TS2 coming home with us, at least for a little bit…
Waking up in beautiful surroundings once again, a medieval monastery, feeling relaxed and refreshed after a good dinner and good company, and a restful night’s sleep. We missed breakfast, hoping to find some coffee on the road. I also didn’t want to say goodbye again to people that we haven’t really known for long but that have become friends. I guess an event like this bonds you to those who share the journey.
Off on the road, we were glad we left the roof on! The rain poured in though one of the open caps soaking Beanie’s legs. I, not for the first time, was very glad I brought my dry-robe! Even though I looked like a bit of a melt(!) it has kept me (quite) warm and (mostly) dry for the week in changing climates. Mist, mizzle, and boring motorway miles were made better by seeing where everyone was on the tracker app, and reading all the messages on the Group chat, Facebook, Insta etc.
So. Netherlands, to Belgium to France, no wait! One more point on the way.
We drove in TS2 past Jabbeke. A google maps satellite view of the services show an adjacent road that stops in a dead end. This was the highway on which speed trials were held. In May, 1953, Ken Richardson raced MVC 575 and beat the record for a two-litre productions sports car, previously held by a Sunbeam Alpine, driven by Stirling Moss. He set the record at 124.889 mph. TS1 and TS2 followed immediately after as the first official pilot-build/prototype machines that led directly into full production of the TR2.
MVC 575 serves as the vital experimental precursor (or “missing link”) that paved the way for TS2 and the production TR2 series and subsequently all the TR models. She is permanently located at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom where she has been lovingly restored, kept warm and dry. I bet she would love to have been on the highway again, just like her little sister TS2, doing what she was born to do. Racing along like a little gem, with spirit and grace.
Rain, more rain and straight roads did lead to Flanders Fields. A sombre and poignant reminder of how the world can be such a cruel place.
We will remember them.
The day has been a bit of a non-event. After highs and excitements of Stelvio, the landscape and beauty of Austrian hills, the port of Dunkirk is a bleak and grey place, especially as the ferry has been delayed by nearly two hours (for a two hour crossing!)
Soon we will be back on England, and home. We have TS2 for one more week. How will we be able to part with her?
To quote a famous lady “There were three of us in this marriage” but it was not at all crowded.
Me, Beanie and TS2. x