ECMC Memberships extended for 2021
Anyone who was a 2020 Member of ECMC will automatically have that membership extended to the end of 2021. New cards will be arriving in the post in due course.
Norman Perren Memorial Trial - Postponed
Well what a year 2020 has been, motorsport was on, then off, then on again and now off again!
Given that Suffolk has been placed in the High Alert/Tier 2 following the lockdown, the organising team has taken the decision to postpone the Norman Perren Memorial Trial until later in spring when hopefully the situation will be more in control. The intention is to retry for Sunday 7th March.
As before keep checking this website and our Facebook page for the latest updates.
Roy Smith - Obituary
Roy Smith 1933 – 2020
Roy Smith, President of Eastern Counties Motor Club, lost his battle with Coronavirus on 30th April 2020.
Roy joined the club in 1952, competing in autotests, road rallies and car trials, often in the Austin A35 he purchased new in 1957.
Roy was Clerk of the Course of the club’s renowned Felixstowe Autotests from 1969 until 1979. One of his proudest moments was in 1977, when the event won the Denis Flather Shield, the award presented by the British Trials and Rally Drivers Association for the best event in the BTRDA autotest championship. It was an achievement he would reminisce about many times in later life.
In the 80’s and 90’s he was a familiar sight in the gold autotest mini special, competing with son Simon.
Roy was also a regular member of the service crew for son Simon in his orange Mk2 Escort rally car, even well into his 80’s.
Roy had tirelessly supported Eastern Counties Motor Club throughout his life.
In more recent times, Roy and Joyce had regularly attended classic events in the A35 that they still owned. Roy always enjoying recounting the history of the car to anyone who was interested.
The Funeral will be at the end of May – limited to only immediate family members due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
A celebration of Roy’s life will be arranged at a future date.
If you would like to make a donation in Roy’s memory, this would be for Alzheimer’s Research UK, which may be sent c/o Hyde Chambers Funeral Home, 5b Kings Road, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3DJ
Norman Perren Memorial Trial - 1st Jan 2020
New Years day 2020 started out bright but cool, perfect for a days motorsport! 29 competitors (get well soon Cutting family) took to the hills, and even though it had rained heavily in the week, the sandy soil in the Seckford field valley had drained well and gave adequate grip once the wet grass had dried out. A good number of clean tests across all classes in the morning, meant some lunchtime adjustments to keep the drivers on the their toes in the afternoon. The changes were perfectly managed (thanks David) as even normally unstoppable Hanman Dellow picked up a few scores. Barry Redmayne was unlucky to pick up a 4 in round 2 when unusually the car cut out in a test, otherwise he turned in a points free day. Tim Hanman kept clean all morning, but almost threw it away picking up a 2 in round 4, another 1 in round 5, but his overall score of 3 was just enough to pip Barry to the overall event win. Barry had to console himself with the Class D win. Class A was won by Dick Lines, despite a last minute change of vehicle. Nick Davey finished with a very respectable score of 28 in the Citroen AX GT to take the Class B honours. John Peterson was using the event as a shakedown for both himself and his Sporting Trials car, the Cap Mk3, and all went well as he was the only driver with a zero score at the end of the day.
Full scores and results are in the link below, also a link to the great photos taken by Andrew Mutimer.