Triple Play

By Ken Smith

Moss Motors might be in their 60th year, but you can’t say they don’t get around. The first weekend in May saw the Moss crew scattered across the USA at three major venues. We reported on their attendance at HSR Classic Motorsports Mitty in our last issue. However, during that same time period, Moss was active at Britfest in Succasunna, N.J. Nearly 140 British classics gathered under somewhat cloudy skies to celebrate Jaguar, the featured marque. The Jaguar Auto Group provided a new Jaguar XF for attendees to admire. 

The star of the show was Mark Golding, who drove his double-deck 1962 Bristol Lodekka Bus to the show. Best in Show went to Van Horneff for his lovely 1936 MG P-Type, while other major awards went to Garry Perrault for his 1969 MGB and Jonathan Stein for his superbly restored 1959 MGA Twin Cam Coupe. MG Car Club Central Jersey Centre was fortunate to have both Moss Motors and Castrol as major sponsors. Giles Kenyon led the Moss contingent, while Bruce Firkins was Castrol’s main man. Our thanks to Charlie Tregidgo for this report.

At the same time, 3000 miles away on the West Coast, Moss made their annual pilgrimage to Buttonwillow Raceway for the 13th Annual Moss British Extravaganza, an event held in conjunction with VARA. Thanks to the economic climate, the event saw a slight downturn in attendance compared to previous years, but there was still a fine turnout of competition cars. Twenty-two races were held during the weekend.

Lots of thrilling activity under warm skies culminated in a car show that saw a gathering of more than 60 of Britain’s finest. Gene Roth once again emerged as Best in Show with his beautiful 1949 MG TC.

Many took advantage of the track drives, while a Saturday night slalom attracted the diehard competitors. Next came barbecue and karaoke that lasted until the wee hours. One more dose of racing on Sunday concluded this most laid back of events.