and I have recently got into rally-sprinting with one of the cars. There is a blog on my car (with photos) here:
Maestro & Montego Owners Club > General Forums > Motorsport > BLOG MY RIDE: MG Maestro 1600 rally car
http://www.maestro.org.uk/forums/sho...142#post138142
I did a display on MG Maestro motorsport (including one of my cars) at the prestigious historic motorsport show Race Retro in Coventry Fri 24 to Sun 26 Feb 12. The display was a great success and showed the interest in this oft-overlooked marque.
I recently made contact with the father of the late, great Tony Pond and was honoured to be entrusted with an array of Tony’s memorabilia. Mr Lewis Pond also strongly encouraged me to perpetuate the memory of Tony’s rallying achievements through show displays etc.
I compete myself in 3 Associated Marque vehicles; an Austin Mini, an MG Maestro 1600, and a Land Rover Defender 90.
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