Autolink MX5 - The MX5 Specialists - OC Rally Billing 2011

OC Rally Billing 2011

Details: Category: Media; Published on Tuesday, 08 November 2011 15:00; Written by Nick Bailey; Hits: 738

2011 OC Rally at Billing

2011's Owners Club Rally at Billing was a huge success for Autolink. Unlike other years, we showed up with the intention of showing the MX5 community exactly why the MX5 appeals to so many different age groups and classes.

We left the shop behind for the weekend and brought with us a selection of cars, all with their own unique appeal.

We had the Chrome demo car. A mk2 RS which has been wrapped in chrome vinyl. This car is turbo charged, so it has the performance to appeal to the adrenalin junkies, and the chrome appeal which fits well with the show and shine guys.

Parked along side this was our 2 favourite race cars. The rotary engined mk1 and Skuzzle's seriously fast, stripped out 1600. These cars brought a different type of enthusiast over to talk about what can be done to extract maximum power, best handling and ultimate road feel.

Then we had the childish fun of the Multi couloured mk1. A patchwork car of many colours. Always a crowd pleasure and sure to turn heads. This car definately isnt built with performance in mind, but you cant help but find yourself grinning every time you climb in. It's good, simple, clean, fun.

So with the cars lined up we set about making ourselves available for conversation, and with so many different talking points the day was full of great banter, we were able to discuss the appeal of the performance with those that enjoyed their Mazda for sunny, top down touring, and the childish appeals of a stand out, multi coloured car with track enthusiasts. Everybody left understanding a broader appeal of the MX5.

Lunch time brought us to the live Autotest. We had registered with all of our cars. My personal goal was to draw in a crowd. So out I went, full throttle, 9000rpm, loud, low, and rediculous in the high compression 1600.

Paul chose the rotary for his test. The hardest car of the bunch to tame, but a real crowd pleaser. It was tail happy, out of control, but serious fun.

Anthony decided to demonstraight the finess of a mk1 auto on grass. His test was smooth and controlled. It looked slow from a spectators view, but he pulled off a very respectable time placing him in the top 15. This controlled skill continued when he took the chrome car for a spin, achieving another good top 15 position.

Now for the video evidence:

Nicks(skuzzle) autotest