Reverting back to Eastern Standard Time as summer slowly fades and the leaves begin to turn makes it easier to be out and about early in the morning. The local dog walkers certainly appreciate the early dawn and it appears that our Breakfast Club regulars do likewise. Arriving well before the designated hour is now customary and it?s not unusual to find the southern section of the car park filled to capacity before 8am.
This month was a special occasion for Mini owners. Using the iconic marque?s 60th anniversary as an excuse, Cooper S devotee Graeme Longhurst, had contacted each Sporting Register Mini owner and invited them to gather at the Breakfast Club in preparation for his aptly-named Mini Mob Run out to Mirboo North for lunch. Six or seven Minis managed to arrive early and park together with Graeme?s car whilst additional Bricks continued to roll in during the morning, eventually bringing the total to 13 ? easily topping the attendance tables this month ahead of the ever-present Mustangs and MX5s.
Another early arrival drawing a crowd this month was a stunning, electric blue Mercedes AMG GT-C. This exquisite late model coupe is powered by a twin-turbo 4-litre V8 developing 550bhp – capable of sprinting to 100km/h in under 4 seconds and nudging 200mph top speed. At the other extreme, also making its debut appearance this month, was Brodie Bishop?s 1920?s Fiat 501 Tourer which had recently won a restoration award at the prestigious Autobella Italian Concours in Melbourne. Performance figures for the 501 are unavailable at this time, but given time the old timer could possibly reach 100km/h.
It was a very diverse gathering as usual. Mort FitzGerald brought along his MGB racer known as the ?Spa Car? which was one of two specially prepared historic racers built here and taken over to Europe by members of the MGCC where it was raced in a historic meeting at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. This month there was also quite a selection of utes on display, ranging from the pristine Austin A70 belonging to Bill and Judy Aitken to a V8 Commodore, an EH Holden and a massive Ford F350 with dualies on the rear, recently acquired by Vinnie and Sharon Vorkapic.
Sports cars are always the focus of this event, whether they be classic British and European roadsters from the fifties, sixties and seventies, rotary coupes from Japan or more modern offerings from the likes of Mercedes, Porsche and Audi, these selfish, impractical and enjoyable drivers? cars never fail to impress. A couple of fibreglass models, a Bolwell Mk.7 and an SS Jaguar replica joined the likes of Mike Whitford?s Fiat Dino, the E-types of Shane Slatter and Paul Mogensen, several Porsche Boxsters and a tidy, black 911 as head-turners this month.
Over eighty special cars gathered at the April Breakfast Club, it could easily have been over 90, but with constant comings and goings, accuracy is impossible. The Mini Mob, which included your correspondent, departed the venue at around 9:30 vacating some sought after parking for use by late arrivals.
Thank you for information.