MGLive! revives 20 years of MGF racing
MGLive! held a special one-off race to mark 20 years since the launch of the Abingdon Trophy and MGF Cup. The former, set up in 1998 for club members, comprised races, sprints and hillclimbs and was a great way into amateur MGF racing. A Roversport off-the-shelf kit enabled MGF owners to modify their own cars close to professional specifications. The latter was for pros using highly-developed MGFs.
Both championships were launched on 5 April 1998 and ran parallel with each other, before merging in 2001 to become the ‘MGF Challenge’. However MGLive! wanted to celebrate the two distinct race championships with a one-off revival event. The race on Saturday comprised two categories: Class A for cars in the spirit of the Abingdon Trophy on treaded tyres; and Class B for cars in the spirit of the MGF cup, slick racing tires.
The race itself was just as exciting as it was 20 years ago. In the end the race was won by car number 42 – Jonathan Harker in his MG TF LE500 – although it wasn’t an easy win. He says: ‘I couldn’t see a thing on the final lap because the cabin filled up with what I think were CO2 exhaust emissions. The front windscreen was completely foggy and I was racing and wiping the window at the same time! As I saw the chequered flag I could taste something odd in my mouth so I knew it wasn’t good. That’s why I opened up the door as I entered the pit lane. I’m so happy to have won considering, and second place gave me a real fight.’
The race proved a real joy to fans watching. Organiser, David Coulthard
( not that one! – Ed), says: ‘As the owner of probably the only regularly-raced MGF Cup car in the UK, the 20th anniversary of the MGF Cup and Abingdon Trophy was too good an opportunity to miss. I would estimate the last race purely for the MGF would have been in 2001. I’m grateful to the MG Car Club, and especially the club’s MGF Register, for giving owners the chance to race again with similar cars.’
David was disappointed that he couldn’t watch the race because he was also competing, managing fourth place overall.