A family affair
“RACING FOR THE MORRIS CLAN WAS ALWAYS ABOUT FAMILY – EVEN IF SOME OF THE TEAM CREW WEREN’T ACTUALLY RELATED TO US! DAD WAS THE TALENTED ENGINEER AND RACER, WHILE MUM WAS THE REASON THAT CHRYSALIS RACING FLEW LIKE THE BUTTERFLY IT WAS.”
‘The paddock was our social life’, my mum used to say. After all, we were more likely to indulge in beans on toast in the pit garage than cordon bleu at the à la carte restaurant.
Weekends away generally involved standing in the pouring rain, fingers and toes being bereft of all feeling. I would stand robust against the torrent, warmed by the sight of my dad extending a seven second lead around a sopping wet racetrack.
I’d have my Auntie Dawn for company and my nan would have a flask of tea on the go, along with an anxious look on her face. And often my grandad would be chatting up a woman half his age, and telling her how much he paid for his sheepskin coat.
All in all, it was a time where I was totally unaware that the British Isles had a coastline. We travelled from our Southampton home and always drove inland, usually with me falling asleep in the van before the off. I’d wake up when dad hit the brakes at the end of our road. “Are we there yet?” I’d enquire. “Go back to sleep” was the usual reply…
It’s a time that
