NEC CLASSIC CAR SHOW NOVEMBER it was a GREAT SHOW hope you made it there for a browse and said hello.
Our stand at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Car Show at the NEC Birmingham from Thursday 10th to Sunday 12th November this year was well attended both old friends and new, a special mention has to be made on the work put in to the commemorative display of Brian Culcheth’s career and achievements.
Full show report and images to follow very soon here.
The HMRG stand this year commemorates the career and achievements of historic rally driver Brian Culcheth, who passed away in September 2022, and his navigators.
Brian Culcheth was a great support to us and was a significant driver in period. We decided that this year our HMRG stand will pay tribute to Brian and to his co-drivers, and we have support from Brian’s family with material provided by them.
Over that weekend we would like to see at the Show as many of Brian’s fellow competitors, friends and family members, together with anybody who knew him, competed against him, worked on his cars, or was a fan, of which there are plenty.
We had 5 cars at the show, Mini Cooper, Triumph Dolomite, 2.5 PI, TR7 and Opel Kadett.
Lucy Lowe and Oli Culcheth, Brian’s Daughter and Son and families are very much involved in this and will be there most of the weekend.
It would be nice to get as many people there as we can.
Brian’s first international event was just five years after passing his test at the age of 22; only three years later he was co-driving with Roger Clark in a TR4 on the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally. Brian went on to become one of the most successful factory drivers, remaining at the forefront of rallying for over 20 of the sport’s globally significant years, and competing in more than 125 national and international rallies. Notably, Brian was the first non-Scandinavian to be victorious on Finland’s 1,000 Lakes Rally.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and If you are at the NEC in November please come and make yourself known to us in Hall 4, stand 470 next door to the Stag Owners Club.
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The HMRG stand features significant cars with strong connections to Brian.
In the Opel Kadett GT/E on the stand, Brian Culcheth and co-driver Johnstone Syer followed their successes by winning all seven of the events that comprised the international Group One Rally Championship in 1978. This car was the flag bearer for Dealer Opel Team, nicknamed “Little Magic” as it made motoring history in Brian’s hands.
The Triumph Dolomite Sprint on the stand was the most famous of the Works Dolomites built to Group One specification by the Leyland Special Tuning Department at Abingdon in 1974. 2nd overall in the 1975 Tour of Britain and 1st in Group One in that year’s Lombard RAC Rally with Brian Culcheth and Ray Hutton at the helm, and subsequently driven to further success by Tony Pond with David Richards in 1976.
The Morris Cooper 1275 S on the stand is the BMC Works Mini of 1964 driven by Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer in 1966 and previously driven to notable success by Timo Makinen, Paddy Hopkirk, Rauno Aaltonen and Henry Lidden. Prior to Brian’s death in 2022 the car was purchased by Brian and his family, which was hugely significant for them, and the Mini featured at Brian’s funeral.
The 1976 Triumph TR7 is a tribute car to KDU 497N, reproducing how it was for the 1976 Welsh Rally and driven successfully by Brian Culcheth and Johnstone Syer on many events in 1976 and 1977 including the Manx Trophy, the Tour of Elba, Mille Pistes and the Tour de Course.
Visit the stand and see the cars: Hall 4 Stand 470
The next major HMRG event is the 50th Anniversary Reunion & Marathon Rally Car Show, featuring the 1974 UDT London – Sahara – Munich World Cup Rally, at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, on Sunday 21st April 2024. This will be a reunion of Historic Marathon and rally cars and their crews, and all classic rally cars will be welcome.
Media enquiries:
Andrew Bradbury, Chairman :- [email protected] 07887 735 833
FB: groups/HistoricMarathonRallyGroup
www.historicmarathonrallygroup.co.uk