Dixon Chases Tulips - 4 to 10 May
Report by Ian Dixon
CCHMSC
member Ian Dixon is taking his recently rally prepared MGB/GT on the
2014 Tulip Rally, a grueling event with various disciplines; starting
in France at Lake Annecy and traveling through Germany, Belgium,
Luxembourg and finishing in Holland. Never having competed in
this style of Rally before, it came as a surprise to Ian, also a member
of the MGOC Kingdom club, just what level of compliance was required,
to compete in this FIVA event.
Ian displaying the new car with Maurice, at Scone Show last year.
Up
to this point, Ian has been competing in the NESCRO (North East and
Scottish Rally Organization) historic rally series over the past 8
years, initially in a MK11 Escort RS 2000 then in 2010 he decided he
needed a change of vehicle, firstly something that was tax exempt and a
vehicle that no one else was competing in. After considering his
options he chose the MGB and struck a deal buying REN 114K. One or two
minor repairs and three years later the car is back on the road fully
rally prepared.
The restoration consisted of a full strip down
to bare shell, welding in new floors and rear arch sections as well as
strengthening the suspension mounting points and seam welding. This
included incorporating a welded in roll cage complete with door bars.
That done it was off to the paint shop for a full British Racing Green
re-spray.
Whilst the car was being painted the engine was stripped
and re-conditioned with a fast road cam and large valve head. The box
and overdrive units were overhauled with new parts. A further
modification to achieve the driving characteristics meant an alteration
to the rear axle differential ratio and the fitting of a plate type
limited slip differential. Then came re-assembly of all services and
ancillaries inside the car, this included a new and designated harness
for all the in-car rally equipment.
Thinking the job was done,
now there was the compliance needs for the Tulpenrallye. Firstly the
car, in order to be eligible, must have been manufactured prior to the
1st January 1972. Suspension, brakes and axle have to be in period
specification with no dramatic changes, in short it has to be the
original specification as applied to the vehicle in its year of
manufacture. The softer issues of fire extinguishers, first aid kits
and service ground sheets have to be addressed. In Navigating you
cannot use GPS; only basic navigation equipment is allowed. Anything
showing average speeds is not permitted; your information has to be
worked out mechanically.
With the changes now to hand on the MGB
GT (affectionately known as “The Beastie” in the Kingdom
club) came the real test as to what the car could do. The first of the
shake downs was Durham Dales on the 1st September 2013; it came 2nd in
class and 9th overall out of approx. 50 cars, 2nd test was the
Doonhamer Rally at Dumfries in September 2013 it came 2nd in class and
5th overall out of 70 cars. In the NESCRO series of 2013 out of 147
competitors REN 114K finished 11th overall….”we’re
ready says Ian!”
Ian Dixon and his friend Maurice Millar
the navigator, have been rallying together for 3 years, in excess of
300 competitive hours together see this challenge as a natural
progression from UK based events, also Maurice has covered several
other European events over the years, so together these guys have the
makings of a great team.
Asking Ian, “Given that the
event and the car are new to you, what is your goal for the
Tulpenrallye?” he said, “To complete the event and enjoy
the experience”. Ian joins the Rally to make a total of seven
entered MG’s. i.e. MGC, MGB Roadster and 5 MGB GT’s
competing on a world wide stage of up to 230 cars.
Watch the coming editions of Enjoying MG for coverage of Ian and Maurice’s Tulpenrallye experience. Web info: http://www.tulpenrallye.nl/
Watch out for their progress on www.facebook.com/mgockingdom
Checkout how the crew are progressing on our live reports HERE |
Home
| About | Events
| News | For Sale | Links 
