First Club Run of 2015
It was a crisp sunny Sunday morning on 22nd March and NIIMC members were keen to get their cars out of hibernation, get them fired up and let them do what they were designed to do – get them out on the open road and let the engines breathe in the fresh spring air.
NIIMC members had been invited to Down Royal Race Course by the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club for an opportunity to mingle with fellow car enthusiasts and exchange ownership stories over a cup of coffee. It was an impressive turnout with a wide variety of cars spanning several decades on show. Amongst a variety of modern Porsche’s there were a selection of MG’s – a TC, a TF, Midgets and MGB roadsters, some classic Ford Escorts – Mexicos and RS 2000’s, a BMW 2002 Turbo, Mercedes SL’s, BMW 635 CSi’s, Volvo P 1800, Renault Clio V6 and a pair of beautiful Austin Healey Sebrings.
The Italian cars did of course attract much attention too – on display were Paul’s Ferrari 430, Johnny’s 348, Dave’s Alfa 147 GTA, James and Richard’s Fiat Coupes, Mark’s Turner’s Alfa GTV, Mark Carson’s Maserati 4200GT and Cyril’s latest interest, his Lancia Delta 2 which he has recently lavished some attention on to sort out the electrical gremlins, tidy up the bodywork and get it running smoothly again.
There were some other Italian cars on display too (always an opportunity for us to attract some new club members) but it was the eight club cars that continued the trip from Down Royal to Kerr’s Tyres in Newtownards. Kerr’s Tyres in conjunction with Really Mean Sounds were hosting an event to celebrate the opening of their new tyre depot in Newtownards. The Ferrari’s led the way as we took the scenic route cross country through Hillsborough to Carryduff, Moneyreagh, through Comber and into Newtownards. We were among the first to arrive and were welcomed by staff from Kerr’s Tyres who invited us to park up and get a complimentary burger and a coffee. We watched as other cars arrived – an interesting mix of modified Japanese cars, lowered VW’s and some modern performance cars including a new BMW M4, Nissan GTR and several Audi RS6 Avants.
Due to other commitments we didn’t have time for a run down the Ards Peninsula but the day’s activities were nonetheless an enjoyable start to the season. We look forward to James organising plenty more weekend runs in the coming months – so no excuses, get your motor running and get out and join us!!
Tim Logan
Club Secretary
