European Event of the Year 2009
Geiranger, Norway
This year’s European MG
Event took place in Norway from June 10th – 13th in the beautiful landscape at
Geiranger, which is situated some 400 km northwest of Olso.
I bought my ZB Magnette especially for this event so I could bring my parents
who are as much in love with this part of Norway as I am, and since my father
used to be a car mechanic it was of course obvious to invite the family.
Being three persons on vacation means lots of baggage but as you Magnette owners
will know we shouldn’t complain compared to the MGAs and older models. As soon
as we met in Copenhagen at the ferry to Oslo our Danish MG colleagues asked if
we had room for extra baggage…
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| And up it goes | Checking the oil | Getting a lift in a MG K3 Magnette 1934 (replica) | It's snowing at 1500 m above sea level |
We drove through Norway via the well-known skiing area at Beitostölen where
we pitted for the night before driving to Geiranger the following day.
Some 230 MGs were attending the event but only two Z-Magnettes found their way
to the event – a Swedish Varitone that had been fitted with a 2 litre engine and
disc brakes and mine which had been fitted with new brake lining for the drum
brakes!
Norway is a country with mountains high and valleys low. This means lots of
steep roads and hairpin bends. Taking the price for the steepest road was a
gravel road with a rise of 22 %. A standard Magnette like mine is very low
geared but believe it or not we had to climb up that specific road in first
gear! All the MGs though made their way to the top, also the oldest ones with
mechanic brakes – and some of us came down using first gear again.
The organizers had made some challenging routes going up the “Eagle Road” and
“Trollstigen” both famous for their steepness and hairpin bends. We drove
through snowy landscapes on the high mountains and even became a bit of snow
1500 meters above sea level.
Norway in early summer is perfect for Magnettes. The temperature lies between
5-10 degrees in the mountains and up to 20 degrees in the valleys, and since we
had changeable weather during the event with both sunshine and rain the Magnette
was just the cosiest car to be in.
My car only experienced some tiny problems. Shortly after a “pit stop” the
engine stopped in the middle of the road, and one windscreen wiper fell off
twice until some chocolate paper solved the problem!
There was a third Magnette attending the event, a beautiful 1934 K3 Magnette
(replica), which was voted Best Car of the Event, and since this car was a part
of the Danish “delegation” I was so lucky to get a ride on our way home from the
event. Still smiling!
Through the entire trip from June 8th to 17th we drove some 1800 km all in all
and used 150 litres of fuel and half a litre of oil.
Next year the event takes place in Italy.
Regards
#35983
Rikke Nissen, Denmark
