I haven't seen a Fairy Penguin yet
 The story of the Jones' trip to Phillip Island to compete in the MG Race Series - Sept 2010
I have a wish list of motor racing circuits that I would like to race on. For everyone that has any Aussie blood in their veins, number 1 would have to be Mt Panorama, it has to be. Phillip Island would have to rate as the number 2 track. I competed at Mt P in 2009 and now number 2 can be crosses off the list… unfortunately it’s ‘been there, going again’ (I say that with every track).
If you’d read my article last month you would have know that Bev and I did a rundown Victoria way to visit our Mexican cousins and fly the flag for MGCC Hunter Region and ‘Team Hunter’. This was the ‘Team’s initial foray into the MG race series that has been running in Victoria since the Mid 80’s.
 The Series is run by the MGCC Victoria and is a one make series that fits into theirs and SA’s State Circuit Racing Championship. The Phillip Island race meeting was round 6 of the MG series and round 4 of the Circuit Racing Championship hosted by the Mini Car Club (Vic).
For my Midget (‘Myf’) it was a return to her past. She was originally built by Geoff Foster from Vic in the 1990’s and regularly campaigned in Victoria and Queensland until 2000. I bought her in late 2007 and she underwent an extensive 12 month restoration in my shed. Geoff’s best time on radials at PI is a 1’:57”:45. If I can get to 2’:00” on my first outing I’ll go home satisfied.
I researched the subject by devoting some time to attempting to learn the layout by driving a ‘V8 Super Car’ on an Xbox as well as watching numerous older MG’s on Youtube. Since I’m mildly technologically challenged (and the Xbox and computer weren’t the best tools) and I had only ever seen Phillip Island GP Circuit on TV, with the Moto GP and V8’s, I felt that it would be a wise decision to partake of the Friday practice.
Phillip Island is a very fast and windy (and windy) track where there are off camber corners going over the crest of a hill that drop into a very tight downhill right hand corner (called MG). You come on to the straight almost flat out in 4th (I was at 6000rpm… at the start of the straight) so it can be hard on the car. I was consuming more than my allowance of oxygen as I took some very deep breaths in several spots. No matter where the prevailing wind is coming  from, it will upset your handling on at least one corner, though a breeze off Bass Straight is a damn side cooler than any other.
After getting to know the circuit at Friday’s practice, Saturdays first event (qualifying) went well with a best time set at 2’:01”:63. I managed to drop a fan belt in the second event on Saturday causing a mild overheat (the temp was showing 80lb oil pressure) and a nice pirouette at Honda. A DNF
Sunday turned out to be nice, warm and sunny. With my alternator repaired and new fan belt on Myf and I ventured forth again. Your grid position for each race is dictated by your finishing position in the previous race. I was therefore last on the grid. At the start I picked up around 5 places before the first corner. A great battle ensured with Andrew Howell in his MGF. For several laps I let him drag me down the straight with what felt like under a metre between our cars (not bad at around 200kph). I poked my nose up next to him several times through ‘Siberia’ and ‘Lukey Heights’. With a lap and a half remaining I snuck through heading past Siberia and managed to hold him out till the chequered flag was waved at us.
In the final event for us for the weekend, I started off 11th. Jim Robertson in his Midget started behind me (after a spin in the previous race) but snuck past entering corner 1 and it was then a 3 wide battle between JR, Christopher Aberley (F) and Rodney Gibb (F) into corner 2. Christopher and Rodney got a little to close and came together (I assume) causing a big spin off right in front of me (yes it’s on the incar video). The last I saw was of Chris about to back into the well sandbagged flag point. Strange, I don’t remember seeing any flaggies, they had either abandoned ship and been swallowed by the mud or were ducking for cover. This had the Safety car out for a lap while the cars were restarted. Chris made it to the end but Rodney retired after 6 laps.
I was suffering from a recurring electrical gremlin that initially showed its head at Eastern Creek a few meetings back. It causes a misfire at medium/ high revs in 4th gear on the straight then clears 30 seconds later and is fine till you hit the straight again. After initially getting in front of Andrew again, he got me when the gremlins hit and a few others also got past. The strange part is that my final lap to the chequered flag turned out to be my fastest of the weekend with a 2’:00”:94. I’m very happy with that.
 The last round of their Championship was at the Sandown Historics meeting on the 6th and 7th of November and I didn’t get back down for that. If next year is like this year, it will see 2 meetings at Phillip Island, 3 at Sandown and 1 each at Winton and Mallalla. Since I’ll be chasing licence signatures (and I can’t get them in NSW) the idea of returning to the Island, maybe a Sandown and a run to SA (though this year that meeting was at Easter… and I’ll be at the Nat Meet next year) is very tempting (to me at least… Bev might feel differently).
The washup, I qualified 16th, a DNF and two 11th’s with a smile and a promise to come back. I’m very happy with that. In the end I received 31 points to put me in 12th overall for the meeting, 10th in class and equal 34th overall in the MG racing championship.
What is my favorite track I get asked. “whichever one I’m on at the time” is the standard answer.
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