Friends
Many of you are aware that an endurance run for Standard and Triumph cars will
be taking
place in the UK over the weekend of May 6 and 7, starting and finishing at the
Gaydon
Heritage Centre. Some of you have most generously sent me donations towards
this run which
is entirely for charity and hopes to raise sufficient funds to train a guide
dog for a
registered blind person.
The Run itself is some 850 miles in length and has to be completed in 24 hours.
Just for the sake of sentiment, I have pasted below the verbatim text of a
Press Release
being sent out to various local newspapers, radio and TV stations in advance of
the Run.
If there are any UK or even European listers who would like to sign up at this
rather late
stage (there's no entry fee), would they please contact me off-list?
For the rest of you, who can't be there because too much water separates us,
we'll be
taking all of you with us in spirit!
Hopefully, and with the co-operation of the Editor of "The English Channel"
(nudge nudge
hint hint) - a write-up of the event as seen through the windscreen of a TR3A
(by two old
lags who are well old enough and ought to know better) will appear in due
course. I am
reliably informed by the wife of my co-driver that some extensive dieting is
taking place
so that the poor old f**t can get his stomach behind the steering wheel.
Jonmac
PRESS RELEASE
April 10, 2000
THE TEN CATHEDRALS RUN
An endurance run for Charity featuring Standard and Triumph cars will take
place over the
weekend of May 6 and 7, 2000. Starting and finishing at The Heritage Motor
Centre, Gaydon,
near Warwick at 11.30am, the participating cars will spend the next 24 hours
completing a
circular route of some 850 miles in length. They will pass through the
following cities in
this order - COVENTRY, LINCOLN, NORWICH, CANTERBURY, CHICHESTER, WINCHESTER,
SALISBURY,
EXETER, WELLS and HEREFORD - before returning to the finish at Gaydon from
midday onwards
on May 7.
Each of the cars taking part is seeking sponsorship to jointly raise sufficient
funds to
train a Guide Dog for the later use of a registered blind person. The target is
£10,000.
(US$16000). The Charity benefitting from this sponsorship is THE GUIDE DOGS FOR
THE BLIND
ASSOCIATION with its regional centre in Leamington Spa. More than twelve cars
and crews
have already signed up to participate and two of them are more than forty years
old. Quite
apart from the distance of the Run itself, many of these vehicles will be
travelling some
distance both before and after the event. Entrants are coming from as far away
as Kent,
Avon, Greater Manchester, Lincolnshire and Suffolk. Cars taking part feature
Herald,
Spitfire, TR3A, TR6, Stag and several of the larger 2000 and 2.5PI saloons.
John Macartney, the Event Co-ordinator who conceived the event and who works at
The
Heritage Motor Centre, said, "The response we have had so far, has been
excellent. Many
classic car owners are now reluctant to undertake long distance runs of this
sort and I am
particularly grateful to all those who have agreed to join us. The recent
escalation in
fuel prices means each car is now likely to consume at least £125 (US$200)
worth of fuel
to complete the journey. On top of that there will be the cost for meals and
snacks, so
probably there won't be all that much change out of £200 (US$320) per car.
We've had
excellent support from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and hope to
have both
puppies and guide dogs - with their owners at Gaydon to tail-wag and wave us
off and
welcome us home. As we make our way round the route, people who are supporting
us at
locations such as Thetford, Canterbury and Hereford have done much work to
attract local
media and Guide Dog fundraisers too. Sure, it'll be tiring driving cars with
thirty plus
years of historical technology under the seats - but it promises to be a lot of
fun." John
plans to compete in the event himself, together with co-driver Paul Richardson,
in a
Triumph TR3A which is part of The Heritage Motor Centre's unique collection of
classic
British cars.
"I suppose you could say this is an 'official Works entry'," he said. "We are
following in
our father's footsteps. Paul and I worked for Standard Triumph in Coventry and
London in
the 1960's. Our respective fathers also worked for Standard Triumph as well. My
father,
Charles Macartney, joined in 1921, eventually becoming Chief Inspector and
Works Manager.
Paul's father, Ken Richardson, was Development Engineer (Sports Cars) and
Competitions
Manager. Apart from the money we hope to raise for Guide Dogs, we're doing this
run in
memory of our Dads. We'll be driving one of the TR3A's from the Gaydon
collection which
the Managing Director and the Curator have exceptionally and most generously
made
available to us especially for this event. Usually, cars are not made available
for this
type of use, so we're extremely fortunate. I wouldn't be surprised if two
'ghosts' are
with us in the space behind the seats as we complete the trip."
The Ten Cathedrals Run is open to any Standard or Triumph car, regardless of
its age.
Contributions to help swell funds will always be welcome. There is no entry
fee. For
further information please contact John Macartney at The Heritage Motor Centre,
Banbury
Road, Gaydon, near Warwick. Telephone 01926 641188 Fax 01926 641555.
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