The annual invite to the South Eastern MG owners club PCT promised to be a very damp affair, according to the weather forecast. But it turned out to be a bright sunny autumn day.

This was to be the first outing at a PCT for the MR2 since the sale of my Opel Manta earlier in the summer. Alongside me was my new co-driver David Rose who has taken over the reins since Sam Collins has departed from any form of competitive motorsport it seems!

The MR2 had proved it could be competitive on grass taking a class win at one of the summer Autotests in the hands of Ian Crocker. So we hoped that we would be in with more of a chance than we had been in the lumbering Panzerwagen.

With entrants ranging from vintage MGs up to Chris Scudder’s Seat Ibiza and including quite a few 7Oaks members, it was clear that this was going to be a competitive event. Not a gentle drive in the country with a tartan blanket on the rear shelf.

For those of you who have not done a PCT before it involves driving up a course marked by posts usually winding up a steep incline. The object being to get as far as possible without stopping or hitting a marker. The further you get up the course the less points you score, person with the lowest overall score wins – simple. Classes are defined by the type of drive train the car has e.g. front or rear wheel drive, specials etc.

Four tests were set up on a step bank and each class was sent off to start on one of them. We unfortunately being keen to get going made the mistake of being the first car to tackle test 4. With the grass having not been burnt off we both only managed to score a 7 (we went back later after everyone else had been up and drove easily to the top). The organisers noticed that some cars were hanging back a bit, waiting for the conditions to improve. But after some small encouragement were soon giving it a go.

After a couple of runs we both began to get a better feel for the MR2’s grip and power and started to put some good scores together. Dave’s lack of time in the car was proving to be an advantage to him. Being a little more tentative with the power was stopping the back from stepping out as much as I was getting it to. Which meant he wasn’t clipping as many of the higher scoring markers as I was. Soon he had opened up a point’s gap on me.

Once all the tests had been completed there was a break for lunch while the organisers rearranged the tests and made them more challenging. With the grip improving in the morning many of the cars had been putting in better scores.

It was interesting to see various shiny MGs being spiritedly driven up the narrow tracks between paint scratching thickets with little regard, all in pursuit of a good score. Proceedings were stopped for a short while by one particular MGBGT that had managed to bury itself in some dense undergrowth and had to be manhandled out. The owner didn’t seem too concerned by the damage to his bodywork. That’ll polish out he said. Unfortunately Chris Scudder’s Seat driven by himself and Daren Hall sustained some damage that wouldn’t polish out.

By late afternoon the event concluded with Daren Hall taking FTD, Chris Scudder taking 1^st and Mick Rose 2^nd in class 1, Charles Armstrong-Wilson 1^st in class 3 and David Rose (in my car!) 1^st in class 4.

For anyone who has not tried a PCT I would recommend giving these informal and relaxed events a go. Just don’t do it in anything too shiny.

Thanks go to the MG owners club for a very enjoyable day. I am now looking to only drive other people’s cars next year, as it must make me faster!