STRATFORD-UPON-AVON CALLING
The biggest Triumph bash of the year saw 1000 cars gather to celebrate 60 years of the Herald
This year marks six decades of one of Triumph’s most endearing models, and to mark the occasion the marque’s biggest event of the year took place at Stratford Racecourse. The Inter-Club Triumph Weekend was a joint event, organised by the Triumph Sports Six Club (TSSC), focusing on the Herald’s diamond anniversary and the TR Register (which was also commemorating 50 years of the TR6).
TSSC chairman, Chris Gunby, said: ‘This is the first time the two clubs have worked together to pool resources on their biggest event of the year. It’s getting ever harder to
run single-marque events, but we’ve got two big clubs joining forces to deliver a brilliant experience.
‘The TSSC sold 400 passes before the weekend, the TR Register sold three times as many and we’ve had plenty more people turning up on the day.’
Four of the people taking part had come from Belgium in their Heralds. Stefan van den Dijk is part of the group: ‘Since 1986 the four of us have been attending the TSSC international events. This year our friends Luc Noville and Gielle Moise brought their Herald 1200 convertible, which they’ve owned for 33 years. I came with Claude in the Herald coupé that he bought the same year, although it didn’t go on the road until it was restored a decade later – it’s one of four Triumphs that he owns.
‘I got into Triumphs in the late 1970s – my father ran a garage and he had a Spitfire. We started to buy and sell cars and we were both into Triumphs as they were assembled in Belgium. I now own a GT6 and like most of Claude’s cars, it was made in Triumph’s Belgian factory.
‘ We couldn’t imagine not coming to this event each year; it’s always so well supported and the British Triumph scene is so friendly.’