The Lancaster Insurance MG Owners’ Club Race Championship has been waving the flag for production based MG racing for over forty years

The first ever MGOC Championship race took place in June 1981 at Brands Hatch, a track that has been graced by many prolific racing drivers over the years, including Jim Baynam who first started racing in 1981 and continues to race to this day. In addition to his long and successful racing career he has also run the MGOC Race Championship since 1987. We caught up with Jim to find out more about this fantastic championship.

How did the race championship come about?

“When I was thinking about starting racing there were a number of opportunities to race “standard production” saloon and sports cars but these were high profile dealer/manufacturer sponsored series with big names where dealers would promote their new cars through motor racing. There were opportunities to race an MG but these mostly focused on higher specification cars with expensive performance related modifications.

Dave Jarvis who was heavily involved in the club at that time, and who still is a good friend of the club, saw an opportunity to create a championship for production based MG’s where expensive performance modifications would not be allowed. Dave and Roche Bentley approached the British Automobile Racing Club and the Championship principles were quickly put in place and the first MGOC race took place at Brands Hatch on 7^th June 1981, I was in that race in the MGB I still own and race to this day.”

What types of MGs do you have racing in the championship?

“Initially it started with MGB and Midget but in the mid 1980’s the MG Maestro became available and proved to be a highly efficient and cost effective way to race a current production MG saloon car. A few years later the MGF was launched and it wasn’t long before they were being turned into race cars and they were admitted to the championship in 2000. The ZR160 hatchback followed in 2003 and remain hugely popular to this day.

The different models run in distinct classes but they all race together and it’s good to see different era’s of the MG marque all racing together.

The championship is for “standard production” based cars with minimal modifications permitted and all cars have to remain largely as per the original factory specification. Technical modifications are clearly defined within the Championship Regulations and primarily involve uprating suspension and brakes and whilst some modest performance upgrades are allowed, these are kept to a minimum. The cars must all run the standard safety modifications as specified by the Motorsport UK.

All cars have to use Toyo 888R tyres, these are a high performance road legal tyre and are available to registered competitors at a discounted price as part of a long term relationship with Toyo Tyres UK.”

The championship runs four Classes:

• Classic Class: MGB, MGBGT, 1275 Midget/Sprite, 1500 Midget
• Class B: MG Maestro/Montego, ZR160 (roadgoing specification)
• Class F: MGF, MGTF
• Class Z: MG ZR160 (race specification)

Why are MGs so popular for racing?

“In the early/mid 1960’s MGBs were racing all over the world and the MG factory at Abingdon were entering works prepared cars at major events including Le Mans, Nurburgring and Sebring. The Abingdon works prepared cars always punched above their weight and had many notable successes. The same applies today and MGB’s are still incredibly popular in club racing and historic racing and there are still hundreds, maybe thousands, of them in various championships all over the world.

There are a few simple reasons why MGs are so popular with the racing fraternity. They’re readily available, cost effective to run, handle well and have good steering and brakes all of which means they consistently punch well above their weight against more powerful and sophisticated race cars. A well prepared MGB that is driven by a good driver will compete at a level where perhaps you wouldn’t expect them to.

The later K series engine cars have become extremely popular. The MGF/TF are popular and there are plenty them to be seen in UK club racing. The ZR hatchbacks are highly effective race cars and with cars available from £5,000 they represent remarkable value.

There is something of a challenge when it comes to racing the current range of modern MGs. There isn’t really anything available to replace the cars we currently race in the championship. With the MG3 they changed to focus on economy rather than speed, which means they simply aren’t popular as race cars. The focus now moving rapidly towards electric and hybrid cars and with the current pace of technology in those areas who knows what we will be racing in the coming years.”

What's your favourite car you've ever had in the championship?

“I’ve owned and raced MGBs and Midgets but of course my own MGB will always be my personal favourite. I’ve owned it since March 1981 but it was first raced in 1976 and it has been raced every year since. It has a well recorded history back to 1976 and has been entered in well over 500 events through to the present day. It is widely regarded as one of the most raced MGBs in the world!”

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about getting involved? What support is there for people who want to learn how to race?

“We were all novices once and the MGOC championship prides itself on introducing new drivers to the world of club level motor sport. We’re proud of our roots and offer a route for people to start racing at a relatively low cost – you can by a race ready ZR or MGF for around £5,000 with MGB’s fetching a little more. New drivers are given all possible help and encouragement from first enquiry through to getting on the grid for their first race.

MG Owners’ Club have a scheme to offer some financial assistance to new drivers under the age of 20 who are in full-time education to support them with getting into the championship. I’m usually the first point of contact for new drivers and I will mentor them, advise them where to spend their money wisely, help them get a competition license and provide them with whatever help and information they need to get started.

Racing is very addictive and once people get started, they tend to stay racing with us for many years, we have many drivers who have all been with the championship for well over 20 years which is testament to the affordable fun and camaraderie you get at all levels of MG racing.

Success on track rarely comes quickly but with a reasonable degree of commitment and dedication a new driver will learn and progress up the grid without spending vast amounts of money but the main reason we do it is of course for the fun, camaraderie and of course the on-track competition. There is a very welcoming atmosphere in the championship, we’re really just weekend racers doing it for fun and good competition.”

If you would like to enquire about getting involved in the Lancaster Insurance MGOC Race Championship, you can contact Jim at baynam@btinternet.com