By
Bill & Susanne Stone, nee Mallock
“Wow what a weekend”, sunshine, friends and plenty of racing.
The HRSCC Taupo HRSCC Picnic race meet 6th,7th Dec 2008.
We had a great time and got lots of nice comments from others. So lots of thank yous to go out to the many people who helped make it happen.
The Historic Racing and Sports Car Club whose hard work and organisation meant that the
meeting took place. If it were not for the efforts of the club there would be
fewer places for our cars to run competitively.
Lene Scott and Ray Hawke did a great job of sorting out the vagaries of the new Motorsport
New Zealand
rules and regulations for putting on a racemeeting. Plus coping with the extra entries on the day. Three months planning an
event and then nearly 40% of the entries arriving on the morning of the meeting does not help with the easy flow of the day!
So next year please try and enter a little earlier.
Thanks to Taupo Motorsport Park for hiring us their club circuit
and the Taupo Car Club for the use of their clubrooms. It was great having full
kitchen facilities for the catering and a good place to display the Mallock U.2. history in pictures provided by the Mallock
Club via e-mail.
On the subject of catering, Kim Havill, Enid Service, Lene and the boys on the BBQ did a
wonderful job feeding everyone over the weekend. We ended up with over 90 for the Saturday evening meal and it was really
well done.
Lynn at the Mountain View Motel
put on a special BBQ on the Friday night for those arriving early and staying there.
We just arrived at 6:15pm and everything was prepared and ready to go. It
was a lovely relaxing evening catching up with old friends and U.2. enthusiasts, around 20 in all.
Saturday morning the sun was shining and we set up our U.2. paddock with Ezi-ups, signage
and bunting. The cars that arrived were:
Alan Service McRae U2
Brian Service Mallock U.2. Mk 8
Bill Stone Mallock U.2. Mk 6b
John Miles JRM Sport
Nev McKay Mallock U.2. Mk 18
Errol and Gavin Bateman Mallock U.2. Mk 4 (After
talking with Errol Norris it was decided that this was the first Mallock chassis to be built in N.Z.)
Chris Havill Mallock U.2. Mk 6
Morrie Hogan Mallock U.2. Mk 11
Bill Roughan Mougal Sport
Jamie Aislabie Mallock U.2 Mk 18b
Keeley Putney (driving) Concept U.2. Mk 29
First practice at 11am and then off racing!
Ray Stone, was on hand to take photographs.
There were classes for: Formula Junior, Historic Formula Ford, Super Historics, Saloons
and Alfas.
Three eight lap races for the Sports Racing Cars then the dedicated U.2. race with nine
starters. It was won by Jamie Aislabie's Concept U.2. driven by Keeley Putney
who is currently competing in the Formula Toyota Series, second was Brian Service in his Mallock U.2. Mk 8, a regular contender
with the HRSCC and then third Nev McKay in his Mallock U.2. Mk 18.
Nev is a real Mallock enthusiast
and has a collection of U.2.’s to race in NZ. Australia and Macau. He came out with his wife King and a group of family
and friends from Australia including Kevin
Bartlett, a Tasman Series racer from the late 60’s. The weekend before
Nev competed in Tasman Revival meeting at Eastern Creek
and won the Spencer Martin Sports Car trophy with his 1968 Mallock U.2. Mk 8b.
Back to Saturday and the after-race
mix and mingle, Mallock prize giving and HRSCC club dinner.
I thanked everyone for coming,
especially those brining cars up from Christchurch and Wellington
and said how much my dad, Arthur Mallock, would have enjoyed the relaxed style of going racing.
Bill introduced all the U.2.
drivers and special guests, and some were presented with special Mallock 50th mugs sent from Mallock Sports to
add to our celebrations. Some of those present were:
Errol Norris from Christchurch who is another long time Mallock
enthusiast, and built many of the New Zealand
chassis still in existence.
David and Anne Childs who were visiting from UK.
David has owned Mallocks in the past and was a key player in forming the Classic Clubmans Formula in England. This has certainly helped
keep the company of Mallock Racing/Mallock Sports going after 50 years, which was the reason we were having a special celebration.
David now races a Centaur in the series. www.classic-clubmans.co.uk
He attended the Silverstone Mallock celebrations in August and delighted in seeing so many
U.2.’s all together, around 50.
Rolly Levis, NZ Gold Star Champion in 1965/66. He
and Bill were team-mates racing Brabhams in 1966/67.
Iain Young, motor racing journalist.
Adrian Reynard, who had flown in from U.K.
to support Bill and watch him race. Adrian and Bill were business partners back
in the 1970’s when they set up Sabre Automotive in Bicester, UK. Sabre made parts for Mallocks
as well as many other racing teams. It later became Reynard Racing cars.
Adrian presented the
Arthur Mallock Trophy which Bill and I had commissioned. The wording on the back
reads:
Arthur Mallock
The first Mallock U2 built by Arthur was based on his famous Austin 7 WJ1515. His philosophy was to build competitive
front-engined racecars at low cost. A principle he was never to lose sight of. He designed and built competitive cars for
Clubmans, FJ, F3, F2, FF, Hillclimbs and Sprints.
Cars were manufactured under licence in many countries including NZ. Numerous unlicensed cars were also made. The
family business continues to design and manufacture Mallock’s on this principal.
The Arthur Mallock Trophy
Commissioned by Bill and Susanne Stone (nee Mallock).
This trophy, based on a TRIO (three clubs) 1962 plaque, was won by Arthur in an 1172 Formula race. A win that helped
him secure the championship that year. The HRSCC, as custodians, will present this trophy annually to the person with a U.2.
connection, who best represents Arthur’s ideals.
I made the decision on the day
who would receive it. And the winner was……… Bill Stone.
His car looked immaculate and
the next day won the Brabham Wheel trophy presented by the scrutineers for having the best-prepared car of the meeting. Again
all thanks to the friends and colleges who helped rebuild the car over the last two years:
The late Pete Kerr, who worked at March and then Shadow F.1.
His sister Glens came to Taupo for the weekend with her husband David and they had great
time video filming.
Dewar Thomas was a March employee along with Bill and a F 2 mechanic to Ronnie Peterson,
Phill Jennings who was a past employee Hesketh F.1. as well as March.
John Steenson worked for Mclaren, Nicholson McLaren and Phil Kerr. John was race mechanic for Bill on race day at Taupo and towed the trailer down from Pukekohe.
Ross West, who raced a Lotus 7 and 23b in the late 60’s, then had a fabrication business
in UK that did work for Sabre.
Martin Lucas did a great fabrication job of the swirlpot.
He made his racing debut in a FF Van Diemen at Taupo at the weekend.
Colin Lea who raced Formula V in NZ in 1970’s and now races vintage speedway with
Bill.
Bob Homewood, Hitech Motorsport, Drury.
The car certainly has a great motor racing connection.
Jimmy Stone had looked out some Eibach front springs for Bill and Ross Stone brought them
out when he came to stay with us for Peter Bruin’s funeral. Peter rebuilt
the Mallock Mk 6 that Chris Havill brought to display as well and designing and building the car that Chris drove on the weekend
the Fiat Targa.
Enid and Brian Service kindly brought down their motorhome to use as a base for the Mallock
celebrations and Bill and I enjoyed a glass of wine in those sumptuous surrounding before retiring for the night.
Another sunny morning on Sunday. More competitors
to sign in. 71 racing on Saturday and 69 on Sunday. Three more races for the
Sports racing cars, a picnic lunch and then the U.2. parade. David Childs got
to drive Jamie Aislabie’s Concept U.2., Jamie drove his Mk 18b and Adrian
drove Bill’s Mk 6b. I lead the parade as a passenger to the chief steward
Allan Currie in an open topped Sunbeam Alpine. Great fun.
Steve Habershon came along on the Sunday with some photos of his Peter Bruin built
U.2. after stating on National TV in England
in August that he would be going home to NZ to work on his racecar! There was
a clip about the Silverstone celebrations, which he attended, on the local T.V. news which someone e-mailed me. Steve provided some great photos of that weekend for the Mallock Club website www.mallockclub.com
One more race and then the club prize giving. Bill
got a lemon for having a works team with me being the owner of the car, John Steenson being the race mechanic and Adrian being
the race engineer!
We all had a great weekend.
My last thanks goes to my brother Richard and his wife Sue who have kept the business going
all this time and my dad for designing a car that has stood the test of time and had enabled many, many people to go motor
racing on a shoestring budget.
Susanne.
Have a great New Year.
Next race: Tasman Revival Series meeting Pukekohe 24th/25th January.
