SkyBlue Freelance

Occasionally I’ll be posting up some of my previously published articles here on my blog. Here’s the first one, from MG Enthusiast, December 2008.

By Adam Sloman

Rallying is one of Europe’s most popular motorsports, and MG has been there right from the start, from the MGA of the 50s, the MGB and Sebring of the 60s through to the MG Metro 6R4 of Group B fame, and more recently the MG ZR as campaigned by the likes of Tony Jardine and Gywndaff Evans. However for every works built, factory supported team there are people like you and me, giving up their free time, and spare cash to get out into the forest and compete against their friends and heroes. I joined one such team, to find out what makes them tick and what goes on behind the scenes, competing in one of the most popular clubman rally cars, the MG ZR. Chris Williams is someone who is very familiar with the ZR as a competition machine, having worked for MG Sport and Racing. The late Brian Griffin knew of Chris’ history in motorsport, and thought he was the sort of person S and R needed at Longbridge. Working for the company for two years up

until the receivers moved in, Chris saw a lot at Longbridge, from the development of the SV, working as lead builder on the ZR-X shown at the Autosports show, co-ordinating Gwyndaff Evans in the Super 1600 class, before becoming team manager on the team’s last event, the World Rally Championship’s Rally Great Britain. ‘I started working for myself when the team I worked for (D.O.M.E motorsport and engineering) disbanded. I had already co-ordinated a programme involving Rob Gill, deputy editor of The Sun news paper and MG Sport and Racing, so when it was announced the team was ending I made a quick phone call to Ian Tilsley and Brian Griffin at Longbridge. Within a few hours they had managed a master plan for me to work at Longbridge’ All the work with MG’s hot hatch meant the car got under Chris’ skin somewhat and the collapse of MG Rover meant he was able to fulfil a life long dream, to relocate to the West Country and continue his work with the ZR, and his own team. ‘About a year after Longbridge had closed Ian finished his contract there. We had spoken while it was still open about starting up on our own. Ian asked me if I still wanted to this, it was decided that we would put our minds together and start a fresh in Bromsgrove. We started off running just a couple of MG TFs but within a small time we had moved into bigger workshops and brought an Artic race transporter and went on to do Porsche Carrera Cup, Clio Cup, Britcar and a small amount of rallying with Jim Ward. MG has a great history and I was part of the good times (and bad) of the last generation of ‘Works’ cars. One of my heroes is Stuart Turner. I have read his book and really think he is a clever bloke that also had a lot of right time right place things in his life. I feel that that was the same for me when it comes to MG S&R. Away from motorsport our family dream was one day to move to the South West, Sharon my wife had enough of me working every weekend and having no money, I was putting every penny I had back into the company. We decided to have a life changing experience and sell up and move to Somerset. It all happened very quickly. Within just over two months we had sold up and moved. I had decided to get out of the motorsport trade completely but it’s the only thing I know so I decided just to concentrate on the MG side.’ To this end Chris Wright Competitions (CWC) was born. Chris invited me to join the team on the Woodpecker Rally in Ludlow, Shropshire to see exactly what Chris and the CWC team were all about. I arrived in Ludlow on Friday evening, as the two cars were about to enter scrutineering. Scrutineering is the process where all competing vehicles are checked for a current MOT, valid road tax and insurance, before being tested for noise levels and strict compliance with the competitions rules and regulations. Although a strong emphasis is placed on success these are clearly guys who get along, and enjoy each others company, the sound of laughter was a common as that of an engine! The white car, driven by Jim Ward and Chris Williams has been in competition all season, where as the red car, driven by Gary Wright and Terry Moore is a new build, the result of many late nights and, prior to the event, had only covered twelve miles from the CWC Workshop to the MOT station! Jim began competing fifteen years ago, initially as a co-driver, ‘I could not afford to run my own car. As soon as I could afford it I bought my own car and started to drive. We ran the first car through my friends at Streely Motor Club who provided the crew and co-driver for me. I then had the opportunity of purchasing an ex MG Sport and Racing challenge car owned and run by the Lichfield Rover dealer which had stood unused for two years.

My love/hate relationship with the MG ZR started then! I think the ZR is ideally suited to the class system for the BTRDA due to its size and weight; it can also be made to handle incredibly well.

If only it had a little more power it would be perfect. It also has the benefit of being relatively cheap to run and repair even the way I break them and it still looks fairly modern. In our class we run against many different cars but the MG still seems to attract interest from young and old.’ Chris Wright explains ‘I have known Jim for many years, Jim once co-drove for me but I managed to turn the car over twice in the same stage 8 miles apart. After that I ran out of money so I stopped stage rallying. I later went road rallying in a single point injection Mini. That year we won the West Midlands Championship & came second in the Welsh championship. When we upped sticks to the country Jim was keen to carry on working with me.’ Jim’s co-driver is 19 year old Chris Williams, who began competing at the tender age of 16. Now, whilst studying Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University Chris is charged with getting Jim through forests and over gravel safely. ‘I have been into rallying all of my life due to my Dad, who has been co-driving for 32 years so I’ve known very little different. Rallying has been a big part of my life from a young age. I have been involved since I was a toddler sleeping in my pram while my parents spectated, marshaled or followed the RAC Rallies of old. I guess co-driving is in the blood so it seemed right that I started rallying too and follow on in my dad’s footsteps.’ For Chris the attraction of co-driving is clear ‘I love co-driving on events, it takes a special kind of madness to sit in a car with nothing to hold onto, head down, reading the pace notes, trusting the driver to press the brake pedal and turn the steering wheel at the right time hurtling along a forest track with trees and sheer drops waiting for you if you make a mistake. Most people I know think I’m nuts and I probably am! . Chris (Wright) is brilliant on event and anything we need doing gets done. Being the co-driver, you’re the boss, usually what you say in the car goes. This is the first MG I’ve ever been involved with, my parents have never owned one and I’d never sat in one before the Wyedean back in February this year so I’ve never really thought about MG’s before. It seems a good solid rally car and you can have lots of fun in them as Jim and I have proved this year. Chris is currently stripping a new one in preparation for next year. I guess I’m being converted into an MG fan.’ Both cars are 1400cc MG ZR 105s, competing in the BTRDA 1400 Championship. For Gary, the Woodpecker was a big deal, as it was the first time he’d seen the car since dropping it off at the workshop. ‘I’m really pleased with it, it looks fantastic. I’m especially delighted with the build quality, before getting involved with Chris I had been looking at some tired looking ex works challenge cars and there’s no comparison.’ Like Jim, Gary has had a long a varied rally career ‘I started competing again after a 20 year break in 2004 in an old Talbot Sunbeam, I then moved on to a couple of Peugeot 106s then a Citroen C2 which was a real flying machine but with the power came unreliability. We had seen friends using the MG week in week out with no problems at all, while we were not finishing events, that’s why we went for the ZR. The MG is a great low-cost rally car. It’s reliable, easy to maintain and the parts are fairly cheap to buy. All round it’s a great clubman’s package.’ The cars themselves are very similar to the ZR 105 you or I may see on the high street, or B-road, Jim explains ‘With only 105bhp maximum available we struggle a little against the likes of the Polo which has about 120bhp and as we run a completely standard engine we are probably a little way behind the other MGs but ours makes a noise and drives so we keep going. Rather than rebuild engines we have bought replacement standard engines this year either from eBay or from local scrap yards.’ With both cars passing the marshal’s checks the team preparations began in the best way possible, with a pint and a good meal! As everyone retired for the night all was set for Saturday and the rally proper. A cloudy but warm morning met the team ahead of the start with a few pre-flight checks left to complete, such as the fluid levels, tyre pressures and fresh intercom batteries for both cars, not forgetting the early morning cuppa. Jim adds ‘The Woodpecker is one of the best rallys in the BTRDA series and running with the 1400cc cars we start first and get the best of the stages, before the 4 wheel drive cars get onto them and cut them up. The rally is well organised and the stages are all fairly fast and flowing’ Jim and Chris were away first to Bringewood Forest and stage one of the rally. With the car en route to the first stage we leapt aboard the chase car and from Ludlow Racecourse drove out to Mortimer Forest. Jim and Chris soon arrived, Jim had found the car was under steering severely, so much so that he spun the car early on in the stage, and was now, understandably, somewhat wary to press on. ‘As soon as we got Jim into service, I changed a geometry setting and we cut the tyres a little and that cured the problem. We found out after that there had been nothing wrong with the car, Jim had changed some of the pace notes slightly so he was going into the corners too fast, hence the understeer.’ Jim added ‘There was more understeer than normal and none of the lift off oversteer that normally gets me out of trouble!! At service Chris managed to reduce the understeer and get the oversteer back so I was pleased with that.’ The morning stages passed without further incident, as the two cars left Shropshire for North Wales, and the Radnor forest stages. Radnor really is the heart of the Woodpecker, and is one of the longest stages in British rallying. A testament then to the work of Chris and his team that both cars completed the stage without incident. Aside from the minor mishap in the first stage, Jim and Chris enjoyed a trouble free run for the remainder of the event, said Jim ‘With the class being so competitive, the time lost in the morning could not be regained before the end. A couple of spins, caused by us pushing a little too hard, during the morning cost us up to about sixty seconds and resulted in us finishing third of the six MG ZRs in our class and 4th in class overall’ Gary took a different approach, treating the rally as somewhat of a shakedown for the newly built car. The afternoon saw the cars return to the morning’s stages, this time in reverse, allowing the spectators to get up close and personal with the cars as the event neared it’s climax. Jim and Chris eventually brought the white ZR home with a time of 56 minutes, 21 seconds, finishing fourth in class. Gary and Terry finished sixth in class, with a total time of 59 minutes and 42 seconds.

With the rally over, and a finish from both cars, there was time to reflect on the weekend’s events, and Chris was pleased to see his hard work had paid off. ‘As for Gary’s car, that was great. I had built the car and only finished it on the morning of scrutineering (a big thanks to Dan Surridge and Matt Cotton for their much needed help to get the car finished on time. Without them it probably would not have made it) We had done no testing, we had only driven it to the MOT station that was it. Then it went straight into the event and had no problems what so ever. Gary had had a Citroen C2 S1400 for a couple of years. He hadn’t finished an event for 18 months until then.’ Gary was definitely in agreement with Chris, and understandably very pleased to have finished his first rally behind the wheel of the MG. ‘The rally was great. The stages were fast and flowing and the organisation was as slick as usual. The car ran without fault all day which is what we hoped for when we asked Chris to build the car, using his works experience.’ Jim concluded ‘Although I spend more than I should rallying, it is definitely for fun. However, when the first stage starts, I am convinced that I can win and tend to try too hard. There are lots of people who spend much more on their rallying but I can assure you that no one enjoys it as much as me. It has been said that on stage I will do anything to win and maybe that is right. I certainly suspend any mechanical sympathy I may have before the stage starts. I really enjoy the craic between the MG ZR runners on the events and with Matt Cotton. We are trying to restart a MG ZR Challenge for next year within the BTRDA championship, it seems that up to 8 or 10 MG’s will be out next year. It should make for some great competition and more than a few beers afterwards!’ So, with the rally over, and cars being loaded onto transporters, spares and tools being packed away, why do all these people give up so much to compete? Chris Wright summed up everyone’s thoughts ‘I could make 3 times the money doing something else like stacking shelves in the supermarket but motorsport is in my blood so I just keep doing it.’ With special thanks to: Sarah Porter (Secretary of the Meeting) The Sixty and Worcester Motor Club Kevin Moore Please note, all text and photography contained within this article is copyright of Adam Sloman. Please seek permission before reproduction. Thank-you.