Best prize I ever got was my first main event, The National, Gaydon 2002. There used to be a raffle IIRC in aid of a selected charity. I bought a ticket (£5 IIRC) and later in the day heard the prizes being awarded in the distance - I was standing on one side of the Museum, and the main Club tent was at the other end, where traders normally stand these days. I didn’t bother walking over beforehand, as I never won a raffle prize in my life, before or since. So the prizes went - 1, 2, and then 3. On the third there was a delay, then I heard Andrew Fearon’s voice shouting over his handheld speaker "Anybody got raffle number xxxx (can’t remember the number now!). I pulled the ticket out, and it was mine.
I rushed over to the tent - I could rush in those days - and shouted out “I think it’s me” Ticket double checked and “We have a winner folks”. Third prize was a £100 voucher for Everything MX5 - anyone remember them? The traders were packing up, but i went over to their stand and said “I’ve just won this voucher - what do I get?” They handed me a catalogue, and replied “Anything you can find on there that adds up to £100.” I did some fast selecting and asked for a service kit for my car, and a set of aluminium pedals. The service kit was impressive, and the pedals had rubber inserts so your feet didn’t slip. The pedals are ‘around somewhere’ and the service kit is up on the lift - - - -
They did tell me the pedals “weren’t road legal” so I didn’t get round to fitting them, but have seen similar on members cars, and they were at Club events. I did use the oil filter, but then the box went in the loft, since which time it’s lain there ever since. Cam cover gasket, head gasket, somne drive belts, spare plugs - I forget what now.
If that was the third prize, I sometimes wonder what the first and second winners got! Prizes were courtesy of John Batup, a former advertising liaison officer for the Club. He got really good prizes.