Bettabuilda, only recently seen the build thread on your car, amazing the way it’s turned out, very smart indeed, you must be very pleased, well done. What’s next for it?
Well, a win at the National would have been nice
seriously though, only two points difference meant I wasn’t even in the running this year! The standard was so high winner Wolves mx5, was definitely a winner, beautiful car!
I would love to get cams, manifold, remap for a bit more oomph, even nicer would be a Corten Miller supercharger install. Neither of which will probably happen though 'tis but a dream.
thanks
Barrie
Again it must be an impossible job to judge the two cars in the same category.
Regarding the supercharger:- just do it…there are no pockets in shrouds.
Grant, it’s a Eunos s-limited so should have won best in show,
Unfortunately the judges didn’t see it that way.
The car let me down or maybe it was the other way round,
I lost a mark for creased seats, a scratch on the top of the nearside rear fitting (not on the lens)…that I still can’t see with naked eye.
The alternator was dirty and the windscreen trim had a 1mm split on the outer edge.
Oh and the inside of the filler cap was dirty…my fault I didn’t have time to detail it before the show.
I won’t be repeating the experience. As you have probably read above the categories don’t always fit the cars and I had very stiff competition. The winner deserved the award. I unofficially came 5th with a score of 292 out of 300.
Maybe this is the catalyst for selling the car and starting a new project.
Grant
Is it a concours d’elegance competition then? If that’s all that’s wrong with it then it must be the best s-limited in the world.
I had planned to go to ragley and was looking forward to seeing your car but my daughter swapped her choice of university to Colchester and had to be in over the weekend…
On the day, I chatted with Grant and he showed me around his car. No expert am I but who is? I think he has a lovely car and the small stuff as Kuro says, can be rectified for not a lot of money. I would keep the marking sheets for the next rally comp, deal with the bits and get entered again, probably in a different class? Hopefully judging related folk may read this thread and who knows…
Barrie
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Is it a concours d’elegance competition then? If that’s all that’s wrong with it then it must be the best s-limited in the world.
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Oh no no no…
The scoring is only in the context of the preset scoring criteria that has been set by the club.
I would never claim “Best S Limited in the world” because it clearly isn’t.
As you know with a 25 year old car there are always things to do. I’m not happy with many aspects of the car but in my ownership I will always spend a few ££££s to keep it in a good condition.
I really do not want to be seen as whinging about the scoring because the judges decision is final. That is what they determined after judging all the cars in the category.
My point which I had hoped I had made was that I can’t see how my car could be judged/scored against some of the others in the category. Clearly there is a difference between a mainly original car and a car that has had quite significant refurbishment. I just used the creased seats as an example of the difference between the S Limited and some other cars in the category.
“Best in the World” now that would be something to aim for…
Sorry to hear this buddy ,sounds like the “fun” side of comps as some how been missed which is a big shame and these judges are getting things mixed up with how the judging is to be done, and are judging as if these comps are concours … which they are so far from it is untrue, I have always said the best chaps to have as judges are the people that work on them, brush aside personal preference and us common sense with condition, age, mods (aftermarket or OE add ons) marks.models, if add ons , how well are they fitted etc.
But lets not forget that the judges are volunteers and are there to enjoy the day also, and will be doing their best as directed to do a unpaid job for the owners,there will always be grumbles with the comps because the problem is the judges are not judging the same, i now of one this year of a point being knocked off in modified for a sun visor missing but there was a after market light in its place, so is fine as long as it is not hanging out with wires showing…it sums it up to me really, last year a MK 1 was judged down on paint miss on the headlight frame which is standard on the MK 1 from the factory yet the car in the same class with and engine bay that looked like it had been painted black with a 3" brush lost nothing, i could go on but hey…it sums it up to me really, teach them and they know, it does not need to be stress full, put comp owners at ease, we are all there the enjoy the day , not white glove judge .
OP don’t be put off, many have hit it and are still in comps.
M-m
The original seat reference is to the design of the seat, as in not a bucket seat
Thanks Barrie for the kind comments.
Its fair to say all the Mk3’s entered were great examples. To compare mine which has an number of Mods but no where near those of Barrie’s is certainly difficult and somewhat unfair on Barrie. I’m a bit in awe of what Barrie has done to his car. We discussed the subject of whether Barrie’s should be Modded or lightly Modded. I respect his reasoning as why he wanted to place the car in lightly Modded, as he has no real performance MODs, although the judging criteria probably places it in Modded. All very confusing as the Judges don’t determine what class you are placed in and didn’t mark Barrie down for not having a stock colour or stock interior finishes…
In my book Barrie is a more than well deserved National Rally Modded winner.
At the end I walked away not caring as much as I thought I would about the competition itself. I had a great time meeting the follow competitors and those who came to view the cars. The compliments and comments I received there and on here are were worth far more than the Cup.
Like Barrie I also took a look at Grants car. I’d agree with him its a lovely example. The judges comments aren’t really important. I’m glad it was there, as I’m sure many others were, and can only hope I manage to keep mine is in the same condition when she gets to that age!
I need to enter my 270k km S-Special 2, with 1991 option seats (they’re a Mazda accessory, technically), scabby BBS wheels and piebald montego blue paint, for giggles. Maybe I’ll get plus points for still keeping it on the road. As long as I don’t need to hang around when the judges turn up.
It should not be up to the entrants to decide on the class entered, at the moment it is and causing all sorts of confusion and frustration to the entrants.
I was the competitions coordinator for two years and with the help of Richardn we set up the current classes and judging criteria.
The whole idea of the entrants declaring all their modifications on application to the comps was that the Comps Coordinator could place the entry into the suitable class as per the list of modifications given.
If you are unsure ask Mal Jones the Comps Coordinator which class to be entered into.
On Sunday for example my opponent in the ‘Mk1 Modified class’ the car did not have any ‘modified’ items added to allow entry in the class and should have been entered into the ‘Lightly modified’ I did mention to the judges this was the case but was told it would be judged down for not having the suitable qualifying modifications, sadly in reality the judges appointed to the class did not realise it was in the wrong class.
Judges, I know they are all volunteers and give up their day to help but and it’s a BIG but. They do need to know what is what on the class of entry being judged. It is not all about Concours condition, being marked down for having a modification in the modified class is just a BIG no no even though the modification was done as per the rules.
It is not a Concours competition and all classes should be judged as per the judging manual that is available to all entrants. It is in the Downloads section of the forum. https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/Downloads/
Sorry for the late reply…getting continual 404 error message whenever I try to post
To answer original poster. I have a 2008 Niseko in sound condition. Tiny amount of bonnet corrosion on top seam, and creasing of leather bolster on drivers seat from sliding in and out.
The car is a daily driver, spends its life outdoors in a small car park behind my back gate. Washed and polished before the National show (180ml) round trip. Last washed in July I think!
Yesterday I returned from an Archaeological dig, removed a spade and mattock from the passengers seat and footwell, and all the rest of the kit from out of the boot!!
My car is looked after BUT not cosseted. I cannot afford a second car, and made the choice to buy a fun car. (perhaps a Land Rover would have been more sensible)
I enjoyed looking at most of the cars on show, largely for some of the mechanical mods. I cannot understand why some of the competitors would put their car on metal plates with top wheel spoke vertical and paint the tyre treads!!! What next…get the judges to use a mirror to inspect the underside of the cars , or perhaps an inspection ramp?
I really enjoyed looking at the owners cars in the car park, a good variety on show
To be fair my hobbies of target air rifle, archaeology, photography, hiking and fishing would not necessarily appeal to others…To each his own…
Regardless …A very interesting show…NOTHING above has been meant to offend…Just the ramblings of an old grouch.
Regards, JohnD
Do it.
I travelled from Northern Ireland, covered 330 miles by road to get to Ragley Hall (superb venue) and had to frantically try to detail the car in the hour and a half or so before judging commenced. For my ‘05 Launch Edition with 52k miles to lose out by only one point (298/300) to a significantly younger car with less miles wasn’t bad in my book and I was pleased with the runners up spot. Many people commented to me that it wasn’t terribly fair in that respect and even cars that have been BBR modded should be in a different class. Well that’s not my call and as a first time entrant, I throughly enjoyed the experience. My dirty alternator (I like to call it patina !) and bubbles under the washer bottle (never noticed them, but looks like some very minor corrosion will need addressed) were my undoing. Deux Points !!! Will I try again at another rally ? Unlikely, as it’s a very expensive trip to do with ferry and B&B costs, but it’s an experience I’ll cherish and thanks to all who put in such effort to make it all happen.
Congratulations, can be an expensive weekend, Stena Line on the Irish Sea ain’t cheap.
Well done on your runner up result.
Excellent result and thank you for entering one of my favourite MK3.
I had a Launch Edition and loved it.
Hope you had a safe journey home.
Mine was horrendous…so much traffic on the M40 and M25. It took me 3.5 hours to cover 160 miles.
However, Im glad i did it.
Grant
Hi Davy,
Your car is a credit to you. Its a great looking launch edition, I doubt there is a better one out there, certainly a fantastic car. It’s fair to say the 2nd place was a fitting reward for your efforts, perhaps the least you deserved and I certainly enjoyed your company at the rally.
I can’t do anything about my cars age or 18k mileage, but the BBR 185 mod is an interesting point, particularly because this thread has frequently mentioned cars being in the wrong class.
I personally didn’t ask to be placed in lighty modded, it was where the OC stated I should be after I consulted with them. The rules for lightly modded don’t mention ecu remaps and state any after market exhausts are allowed which is effectively what the car has on it. Hence it was why it was lightly modded. its perhaps not unreasonable of me to say that aesthetically my car had less mods on it than probably any of the other Mk3’s entered. In fact prior to the recent BBR conversion the OC stated I should be a standard car. I’m sorry but based on the current rules anyone suggesting it was unfair that mine was in this category is simply incorrect.
Perhaps if the OC took ownership of placing the cars in their respective categories rather than letting people choose themselves, (as someone mentioned previously) there would be less confusion amongst the competitors.
They could perhaps even amend the category descriptions further to clarify where a car belongs