On Wed, 29 Oct 1997, Alexander Joseph H wrote:
> Andy & FOT
>
> Now that I have started another flurry of activity, creating vast
> amounts of work for everyone concerned, I'll step aside and support in
> everyway that I can. I assume that you may be in touch with Minnesota
> Triumphs. You can copy me if you wish. I "know" Andy Lindberg and am his
> unofficial "Iowa Correspondent" for his award winning Newsletter...a
> newsletter almost as good as the Manteno Brothers.
I suspect you'll get no argument from Andy, or Pam, or anyone else in MN
Triumphs! Besides, if we in VTR make this "mandatory", then they're stuck
with it. OK, I'm starting to really enjoy the irony! :-)
> I like your proposal. It appears to be thoughtfully written. While I
> have not been terribly active in VTR in the past, it DOES seem amazing
> that there hasnt been some kind of attention paid to the competition
> side of the Triumph heritage.
Aw, geez, ANOTHER pot-shot at VTR! :-) :-) :-)
> I think Hardy Prentice made a comment
> early on about that "people need to understand that our competion
> Triumphs will aid in perpetuating the marque". This maybe badly
> paraphrased. (Sorry Hardy)
>
> Andy, there is a little hotbed of activity of "racing Triumphs" in the
> area and this could be fun. Maybe it would temper the seriousness of
> concours a bit, too.
Concours events for racing vehicles are nothing new, right? Seems to me
that such a tradition goes back many, many years -- competition events
would be followed by a Concours? And, although you didn't hear this from
me, Andy Mace, President of VTR, I agree that we (the generic "we" that
is) could stand to lighten up just a wee bit in Concours.
> While I am thinking about it, Doug Karon of Minneapolis has one of Bill
> Ames' Ambros. He has megabucks in this thing and it looks awesome. This
> would be a hit, also. He has not raced it lately and I have only spoken
> to him once, but given the proximity to Minneapolis, perhaps we could
> get him to come down for the weekend or day.
Of course, he'll have to run the car in some event in order to qualify for
a VTR Concours!
As for my own perspective on this, two points.
1. I thought that the situation as handled in Fort Worth was wonderful
and, in some ways, the very "shot in the arm" that was needed for these
Concours events.
2. Echoing Hardy's paraphrased sentiments, and remembering my own past
experiences at VTR National meets, I can say that I along with many others
went stark-raving bonkers in 1985 when the TRS made an appearance at the
ISOA VTR National. There is that feeling you get when you stand
face-to-grille with something you read so much about and saw formerly only
in pictures or old factory publicity films. That feeling kinda makes one
forget about 60+ TR6s in a row, etc. :-)
And while one might argue the overall marketing benefit of Ford's
participation in racing, I think it's far more difficult to ignore the
importance of competition in the history of a marque such as Triumph. When
you see a preserved race car such as one of the TRS cars, or Hardy's
current TR3, or a scruffy parking lot warrior such as the Hardly Boys
RaceSpit 4, it brings things back into focus, at least for me. And it's
even better when you can meet and chat with an owner or driver, as I've
felt fortunate in having done over the years with folks like Ken
Richardson, Mike Rothschild and Bob Tullius -- and folks like everyone on
this list.
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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