A beautiful autumnal evening was laid on for the first of the Sprite Club ‘Sports Car Cruises’ for 2023. A slightly smaller gathering than recent events, but a great bunch of classis cars and their owners non the less wended their way up Old Belair Road, round past the Belair National Park and then across the hills via Upper Sturt Road and then up and over Mount Lofty before a sunset run down Greenhill Road back into Adelaide.
With road lit up by the magic of Lucas lighting and the procession greeted with colours of a spectacular sunset over the Gulf, a more picture perfect backdrop could not have been asked.
Our motley crew of Sprites, Midgets, MGTC, MGBs, MGFs and other classics, including Don’s achingly beautiful Alfa Spider (a car that appears on everyone’s list of the 10 most beautiful cars), Zane’s now award winning Datsun 260Z and Frank’s amazingly original HQ Kingswood (that brought back many a memory of long trips and bench seats), we seemed to attract the attention of many a walker as we rolled through the foothills! Even Chris put in an appearance with his delightful VW Beetle which did its best to test his mechanical ability on the run! The hills were certainly alive to the sound of music, or at least the burble of a couple of Bugeyes and friends!
And only on a Sprite Car run would you find a TC needing to stop so its driver could switch over his oxygen bottles! Paul’s health may not be what it was, but his mind and ability as sharp as ever so it was lovely to have him and Ruth along with their MGTC for the run. So much so we broke a ‘club rule’ and awarded him the prize for the Best Patina for the second run in a row! Now they have matching coffee mugs so they don’t have to fight over who gets to use the trophy for their morning brew!! The TC is always so well turned out and the effort they go to to enjoy a run is worthy of more than just a coffee mug as a prize!
If you are reading this from another club and wondering if you are welcome to join us for a run, or indeed any of our events, then the answer is yes! We welcome members from other clubs with other classic cars! If you are a past member, don’t be shy and just join in too! We regularly have members from other car clubs from across Adelaide and indeed the State.
Upcoming events
Members (and friends), don’t forget the next two upcoming social events:
29 March – Russell and Judy’s Mid Week Meander “A Southern Sojourn“. Meet at the Balhannah Oval Tennis Club Carpark at 0930 for a briefing before we get under way at 1000 and saunter off in a generally southerly direction. If you’d like to join us for lunch you NEED to talk contact Russell or Judy (or me) as numbers at the lunch venue are limited; however, if you are not inclined or can’t stay for lunch, come along (just ensure you’ve got petrol for about 160km in the tank!!)
3 April – Stars and their Cars. The next monthly meeting is at the Sporting Car Club where we will celebrate the classic car journeys of four of our members and take a closer look at some of their cars! Other clubs are most welcome to join us. Its free for Sprite Club members and only $5 per head for non members.
For those fans of motor racing, the next couple of weeks are action packed also, with the Adelaide Motorsport Festival this coming weekend and the hill climb season officially kicking off on the weekend of 1/2 April at Collingrove.
Basically, there is something for everyone over the next couple of weeks!!
Happy Spridgetting!
Photo Credits to Kathie Leane and Margy Donaldson