Pond's Triumph TR7 Rally Car Returns After 30 Years In Storage
Former Unipart driver Philip Young will drive the 1978 Triumph TR7 V8, campaigned as a BL works car by Tony Pond and Fred Gallagher in 1980, in this weekend's Roger Albert Clark Rally.
The same Triumph was retired with axle failure from the 1983 Himalayan Rally with Philip at the wheel. It had been on course to finish third before the mechanical breakdown. The car was promptly shipped back to England and placed into storage in a shed at Unipart's competition department - where it spent the next three decades, untouched.
Philip, who is now director of the Endurance Rally Association, persuaded Unipart Group chairman John Young to allow the car to be fully restored earlier this years with the intention of it being demonstrated at historic sports events, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Race Retro, but the discussion quickly led to the idea of the car actually competing in a rally again.
The V80-engined Triumph, registered HRW 250V, has been tested at the Walters Arena quarry in South Wales, but Philip added that he and his engineers are still working hard to make sure the car is fit to take part in the rally, which starts in Sunderland today (28 November).
He said: 'Triumph enthusiasts who follow the action during the course of the Roger Albert Clark Rally are in for a treat - the sound through the trees will be glorious.'
David Simister