A fine dry September day saw the MG's returning to Snetterton for yet another round of the Phoenix Challenge. On the programme there were seven race's, three of which featured MG's. For the 1996 season onthese pages we have focussed our attention on the Phoenix Petroleum sponsered MG Challenge, mainly because it features the all new MGF, and we like it ! Incidently the development name of the MGF was PR3, the PR standing for Phoenix Rising ! But the hopes of the MGF team have't been rising as much as they had wished, and more so this weekend than any other !...more about that later.

The Midgets have dominated this season, & today was not going to be any different. John-Paul Ivey led the way on the first lap, until they got round to the Russell "S-bends", when John Stopes charged past Ivey. At this early stage the "Phoenix Rising" (MGF) was a very close third. Over the next couple of laps places were being traded faster than shares on the stock exchange ! It was inevitable that it would all end in tears, a clash at "Russell" slowed Stopes, then he had a tangle with a back marker, which sent him spinning off and out, and that was that !

John-Paul Ivey raced on unchallenged to take the chequered flag.

So what of Don Kettleborough in the MGF ? Well! It was not so much a case of 'rising' but 'falling'. In fact he was lucky to finnish as the suspesion on the 'F' collapsed. So second place went to Andrew Scothern,driving a Metro. Limping home in third place was Kettleborough, in the MGF ahead of (but only just) Tony Howes MG Metro.

The Fastest lap was set by Ivey 1m 25.33 sec at 82.35 mph

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