DYBCW Treasure Hunt Rallye

The Drive Your British Car Week Rallye was a brilliant success. There were 25 cars, 24 participating in the Treasure Hunt and the rallye-master's MG, representing the best of several British marques. We had ten Triumphs represented by TR250, TR3, TR6, TR7, and Spitfire models; ten MG's represented by TF, MGA, MGB, and Midget models; three Jaguars represented by XK8, XJS, and XKR-100 models; Healeys; Mini Cooper; and a 1930-something three-wheel Morgan.

All the different marques and models made for quite a feeling of excitement at the driver's meeting. It felt like a small car show prior to the rallye start with everyone checking out the other cars as they drove in. The weather cooperated nicely at the start, with cloud cover providing some relief from the heat. This was short lived though, and by about an hour into the rally the clouds were gone and the Treasure Hunt turned into more of an endurance adventure as the temperatures climbed into the 90's.

This rallye was different in two respects - it took place right in the center of the city and the format was a Treasure Hunt. The "treasure" being hunted was the names of the State of Texas Office Buildings located within certain boundaries on a city map. The object was to write the names on an answer sheet and locate the buildings on the map. The team with the most correct answers in one hour and forty-five minutes would be declared the winners. One point was given for each correct answer and one point deducted for each incorrect answer. A score of twenty-seven was perfect, based on a City of Austin Map dated September 2004.

Debb and I thought there might be some advantage to those participants that worked downtown, but given that the winning score was a 19, only a 70% correct score, there was plenty of room left at the end of the day for them to have been beaten. The second and third place finishers both had 18 correct, with the difference being in the map placement of the buildings. This was a very challenging rallye, and it came down to how well the driver and navigator communicated, as it always does, and how much heat the team could endure.

Awards were handed out at Pok-E-Joe's following the Rallye and lunch. The third place trophy went to Herb and Cindy Valliant in a Triumph TR7, Second place went to Bob and Marilen Skewis in a Triumph TR250, and first place went to Mark Barrington and Lorne Parks in Mark's MG-TF. This was the official unveiling of Mark's TF - he's been working on the restoration for a few years now. He did a beautiful job on it and I doubt it will be the last award he receives in this brilliantly restored example of British motoring heritage.

Congratulations to all the participants, everyone was a winner for coming out and promoting our hobby and this year's Drive Your British Car Week. We also hope you now have a better understanding of what makes up our Capital City downtown area and why it's so special to those of us lucky enough to live here. On behalf of Debb and myself, the Capital City MG Club, and all the British Car Clubs of Austin, thanks to all of you for making this a lot of fun and a great day for Driving Your British Car!