British Car Day, Gingin
and
Rolls-Royce Owners' Club Concours d'Elegance

Sunday 18 May 2008

It's that time of year again - break out the Simoniz, plug in the Dustbuster, and don't forget the Windex - it's our annual Concours d'Elegance, held in conjunction with the British car Show at Gingin, just a month away!

Gingin is a pleasant village with a large park - Granville Park - which hosts this annual auto extravaganza. Just head north on Great Northern Hwy, hang a left at the Muchea Turnoff leading to the Brand Highway; up the Brand for quite a few miles, long and straight; turn off to the right at the Gingin signpost, head north, through the roundabout and into town, then turn LEFT immediately after the railway level crossing. It's a bit over a one hour drive - longer if you are coming in your 1904 10 hp 2 -cyl Royce (cruising speed 15 mph), but no effort at all in a Phantom 1 or a Silver Cloud.

The R-R Owners' Club site is conveniently close to the cold beer and excellent counter lunches of the local Pub! There's shade under the trees, mellow autumn weather, and herds of British cars in their amazing diversity. I always visit our colleagues at the Bentley Drivers Club tent, admire the Aston Martins, goggle at the Jags, and hunt down the oddballs which often appear - when did you last see a Berkely B65? Or a Bond Bug? or a Davrian? I've seen them all at Gingin.

And of course it's Judgment Day! Our esteemed judges do not deduct points for road dust accumulated on the voyage north, but will deduct points if you forget to scrape the squished Austin 7 out of your tyre treads... (How did that get there??)

There will also be the ever popular informal judgment of non-concours cars, so remember your speedo mileage, make sure your spare is pumped up and you know the pressure, that you have the glove box manual in the glove box, and Nellie in her Nightie on the top of the radiator where she belongs.

(For those who are interested in these things, the long straight at Muchea is where the late Clem Dwyer set several motorcycle speed records in the 1950s. And if you go home via Mooliabeenie and Bindoon instead of due south (a more entertaining drive, and fewer 30 mph mobile chicanes) you will drive past the old Mooliabeenie motor racing circuit, used during the early 1950s. Here motorcycle world champion Geoff Duke stunned the locals with his speed and skill on his Gilera.)