Issue 6 - MG Racing

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Under the bonnet 

MGazette—All the news! 4 

Round 3—Whitwell’s dominant return 8 

Mid Season Review 14 

Bob Nordlinger 20 

Jim Hall 22 

Driver Profile 24 

2009 Pointscores after Round 3 26 

Round 4 Preview—Winton Raceway 28 

NEW ADDITION! For Sale section 30 

What’s inside 

the next issue? 

• Round 4—Winton Raceway 

• The South Aussies Invade 

• Plus all the news from MG Racing! 



“Ken Price shared a Holden Gemini with Peter Fitzgerald” 

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 

Page 4 

MGazette 

All the news—you saw it here first, or last 

Crushing Return 

“Whitwell 

romped to a 27 

second victory 

after just 6 

laps” 

Robert Whitwell has been a glaring omission from this years grid, the 

ex Rob Peckett MG B GT V8 has taken a bit of getting used to and for 

a number of reasons he has had to resort to pit crewing for Jim Hall, 

until now… 

Whitwell qualified on pole, won race one, race two and then race 

three with a crushing victory as his rivals faltered. In race one Whitwell 

managed a 1:19.61 fastest lap and was 5 seconds a lap faster than 

second placed Neil Hopwood. In Race 2 it looked like Tom Hutchinson 

would take the fight to Whitwell until he faltered with mechanical 

problems, Robin Bailey fought through the field but couldn’t catch 

the hard charging Whitwell who romped to a 27 second victory after 

just 6 laps. Race three was a great hunt as Hutchinson came through 

the field from last to second but needed another lap or two. The final 

race was the only glitch on a stunning display with mechanical problems 

holding Whitwell back. 


Page 5 

MG RACER 



Championship Challenge 

Only one more round awaits the series in the chase for the CAMS series points, Phillip Island, so with 

just 100 points available at Phillip Island we can now determine who will be in with a chance to win. 

Six drivers can still win the title with Robin Bailey leading on 214 points, second is a tie between Bob 

Nordlinger and Neil Hopwood. Adrian Akhurst, Ken Price and Paul Trevethan are all in with an outside 

chance, Trevethan will need a perfect round to take back to back Victorian titles. 

Sandown Points 

Anyone who has seen the published points for the 2009 VSCRC MG’s and Invited British Sportscar 

championship will have seen that at the Sandown they did not award points for the final race (Race 

4). The series regulations state that all four races should be awarded points, we have redone the 

weekend points to reflect that there were four point score races, the feature race was race three so 

the larger points share was awarded to race 3. 

South Australian Invasion! 

The next round of the championship moves to Winton Motor Raceway in Northern Victoria, it looks 

like we will see five cars come across from Adelaide to join the series for the round, existing drivers 

Adrian Akhurst and Rodney Gibb will run their MG TF Cup cars and three MG F Trophy series drivers 

will make the trip across. Neil Williams who has run the MG F Trophy since it’s inception will be 

joined by Rodney O’Malley and Troy Dontas, all three will be in their usual MG F Trophy cars for the 

round. 


“Ken Price shared a Holden Gemini with Peter Fitzgerald” 


Page 6 



Chasing Porsche’s 

In the Marque Sportscars grid it was Rob Whitwell who fought a race long battle on 

Sunday with Fraser Kirchner’s Porsche GT3 Cup car with Whitwell pushing Kirchner 

very hard, the car moving around a lot as he tried to stay with the Porsche. Seemingly 

pushing so hard didn’t do the tyres so well with the car unable to stay with the 

Porsche as he started to pull away. Not to be deterred Whitwell pushed on and as 

the picture below shows even tried to get past on three wheels… 

Rob Whitwell tries to pas Fraser Kirchner on three wheels 

“Whitwell even 

tried to get 

past on three 

wheels” 

Fitzgerald Whispers 

Whispers at Sandown suggested Mort Fitzgerald may step into his historic four cylinder 

MG B for Winton if the V8 isn’t correctly rebuilt in time, Fitzgerald suffered another 

engine failure at Sandown which he put down to an incorrect fix of the last 

engine issue. Fitzgerald has only finished one race in the 2009 season. 


Page 7 




Championship Blues 

Robin Bailey took a hit to his championship streak with no points coming from Race 1, Robin was 

trailing Rob Whitwell into turn one and Rob braked earlier than Bailey was expecting, Robin saw an 

opportunity down the inside (whilst avoiding nose to tail contact) but missed his marker whilst positioning 

himself to the inside. The result was under steering off the back of the corner over the kerb 

and concrete behind only to find a gully on the other side. As he bashed his way across he ripped 

the front spoiler off and also the bottom of the radiator, dropping water and by the time he got 

back to pit lane there wasn’t much water left. The TAFE crew MIG welded the holes in the radiator 

closed and Robin dashed home to grab his spare spoiler and joined the back of the grid for Race 2. 

Racing Incident 

In Race two one of the closest battles was Ross Kaigg and Robert Haywood, it got so close that the 

two made light contact resulting in Haywood’s rear tail light and Kaigg’s front headlight being dislodged 


Page 8 



Mike Wood (#53) leads a trio of MG TF Cup cars of Ken Price, Adrian Akhurst and Rodney Gibb 

Page 9 


Qualifying: 

Race 1: 

Thirty one cars took to Sandown Raceway for Qualifying 

and immediately Robin Bailey (MG B GT V8), Tom Hutchinson 

(Triumph TR8) and Bob Nordlinger (MG C Sebring 

V8) went to the top of the timesheets before Rob 

Whitwell (MG B GT V8) put down a 1:29.76 to go provisional 

fastest. Hutchinson then set down a 1:23.5 on his 

second lap to go to the top. On lap 3 Mort Fitzgerald (MG 

B V8 Roadster) then posted a 1:23.38 to relegate Hutchinson 

back down to second as Neil Hopwood (MG B 

V8 Roadster) put down the third fastest lap with a 

1:26.39, followed by Bailey with a 1:26.66, Nordlinger 

with a 1:28.57 and Mark Bonnamy (MG B GT V8) with a 

1:28.99. Whitwell then responded to the lead duo with a 

1:22.63 where he stayed for the remainder of the session 

to take pole on his return to the series. 

Further down the order Michael Wood (B GT V8) took 

the Historic class “pole’’ by just over a second with a 

1:30.68 ahead of the close battle between Peter Sortwell’s 

rapid B Roadster with a 1:31.90 in front of Ken 

Price’s MG TF Cup; which posted a 1:31.96 followed by 

Adrian Akhurst in his MG TF Cup with a 1:32.01. Quite 

clearly this was going to 

be an intriguing battle 

over the weekend. 

Ross Kaigg, who put in a 

scintillating drive at 

Round 2 could only manage 

a 1:34.4 to sit in 18 th 

and John Makeham (MG 

Midget) made a welcome 

return to the class 

and managed 24 th with a 

1:36.65 

The opening race of Round 3 was already missing one 

car. Mort Fitzgerald had to withdraw with engine drama’s 

yet again when the field took the start. Up front Tom 

Hutchinson got the jump on Rob Whitwell. As lap three 

started Whitwell had got himself infront of Hutchinson 

and Mike Wood had jumped Ken Price for 7 th place. The 

V8 clearly had the legs but the Cup car compensated 

with braking and corner speed. On Lap 3 Hutchinson 

retired leaving Whitwell out in front by himself, Whitwell 

wasn’t hanging around though pumping out a 1:19.61 to 

set the fastest lap of the race. Paul Trevethan had 

moved into a podium place behind Neil Hopwood after 

Paul qualified 8 th but didn’t have the pace to hold onto 

Hopwood. Mark Bonnamy once again put a solid performance 

by finishing 4 th, consistently in the 1:28’s to 

keep Trevethan in his sights. 

Michael Wood had made a pass on Adrian Akhurst to 

step into 5 th place outright (lapping in the 1:31’s) and 

managed to keep the two TF Cups directly behind him. 

By the end of the 6 lap journey Wood kept 5 th place outright, 

Ken Price at bay and Akhurst snapping at their 

heels. The biggest charge of the 

race goes to Rosemary 

Trevethan who managed to move 

up 10 places over the 6 laps. 

Starting 25 th Rosemary consistently 

picked off cars and found 

herself knocking on the back of 

Matt Barragwanath (B Roadster) 

and David Anderson (B Roadster). 

The MG TF Cup triplets of Ken 

Price, Adrian Akhurst and Rodney 

Gibb started in 12 th ,13 th and 14 th 

respectively and all moved up five 

places to finish 6 th , 7 th and 8 th respectively. 



Page 10 

David Vernall (#8) tries to get a run on the inside of Keith Ondarchie (#4) 

Race 2: 

Joining the rear of the grid for the start of Race 2 included Bob Nordlinger, Tom Hutchinson and Robin Bailey. 

All was set for a ripping contest watching them carve through the field. As the field got the green light 

Whitwell stormed away (knowing the guys at the rear of the field could potentially catch him in this one) immediately 

gapping the field by 6 seconds on the opening lap. His pursuers at the back of the field had already 

carved through, with Hutchinson up to13th after the opening lap, Bailey was into 17 th and Nordlinger 

25 th , whilst Chris Gidney (TF Cup) stopped at turn 9 with throttle problems. After the second lap Hutchinson 

was into 5 th place, with Bailey up to 11 th . Rosemary Trevethan moved up two places to lie in 13 th place and 

lock into a great battle with Robert Haywood (B Roadster) and Barry Pritchett (Triumph TR8). Meanwhile 

further down the order Trent Price took over John Makehams Midget to move into 21 st place. 

On debut Keith Ondarchie (Triumph TR4) and David Vernall (B Roadster) had a race long duel for the minor 

placings with Ondarchie holding out Vernall to the flag. Mark O’Neill (MG B) and Matt Barragwanath (B 

Roadster) were having a great scrap for 16 th place with O’Neill finding a way past on the penultimate lap relegating 

Barragwanath back to 17 th place. 



Page 11 

Mark Bonnamy (#73) is being pursued by championship leader Robin Bailey (#50) 

Race 3 – 10 Laps 

Race three was the feature race of the weekend and with the sun shining the field took to the track. Immediately 

off the start it was Whitwell who got a fantastic jump and lead into turn one from Bailey, Hopwood and 

Nordlinger. After not finishing race two, Hutchinson was pushing very hard to get up and chase Whitwell 

down. Hutchinson dropped 20 seconds on the opening lap whilst trying to get through the lower order and by 

lap two was inside the top 5 - but by now the gap had pulled out to 23 seconds. Bailey and Hopwood pushed 

passed Nordlinger in the battle for the podium, a consistent Hopwood was holding out Bailey. Paul Trevethan 

had retired in race two and now on the offensive just outside the top 10. Chris Gidney (TF Cup) had struggled 

in the opening two races not making a racing lap to date.. 

Until now. Gidney took five cars on the opening lap in an 

attempt to follow the big V8’s through the pack, before going 

past Jim Hall (B GT) and Kim Cole (MG F) on lap two. On 

lap three Paul Trevethan moved into the top 10 and catching 

Ken Price and Michael Wood. 

After a tough start Matt Barragwanath had moved back past 

Peter Sortwell and Ross Kaigg and was now directly behind 

David Anderson. Back towards the front and Hutchinson 

moved past Hopwood and Bailey and was now into second 

place and with a clear road to Whitwell - taking two seconds 

a lap out of him with a sensational 1:18.21 (the fastest lap of 

the race). On lap 5 Bailey got past Hopwood for third place 

with Bailey putting a 1:22 minute lap out. Paul Trevethan 

had now moved into 7 th outright behind Mark Bonnamy. 

John Makeham (Midget) took Keith Ondarchie (TR4) however 

the fun stopped not long after with Makeham failing to 

get past lap 6. On Lap 7 Hutchinson took and astonishing 6 

seconds out of Whitwell - which was where the obvious traffic 

problems were making their difference. The gap had now 

come down to under 10 seconds with three laps to go. Nordlinger 

was now catching Hopwood for fourth and looked like 

he may catch him within a couple of laps, but could he get 

past? Gidney was now in 17 th place as he took Barragwanath 

and set his sights on Sortwell directly infront. Gidney took 

Anderson and Barragwanath followed suit; both in 14 th and 

15 th respectively. 



Page 12 

Chris Gidney (#19) had a stunning drive in Race 3, here he is shown in front of Robert Haywood 

(#7) and Matthew Barragwanath (#16) 

As Bonnamy suffered mechanical problems, Hall would join him on the sidelines as Rosemary Trevethan (B 

GT V8) decided to make a move on Rodney Gibb (TF Cup) on lap 6 but shortly after both Gibb and Pritchett 

(Triumph TR8) were back in front and this was how it stayed for the rest of the race. By now Gidney was 

taking a second a lap out of Haywood (B Roadster) and caught him on lap 7, moving past and pushing on. 

Barragwanath had found some more speed and bashed out a 1:32.9 on lap 8, Gidney wasn’t done and the 

final lap of the race pushed a 1:32.3 out and pulling a two second lead out with both coming across the line 

in 13 th and 14 th places, Gidney having passed 17 cars in the nine laps he completed, an amazing effort, he 

was right behind Rosemary Trevethan so with a couple more laps, who knows he could have been higher. 

With three laps to go Hutchinson had closed the gap to just over seven seconds, it was starting to look like 

a tall order to catch Whitwell, Bailey was easily in third and Nordlinger had now got in front of Hopwood. 

Hutchinson then took four seconds out of Whitwell and with just one lap remaining needed to close three 

seconds up and find a way past. Hopwood hadn’t given up on Nordlinger and set his fastest lap of the race 

with a 1:25.02, Whitwell was pushing to make sure Hutchinson didn’t catch him, Hutchinson was closing fast 

and as they come up to the final complex it was clear that Whitwell should get the win. 

As both approached the finish line the gap had dropped to 1.5 seconds but it wasn’t enough, Whitwell had 

taken the win and despite passing 30 cars in ten laps Hutchinson had to settle for second, Bailey coming 

home a strong third and extending the points gap to Nordlinger in the process. Kim Cole held of Peter Sortwell 

on the final lap for 21 st and Anderson held of Kaigg for 18 th . 



Page 13 

Race 4 

A shorter race to finish the 

weekend and off the line it 

was Hutchinson versus Whitwell. 

Clearly the battle was to 

finally happen after three 

races until Whitwell was 

handed a drive through penalty 

for a jump start. Whitwell 

served it at the end of 

lap two, dropping down to 

the the bottom of the top 10 

as he rejoined. Anderson’s 

weekend was now done after 

one lap, Pritchett got passed 

Rosemary Trevethan and 

John Makeham made a welcome return 

Peter Sortwell took Trent 

Price and Mark O’Neill for 

15 th . Rodney Gibb had got in 

front of Akhurst at the start, 

Akhurst sitting behind (having small looks “underneath”) but couldn’t quite get alongside. This had allowed 

Ken Price to push forward and get away from the squabbling Gibb and Akhurst. Gidney got past Rosemary 

Trevethan and was now catching Pritchett. Whitwell was now up to 6 th at the end of lap 3 behind Paul 

Trevethan and on lap four Whitwell set his fastest lap of the race, a 1:20.650 but then the car said no more, 

after a perfect three races the car said no more. On lap 5 Gidney took Prtichett and Akhurst got Gibb with 

both drivers pushing to get away. Barragwanath got Haywood and Jim Hall got infront of Keith Ondarchie. 

Tom Hutchinson came across the line to take the win ahead of Bailey, Hopwood, Nordlinger and Paul 

Trevethan rounding out the top 5. 

Rosemary Trevethan (#51 leads Robert Haywood (#7) and Ross Kaigg who was showing the battle scars from 

an earlier encounter 



Page 14 

Ken Price/Nigel Mansell #1 

After years of struggling, both abandon the 

bravado and use the rules to their advantage 

by developing the best machinery available – 

the Super Moustache Generator 500! 

James Hall/Rubens Barrichello #3 

A wily veteran still capable of 

some outstanding performances, 

the other does silly dances on podiums. 



Page 15 

Peter Sortwell/Mark Webber #5 

Blindingly fast at times, but a mechanical cloud always 

strikes at the most inconvenient moments. At 

one point, both men asphyxiated when faulty valves 

on all competing cars resulted in a massive carbon 

monoxide leak. 

Robert Haywood/Roy Salvadori #7 

Flamboyant in their driving style and equally controversial. 

Experts in aeronautics, both pioneered 

the link between matter and anti-matter, or how 

a car can be forced off the track after suffering 

catastrophic decal failure. 

David Vernall/Tim Schenken #8 

Two drivers who turned Clerks of Course of 

course. That is, of course, unless the horse is 

the famous Mr. Edmond.. Sorry.. Max Mosley. 

Richard Milligan/Giancarlo Fisichella #10 

Owing both their drives to the power of Indian ingenuity 

(one has an Indian beneficiary while the other benefits 

from their technical nous), their journey was not without 

rough waters. Numerous incarnations left one driver 

heard uttering. “Dadgum thang just up and quit workin’ 

on me.. Never happened when my cousin owned it, I tell 

you what!” 

Tom Hutchinson / Bob Tullius #12 

Bob Tullis ran TR8’s in the late 1970’s 

in the U.S. but was hamstrung after 

indulging in the fringe benefits of a 

burger chain sponsorship, allowing 

the turbo Porsche’s to steal his 

thunder. Likewise thirty years later, 

Hutchinson was forced to eat bratwurst 

when the arrival of the GT2 

Stuttgart screamers ended the British 

dominance. Both men moved 

on to greener pastures with Tullis 

winning easily in IMSA Jaguars and 

Hutchinson tearing up a field of expat 

MG’s today. 



Page 16 

Mark O’Neill/Ukyo Katayama #15 

One makes his living in real-estate, the other 

made his living by using lots! 

Matt Baragwanath/Nelson Piquet #16 

Always a practical joker.. The other usually a victim of practical jokes – usually involving manoeuvring a 

Smart Car into crevices designed for Gary Coleman. 

John Baragwanath/Gehard Berger 

#16 

Even the “best” can have their off 

days. A magnetic-like attraction to 

pit-lane exits at Sandown and 

Monza have left onlookers scratching 

their heads. Sabotage can never 

be ruled out when their cars explode 

after turning the key to the ignition. 

Adrian Akhurst/Clay Regazzoni #17 

The other ‘tache. One drove for a team that 

owes it’s existence to customer cars. The other 

wants it banned.. Hang on a sec.. Adrian is currently 

seeking ‘F’ International Assistance after 

claiming his own cars make up a third of the MG 

Racing grid. 

Chris Gidney/Adrian Sutil #19 

Uncompetitive machinery has hamstrung 

the efforts of each of these drivers. Both 

promised much after being cited as “the 

only driver I have ever feared” by the 

world’s fastest black man. Whether all three 

can go onto becoming the world’s fastest 

white man, only time will tell. 

Paul Trevethan/Kimi Raikonnen #20 

Never one to shy away from a tasty beverage, 

these two drivers prove that ethanol 

and sugar-cane really can improve performance 

– in the car as well! Have also 

been known to dress in gorilla suits and 

drive grand prix tracks with inflatable copilots. 



Page 17 

Mort Fitzgerald/Michael Schumacher 

#30 

The Red Barons.. One diagnoses problems 

with metronomic precision. The 

other drives really fast. The retired 

Schumacher has been on the sidelines 

this year whilst Mort has sat on the 

sidelines despite not retiring. 

Kim Cole/Jarno Trulli #31 

Both qualify absurdly well for their car’s outright 

pace and proceed to drive others in faster machinery 

absurd. Trulli is currently in litigation with 

Kim over the rites to the name Kim Cole Express. 

Rodney Gibb/Denny Hulme #32 

One was affectionately called ‘the bear’. The 

other has probably been eaten by one whilst trekking 

through Canada on a soul-searching expedition 

after his MGF was eaten by a HQ.. 

Andrew Watson/Lex Davison #34 

One divides his time between his racing and his 

bar. The other races into them. BTW – when you 

are are in need of a brew and a bite, pop 

down to Andrew’s bar at The Hobson’s Stores in 

Sandringham.. We trust the cheque will be in 

the mail Andrew! 

Ross Kaigg/Felipe Massa #36 

The quiet achiver. Burst onto the scene 

with a flurry of speed then took a mysterious 

step backwards Steady progress and 

application has seen him grow in stature 

in the hearts and minds of his competitors.. 

The other has a Brazilian! 



Page 18 

Neil Hopwood/James Hunt #40 

Never without a fag in his mouth, Neil certainly has the swagger, 

but does he have the skill to go with it? Having his Hunt 

credentials brought into question, Hopwood is rushed to hospital 

after devouring 69 Champion Spark Plugs. 

Bob Nordlinger/Michael Andretti #42 

North Americans trying their hand in British marques with 

mixed results – finishing and not finishing. Went on to develop 

window netting after the tragic passing of Wally 

Hucklepup, Richard Petty’s beloved coon hound. 

Robin Bailey/Jenson Button #50 

Never in serious consideration for outright 

honours this year, but has blown away his 

opposition with a string of victories rendering 

him almost untouchable. The other 

touches up lingerie models. 

Rosemary Trevethan/Nico Rosberg #51 

Goes to show that female races can mix it with 

the best.. The other drives an B GT V8 

Peter Brice/Fernando Alonso #55 

One drives a rapid midget, the other is one. 

Aubrey Paverd/Jody Schekter #56 

Okay so they’re both African, but the resemblance 

doesn’t just stop there… Okay it stops… 

Here. 



Page 19 

Mark Bonnamy/Markus Winklehock 

#73 

Only entered one race when it occurred 

to them that the speed at 

which they were travelling was potentially 

hazardous in the event of 

something happening suddenly. 

Trent Price/Takuma Sato #76 

So many cars with so little results. Backing 

has never been a concern for these two; 

nor the variety of cars they drive. Whilst 

Takuma will be tending the merry-goround 

at Suzuka this year, Trent is rumoured 

to be submitting an Invited Cars 

entry in an Austin Allegro. 

Mandy Parry-Jones/Alan Jones #93 

Mandy, our only midget racer undergoes a sex change 

and becomes Craig Parry; giving MG Racing its first 

ever golf star! Alan considers a similar move but retires 

after being given the nickname ‘Booby’ Jones. 

Jason Holmes/Tom Pryce #98 

One is an Englishman who has a thing about 

Welsh, the other is one. Just thought we’d stir him 

up! 

Fred Brock/Peter Brock #119 

One attempts to sneak into MG Racing with a Bug-Eye, while the 

other turned up at Spa with a VK Commodore. For their indiscretions 

both were required to pay a $1 toll each time they crossed 

the start-finish line 

David Anderson/Jack Brabham #166 

One developed his own machinery during a golden era, 

the other still uses the helmet from that era. 


Page 20 


Bob Nordlinger’s 2009 season is becoming something of a watershed moment in 

a brief racing career tarnished with mishaps and mechanical unreliability. Through 

this however shone a frustrated competitive will that saw an opportunity in the 

midst of chaos. MG Racer caught up with Bob after Round 3 at Sandown to 

discuss his views on this season and his surprisingly new entry into the world of 

motorsport. 

How did you rate your weekend at Sandown, what were your problems? 

I’d have been happier if I didn’t have a stone pass through the oil-cooler! It (the cooler) basically 

squirted oil onto the right-front brake! After my initial spin in race one, I’d past Mike Wood for 5 th 

and suddenly found I had no brakes going into turn 1, and flew off into the grass - snagging the 

spoiler on the way. We ripped the spoiler and cooler off for the remainder of the meeting and had 

no worries. 


Page 21 


Your currently lying equal 3 rd in the championship 

– did you expect to be where you are three 

rounds in? – what are plans? 

I always hoped for it. I’ve always believed the 

secret to doing well is to be reliable and be in 

the top 5 of course. As it stands I’m a 60 yr old 

rookie who’s just turning 67 so I’m at a disadvantage 

as far as you young blokes are concerned! 

In the days of Jenny’s illness the racing helped 

keep my sanity, and she always encouraged it. 

Did you ever race in America – what’s your 

back-round? 

Well I had no real association with racing per se, 

but I always enjoyed driving sports cars. I was 

raised in Washington D.C. and educated in Boston. 

I worked in NY in a consulting firm which sent 

me to Australia in 1972 for two years; I liked it 

here and stayed. I lived in London between 64’ 

to 68’, and in 1967 I even persuaded the company 

I worked for to give me an MGBGT as a 

company car! 

So why the move to Australia? 

In 1972 I came to Australia for a 2 year work assignment. 

After seeing the place I couldn’t think 

of a better place in the world to raise two little 

girls. When I arrived here I bought a bright red 

1953 MGT TD – which at the time I bought for 

$500. The trouble was things always fell off it. I 

was never going to have the time to restore it so 

I thought I’d better trade it in for something new. 

Pit Stop motors on Chapel St were advertising a 

TR6, so I was driving in to trade in the MG when 

the windscreen fell out – that didn’t leave me in 

a very good bargaining position! 

V8. Mike wanted to sell the V8 and Graham ran 

it in Regularity at Phillip Island Historics before 

eventually buying it 

How was the transition from straight 6 to v8? 

Well it’s a long story. Originally we just changed 

the engine and I seemed to take to it pretty 

quickly My first race with the V8 was at Phillip Island 

2008 and I was spun round by Rodney Gibb 

at the start of the 2 nd lap. Coming up through 

the field after that it seems I was lapping 4 seconds 

a lap faster than the race leaders 

(obviously Mort was cruising) and catching Neil 

Hopwood. Eventually something gave and I 

caught a wheel at turn 1 and crashed into the 

tire wall. 

After the Phillip Island shunt was there a process 

you went through to get back up to speed? 

I wanted to run fast road with the v8 on radials, 

but that was vetoed by the racing committee. 

With Fast Road ruled out, going up to a V8 

meant moving up to Open Class, so it was rebuilt 

it to run on slicks. It consequently became a 

very different car to drive; with a wider track and 

much stiffer suspension. I basically had to relearn 

how to drive the car. Neil Hopwood has been a 

big part of that process and was very careful to 

build the car around my driving characteristics, 

strength and age. 

So far so good then as Bob is now currently lying 

equal 3 rd in the Victorian MG and Invited British 

Cars Championship. With a little luck and by his 

own admission ‘consistency’, hopefully we’ll be 

seeing him among the top three at seasons end. 

So when was your first race? 

Mike wood and I were business 

colleagues and became good 

friends. I watched him racing in 

2002 and from there I never 

looked back. The MG Racing 

group were so close-knit and the 

friendships are what keep me 

coming back. Originally I wanted 

to build a Stingray for Group S, but 

instead I shared Mike’s MGBV8 

with him in Marque Sport. A couple 

of years later we got our 

friend Graham Thomas interested 

as well when Mike loaned him the 



Page 22 

How long was the development curve of the MGB GT? Were there any issues. What else can you tell 

us about the car? 

This latest iteration of MGB 3 did not take as long as my absence may have made it appear to 

be. The big issue was garnering the budget to put a competitive car back on the track and continue 

to compete throughout the year and next year and next. 

The reason I stopped was that the gearbox particularly, and the car generally, needed a fair bit of 

work to satisfy me that it would be competitive against at least the mid range Historic “Bs” and 

would also be presented as I would like it to be. Having fixed the funding problem I then made some 

changes to the suspension and had it repainted to what has drawn many favourable comments. I 

did not make any significant changes to the motor; only those necessary to ensure it would keep going. 

I didn’t realise though that almost any change needs to be fully thought through as every thing 

seems to be connected to everything else; a change here pushes the need for a compensating 

change there and so it goes. I really only started work on preparing the car for this year in late January 

and although I did fear as Round 1 approached I might not make it I did find the time to make 

sure it all happened. For all of us on a very tight budget we need to make sure that every thing we 

do to keep us racing has a real payoff, either for ourselves or the whole competition environment. 

Some of the unacknowledged things I did included crack testing several components to satisfy 

myself that my car was in as fit and mechanically sound a state as possible; I am after all competing 

in a car that was built in the late 1960s. 

One other matter I did need to confront was the initial thought ”will CAMS grant me a licence 

again?” That proved to be one of the easier parts of coming back racing as after a visit to our favourite 

racing MD and completing the new streamlined licensing process that document did appear. 



Page 23 

What is it like to be back? You seemed fairly competitive right from the out-set. 

I can say I was very pleased with my first outing for approximately 2 1 /2 years and to be back at Phillip 

Island , close to home in Wonthaggi, was something I was not going to miss. The weather of course 

was not what any of the competitors at that meeting had hoped for but it did give me the opportunity 

to go out and test the waters, so to speak, and take some time to re-familiarise myself with the 

circuit, driving competitively rather than commuting and with a group of like minded enthusiasts. To 

be back competing was great and made me realise just how much I really had missed being part of 

that special group of MG racers. I was pleased with my initial times given the car was handling differently 

to how I remembered it and the fact that I needed to satisfy myself I could be a part of this 

again. 

What was the problem at Sandown? 

Was it fly-wheel related? 

I have to say that I still believe it was 

as I haven’t had a chance to take 

anything apart as yet although any 

conjecture should be replaced by 

real evidence about the problem 

over the coming week 

There has been some conjecture 

over your absence from MG Racing. 

Some believed an ear-infection may 

have prolonged your absence - 

given the balance issues associated 

with this it's understandable. Can 

you shed any light on this? 

My absence was caused by a range of things; one of which we are all familiar with as mentioned 

earlier, but I did have some issues with motion sickness that I spent some time working to resolve. 

Even now I don’t know if that issue has been laid completely to rest as I have not experienced 

the problem for some time and cannot really say that I have done or had anything done to cure that 

most miserable of maladies. 

Plans for the rest of 

the year? Will you 

be contesting any 

more rounds? 

I plan to compete 

in all rounds of the 

MG Road Racing 

Championship and 

Sandown Historics 

this year. Even 

though as already 

mentioned I don’t 

have a car in a fit 

state right now. 



Page 24 

Each issue we pop the bonnet pins 

and ask why the battery is still 

charged to one of the MG Racers 

This month it’s Mark O’Neill 

Name: Mark O’Neill 

Nickname: mon 

Date of Birth: 18 January ‘62 

Job: Real Estate 

Race Car/s: MG B 

Hero/Person you admire most: 

Douglas Bader after reading Reach for 

the Sky as a kid although Jim Stynes is 

pretty close. 



Page 25 

First car: Fiat 125. Looked like a shoe box and drove like one. 

First Race (where/when): Phillip Island in a Healey…not the best sorted 

race car. 

Why did you choose MG Racing: Someone talked me in to it over a few 

beers at the old Coopers Creek Hotel. 

Why do you enjoy MG Racing: Aside from the track time its good fun chewing 

the fat with the like minded. It’s amazing how many problems of the world 

get solved at the meetings. 

Favourite racing moment: Anytime when the racing is tight amongst the mid 

field group. 

Career highlight: Too few to mention. 

Racing ambitions: Too many to mention…start with a sub 2 min at P.I. 

What got you into Motorsport? Vintage rallying with dad. 

Favourite circuit: Phillip Island. 

Favourite Food: Anything cooked by my beautiful wife, Alison (bonus points). 

Favourite Drink: cold beer and big reds. 

Favourite non motorsport achievement: getting a small business up and 

going. 

Can’t live without: Spending time with daughters Molly and Ruby. 

If I had $1 Million I would: Buy property 

One weird thing about me: play the didgeridoo. 

Favourite TV show: at the moment watching the Isle of Man TT racing. 

Favourite Movie: To 

Catch a Thief with Grace 

Kelly. 

What’s in your the CD 

player? Fast; Cruel Sea, 

Died Pretty, Pearl Jam. 

Slow; Donny Hatthaway, 

Etta James. 


Victorian State Circuit Racing Championship 

MG Racing & Invited British Sportscars Pointscore 

VSCRC MG Pointscore 

No. Driver Car Class Cap Points 

1 50 Robin Bailey MG B GT V8 A 4890 214 

2 42 Bob Nordlinger MG C Sebring A 5000 193 

3 40 Neil Hopwood MG B V8 Roadster B 5000 193 

4 17 Adrian Akhurst MG TF Cup B 1796 143 

5 1 Ken Price MG TF Cup B 1796 136 

6 20 Paul Trevethan MG B GT V8 A 4600 119 

7 7 Robert Haywood MG B Roadster C 1868 98 

8 73 Mark Bonnamy MG B GT V8 A 4900 95 

9 51 Rosemary Trevethan MG B GT V8 C 3650 94 

10 25 Rob Whitwell MG B GT V8 A 5000 80 

11 72 Alan Richardson MG B V8 Roadster A 4000 78 

12 36 Ross Kaigg MG B Roadster C 1867 72 

13 32 Rodney Gibb MG TF Cup B 1796 71 

13 19 Chris Gidney MG TF Cup A 1796 67 

15 93 Mandy Parry-Jones MG Midget A 1293 65 

16 16 Matt Barragwanath MG B Roadster A 1998 60 

17 53 Mike Wood MG B GT V8 C 3500 56 

18 18 Greg Hewson MG Midget A 1380 56 

19 5 Peter Sortwell MG B Roadster C 1860 54 

20 68 David Anderson MG B Roadster B 1998 46 

21 10 Richard Milligan MG B Roadster C 1840 46 

21 31 Kim Cole MG F A 1796 41 

23 15 Mark O'Neill MG B C 1840 39 

24 98 Jason Holmes MG TF Cup A 1796 38 

25 55 Peter Brice MG Midget B 1420 36 

26 30 Mort Fitzgerald MG B V8 Roadster A 5000 20 

27 76 Trent Price MG B C 1860 19 

27 16 John Barragwanath MG B Roadster A 1998 17 

29 3 James Hall MG B GT C 1845 11 

30 52 Don Mazzone MG B Roadster C 1860 9 

30 6 Peter Rose MG B Roadster C 1800 8 

32 21 Peter Dunn MG B Roadster C 1860 8 

33 34 Andrew Watson MG B C 1860 8 

34 33 John Makeham MG Midget A 1400 4 

35 96 Jan Jinadasa MG F B 1796 2 

36 69 Michael Herlihy MG F Trophy B 1796 0 

37 8 David Vernall MG B Roadster B 1860 0 

38 56 Aubrey Paverd MG F B 1796 0 

39 66 James Dodd MG B Roadster C 1860 0 

40 43 Phil Cornelius MG B C 1860 0 

Invited British Sports Cars Pointscore 

Pos No. Driver Car 

1 12 Tom Hutchinson Triumph TR8 200 

2 11 Barry Pritchett Triumph TR8 190 

3 77 Ian Cowie Triumph GT6 66 

4 4 Keith Ondarchie Triumph TR4 59 

5 119 Fred Brock Austin Healey 36 

6 44 Alana Ondarchie Triumph Stag 35 


2009 MG Road Racing Championship 

Name Car Class Points 

1 Robin Bailey MGB GT V8 Open-2 315 

2 Adrian Akhurst MG F Cup Car Fast Road-1 292 

3 Bob Nordlinger MGC/V8 Open-2 288 

4 Robert Haywood MGB Roadster Historic-1 288 

5 Ken Price MG F Cup Car Fast Road-1 278 

6 Neil Hopwood MGB V8 Roadster Fast Road-2 273 

7 Ross Kaigg MGB Roadster Historic-1 247 

8 Paul Trevethan MGB GT V8 Open-2 195 

9 Rodney Gibb MG F Cup Car Fast Road-1 195 

10 Richard Milligan MGB Roadster Historic-1 193 

11 Peter Sortwell MG B Roadster Historic-1 189 

12 Rosemary Trevethan MGB GT V8 Historic-2 182 

13 Kim Cole MGF Fast Road-1 182 

14 Mark Bonnamy MGB GT V8 Open-2 175 

15 David Anderson MGB Fast Road-1 173 

16 Chris Gidney MGF Open-1 170 

17 Alan Richardson MGB V8 Roadster Open-2 161 

18 Mark O'Neill MGB Roadster Historic-1 134 

19 Andrew Watson MGB Mk 1 Roadster Historic-1 125 

20 Matt Baragwanath MGB Open-1 122 

21 Mandy Parry-Jones MG Midget Open-1 109 

22 Rob Whitwell MGB GT V8 Open-2 104 

23 Peter Rose MGB Mk 1 Roadster Historic-1 102 

24 Audrey Paverd MGF Fast Road-1 99 

25 Peter Brice MG Midget Fast Road-1 94 

26 Jason Holmes MGF Open-1 92 

27 Greg Hewson MG Midget Open-1 90 

28 Trent Price MG F Fast Road-1 89 

29 Trent Price MGB Historic-1 87 

30 Jim Hall MGB GT Historic-1 86 

31 Don Mazzone MGB Mk 2 Roadster Historic-1 83 

32 Mike Wood MGB GT V8 Historic-2 76 

33 Jim Dodd MGB Roadster Historic-1 63 

34 Phil Cornelius MGB Roadster Historic-1 59 

35 John Baragwanath MGB Open-1 50 

36 David Vernall MGB Mk 1 Roadster Fast Road-1 48 

37 John Makeham MG Midget Open-1 34 

38 Mort Fitzgerald MGB V8 Roadster Open-2 34 

39 Peter Dunn MGB Roadster Historic-1 33 

40 Jan Jinadasa MGF Fast Road-1 28 

41 Mike Herlihy MGF Fast Road-1 20 

42 Trent Price MGF Fast Road-1 2 



Page 28 

Winton Preview 

Round 4 of the 2009 Championship takes us to Northern Victoria and 

indications are that the MG and Invited British Cars grid will be one of 

the biggest seen at Winton in a number of years. 

For the first and only time in 2009 the series heads to a circuit where 

power isn’t the name of the game and the cards will be thrown up in 

the air. The usual V8 suspects will be at the front but this time there will 

be some tough competition with the scintillatingly quick Damien Meyer 

making the trip down from Sydney in the rapid MG Midget. Meyer has 

stunned the NSW sportscar fraternity by snapping at the heals of the 

Lotus brigade and in a recent trip to Oran Park set consistant 1:16’s, the 

same times the Lotus Exige’s are doing! 

There will also be a bit of interest in the impending 5 South Australian 

entries of which two are regular competitors in Rodney Gibb and 

Adrian Akhurst in their MG TF Cup’s, joining them is three new faces in 

MG F Trophy’s. Troy Dontas, Rodney O’Malley and Neil Williams will all 

line up for their first Victorian MG experience. 



Page 29 

A few names are making a return at Winton, Michael Herlihy who will 

step into an MG B GT while he awaits his stallions new engine, Jim 

Robertson will debut his new MG Midget and Peter Dunn makes a welcome 

return at his home circuit. 

Tom Hutchinson will once again make the trek from South Australia and 

is the sole Invited British Sportscar entry but may not get it all his own 

way. Mixing it up throughout the field will be a handful of New South 

Wales competitors. Lets go racing... 

Ken Price 

Trent Price 

Jim Robertson 

Aubrey Paverd 

Peter Dunn 

Bob Rowntree 

Robert Haywood 

Troy Dontas 

Don Bartley 

Chris Gidney 

Mort Fitzgerald 

Rodney Gibb 

Rod O'Malley 

Kim Cole 

Ross Kaigg 

Greg Prunster 

Bob Nordlinger 

Adrian Akhurst 

James Hall 

Rob Whitwell 

Alan Richardson 

Brian Dermott 

Robin Bailey 

Neil Williams 

Damien Meyer 

Michael Herlihy 

David Vernall 

Tom Hutchinson 

MG TF Cup 

MG B Roadster 

MG Midget 

MG F Trophy 







MG B V8 Roadster 






MG C V8 


MG B GT 

MG B GT V8 

MG B V8 Roadster 

MG F 

MG B GT V8 



MG B GT 


Triumph TR8 


Pair MGB front uprights (incl kingpins) fitted with 4-piston callipers which take a 4.75” NAS- 

CAR pad over 304mm Harrop 28mm slotted rotors – price is $1500 OVNO, with a full set of 

piston seals and 2 sets of pads included (Portfield). Rotors and caliper seals are near new (2 

meetings only). 

Call Robin on 0418 551 780 

New 52mm throttle body. 

Upgrade your 48mm to 52mm. 17% bigger and get more BHP and torque. 

Also improves driveability. Suits K series MG F/TF/ ZR 

Only $260, these cost excess of $300 normally. 

jason.holmes1@hotmail.com or 0422-363-055 

MG F Trophy specification and MG F Cup race cars for sale 

Available in various state of preparation, An ideal way to get into MG Racing. 

Come and see both specifications at any MG Racing event. 

Contact Adrian on (08) 8364 4988 

Full MG F and MG B GT roll cages in stock, ready to fit. 

Contact Adrian on (08) 8364 4988 


Inside MG Racing Victoria 

Contributers 

Trent Price 

Paul Vernall 

Pictures: 

Paul Vernall 

Got any feeback? Let us know 

E-mail: mgracermag@yahoo.com.au 

Were on myspace! 

www.myspace.com/ 

mgracingvictoria 

The ‘Ol boys get quite dehydrated, even in winter... 

There are some very odd pre race rituals, and this must surely be one of them. Spotted trying to 

either move the garage or he has lost his glasses and didn’t realize he wasn’t pushing the race 

car after all, since this shot was released Trent Price has been asked to go and take his medical 

again...

Issue 6 - MG Racing

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