MG's Kings Of The Track Fly The Flag For British Motor Sport
Published: 5th November 2002
Racers Mark Blundell, Warren Hughes and Anthony Reid, along with rally expert Gwyndaf Evans, were on hand to fly the flag for MG and meet the fans on the stand, which featured road, race and rally machines.
MG's motor sport programme has spanned the classic Le Mans 24-hour event, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and the Junior World Rally Championship in the past two years.
At present, no plans have been confirmed for racing and rallying in 2003, but MG achieved some very strong results in these categories this year.
“We're all very proud to be driving for a British car company,” said BTCC and Le Mans star Anthony Reid.
“We've achieved success both on the track and in rallying. At Le Mans this year, we were the only cars that could compete with the Audi (the eventual winners) although ultimately we didn't finish the race.”
In the ultra-competitive BTCC, two ZS saloon cars piloted by Anthony and Warren chalked up an impressive three wins and many more podium finishes.
Warren, who also drove at Le Mans, said: “It's great to be here at the Show and be able to look around. There's been huge interest today and I think MG have done a great job with their stand - it's attracted a big crowd.
“The Show seems extremely popular… there is a genuine interest in MG's fortunes at the moment and it's great to be part of that.”
Ex Formula One star Mark Blundell, who has competed for MG at Le Mans for the last two years and will be trying his hand at rallying with MG later this month, has been crowned MG's ambassador.
“It's an enjoyable Show and it's good that there are some Motor Sport days,” was his verdict. “We've launched an new car, the X-Power SV, and it's a great occasion to do that here near the plant at Longbridge.”
The Rally of GB this month, around Cardiff, sees Mark trying to get to grips with a front wheel-drive ZR rally car after many years of rear wheel drive racing cars, alongside the more experienced Gwyndaf Evans.
Gwyndaf said: “This is the only round of the championship in Britain and it's many, many years since an MG competed, so it's nice to be part of that.
“We've won a couple of times in the British Rally Championship this year and hopefully we should go strongly in Cardiff.”
Mark added: “Rallying has a huge attrition rate, but this a great opportunity and something I've always wanted to have a go at - it's a lot more difficult than I first imagined!”
On a separate issue, the former McLaren Formula One star called for the changes in F1 to spice up the show for TV viewers.
“Sunday afternoon is where it's at - two hours of Grand Prix Racing should be exactly that - racing,” said Mark.
“The bottom line is that I would like to see less
technology on the cars, so there's more human input from the
drivers.”
