The birdcage visits Baskerville Raceway
What a lovely way to celebrate the MG Car Clubs 80th Birthday!
Laurel was short of a staff member at work, so Dan Casey accompanied me on the long haul to Baskerville Race Way, Hobart, Tasmania over the MGCC 80th Birthday weekend.
Our hire van towed the Birdcage MGA without much fuss over the 4400km return trip and the Bass Strait crossings were as good as it gets.
Baskerville race track is located on a hill, with the result that it has everything one looks for in a club circuit – tight turns with camber; blind corners; very fast downhill straights and steep uphill sections… Add to that a friendly bunch of officials from the local MG Car Club and you have a recipe for a great weekends racing.
So as to get more track time, I entered both the Racing and Regularity events and spent most of the weekend on the Black Stuff – 12 events in all, excluding practice! The weather was inclement and a little cold but every time the Birdcage entered the track the surface seemed to be dry – I was really lucky the whole weekend! The Birdcage performed well and Dan was kept busy talking to and working on other peoples cars this time!
The Birdcage had no chance in the Racing category, being up against open wheelers, V8’s and more modern cars. However, the Regularity events were interesting with a whole range of new and old cars attempting to drive at a constant speed. I nominated a lap time of 70sec but constantly drove at 68sec so lost double points for exceeding my set times. However, as we entered the track for the 80th Anniversary event, it rained briefly and the wet track slowed me down and I managed to circulate in 70secs for 5 laps and walked away with the big one! How’s that for divine intervention! Another dust collector, laurel…
Although Hobart is a long way away from the Gold Coast, the event was well run and certainly worth considering again next year. However, a 10 day holiday of the Apple Isle would be a bonus, as would cheaper fees for trailers on the spirit of Tasmania!
Dave Godwin
