Yes indeed, a great day out and almost as much fun driving home passing lots of MX5s with drivers and passengers waving enthusiastically. But… If I had a criticism it was that the trade stands were poor and limited. MX5Parts in particular seemed to have a huge marquee but very little ‘in stock’ on the day. I overheard a number of people being told they could only place an order. What’s the point of that? You go to an event expecting to a be able to buy and take away with you. I know they can only take a limited amount of stock to an event but I’ve seen much more at traders at other car events. That said, yesterday I was there for the cars and the museum so all in all a great day.
Wow, what a wonderful day.
A big thank you to the organisers. I only wish I’d got the wife to come and man the van while I had a little look around. She was coming but I had planned to continue down south on the Monday and she was at work.
Lovely to meet a lot of people and talk about what I actually do. The mission Motorsport guys were great and a lot of the stalls looked good.
Huge thanks to the organisers…a truly epic rally, well done!
Jamie
Yes it was a great day & weather was perfect well worth the 420 miles round trip with hood down.i would like to thank the lady in the MX5 club tent for the bottle of water she donated to me & to all the organisers.
WOW….what a FAB day! Well done to all the organisers, an event well planned & well executed.
Our first MX5 rally & it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up just driving into the venue with all the other Mazda’s
Then standing on top of the hill looking out over the sea of beautiful Little 5’s …took my breath away
Thank you for such a wonderful day
A good day, well organised the highlight of our day was chris barrie taking our mk1 for a drive as he had said he had never driven one,photo will be posted later
Thanks to the organisers for all their obviously hard work and commitment for making our first club event so enjoyable.
What a turn-out - wall to wall 5’s in every direction!
Also a big mention for Mission Motorsport - they do an outstanding job providing opportunities for ex-Service guys and gals and deserve all the support they can get - keep up the good work Jim and team.
Cheers, Twofives.
Good work that man, he had a lot of persuasion over the weekend to convert to a 5, I reckon we’ll be signing him up as a member soon…
Oh what a Day, got to site got my Camera out of boot took my coat off put the keys on top of wing so don’t shut the boot and guess what ??? Yep shut the boot with keys still on wing but under the boot lid. Panic ruled how do I get my keys now with boot shut, so went looking for help. Asked a Steward who directed me towards Tech Dept. But a Car that was alongside said “Which one do I have ?” I said “A Mk 3” and he said “There’s a button under the dash " to which I said " Is there !!!” So back to the Car get the manual out and guess what? There is[:-w] . Did I feel stupid yep[:-] Just gave the Wife Ammunition to say “Why don’t you read Manuals” Cus I’m a Man ha ha.
But as for the National SHEER HEAVEN so many truly beautiful Cars Mark 1,2,3 all mainly pristine I was just Gobsmacked with a nice Warm Glow at all these MX5’s, nice People,nice Cars BLISS. Thanks Guys for a truly fabulous Day was looking forward to it all Weekend and it didn’t disappoint. Sorry to Harp on but I sold my First MX5 and missed it that much had to buy another so missed a couple of Nationals, this was my First for 2 Years and also to meet a Guy that’s had me in Stitches for Years with Red Dwarf And a nice Guy thanks Chris Barrie.
Well this is National is going to say in my mind for ages. THANKS AGAIN GUYS STUNNING [(yy)] [(yy)] [(yy)]
Absolutely belting day, well organised and who ever booked the weather well done you. Standing at the entrance of the main hall and looking back up the hill looked like a scene from Zulu with all the cars on the hill!!
Liked the OCD section in the middle, (Colour coordinated parking), and the land based red arrows was a clever touch. Nice to see the Belgians there and I hope they have made it home safe.
Once again a cracking rally, (thats 3 for me now and they are getting better and better).
Roll on the Spring Rally!
As newbie’s it was our 1st ever MX5 owners club event. What a way to start! A great day, Fantastic cars, people, location etc etc etc! Not to mention the weather.
A big thanks to the organisers. Hard to think how it could have been any better other than perhaps Maxda doing some sensible marketing and wheeling out the ND for its UK debut.
Looking forward to the next one.
Mark and Lisa
Forgot to mention that I also got a niggly little dent in the rear wing repaired by Martyn of Dent Devils. What that man can do with his box of tricks is nothing short of miraculous. Watching dents disappear before your eyes - unbelievable. Now, if only there had been someone there fixing stone chips I would have been sorted!
Hi I was with Terry Manders on the main road guiding you all in, all the smiles and waves made getting up early well worth the effort
A great day and a fantastic turn-out.
We felt honoured to be included in the colour coded parking and my MX5 met old friends she hadn’t seen since the production line.
Thanks to the organisers for a well organised event and thanks to the weather too!
Pete, after what was a simply startling day which as the Event Organiser blew all my planning expectations for the event out of the water, it was great to hear you really enjoyed coming but I honestly stumbled a bit reading your comment.
I do not spring to any traders’ defence - as we work (and in particular James Huggins on this event) exceedingly hard to contact and promote the shows to them and we have to painstakingly highlight the attendance of their principle market every year.
The list of companies that turned this show down, even when offered further incentives for them to attend - is longer than the list who booked in to come. I know for sure when I go back to this list in a few days time to updated them on how the event went and highlight what they missed out on, a few will be kicking themselves for being so very shortsighted.
However, we have never had as many MX-5 traders to a Club event and of all those who said they were coming 100% showed up and exhibited - never has that happened before either.
I sincerely appreciate that traders have to invest a huge amount in attending shows, but in making this comment you have to appreciate what that means to make that commitment, the Club is seen as a closed market place for some, our National event is annually mobile which make planning and costs for their attendance at our events difficult and dynamic and at present the rally is only on for one day during which also means they have limited time to setup and pack up. I can’t say what car shows you have been at or are comparing this to, but for a single marque model with specialist suppliers and all the intricacies of annual attendance we managed a great turnout and spread at the show.
I can speak with knowledge on MX5parts, they attend all our shows with the biggest discount they offer to ANY MX-5 customer base AND free delivery, the items are sent and arrive a few days after the show - they bring a visual and tactile catalogue of their goods - so that you can see and touch exactly what it is you want to buy. I feel your expectations would mean they would have to bring their entire warehouse to a show. They also have a large range of small and popular items that they bring to the event to buy on the day, maybe if you had spoken to the team in the marque this would have been clearer.
As with responding to comments on improving our events I would be delighted to welcome your support in helping to make the trader selection at 2015 events even better, Please PM or email me.
PS Chipsaway turned their slot down on Friday. Despite having their annual conference in the same venue on Saturday
That steward was me, Im glad you managed to get it sorted!
This was the first Rally that i have attended, our company Mazdabeat.com were invited to trade on the day and we couldnt turn it down. Some of the cars on our stand may not have been to every ones taste but it was great to chat to everyone about them either way.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to it, is already on my list for next year whether through Mazdabeat or just attending.
A great event indeed, lots to see and do, and what weather for simply strolling around the car park admiring the stunning cars that had been cleaned and polished especially for the day.
ps I hope the parrot turned up!!!
As a former event organiser for the Club, I substantiate most of what IanF said here, particularly with regard to MX5 Parts, who when I first joined the Club were criticised frequently for their lack of discount. However once I had attended a couple of events as a member I began to realise they always offered discounts at Club events, and when I eventually became Event Organiser I valued their regular attendance at any and all shows, in some cases being the only valued trader there. They have also supported the club with advertising both in STHT and on the website.
The alternative trader who could offer some competition - Moss - ceased attending events many years ago, and also closed most of their provincial offices as well, so consequently aren’t worth mentioning these days. No show - no business. There’s no point in trying to attract local traders, members will generally wonder if they will get any service backup on parts bought from a local trader, and unless we can attract main online traders there isn’t another choice, but what can big traders offer to a car club? There is of course Halfords - have they been asked? Doubt they’d do it anyway. - Wouldn’t do it when I asked them. Yes, other clubs get more traders, JAE always did, but they represent a lot of Jap cars, as many of the Brit car clubs attract Brit spares traders. Perversely, MX5’s are generally poorly supported. Without doubt, there’s more Fives on the road these days than BMC Mini’s, but tell that to traders and you’ll get a negative response. AFAIK We are the largest Jap car Club in the world, but there’s not much outside enthusiasm for the car.
I would (with respect) differ on the number of traders who have attended in the past, and those who say they will attend, and those that don’t attend when they said they would. Not a point worth arguing about really, but each year sees old faithful’s coupled with newer arrivals and later disappearances. People come - and go. Trader attendance used to be organised by the Advertising Officer for the Club - has this responsibility changed? From the tone of your reply it appears this is now your pigeon?
While member attendance is to be lauded, as was the number of volunteers you raised for this event, the point that intrigues me is the stated one that people arriving without the windscreen hanger would be directed to a charging point, it didn’t happen - our car was the only one in a long queue that had a windscreen hanger, yet we were all directed as members, except at one point one marshal directed me to a separate fenced off area, but not where the entrance was, so I drove along the barrier only to find myself in another queue of cars with no hanger!
Conclusion - we either have a lot of members who can’t read, or a lot of non members attending for free??? Somebody lost out here - - - - !
Was a track organised? Didn’t see any sign of it. As an avid motorsport fan the sound of squealing tyres was all pervading. while I applaud the Club’s support for Mission Motorsport, I didn’t see the point - at frequent intervals during the day, in watching (or hearing) cars frantically tearing round an imaginary island. Great fun for them, not for people trying to talk to friends, or for either traders or customers nearby. Reminded me of one of Gaydon’s ‘Supercar’ events. Also the loss of a lot of parking spaces. We finished up on the newer parking area beyond the hill, where there were roads on which the motorsport section could have been located. I wasn’t alone having to struggle up and down said hill to get to the actual event, not all members are twenty or thirty-something. I hope somebody remembers this for the next Gaydon happening (in another five or so years - - -)- Doubt I’ll be there.
Overall - yes a great event, mainly - as usual - from a members POV - my son (not an MX aficionado) summed it up when he said at 2.30pm “There’s not a lot to see or do is there?” so we left, as did quite e few. I hoped to see some of my old friends - only saw and spoke to JC,later AL and Joy - Present Committee members were not noticeable at all. ‘Seek, but ye shall not find’. Why not have a ‘Meet the Committee’ tent next event (I know, they don’t want it!)? “Go to the AGM” - - - -)
Oh - and tell MX5 Parts they will need a bigger marquee (they probably know that now!)
Having been to many mx5oc rallies and also held the 2011 Spring rally I know only too well how hard it is to get everything right, but do you know I think the 20th National Rally was brilliant, thanks to all those that put it together, helped and made it a wonderful day for the members to enjoy.
I think this was the best rally other than Northern Ireland for location and Mallory for the track event that has ever been done for the club and I want to congratulate you on a task well done big thank you.
Well done to the South East Members for runner up Area Display and also to all our members that took part in the competitions, many of you coming home with trophies so well done.
Thanks to Chris Barrie for coming along, it was lovely to chat and thank you for helping Chris Cummins who broke down on the M40 much appreciated.
It was so nice to see many of our friends and to laugh and soak up the amazing view of cars.
Well done and bring on the next rally
Thanks
Love
Sarah Mazda Chick xxxx