MG Quiz

The official name of the colour was Blaze Orange, paint code BLVC 16



This is not the car in the question, just illustrating the colour.

See the previous page for the current question set by rog1963 :yesnod:

I'm in pie 1 :woohoo:

On May 27 1971, the 250,000th MGB came off the production line. It was designed with a plaque attending to its historical significance in MG history.

EDIT: Pic

(this is not the pic from actual car - they put plaque on entire batch)

To mark the occasion, MG decided to give this car away rather than sell it in "The Great 250,000th MGB Giveaway." All contestants had to do was visit an Austin MG Dealer to pick up an official entry blank with complete details. The Great Giveaway closed on September 18 1971. The winner was Bill Newton of Mobile Alabama, who I hope is the person in question.

:woohoo: There is no stopping this girl. For full details of the story behind the 250000th MGB take a look at this link

:drive: making fast progress around the chicane, Hari is on the straight and just needs to set her next question. :beer:

What circuit is this the start line of and what is the story behind its creation?
What happened during the first ever race and what did this result in?
Which model MG was the original race dominated by and why? Who, and driving what cars, came 1st, 2nd and 3rd?
When and why was the course terminated?

Well done Hari.
It was indeed Bill Newton being presented with the 250,000th MGB by Michael Dale (Vice President of BL in America) at the Road Race of Champions, Atlanta.
Over 80,000 entires were received in the North American 'sweepstake' which was headed by an ad campaign with the slogan 'A great idea'
As you correctly say also. The whole batch of Roadsters and GTs for the NA market were fitted with a plaque to mark the occasion.

The MGB 250000 question was very interesting and what I found even more intriguing was that in 2000 at the British Car Festival, in Alabama a young man was seen with photos of a Blaze MGB GT in less than perfect condition seeking investors in a restoration of the car. A sign on the roof of the car was the same as the one in the photo above. Yes, the man had the 250,000th MGB built.

The show was at its close and during the confusion, the young man with the photos disappeared. No name, no phone number--nothing.

The whereabouts of this historic car remain a mystery :yesnod:

Sorry to back track, ok the equally interesting new MG Quiz question set by Hari is just up the page a bit. Take a look and see if you can work out :yesnod:

PQD44 wrote:
Take a look and see if you can work out :yesnod:

Oddly enough, I was reading about this yesterday ... or at least, I think I was. Will let someone else have a go though as I haven't got a question at the moment. If it still hasn't been answered later, I'll have a go at it and find a question.

rog1963 wrote: Oddly enough, I was reading about this yesterday ... or at least, I think I was.

Funny... So was I :yesnod: !!

Okay, at the risk of being totally wrong I'm going to have a stab that the race track is Watkins Glen, New York.

A revival of road racing in America was needed after the war. One man instrumental in bringing this about was Cameron Argetsinger.
Argetsinger joined the Sports Car Club of America and in his first meeting with the club in 1947 proposed that they sponsor a race at Watkins Glen. After a lot of work by Argetsinger a race was proposed for 2 October 1948 and the joint sponsors were the SCCA and the village of Watkins Glen.
One problem that had to be addressed was the fact that the race course passed over rail tracks. At first the railroad refused to close the track, but eventually the problem was solved and spectators would see the cars become airborne as they jumped the tracks.
The course was 6.5 miles long, partly paved and partly gravelled. 5000 attended the first event, which was a two race affair. The first race was was a qualifying event for the Grand Prix called the Junior Grand Prix. This 4 lap race would determine the starting positions for the later race.
Eleven MG TCs entered the first race with six of them finishing in the top ten.
The top three finishers were: 1st Frank Griswold / Alfa Romeo. 2nd Briggs Cunningham / Bu-Merc. 3rd Haig Ksayian / MG TC.
In 1950, Sam Collier, who had finished 5th in the original race in a TC, was tragically killed when his car fishtailed and overturned, injuring three others at the roadside also. Then in 1952, a spectator was killed and three injured as a car left the road.
Owing to threats from the State of New York to stop road racing on public highways and problems getting insurance for the course it was decided a new course was needed and it was re located to the town of Dix for the 1953 event. In 1956 the course would change again and then again in 1971.

If I'm completely off the mark, I hope you enjoyed the article

Excellent work Rog :broon:

The circuit is Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course. In 1948, Cameron Argetsinger, with others, persuaded the Sports Car Clud of America (SCCA) and various local bodies including the State Park, the Chamber of Commerce and the New York Central Rail Road Company, to allow a road race of 6.3 miles on public roads. Cameron Argetsinger hailed from Iowa and owned and raced an MG TC.

In the first race, the Junior Grand Prix, Denver Cornett overturned his TC into a stream. A spectator enquired if he was alive and a voice from under the car shouted appropriate words. Stone Bridge was renamed Cornett bridge after this. Cornett was ready to race in the second event with the help of spectators and borrowed parts from other competitors.

The original entries, according to Cornett, were dominated by TCs as it was the latest thing - a sports car.
3rd - MG TC of Briggs Cunningham, driven by Haig Ksaylan
2nd - BuMerc, driven by Briggs Cunningham
1st - Alfa Romeo 8C Berlinetta

These races continued until 1952 when sadly a Cadilac Allard ran into the crowd killing a 7-year-old boy. The race was immediately stopped and there was no further racing on the road.

Over to you again...

Thank you Hari.
I stumbled across some footage on you tube, not sure if you have seen it also, but here is the link just in case

Next question.
From the pictures below, can you tell me the related story: