MG Car Club Championships Summer Race Meeting at the Mini Nurburgring

Report by DSdigital Photography

30 July 2023

The MG Car Club held its fourth race meeting of MG’s 100th year at spectacular Cadwell Park and had a fine day of close and competitive racing.

The Lincolnshire venue with its spectacular fast turns and undulations in scenic surroundings is appropriately nicknamed the ‘Mini Nurburgring’. MGCC racers from three championships, joined by their Morgan Challenge guests, lived up to the Cadwell challenge with a day of spirited action topped by intense and dramatic battles for championship points.

MGCC Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge

There was drama for the Midgets & Sprites even before the racing started as championship leader, Barnaby Collinson, had a qualifying off that kept him out of both races. Similarly, Richard Bridge, the joint leader in Class E, pulled out of qualifying after hearing a strange noise in his Sebring Sprite. He was unable to resolve the problem and took no further part in the proceedings.

Stephen Watkins claimed pole position for the opening race. However, on the warm-up lap for race 1 he noticed that an oil pressure problem that he’d first spotted in qualifying had returned so he pulled off the grid before the race start. The problem also sidelined him for race 2.

When the lights went out Martin Morris got the lead ahead of James Hughes (Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite) who had inherited pole following Watkins’ withdrawal. Morris then moved clear and looked good to take a comfortable win but, with only two laps remaining, he suddenly slowed and then parked up letting Hughes through to take the win and first in Class E.

Hugh Simpson’s MG Midget was second home and a comfortable Class D winner after Connor Kay, who was his closest pursuer, dropped out late on with a suspension breakage on his Midget. Mark Turner in his Austin Healey Sprite beat Kim Dear’s Midget to win Class H.

When he had been recovered to the paddock Morris was amazed to find that he’d run out of fuel, a total mystery to him as he reckoned he should have had plenty to make the distance and couldn’t find any leaks.

Given what happened in race 1, Morris tried to proceed cautiously early in race 2 which let Hughes get by him for a lap. Morris though soon regained the lead and edged away to take the win ahead of Hughes who again won Class E. Simpson and Turner both took their second class wins of the day.

MGCC MG Trophy Championship Sponsored by Charles Warner MG

Sam Meagher, who joined MG Trophy’s front-running Class A earlier this season surprised himself by taking clear pole position for both MG Trophy races which were sponsored by Charles Warner MG of Lincoln. 

Maegher then he led for much of the opening race. Although he got a good start he missed a gear, which allowed second-placed starter Graham Ross to get ahead. But Meagher managed to reclaim the lead halfway around the first lap.

Ross shadowed Meagher for many laps with Doug Cole in third, the top three running in close formation. Then, at two-thirds’ distance, Ross got on the inside of Meagher into The Mountain and Meagher slid onto the grass which left Ross in the lead and Meagher resuming in third place behind Cole. The trio finished in that order, with Ross grateful to have ended his run of poor luck at this venue. Second-placed Cole received the Millers Oils Driver of the Race award.

Jack Woodcock won the Class B race staying just ahead of the championship leader Tylor Ballard, whose qualifying was compromised by an alternator problem.

The same Ross-Meagher-Cole trio fought for the overall win in race 2, though this time Meagher, again starting from pole, got a poor start and Cole led from Ross followed by the recovering Meagher. 

With overtaking at Cadwell not easy, they circulated in that order for a time. That was until half distance when Graham Ross spun into the grass at Gooseneck and was rather at a loss to explain his error. He resumed in fifth place leaving Cole and Meagher to contest the lead.



On the next lap Meagher touched the back of Cole at Park which put the leading MG ZR 190 off and nudging the barriers. Cole was able to resume albeit in P9. Meagher was then free to take his first win while Ross and Cole recovered to second and fifth overall, P2 and P3 in class. Ross got the consolation of the Millers Oils Driver of the Race award.

The Class B fight was a role reversal from race 1 as Ballard started ahead of Woodcock and was able to lead throughout to claim the class win. Unexpectedly, his win settled the outcome of the 2023 MG Trophy Championship. With two championship rounds still to run at Snetterton in September Tylor Ballard’s points total cannot be bettered and the title is his. Tylor, supported by Simon, his father, have battled through many setbacks during the years since Tylor started racing with the championship. His victory this year is richly deserved and will be applauded by his fellow competitors.

MGCC MG Cup Powered by Cherished Vehicle Insurance

MG Cup championship leader Ian Boulton was absent from Cadwell Park which gifted a great opportunity those trailing him in the Class B standings. Iain Dowler and Dan Ludlow did not disappoint and they engaged in very intense battles for victory in both races. The MG ZR-mounted duo shot off from the front row to lead the way in the first race with Dowler ahead. Dave Nixon meanwhile made a lightening start from the third row in his Rover Tomcat to run third. This aided Dowler and Ludlow as a queue formed behind Nixon for the duration, his pursuers unable to overcome the Tomcat’s straight-line speed.

Dowler and Ludlow meanwhile were glued together out front and at half distance Ludlow made his move. Dowler had a little too much understeer through Barn heading onto the start-finish straight and Ludlow was able to dummy him then bravely passed on the outside of the fast uphill Turn One, Coppice.



They remained tied together for the remaining laps with Ludlow staying ahead to win the race 0.5 seconds and collect the Driver of the Race award. Nixon, third home, got the Class C win not far ahead of second-in-the-overall-table Ashley Woodward’s MG ZS 180, who was seeking to take advantage of leader Boulton’s absence.

The second race was almost an exact role reversal between Ludlow and Dowler out front. This time Ludlow led from pole with Dowler on his boot lid until just before half distance when Ludlow was balked by a Morgan (from the Morgan Challenge which was sharing the track with the MG Cup) and Dowler had the momentum to get alongside and make another brave pass. 

Once again they remained in close contention for the remainder of the race and survived a scare when they hit oil at Barn – Dowler estimated that his slide put him at a 90-degrees to the barrier! But survive he did and went on to win the race and receive the Driver of the Race award.



For much of the way Nixon looked good to double up on his Class C win as he again ran third overall, this time with Simon Lowery’s MG ZS 180 close behind. But Nixon pitted late on when a lot of smoke emitted from his exhaust. So Lowery got the class win with Woodward in P2 again.

The Morgan Challenge – Cadwell Cup

The MG Car Club was joined by competitors from the Morgan Challenge for a non-championship event filling a mid-season gap in their championship schedule.

Both races were won comfortably by poleman John Millbank in his 4/4. He was headed briefly in the first race by Simon Sherry who got a better start from second in his +8 but Millbank was back ahead by the end of lap one and went on to build a healthy 15 second lead from Phillip St Clair Tisdall (Morgan +8) who had moved past Sherry into P2 on lap two. Sherry, who had remained close to St Clair Tisdall, spun out of third place at Barn on lap 10.

Neither Simon nor Kathy Sherry took part in the second race which Millbank totally dominated, beating St Clair Tisdall by nearly a minute.

The final outing of 2023 for the MG Car Club championships will be at Snetterton on September 23rd & 24th. With championships and class positions still to be decided there’s bound to be great competition and exciting racing around the challenging Snetterton 300 circuit.