MGF Cup

The MGF Cup is a twelve-round, one-make, racing series which roared in to life at Silverstone on the weekend of 4th/5th April and culminates at the same circuit over the first weekend of October. Thirty selected drivers will be contesting the MGF Cup and looking to win a share of the £90,000 total series prize money in this its first year, with the ultimate series winner taking home a new road going MGF 1.8i VVC.

The concept of the series is for 30 identical MGFs to compete equally against each other, the event designed to test drivers’ skills and nerve. To achieve this, thirty cars only were produced, all following an identical pattern, and sold to the selected few. Apparently there were hundreds of initial inquiries, reduced to forty-two who were prepared to put down the cash. From these a selection committee chose the successful candidates who will battle it out on tarmac throughout the summer. The entry list is now nearing completion with 26 confirmed drivers and the four remaining seats under negotiation.

MGF Cup – Class of ’98.

Nitty Gritty Facts
Once accepted for the series, a payment of £24k (+ vat) would find you the proud owner of a rolling MGF chassis, complete with ‘goody bag’ of engine, transmission, gearbox etc for you to assemble. As all units are sealed, there is little scope for personalisation of the cars with only ride height or camber adjustments to be made to suit individual preferences. These cars are meant to be equal and strict scrutineering will ensure that they remain so! Problems with production of the parts and changes in build specification resulted in the fact that most of the 24 cars out on Test Day (19th March) were turning their wheels for the very first time. Nevertheless, despite many looking rather ordinary as they lacked their sponsor’s decals, and drivers determined to stay in comparatively low revs (everything still running in – please pass ……) times around Silverstone circuit ranged in the respectable 1:38 to 1:43 mark. Budget costs for the year ranged widely from team to team. For example, some were estimating an annual bill of around £80k for the year’s total expenses (including car purchase and around £12k on tyres); others had lower budgets totaling around the £35k mark.

Privileged to attend Press Day, one was very much encouraged to feel that all participants of the MGF Cup were part of one big family. Guy Pigounakis made a presentation over lunch that included not only a thank you to everyone who had chosen the MGF Cup in which to race and stated the ‘objective is to exceed all your expectations and provide competitive racing in a friendly atmosphere’ but also an apology for the parts delay and additions to the build manual. Nice touch. ‘I assure you that our team will be available to you (the competitors) over the next few weeks to help with any further problems you may have. We have had a bit of a rushed start but we are now catching up fast, so I expect matters to improve over the next few weeks’ he added.

Busy Winter for Development Team

Talking to Wynne Mitchell of Gaydon Competitions Department and Development Driver Tony Pond, both of whom have been heavily involved in the evolution of this new racing MGF, they also stressed just how tight the time had been to produce the car. I have been fortunate enough to meet both these charming characters before, when the MGF was launched for the Japanese and French race series at Castle Combe nearly 2 years ago. Then they had just come back from prolonged testing in South Africa but there were no such luxuries this time. ‘We were given the brief September last’ said Wynne ‘so we really have had a busy winter. This car is a lot more powerful and tighter – an out and out race car. We simply did not have the time to take it abroad to test it under hot weather conditions so MIRA, Gaydon and Castle Combe have seen quite a lot of us recently. Of course the temperatures were simply not there for true testing but we are still continuing trials now. It would have been nice to have had the time to draw breath and establish justwhere we had got to and where we were going to take it in terms of development but the season has come round too quick. It’s a great car though!’

Development guru Wynne Mitchell (right) mulls over problems with Kevin Jones.

Tony Pond was equally enthusiastic: ‘This one has lots more power than the Japanese spec and is a great fun car. Comparatively the Japanese car rolled more and the French series car was more middle of the road; it had to be in order to do the sprints, driving tests and hill climbs the competition demanded. This car is race designed and reflects that. It has all been a bit rushed as we only started last September but the car is good. We are still testing and developing as we need to be on top of the job. We want to source the problems and solve them so that the competitors need never experience them. The car can only get better.’ Commitment and dedication are certainly not lacking in the MGF development team.

Devlopment driver Tony Pond full of enthusiasm for the MGF race car

Chatting to some of the drivers, this sense of commitment to the car also shines through – and this is even from some who have never sat in an MGF, let alone raced one. Competitor Ann Templeton however is no stranger to MG. Well known in vintage circles driving her single seater 1933 KN Special (K Type with an N Type engine) she claims that the MGF Cup ‘must certainly be safer than vintage racing’. Ann’s daily transport until recently was an MGF but swapped that in for another car. ‘We reckoned it was time for a change ….. so we bought the Abingdon F – absolutely terrific, can’t say too many nice things about it.’ Deciding on this series because ‘the MGF is such a fun car to drive and we couldn’t afford to put the road car on the track’, Ann is hoping for a good season ‘but it will be a big learning curve as I’ll be on slicks for the first time.’Carless today, she said Test Day came just 24 hours too early. ‘My car will be ready tomorrow’ she said regretfully. Fellow lady driver Suzi Hart-Banks, 26, professional race driver for team Moy Motorsport, has already made her mark in an MG, holding the record for the fastest lap of Silverstone in an MGB GT. Last season found Suzi triumphing in 2nd place in the closely fought Ginetta G27 Championship (3 wins, 5 seconds, 4 pole positions and 4 fastest laps). She must reflect a good bet for the winning rostrum.

All dressed up but no car to drive ……. Ann Templeton can only be a spectator on Test Day.  Suzi Hart-Banks, already proven to be a very fast MG lady

Familiar Faces

Familiar names to MGOC members in the MGF Cup may be Mick Mercer and Terry Farmen. Terry took Class A MGOC Championship spoils last year and in 1991 in his blue Midget with Mick hard on his heels in second place. Mick, also a Midget driver, is no stranger to playing bridesmaid as he has been runner-up on four occasions. ‘We both felt it was time to move on’ said Terry ‘as we have raced MGs for the past eight years. This seemed like a natural progression as we wanted to stay with MG but it is a big jump upwards – financially as well!’ (Helping them to make up their mind was the MGF belonging to Mick’s wife, who kindly let them drive it occasionally). Sadly Mick’s car was not ready today but both tested Terry’s F. ‘Considering it is the first time I have sat in it, I am very pleased’ said Terry. ‘We have not pushed the car, keeping the revs low and the gearbox has yet to run-in, but it all feels good.’ Preparing both cars is Matt Read of MR Motorsport, Andover, another familiar name as he too has participated in the MGOC Race Championship. Look out for Terry and Mick in the results during the coming months as both cars are now MGOC sponsored and we all wish cars No. 15 and No. 16 the very best of luck and success in the 1998 MGF Cup.

The MGOC sponsored Team MR Motorsport. From left: Mick Mercer, Matt Read and Terry Farman.

TV Times

Lots of TV coverage is planned for this most exciting of race series. Every round will have approximately 8 minutes on Sky each (plus repeats), 12 minutes on Eurosport, 7 minutes on ITV Night Time Network (all ITV regions) and lots more worldwide. In addition there will be 2 slots on Top Gear and 3 ITV regions are taking specific rounds on Saturday afternoons. One round will be coming from Silverstone at the British grand Prix meeting, so a higher profile this car cannot reach. As Gerry McGovern said to me about this prestigious series when leaning overthe pit rail, watching these sportscars with a history gallop past: ‘MG is synonymous with racing. This is the modern evolution of it, reminding people that MG is still around and still a great marque.’ It is no wonder that they remain Britains best selling sports car.

Reflecting on the modern evolution of MG racing, original MGF designer Gerry McGovern with his everyday transport, the Abingdon F.

 Zoe Heritage