MG LIVE TO HOST MGF CUP 20th ANNIVERSARY

MG LIVE TO HOST

MGF CUP 20th ANNIVERSARY

A special one-off race to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the MGF Cup will take place on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit as part of the MG Car Club’s premier MGLive! event on June 2-3.

The race, which will take place on Sunday, is being masterminded by established MGCC Cockshoot Cup competitor David Coulthard, with support from the Club’s thriving MGF Register. David is one of the lucky few to own a remaining Cup car and is appealing for suitable cars to join him on the grid.

Open to all competition MGF and later TF models, it’s hoped that around 30 of these mid-engined sportscars will take part. A period history in either the MGF Cup or Abingdon Trophy is not required to enter.

The race will serve a dual function in marking the anniversary of both the BRDC MGF Cup and the MGCC Abingdon Trophy, which ran in parallel and both had their first races on the same day in April 1998 – the former at Silverstone, the latter at Brands Hatch.

The MGF Cup was a high-profile, big-budget affair, supporting British Formula 3 and British GT race meetings, together with the British Grand Prix in 1998 and 1999. One of most famous graduates is 1999 Cup winner Warren Hughes, who went on to race for MG in the British Touring Car Championship and at Le Mans in the MG-Lola EX257.

The MG Car Club’s Abingdon Trophy, meanwhile, focused on the Club competitor, allowing them to convert their road car into a competition vehicle. Drivers competed in a combination of races, sprints and hillclimbs. In 2001, the two championships merged under the MGCC’s umbrella to form the MGF Challenge, eventually becoming the MG Trophy and now catering for a bustling grid of front-wheel-drive MG ZRs.

To reflect the historic distinction between the Cup and Trophy, the revival race will be split into two classes. Slick-shod cars will evoke memories of the Cup racers, while cars on treaded tyres will be run in the spirit of the Trophy.

Organiser David Coulthard said: “As the owner of probably the only regularly-raced MGF Cup car in the UK, the 20th anniversary of the MGF Cup and Abingdon Trophy was too good an opportunity to miss. I would estimate the last race purely for the MGF would have been in 2001. I’m grateful to the MG Car Club, and especially the club’s MGF Register, for giving owners the chance to race again with similar cars. I wouldn’t mind being in the grandstand watching, but being behind the wheel will be better!”

For more information and to register for the race, please contact David via coulthardd@aol.com

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