A humble MGB fully loaded with memories
MGB’s. Lightweight, nimble and pretty much the definition of the classic British sports car. They tick a lot of boxes, but If I’m to tell the truth, it’ll be that I was never really a big fan of them. For me, there has always been a feeling around them that I couldn’t quite put my finger on and I’ll happily admit now that I never really appreciated MGB’s for what they were actually about. Little did I know that I was set to be converted when I was invited by my good friend Simon Alexander to a weekend at Spa Francorchamps for a few sessions in his MGB race car.
Although it was going to be my first time doing laps at Spa instead of shooting images trackside, the same couldn’t be said of the MGB that was in the trailer behind us. Despite starting out its motoring life in 1963 as a standard MGB roadster, ‘358 HYW’ has for the last 30 years, had a very exciting life.
The story begins in the 1980s when Simon and close friend Andrew Boggis purchased a MGB roadster from their economics teacher at Bishop’s Stortford College as a restoration project to be completed in the school sheds. As Simon recounts - “Soon into the project, we decided that I would take ownership of the car and fund it, leaving Andrew to wait a couple of years before buying another MGB - ‘358HYW’, which is the car that we have now owned (between the two of us) for over 30 years, Andrew’s dad also had a strong interest in motoring and motorsport and so we both ended up sharing an interest for (now) 40 years, since meeting at school at the age of 13.
Despite Andrew moving to Paris in 1991, ‘The B’ went together with him and the decision was made in 1993 to convert it into a race car. After obtaining his race license Andrew “then set out on a series of races over the next 12 years that took him to circuits like Dijon and the Nurburgring, many of which I attended with my father and members of Andrew’s family. Now that my father has departed, those memories remain firmly fixed in my head as the best of times”. Simon fondly remembers.
Being surrounded by motorsport people and an MGB that could clearly handle the track, it was only a matter of time before the racing bug got to Simon, and since 2002 he has also gone racing across the UK and Europe with the B. “The files of invoices and documentation now stack up to 3 volumes with further files and folders - I daren’t add it all up.”
Without too much worry about retaining the car’s original specification and a greater focus on having a better driving experience, Simon recalls how the B has been built to various specs throughout its racing history and some of the most memorable moments in it. “Any race car that has survived 30 years will inevitably have a ‘Trigger’s broom’ (a UK expression and one to google) element to it and we have gone from 1798cc to 1950cc and back to 1840cc FIA Spec but I still get the same sense of enjoyment from it...I suppose one of the biggest memories have to be starting my first Spa Six Hour race in 2002. Pierre-Alain Thibaut, our co-driver, put the car onto the grid in 22nd position. With 65 cars behind me, I will never forget that first lap...It wasn’t until a few years after meeting Pierre that I realised he had been a Belgian Touring Car Champion. No wonder he was so fast!”
From road cars to race car, this MGB has played a large part in a 40 year friendship between two friends, brought countless memories to many more and has a story club that racers around the world will be able to relate to. Despite my initial feelings, I could already sense my opinion of this quintessentially British sports car was changing. Now feeling a sense of privilege to have been asked to do some laps in this special car, I was excited to give it a go and find out what MGB’s were truly about. It goes to show that even the humblest of race cars can leave a big mark…And that’s before I've even had a chance to sit in the driver’s seat. (Click here for Part 2)
*Period images courtesy of Simon Alexander.
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