Double Touch

Sitting proudly and roughly equidistantly between Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire is the Silverstone Circuit. One of the most famous racing tracks in the country and current home of the British Grand Prix, this circuit for many is the apex of the British Motor Racing scene. This is none more so than for Alan Hersey, who spent fifteen years of his life racing 100 -200 CC Karts around the track. So with MGs on Track descending on Silverstone on the 17th March and Alan, who’s first ever track day was right here, who better to chat to than Alan himself. So let’s buckle up, this is going to be a good one!

After Alan culminated his time Karting with podium finishes in 1996 and 1997 respectfully and of which, “the Kart Grand Prix at Silverstone was the highlight of the year”, he got involved with a certain 1978 MGB GT (Rubber Bumper). “My mate had it at the time and took me out for a ride”, Hersey recollects, “he had being doing it up”. By this point though Hersey notes he wasn’t interested in racing, after all it was exactly what he had done for the last 15 years. However he “took it round the block” and liked it; “it felt involved.” After acquiring the vehicle and with the help of Moss Europe and Motobuild Alan finally took the plunge and at Silverstone last year took the MGB GT out for a spin.

So, for this former racer, how did the MGB and Silverstone stack up? “It was a crisp winter day, with a greasy and wet track” Alan recalls. In fact as a day on track went it was quite odd, as “every session was red flagged”, and “none of the tyres were warming up due to the cold”. As for the car itself Alan summed it up as “horribly understeery”. Despite this however Alan says he had great time in the 1.8 litre MGB GT and so did his wife, even though she had declined to drive due to a misplaced driving licence. As for Silverstone Alan states that it is definitely “more exciting than it used to be” and just as fast as he remembers. Despite his history with Silverstone however, Alan says he prefers to drive on tracks that he didn’t race on when Karting; he has a particular fondness for Cadwell as well and highlights this as a must visit circuit if only to experience The Mountain. Indeed if you thought the drop off on the Paddock Hill Bend was intense, you should experience The Mountain!

So as the date for Silverstone draws on a pace so does Alan’s anticipation to take the new and improved, 70,000 miles on the clock, MGB GT out once again. This time he’s got bucket seats too… although at this moment in time they are refusing to fit due to the gearbox’s relative position to the handbrake! But what does he think of MGoT? How does it live up to the racing days of old? Alan pauses for a moment, and then notes sincerely, “racing is and always was a very self centred sport, but a track day isn’t like that at all – I can take my son with me, it’s a social event and that’s the beauty of it”.