End of Mini Production- We are sad to mark the end of Mini production at Longbridge on
October 4th after 41 years and well over five million cars. BMW's
replacement is regarded by many as a not real Mini but a fashion
statement or a "1 Series" BMW.
Mini Clubs are joining forces to mark the event around the world with funeral
processions from 19:00 UTC on Wednesday. Please see
subzero.demon.co.uk for more information.
[20001001]
New Membership Secretary- Melanie Garland officially took over as membership secretary of the
Mini Marcos Owners Club from Richard Porter on October 1st, 2000.
See the club Contacts page for details.
Richard Porter will look after publications including the web site,
books and back numbers of the club magazine.
[20001001]
Marcos Euregio Meeting, September 10th, 2000- The third "Euregio Marcos Meeting" in Holland was another howling
success, thanks to a lot of hard work put in by organiser Maarten
Krikken, and generous sponsorship from Eurotech Group which now
produces the Marcos race cars and components for the road cars which
are still finished in the UK.
The event took place around the town of Venlo in the south of the
country. An inpressive array of Marcos, Mini Marcos and Mini Jem
cars assembled in Arcen for the Concours d'élégance
and a superb lunch, after which we set of in convoy for the Eurotech
factory in Venlo. There we were entertained by Eurotech boss Wim Noorman,
his wife and some of the staff who gave us a comprehemsive tour of the
factory which undertakes specialised casting and machining work for
various industries outside the automotive sphere.
Eurotech's involvement with Marcos came about whenit was approached
by leading Marcos driver Cor Euser to improve the competitiveness of
his race cars. The end result is that the Marcos race cars for the
Dunlop Mantis Challenge and GT series built at Venlo, and the factory
also produces the spaceframes and specialised components for the road
cars. We were able to see the Marcos workshops and also the race engineer's
office where race data from the cars' black box recorders are analysed.
At the end of the tour the prizes for the Concours were presented
in the form of Marcos LM models cast in aluminium alloy at the factory.
Melanie Garland won the Mini Marcos class with her Mk. V. Richard
Aerdts's Mk. III was second and Richard Porter's Mk. 2 Jem was third.
If you would like to participate in next year's event please contact:
[20000930]
Marcos Euregio Meeting 2000- The third "Euregio Marcos Meeting" in Holland this year is scheduled for
the weekend of 9th and 10th September. We invite the members of the Mini
Marcos Owners Club and all Marcos clubs to participate in this
meeting, wich will take place somewhere in the south of Holland.
Our first two meetings took place for the Sunday only, because the
distance to the meeting place was within easy reach of the Dutch, Belgian,
French and German participants. When we can count on more visitors from
Britain this year, we will also arrange a program for the Saturday.
Although we have thoughts about the program for this year, it is not
complete for the moment. A visit to Eurotech in the town of Venlo, the
Dutch factory were Marcos build their bodies, is part of the program,
with a lot of models to show. As we had before there will be a handicap
treasure hunt in the spendid scenery of Limburg. Also there
will be an concours were we shall choose for the most beautiful (Mini)
Marcos of the year. We also hope that Claus Tweddel will bring
his immaculate fastback and Gullwing as he did last year.
The entry fee for the event will be between 10 and 15 pounds Sterling.
If you would like to participate please contact:
Watch out for further details on this site, and see our pictures
of last year's meeting.
[20000527]
National Rally 2000- The MMOC has been invited to join Club Marcos International and
the Marcos Owners Club for their National Rally on July 1st and 2nd.
The event starts at the Curborough sprint venue on the Saturday, and
then moves to Donington Park Circuit for the GT meeting on the Sunday.
There's also a round of the Mantis Challenge series. Details will be
sent to MMOC members in the UK shortly. Overseas members intending to
visit the UK for the event should contact the club secretary.
[20000504]
National Kit Car Show, Stoneleigh- We had a good club turnout for Stoneleigh, though it was by no
means a record. Around 14 cars appeared on Sunday and fewer, but some
different ones on Monday. Star of the show was undoubtedly Alan Jefferey's
stunning turbo Kingfisher Sprint which made it's show debut at the event.
Actually, in concours terms I would have placed it second to Dave Pounder's
immaculate Mini Marcos 850 which we have seen before but it's always nice
to see a newly restored car hitting the scene.
The exhibition area was not as packed as it was a few years ago. The
effects of the SVA and job uncertainty because of the strong pound are
no doubt having their effect, but there were nevertheless some interesting
vehicles on display including a replica 4.5 litre Bentley Speed 6.
[20000504]
MMOC Annual General Meeting- The club's AGM took place at the Stoneleigh show on 30th April.
Richard Porter stood down as Membership Secretary and this post will
be taken over by Ian Hayward or Melanie Garland with the other one
looking after Regalia. Richard will continue to handle this year's
renewals prior to the handover. David Pounder takes over the post of
Archivist and Historian from Gilles Baillarguet who is no longer active
in the club. Other posts remain as before.
MWS Alive and Well!- Contrary to reports in one magazine, Midland Wheels was very much
alive and kicking at the Stoneleigh kit car show. Apparently all that
happened is that the company changed its status from limited company
to sole trader.
[20000504]
Kit Car Action Day Cancelled- Castle Combe Exhibitions has
announced that the traditional Kit-Car Action Day in September has been
cancelled this year. Instead, kit cars are being lumped in with the Cars
& Car Conversions and Golf Action Day on 17th June. The Classic &
Sportscar and Mini World Action Days are on 9th and 30th September
respectively. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Wiltshire circuit
which was formerly a World War II airfield.
Stafford Show - March 11th-12th- The Mini Marcos Owners Club had a stand at the Stafford Kit Car Show
on March 11th and 12th. Six cars and their owners represented the club:
Mini Marcos Mk. 3 (Ian and Guy Hayward), Mk. 4s (Andy Wright, Allan Brown),
Mk. V (Roger and Melanie Newman), Mini Jem Mk. 2 (Richard Porter), ABS
Freestyle (Mike Brown).
Mark Jackson's Mini Marcos Mk. 3 made its show debut on Sunday in the
outside display area. We also noted a Mantara, two Mantulae and a V6
coupé. Amongst the Mini variants were two McCoys, a Berkeley
(still for sale) and various GTMs and Midases. Just inside the entrance
was a very smart Minus which had only just been completed.
Sunday was the busier day and the halls remained crowded untill after
three. Vindicator unveiled a new car - the 2000 sprint, and Quantum had
a cut-away version of their Extreme clubman car. Altogether it was an
interesting show and a good curtain-raiser to the season.
[20000312]
Marcos Restructuring- At the end of last year the club received a press release from Marcos
announcing a "comprehensive restructuring" but giving no information
about what it actually involved. Since then various other pieces of
information have helped to fill in the jigsaw.
Our understanding is that a group of Dutch investors which includes
Cor Euser has bought a substantial stake in the company. This looks more
like a rescue package than a restructuring, the result being that after
last year's London Motor Show 25 of the firm's 36 staff were given four
weeks' notice of redundancy.
Marcos chassis, bodies and race cars are being built by Euretech in the
Netherlands, and only the fitting out of road cars is now done at Westbury.
In an article in the current Mini Marcos Owners Club magazine, club
secretary Roger Garland attributes the companies problems to the cost of
developing the flagship Mantis GT and mounting the Motor Show display,
coupled with the high price of the pound. With price tag of over UKP
64,000 it's not surprising that Marcos had difficulty in attracting
sufficient orders for the GT at a time when economic conditions are making
life difficult for all car manufacturers.
[20000304]
Marcos Mailing List Created- A new electronic mailing list to facilitate the discussion by e-mail
of all aspects of Marcos cars plus Mini Jem and Kingfisher Sprint has
been set up. You can post messages to the list, and receive and reply to
messages posted by all members of the list.
For full details and joining instructions please follow
this link.
[20000119]
Claude Ballot-Léna 1936-1999- Motoring News this week reported the
death of Claude Ballot-Léna from cancer. He co-drove the Mini Marcos
in the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race with French garage owner,
Jean-Louis Marnat. It was the only British car to qualify as a finisher that year.
- Ballot-Léna was a regular competitor at the Sarthe circuit and
was still competing in 1989 (in a Porsche) when the MMOC organised a trip.
As recently as 1998 was driving in the "6 heures historiques du Mans". He
was greatly respected and although perhaps not as well-known as Le Mans
legends Henri Pescarolo and Derek Bell, he was not far behind.
[19991216]
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