A Burnham-On-Sea team has just returned from France after taking part in the ‘Rallye Monte Carlo Historique’.
Burnham resident Chris Bailey was part of the support crew for a local rally team led by local man Chris Mockridge and John Varney from Bridgwater.
Their Mini 1000 was among 24 cars that set off from Paisley, near Glasgow, on their way to Monaco and were joined by 293 other cars from across Europe.
The 1,500-mile, 14-stage, event took place over eight days and is restricted to car models which competed in the Monte Carlo Rallies between 1955 and 1980.
The team had the main objective – apart from finishing – of raising as much as they could for The Alzheimer’s Society.
Chris told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “It was a great experience, a wonderful event when I met some wonderful people from various countries.”
“My role in the support crew was to repair anything that went wrong – and we had problems with the throttle linkage at one point and an exhaust leak – but generally it went very well.
“We managed to qualify and finish – it was a great to take part over the eight days.”
In the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s Chris Mockridge and John competed in many stage and road rallies not only in the South West, but also in Wales and also on the Isle of Man.
“Not a lot is known about this Mini except that it has spent its life on Malta. It started off as a Mini 1000 and at some time an enthusiast fitted a 1275cc engine.”
“The Mini was recently found in its dusty state and had not been used for a long time.”
The car is due to go on display in the Angel Place shopping centre in Bridgwater in coming weeks.
The crew raised funds for Alzheimer’s, a debilitating disease, since Chris’ Father passed away from it, and a relation of John’s is also suffering from the disease. See https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/operationuad for more.
Pictured: Support team members Bob Coombes, and Chris Bailey with driver Chris Mockridge and Co-driver John Varney (photos Mike Lang)
