Double Touch

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Purple Plum!

I meet Trevor Leighton in the pit lane at Silverstone. It is a cold but sunny spring morning and the weak rays of sun glint off the passing MG’s as another volley drives by. Standing in amongst the jovial and eager attendees, you get the feeling that today is going to be an excellent trackday.

This is none more true for Trevor, nicknamed the “Purple Plum” due to his rather excellent purple MGF. Sitting in the shade of the paddock the MGF -to which Trevor has many made modifications- waits patiently for its owner to return. Unfortunately it won’t be for a little while as today I’m asking what Trevor what he makes of MGs on Track and, of course, the MGF.

Trevor has come to the Silverstone trackday, one of the highlights of the MGoT’s year and incidentally sold out within a couple of days, from his home in Stockton-on-Tees near Middlesbrough. As a regular attendee of almost all the trackdays MGoT have to offer, this long distance drive is not new. In fact for many of the trackdays Trevor travels down the night before and stays overnight in order to attend. For today’s trackday Trevor spent three and a half hours travelling.

“They’re all a great bunch,” Trevor notes as I quiz him over the social aspect of MGoT. “I’m not that mechanically minded and there’s always someone who will give you a hand.” “The social aspect of the trackdays is good,” he adds and as for the sessions on track “it’s not competitive so there’s no pressure.” This is something Trevor appears to really appreciate. As we start to discuss his favourite tracks through the country another volley of MG’s flies by.

As a regular at MGoT Trevor has driven the best Britain has to offer. Well, apart from a few tracks right down in the south! From Trevor’s favourite track Caldwell to the stately Castle Donnington, to the Paddock hill bend at Brands Hatch, Trevor has visited them all. When I ask him about today’s offering he replies, “Silverstone is a good, full circuit.” Other tracks that Trevor has visited include Croft, Sutton and Anglesey.

So what has the Purple Plum done to race spec the MGF? The car, which cost £17,000 with 6000 miles on the clock, was bought by Trevor after just six months use. It has a 1.6 litre engine and churns out between 165 to 175 Bhp. However underneath its fruity shell Trevor’s additions include: lowered suspension, new adjustable shock absorbers, a different exhaust manifold with quad-pipes, roll bars and crisp new 16inch wheels. This combined allows the car to hit 60mph in 6.5 seconds and with minimal fuss to boot.

Before joining MGoT Trevor had a history rallying, specifically in the 1970’s. In addition he also spent ten years racing in Rally Cross, something that he moved on from in 1995. His first session with MGoT was at Caldwell in 2004 and since then has really enjoyed everything it has to offer. So, as Trevor gets kitted up for his next session, MG’s lining up and then pulling away in the pit just a meter or so from the Paddock exit, I ask him where we can expect to get a glimpse of the Purple Plum next? As the last car pulls away in the pit, Trevor fires up the MGF’s engine and states, after a little thought, that he will be at Snetton. A few seconds later he is on track.

It’s a cold and windy day today at North Weald airfield and racetrack. However that is not stopping MGoT from kicking off the New Year with a track day aimed squarely at beginners. Yes here today at North Weald MGoT is showing what it’s all about; a branch of the MG Car Club dedicated in organizing fun and sociable track days which drivers of any ability can take part in. And boy is it being taken part in! We have a plethora of MGs here on track, ranging from MGB’s to MGF’s, heck there’s even a couple of RV8’s! It really is quite an interesting spread of vehicles considering it’s a day aimed at newcomers to MGoT.

As I pull alongside the makeshift pit-lane the cars are being lined up by their drivers ready to undertake training in taking corners. This exercise is being led by professional driving instructor Andy who is coaching the drivers on taking a left hand bend at speed. The exercise basically involves an individual driver to accelerate down a straight and then take a left corner as quick as they dare. The corner actually widens out onto a runway so there is no danger of a crash, but down the centre lies a ridge, which today is “the imaginary wall”. This aids the drivers development two-fold, firstly tutoring them on the technical skills involved in completing a good corner and secondly, helping them to reach and hopefully increase their driving ability. It certainly sounded and looked fun, even though in one of the exercises Andy got the team to take the corner with only one finger on the wheel!

As a red MGB flies out of the pit and onto the straight, being monitored by MGoT’s very own Dave Livingstone with a speed gun, I head towards the rear of the queue as 59mph flashes up on the display. Today I’m here to interview the owners of a certain RV8 with a great, if not melancholy, history. Joanne and Michelle, proud owners of a limited edition ‘White Gold’ RV8 which is number one off the production queue and only one of twelve ever made, are just coming back in off the track as I reach the end. Today is their first ever day on track and the enthusiasm on their faces is evident; clearly they have come for a good time.

Unfortunately however, it is not just the fun, exhilaration and fantastic community that MGoT is known for, why both Michelle and Joanne are here today. On Friday the 8th of February 2008 their father, Bob Shilton, MG enthusiast all his life and owner of a marvelous Red RV8 roadster, passed away after seven years of ill health. Today at North Weald was to be Bobs first track day and he intended to share it with his two daughters. In anticipation of doing so Bob had bought and renovated the White Gold RV8 Joanne and Michelle are driving today and had given it to them on Christmas day as a present. They were going to attend North Weald together, but sadly today, the Red RV8 Roadster is nowhere in sight. “We are doing it in memory dad”, Michelle notes as we get closer towards the front of the queue. “It was something for us all to do together”, she continues as both of them express just how much Bob would have loved it here today and how if he was in the car with them he would be constantly saying to them “to go faster!”

Bob I learn, originally bought the car off a gentleman who had bought it off its original owner, the then Head of BAE/Rover, Ken Reeves. Once acquired the car had then be discreetly driven to Brown & Gammons at Baldock for a damn good going over, before being crept into the garage, ribbons and bows included, ready for Christmas day. Both sisters had absolutely loved the V8 the moment they set eyes on it and have been driving it ever since. And boy do you know it! As the girls fly out again to take on the increasingly shallow left hander, they seem completely at home and take the corner with style.

After the girls have come back in again I quiz them about the day, after all has it been everything that Bob would have wanted it to be for them? Firstly the car is handling “excellently”, Michelle notes before Joanne adds that it’s also been an “excellent experience”. “I haven’t spun and hit the imaginary wall”, Michelle laughs as the engine rumbles and we move forward in the queue once more. “Andy is very good”, Michelle adds, “He really encourages you to find your limit”. Overall it seems they’ve had a great day then. Just before they head out once again Michelle informs me that they fully intend to keep attending the track days and driving the RV8 in memory of their father.
We look forward to seeing Joanne, Michelle and the RV8 at various events throughout the coming year.

Ok, so after a two week interval from Double Touch we return with our second Podcast.
This time David Lynch from Games Media Culture and I, Robert Jones, discuss and review last years Assassins Creed on PS3. Check it out by clicking HERE!!!