CRASH ON CONROD - by Peter Kerr

I drove TC 4888 at the Festival of Sporting Cars race meeting on Mt Panorama, Bathurst during easter 2009. The setting, and the track is truly unique in Australia, & probably also in the world.  I love the back half of the course. The distant view from Skyline is stunning, but lasts only for a second or two. The dive into the Esses & the Dipper comes up quickly, & the arrival at Forrest's Elbow signals our run down Conrod Straight. I did my qualifying without incidents, but during the first real test at speed on Conrod, I relaxed and enjoyed the excitement.

Unfortunately, the leading car had emptied its sump of oil on the lower section. I saw the oil flag, acknowledged it, and backed off completely. I had halved my speed, but found the oil. The TC spun and headed backwards into the concrete wall. Most of the circuit has concrete barriers, so damage is inevitable. I had forgotten to take off my spare wheel, so the faithful Pirelli Cinturato P3 tyre, acted as an airbag, as  I went straight in tail first. It was destroyed. I was on the grass verge, & could have wiped out the side of the TC, as it spat along the wall. Worse, I could have spun around 180 degrees, and destroyed the TC front grille, radiator, and engine.

I was alert, and ready to avoid either option, as the speed descended to a safe level. The track was clear, so I gunned the engine and drove onto the bitumen and shut everything down & parked the Rebel. The spare wheel was still on its carrier and rolling towards Bathurst. As required, I jumped behind the concrete wall & gave the OK signal to the flag point. The firies arrived, and filled the tank with foam & covered the rear of the MG also to eliminate the fire risk.

The medics checked me out, and then took me to the Medical Head Station for a full examination. I was fine, but the Rebel looked forelorn out on the Toxic Pad. I had to drain the fuel/foam mixture from the tank, before being allowed to push the MG into the dead car park.

Feedback after my visit to the TAFE students shed was positive. They spent the night repairing the damage, & I was able to to run on Sunday, after obtaining a scrutineering clearance. My consultant master, Mal Brewster, followed up and got my confidence back up to speed. I have never had so many thanks from the other drivers. They said my spinning TC signalled the location of the oil on the track, & were able to steer well away from it. This was my first incident in racing over all those years.

I hope to have the Rebel repaired for the Cootha Classic in late May 2009. I met many South Australian club members, who congratulated me in getting the Rebel out and about. They also recounted some of the incidents at Mallala with Roger Waters as pilot. They reckon my spin on Conrod, was a walk in the park, compared to Roger's exploits!

Bruce Dummett, my sometime co-driver, had a horror weekend with his Torana XU1.  He was hoping for big things after 3 firsts at Wakefield Park recently. Ingo, a flaggie at WP, gave me a glowing report from turn 9, with the Torana & Bruce late breaking, and not bending his racecar.

Bruce at Bathurst included:
1 Bruce blew the diff in the 1st race
2 The gearbox went in the 2nd combat
3 The 3rd & final blow came when he was T boned at Griffin's Bend by another Torana, and punched into the concrete wall.

The culprit backed out and headed up the mountain. However, 2 further smacks into the walls at the Cutting and McPhillamy destroyed his race car. Bruce did drive back to the pits, but the damage was beyond repair. He set off home Sunday morning in the transporter, licking his wounds. He took his 2 mechanics also. I sat out the rainy day in the tent with Alistaire Clarke and his C type replica. He found an empty space at the next start, & was on the dummy grid ahead of me. I called out: 'why are you up there?' He replied: "that's where they put me." I had passed him before the first corner in the straight, and never saw him in my rear view mirror again.

The dead car park at Mt Panorama was littered with serious damage. My mates, the Blacks from Toowoomba, were caught up in a 3 car pile up in the historic touring car race.  A GTS Monaro, and an XY GT, were badly damaged. The Falcon was crumpled on & into the fire wall, so had had a big whack. The Escort was repaired in the TAFE shed, and ran on Sunday. Spud Spruyt had his MGB repaired after an incident on track, by TAFE, and it won the last sports car race of the day.

The last time I passed David Godwin and his MGA was on the Newell Highway out of Coonabarabran. The blue & red flashing lights attracted my attention. The officer was standing in the rain beside the tow vehicle, with his book inside the open window. He seemed to be presenting David with the double demerit points award as an Easter bonus. 

The magic of the weekend was catching up with old friends. Al Clarke, Norm Richardson, plus all the South Australians who love the TC V8, made it so special. The stories of Roger and the MG at Mallala made my spine tingle. They got better as the weekend progressed. 

I hope Roger was looking down and impressed with our efforts. I have some changes to make on the Rebel, and it will improve the MG and its handling even more. Alan Cutts rang this morning with the adjustments. He did say the TC looked and sounded magic, as it flew up the back straight past our pit. That is high praise indeed, coming from an expert such as him.

Peter Kerr

PETER KERR RACES THE EX ROGER WATERS YELLOW MG TC V8 - TC 4888 - IN QUEENSLAND AT LEYBURN (THE SITE OF THE FIRST AGP IN QUEENSLAND IN 1949).

PETER WON HIS CLASS BUT ADVISES THAT THE TRACK IS NOT REALLY SUITED TO THE HORSEPOWER OF THE TC. HE ALSO WON HIS CLASS AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP.

HE IS TAKING IT DOWN TO BATHURST FOR THE 2009 EASTER HISTORIC RACE MEETING, IT SHOULD DO WELL OVER THAT TRACK. HE SHOULD AT LEAST GET INTO TOP GEAR!

THE CHASSIS OF THIS AMAZING MACHINE USED TO BELONG TO ONE BARRY BAHNISCH!