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Morgan Sports Car Club Ltd
Registered Office, Dolphin House, Durford Wood
Petersfield GU31 5AW
Registered Number 2595917 England
Chairman's View
At the AGM at the beginning of February all Officers of the Club were duly re-elected, with the exception of Jeremy Harrison who had previously indicated that it was time for him to stand down as Concours Secretary. During his time in office Jeremy has taken us to new heights of awareness of the standards required for competition at an international level and several of our members have risen to the challenge with some success. We have much to thank Jeremy for since, whilst not everyone can hope, or want, to achieve this level of success, anyone wishing to take up this type of competition at any level now has something to be measured against and some, having perhaps taken part for the first time, may then be inspired to a greater level of excellence. Until such time as we find a replacement for Jeremy, a Committee will take on the responsibility for the continuation of this discipline and we welcome your views on what might be done to maintain and increase participation. Also, we encourage anyone who is interested in finding out more about the role of Concours Secretary to get in contact.
Elsewhere in the magazine you can read about the presentation of a lapel pin badge commissioned exclusively for presentation to all those members who have passed through the Chairmanship of the Club. The badge will also be presented to all future Chairmen once they have served their term of office.
Charles Morgan was our guest speaker at the Dinner Dance and talked with much enthusiasm about the LIFECar project which should come to fruition in 2012. Having recently returned from California, where the Aero SuperSports was showcased to the media, he was in buoyant mood. During his visit he stopped by the garage of Jay Leno to show off the prototype and received an enthusiastic response. To see what I mean take a look at a short 13 minute video clip on http://www.jaylenosgarage.com
With a step up in production, no doubt to meet the challenges of an increased order book following on from last year’s celebrations, we should see more than 800 cars coming out of the factory this year as it starts its second century in business. I am not sure if this number includes the Morgan Super Sports Junior pedal car, sales of which have already passed the half way mark. The new visitor centre was awash with them when I was there a few weeks ago and what a fine sight to see.
A timely reminder therefore from Charles at the start of the new century that the Statue appeal, a fitting tribute to the achievements of the past century, is very much alive. In fact the factory has launched an initiative to boost the funds in the appeal whereby they will match all future donations by members with equal donations from the factory. UK taxpayers are reminded of the gift aid scheme to maximise their contributions. Full details of the Statue appeal, how and where to make contributions and gift aid forms are available on the factory’s website http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk
Looking ahead, this month sees the Sprinting Taster Day at Curborough on 21 March for anyone interested in having a go and learning about this discipline. You will need to pre-book and places are limited but even if you cannot get a place we still need marshals so why not volunteer; full training will be given. Failing that come and spectate.
Mentioning sprinting the season will soon be on us and I have my first event booked at Croft near Darlington on Easter Monday, 5 April, competing so far against 5 other speed monkeys in the championship (I am sure there will be more). Towards the end of February Jean and I attended the NorceMog annual dinner and dance. As this was held near Chester it gave me the opportunity to call in at Demon Tweeks for some new protective gear as new regulations for this season require me to replace my helmet and to wear flame resistant gloves.
Looking further afield, plans have been laid for an AutoSolo competition to be held in August and Tony Oliver will tell you more about this in Paddock Torque.
MOG 2010 is gathering pace and in the first few weeks of taking bookings there were more than 250 vehicles registered for the event. Many of you are saying that nothing much seems to be happening on the Sunday. The risk of course is that if there are too many distractions there is no time to socialise and enjoy meeting up with friends old and new, chatting, eating and drinking, enjoying the wonderful views on scenic runs, walking in glorious countryside, listening to music in the park, exploring the town, admiring displays of Morgan cars, or offloading lots of hard earned cash to the dealers and traders! However, we are working hard to get the right balance of interest throughout the weekend with something for everyone.
Finally, please do check out the MOG 2010 advert in the magazine each month; it may look the same as previously but we do keep making subtle changes to keep information up to date. Also, dip into the MOG 2010 website for even more details.
Brian Lee