Re: Racing TRs

["Ed Major" <ejmajor250@comcast.net>]

The following excerpt was written by Bruce Stutzman for the Western PA 
Triumphs newsletter, in it Bruce claims (and is backed up by the official 
Sebring results) that Allan Patterson was the first in the World/US. Allan 
is seen racing at many vintage events in his red 1953 Allard that he bought 
new.

Ed Major

Alan Patterson, a native Pittsburgher, has the distinction of being the 
first person, not just in the U.S. but the world, to drive a TR in a road 
race. Alan did it not just in any old race, but at the 1954 12 hours of 
Sebring, an internationally sanctioned endurance race. I thought this was a 
story that needed to be told. At the time Alan was not a stranger to 
Sebring. He raced a MGTC there in 1952 and 1953. He later took a job working 
his way through college, at Price Motors in Coral Gables, Florida. Price 
Motors was a new TR dealer and had just received its first shipment of four 
brand new TR2's. Alan suggested to the owner (he doesn't remember his name) 
that they race a TR2 at Sebring. The owner liked the idea and asked the 
factory for authority to do so. The factory gave the OK but without 
financial support. They prepared one of the new TR2's to be the racecar but 
they took all four (the entire shipment) to Sebring for parts. As it turned 
out they needed them all. The race took place on March 7, 1954. Alan took a 
friend Jim Hendricks to be his co-driver and several fraternity brothers and 
their girl friends to be his pit crew. Alan remembers that the car was 
totally reliable (with one significant exception) and very fast. That 
exception - the engine blew, so they installed the engine from another of 
the new TR2's. That engine also blew so they took the engine from another of 
the new TR2's. When that one went they swapped their last engine. When the 
last engine showed signs of trouble Alan pulled into the pits, waited till 
the race was almost over, and then re-entered the race so he would be 
running at the end. Nevertheless, Alan completed 105 laps, finishing 24th 
overall and 4th in class. In 12 hours Alan had wiped out Price Motor's 
entire first shipment of new TR2's. So what was wrong with the engines? As 
Alan remembers it, when they dismantled the engines they found that they had 
suffered from oil starvation. He thinks, but is not sure after all this 
time, that it had to do with the location of the oil holes in the bearings. 
The factory no doubt quickly rectified this problem.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Editorgary@aol.com>
To: <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 7:54 PM
Subject: Racing TRs


> Perhaps one of you Triumphant historians can tell me: When did the first
> racing TR2 appear in competition? (anywhere but especially in North 
> America, and
> in any type of organized competition)?
> Thanks
> Gary Anderson