Back to Events Month-end Run - Sunday 19 November 2006
BRITISH SPORTS CAR TOURThe British Sports Car Tour this year went off very successfully. The first cars started arriving as early as 9.30, and by 10 o'clock we already had a very healthy turn-out, despite the ominously cloudy weather!
Rain had been predicted for Sunday, and rain it did! It felt like a true British Summer's day - rain and clouds galore, with the sun trying hard to peep through, which it eventually did. The rain was particularly bad through the Franschhoek Pass and Theewaterskloof Dam, which made driving quite unpleasant - I felt particularly for the poor guys in ragtops!
The run through to the final destination, the Elgin Grabouw Country Club, went generally well with only two mishaps along the way - one minor, and one fairly major (although no-one was injured). The first breakdown was Theo Brand in his red Spitfire Mk.1, which developed distributor trouble. Fortunately, we were able to affect a temporary repair, and Theo was soon on his way!
Then Roger Robeck's Austin Healey 3000 broke down halfway up the Franschhoek Pass with fuel starvation. The culprit was the electric fuel pump, which is notoriously difficult to get to, and Roger had no tools, so he decided to tow the Healey over the Pass (using his other car, a modern S-type Jag) to the Elgin Grabouw Country Club. It was a difficult tow, with Roger having to stand on the brakes a lot in the Healey, until halfway down the Pass his brakes started smoking - meaning serious brake fade!
Unfortunately, by the time they were able to find a place to pull off the road, his brakes had just about stopped working, and he ran into the back of his Jag, seriously denting both cars! The pictures tell the story…
We were welcomed by The Elgin Grabouw Country Club with Champagne, Sangria and orange juice, and they put on a magnificent Hawaiian buffet for us! All of the people there thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and by the time we left the sun was shining brightly through an almost cloudless sky…
The British Sports Car Tour has turned into a highly popular event, eagerly anticipated by all of the British Sports Car Clubs in the Western Cape, and sets a good example of what can be achieved with some friendly co-operation! We are confident it will continue to grow from strength to strength