2007 EVENTS

PRIDE OF LONGBRIDGE RALLY

Saturday 14th April 2007

The MGF Register was happy to support the Rover Community Action Trust and the Austin Federation at this year's Pride of Longbridge Rally. This is only the second year the rally has taken place and the number of cars attending had more than doubled since last year so there were approaching 500 cars on the showground at Cofton Park.

We started off  in a  slightly foggy morning at Cherwell Services on the M40 where the groups from the South East Fers and Essex Roadster met up along with some Midlands F power, South Mids Sportsers and Heart of England regional members. You can't keep an Essex boy from his breakfast and several disappeared in to the cafe to have their full greasy's before setting off further up the M40 in convoy towards Hopwood Services  to meet up with the rest of the vehicles taking part in the parade of cars.

Hopwood was already packed when we arrived with every Austin conceivable from Austin Sevens right through to Maestros and Metros . Most cars were either built at Longbridge or had a loose connection with Austin or the factory. It was not long before the service station car park was virtually full of Austin, Rover or MG cars. 

We were please to be joined at Hopwood by Richard Jones, the new MGCC General Manager , who came in the club ZTT pace car and parked with us. It wasn't long before he was meeting and greeting most of our F Register members and any one else who happened to pass by !

As 11.30am approached the cars began to pull out into a long line exiting the Services and heading towards the suburbs of Birmingham. The short run took us past the rather sad site of acres of what used to be the Longbridge factory, now reduced to nothing but piles of dusty rubble as far as the eye could see. It certainly brought home how huge this place was and what it must have meant for the community when it finally closed it's doors in 2005 making 6,500 people redundant. However there is hope - the area is being turned over to housing and a business park, creating more jobs, and the remaining factory has been leased by NAC with the imminent prospect of production commencing again for the MG TF.

Turning into Cofton Park opposite the famous Q Gate at Longbridge we managed to get all our F register cars parked together amongst the myriad of others. It was good to see a large turnout of the Zed cars and representatives from the internet forums.

Several cars of note were present including the Rover 45 Tourer belonging to the Rev Colin Corke who was the Longbridge factoryChaplain and current vicar of Longbridge and also represnts the Austin Federation. This car is based on a Honda Aerodeck( during their brief flirtation with Rover) but was built as a Rover 45 tourer. There is only one other in existence and that was built as a Honda.  Elsewhere there were two gull wing MG ZRs and a trio of virtually identical red Metro convertibles. An Austin Ant was a development of the Mini Moke and there was one amongst a group of other minis . Wolseys were here amongst the Austins with a nice display of Land Crabs and a couple of older MGS with tenuous links to Longbridge !.

It was good to see Gary Hagen, the new Director of Sales & Marketing for NAC and three Chinese Executives taking a great interest in the F/TFs in  the F Register paddock. They seemed particularly interested in  Steve Foster's Trophy 160 and a nice Wedgewood Blue SE.

There was other entertainment on the field from a shooting gallery to live bands and belly dancers to divert our attention form the shiny metalwork and , of course, the fantastic sunshine - factor 50 was definitely needed !

See you next year !