Tag: Adrian Flux MG Owners Club Championship

The MG Owners’ Club Race Championship is gearing up for its 2026 season. One of the longest running championships to be affiliated with the British Automobile Racing Club – the single-marque series enters into its 46th year on track with an exciting calendar.

This season, championship promoter Jim Baynam drove to both class and overall honours in his decorated MGB. With Jim stepping back from a full campaign in 2026, this leaves the door wide open for a new champion to make their mark.

The championship is open to all Morris Garages (MG) machines – with a home for many of the cult British classics. From the MGA, B and C models, Midgets, Maestros, Metros, ZF and ZR – there is a class for them all. And with the way the points scoring works, all cars have a shot at the overall laurels too.

In 2026, the championship starts on the opening BARC weekend of the season once again in March at Donington Park, before a return to Cadwell Park. Other classic circuits include Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Snetterton with the finale once again at the home of British motorsport.

Headlining the summer season for the MG Owners’ Club Race Championship is the Thruxton Retro meeting which in 2025 had 42 cars enter the event – the biggest single grid the club has had in 45 years.

2026 MG Owners’ Club Race Championship Calendar

21/22nd March – Donington Park
11/12th April – Cadwell Park
16th May – Oulton Park
4/5th July – Thruxton Retro
1/2nd August – Brands Hatch
12/13th September – Snetterton
3/4th October – Silverstone

For more information on the MG Owners Club Race Championship – head to www.mgocchampionship.co.uk or contact championship promoter Jim Baynam on raceteam@mgownersclub.co.uk

The 45th year of the Adrian Flux MG Owners Club championship finished in fantastic style at Silverstone at the end of last month, with a magnificent entry of 39 classic and modern MGs taking to the home of British motorsport.

Championship organiser Jim Baynam has had the task in recent years of balancing organising the series and racing his MGB in the championship. After a season long battle, the Englishman and his well traveled MG not only chalked up the Class A prize, Baynam claimed the overall crown for the first time in seven years and with it his sixth overall accolade – a record breaking milestone for the club championship.

As a stalwart of the series – Jim has raced his car every year since 1981 in the championship, and after over 500 races and 150 outright and class wins in the MGOC championship, Jim has decided that this would be his final year of full-time competition.

“After 45 years I have decided to ease off my racing commitments in 2026. I’m not hanging up my helmet just yet and will do a few selected rounds but my energy will be largely directed towards running the championship and bringing in a new generation of competitors and MG lovers”.

Jake McDermid tried to keep the McDermid name on the overall champion roster, but after an exhilarating season, he will be pleased to pick up Class Z. Previous overall champion Simon Kendrick became Class F champion, while Anthony Bate in his popular Maestro went home to Cornwall as 2025 Class B Champion.

The 45th anniversary season has been a breakthrough year for the championship, with competitive and fun racing in each and every class – with the 2025 highlight coming at Thruxton in the summer, when the Hampshire venue hosted the biggest grid of 42 cars at the Retro meeting in June.

To keep up to date with the MG Owners Club Race Championship – head to www.mgocchampionship.co.uk or contact Jim on raceteam@mgownersclub.co.uk regarding news on 2026

The MG Owners’ Club Race Championship celebrates 45 years since the idea was plotted, with a rich history and partnership with the British Automobile Racing Club dating back to 1980. The first season followed in 1981. For those not old enough to remember or for those of us who need a little refresher, Margaret Thatcher was PM, John McEnroe shouted “you cannot be serious” at an umpire, the first London Marathon was held, and the UK won the Eurovision song contest thanks to the efforts of Bucks Fizz. How times have changed!

In its sapphire year, we opened the history books with championship promoter Jim Baynam who was there in the early days and instrumental to the continued success of the series in recent times. We look back and celebrate the cars to have proudly displayed the Morris Garages emblem and rolled out of the retrospective Abingdon and Longbridge factory gates.

We go back in time to the early eighties – the start of an exciting decade and to March 1980 in particular. With Going Underground by the Jam dominating the airwaves – we hope this sets the score we delve into the history books. Jim helps us recount how it all began.

“Back in 1980 – the MG Owners Club were looking to bolster its numbers and drive membership numbers and the racing idea was explored, as had been done by other one-make car clubs. It was March 1981 and I had decided to start motor-racing and bought an MGB race car off some guys in Hounslow who had previously entered it in the 1980 Willhire 24 Hour race at Snetterton. I was already an MGOC member and heard that a meeting was being held in a pub to discuss the way forward in starting a race championship. I hadn’t yet started my racing career but was intrigued and who can say no to a trip to the pub so I went along primarily listen and learn. Lots of ideas were mulled around, cars, regs, circuits and the Club decided that they wanted to promote a racing championship but didn’t know quite how to organise it and pull it together so the BARC was mooted as the place to approach to help us organise something and the rest as they say is history ! ”

From that first initial meeting, things moved very quickly, with the BARC playing a major part in setting up Technical Regulations and dates for races for the inaugural season starting at Brands Hatch a few months later on 7th June 1981.

“From small acorns. There were eight cars on the grid for the first race. It was a slow burner but entry levels increased to 15, then 20, then 25 and then over 30 and by the time we got into the mid and late 1980s it had really taken off!”

In those early halcyon days the grid was made up mostly of the MGB and Midget, but there was one car in particular that moved the championship onto the next level. The arrival of the MG Maestro…

“In the latter part of the 1980s cars that were coming off the Austin Rover production line were perfect for racing. You had the Metro, Montego and in between them both – the Maestro. There was an evolution. People who had MGBs discovered the Maestro was a good fun car that offered a bit more speed and performance and when one person buys one and does well… that just started a trend. So much so that for a few years in the late eighties we had a separate grid for the Maestros.”

The grids swelled – all filled with the great and good of the British road going MG models. It was a sight to behold in national racing up and down the country. Robb Gravett… heard of him? He started his racing career in the MGOC championship and won the Championship in 1985 then moved on to Production Saloons before being crowned British Touring Car Champion in 1990.

The evolution didn’t stop with the Maestro. Competitors started to look at the next best thing. The MGF was launched in 1995, the nimble, rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car offered another challenge and performance edge on the much loved Maestro. That was swiftly followed by the MG ZR at the turn of the millennium – bringing us up to date with the car that has provided close and exciting racing for over 20 years.

“What is great about the championship – is that there is a home for all of these as we look back down the line. In 2025 we have our history book coming to life. We have representation from all periods of the 45 years with the MGB and Midgets standing the test of time. With historic racing really taking off in this country, people are always talking to me about our MGs and the older cars in particular.”

So why is the format and the championship still popular today?

“I don’t think there is a single answer really. We have a grid split into thirds. Two thirds are MG ZR160 and the other third is made up of Midgets, MGBs, Maestros and the MGF. The guys with the older cars love racing for class honours and keeping the history of the championship and cars alive, while the MG ZR really offers a fantastic car to go racing in. One of the most fun and budget friendly front-wheel-drive classes in Club level motorsport. Cars with 170bhp are a lot of fun and you can buy a competitive and ready to race ZR160 around £6,000 – making it very cost effective entry into the exciting world of Club motorsport.

“We keep things simple – that is a big strength. Back in the eighties, the British Production Saloon Car Championship was immensely popular. When we got going in 1981 we wanted to follow suit with our cars based on production, road going models. Other series went with higher spec regs, but we have stuck by our principles over the 45 years – with a few refinements to keep up with the times. Our aim is to offer cost effective racing and encourage newcomers into the sport. We have seen a lot of new faces in 2025 alone and now we even have two generations, with fathers racing with their sons and daughters – which is great to see.”

The MG Owners Club always have packed grids – and the blue riband weekend of the season was at Thruxton in June for the Retro themed event.

“2025, I think has been one of our strongest in the last 20 years. We had 42 cars entered for the Retro meeting at Thruxton, this was the biggest single grid we’ve ever had in our 45 years which was very heart warming to see.”

Going forward where does Jim see the series going – how do you build on what you have?

“People come and go. We have at least 10 drivers who have raced with us for over 20 years and they go and tell their friends, who tell their friends and they come along to watch and like what they see and they decide to come and join the fun. It’s a great form of promotion.

“When the MG Car Club decided to pull out of organising race championships, we put the hand out to those competitors who still wanted to race their MG’s. Some were initially sceptical as they were used to running to slightly different technical regulations, but they have gradually moved over to us and are enjoying life in the MGOC Championship.

“In 2025 we have gained several drivers from other championships and recruited a number of new drivers including a couple of youngsters and three brothers all of whom chose to join MGOC for their debut season. These new faces have increased the entry levels and added new impetus to the championship and will guarantee the ongoing success of the championship for many years to come. We look forward to seeing how the championship plays out this year and of course we are already looking at 2026 which will be 45 years since that first race meeting at Brands Hatch way back in 1981.”

For more information on the MG Owners Club Race Championship – head to www.mgocchampionship.co.uk or contact Jim on raceteam@mgownersclub.co.uk

Getting to the end of a season is a monumental effort – but imagine doing that for 50 years! Well, one MGB in the British Automobile Racing Club paddock has been strutting its stuff for half a century and has clocked up over 40,000 competition miles.

We caught up with its owner Jim Baynam who knows the full story of this famous old car. In what is his 45th year in the MGOC Championship he is currently the joint leader of the 2025 championship, with the outcome to be decided over the final two meetings of the season at Castle Combe and Silverstone.

“In my younger days I always liked MGB’s and in 1976 I bought an MGC as my everyday road car before moving on to an MBGTGV8. I always enjoyed watching motorsport – I lived in London at the time and had a friend who campaigned a Lola single-seater, and I used to go along and help. At a Thruxton meeting in late 1980 I saw there was a race for MGBs which piqued my interest and I had to go and have a look. There were a number of standard production cars and I thought – “I could do that with my MG.”

Baynam – filled with enthusiasm, was about to start his own motor racing journey. He didn’t know quite how to get started but, just like London buses – two opportunities arrived at once. What were the chances!

“In March 1981 I was all set to have a roll cage fitted in my MGBGTV8 and go racing with that car and had an appointment to have a roll cage fitted. A couple of days before it was due to be fitted I picked up a copy of Autosport and flicked to the classifieds as you used to do, and saw an MGB race car for sale. It had recently completed the Willhire 24 hour race and was now up for sale. I recognised the contact phone number as a Hounslow number which was close to where I lived in Richmond. I rang up and they said “why not pop over now and have a look at it.” It was ready to race and I loved it. Over a beer in the local pub, the deal was quickly done and the next morning I rang up to cancel the roll cage appointment as I was now the owner of a ready to race MGB with the registration number KAE 155E.”

The MGB that Jim purchased in March 1981 is the same car he campaigns in race meetings to this very day. It was converted from a road car into a racer in 1976 and has been raced every year since – making this its 50th year as a competition car.

“I did sell KAE at the end of the 1981 season and it continued to be raced while I raced a Midget for a few years. The Midget gave me valuable experience but I always rather regretted selling the MGB and when the opportunity came to buy it back I just had to do it and I have owned and raced every year since then.

“The car has raced every year since 1976 and has done over 550 events making it one of the most campaigned MGBs in the world. It has done over 40,000 racing miles and been entered in races at Zolder, Mondello Park, Spa, Nurburgring and almost every circuit in the UK from Lydden to Aintree and everywhere in between.”

It has a remarkable history, and has taken Jim to five MG Owner’s Club Championships. But why does Jim himself strap himself in every year?

“I still love the buzz of a race paddock. The thrill of racing never dies and is key to it all. But the people you meet and friendships made over the years are fundamentally important to Club racers like me. I have known some of the guys for over 30 years and always look forward to seeing them at race meetings. I have many great memories of my time racing MGs – one of the highlights came at the recent Thruxton Retro meeting in June this year. Being on a capacity grid of 42 MGs was very special.”

So the big question… how long does Jim intend to continue racing? Are there any plans to hang up his helmet? Is this goodbye or just au revoir for now Jim?

“I have raced every year since 1981 and have been the championship organiser since 1987. Advancing years makes wearing the organisers hat and a crash helmet on the same day all rather tiring so 2025 will be my last full year of racing. I’m currently leading the championship and it would be nice to bow out of full time racing with another championship win but irrespective of whether that happens or not it will still have been a very satisfying and successful season. Who was it that said “ there’s no fool like an old fool!” I will still enter selected races in 2026 – but will pick and choose which ones and spread them out in between my organising duties. I will be racing for as long as I can. You can’t get rid of me that easily!”

Jim and the rest of the MG Owners’ Club Race Championship will be racing at the Bank Holiday Monday meeting at Castle Combe prior to the final showdown at Silverstone on the 28th September. For more information on the MG Owners Club Race Championship – head to www.mgocchampionship.co.uk or contact Jim on raceteam@mgownersclub.co.uk