Griff Growl 2009 – A TVR Griffith Sports Car Gathering

The TVR Car Club 2009 annual meeting of TVR Griffith Sports Cars was hosted at Ettington Chase, near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, over the weekend of 1st and 2nd August. Martin Lilley, one time owner of the TVR sports car company was there as special guest of honour.

Legend has it that if it rains on St. Swithin’s day, which is 15th July, as if you didn’t know, thereafter it will rain for 40–days and 40–nights. For those who are interested, St. Swithin was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester, born in the Kingdom of Wessex, just in case you were wondering.

Whilst the 2009 TVR Griff Growl was not held on 15th July, the date was, however, a wet day, and as if to support the legend of that ancient saint, it rained on just about every day since.

In the midst of this cursed period was the weekend of the TVR Griffith sports car owners annual get together, the 2009 Griff Growl, over the weekend of 1st and 2nd of August at the usual site of Ettington Chase, Warwickshire.

In fact, you may recall wet weather being a point of note within the coverage of the 2008 Griff Growl, as reported upon this website, so it seems rain has become a Griff Growl tradition. This year’s TVR Griffith sports car gathering was even scheduled 2–weeks adrift from its normal bad weather slot, but even doing this didn’t manage to dodge the rain.

118 TVR Griffith Owners Braved the Rain

Anyway, despite leadened skies and the copious precipitation that fell on the first day, 118 TVR Griffith owners brought their cars to The Griff Growl, with a further 49 other TVR models also attending. This included Ride Drive’s Simon Clowes with his own fine example of a TVR Chimaera.

As was the case last year, Ride Drive was offering TVR sports car drivers a free sample advanced driving session, lasting about 20–minutes.

The free sample advanced driving sessions were intended to give people an idea of what Ride Drive are capable of, or more to the point, what the TVR driver is capable of with a bit of Ride Drive coaching. This is a service that we at Ride Drive provide at most car shows we attend, and it is very popular.

These sample advanced driving sessions were as popular as ever, in spite of the rain, with the Ride Drive team meeting TVR sports car owners with many different models, as well as an owner of a Jaguar S–Type R.

Come Sunday it appeared as though old St. Swithin had lost his grip, as the sun shone and the temperature turned warm – just the job for getting those roof’s down for a bit of wind in the hair open top driving.

Feedback After a Ride Drive TVR Advanced Driving Session

The Ride Drive advanced driving sessions proved both thought provoking and energising, as many members stated they were already seeing an improvement in the handling and enjoyment of their TVR’s without sacrificing safety in any way. It is true to say they felt safer by using the techniques learned on the day.

Vanessa Lindley, one TVR owner taking advantage of the a free Ride Drive advanced driving session, kindly emailed the office upon her return home after the show to say,

"Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know how much I enjoyed the taster driving session today. We managed to avoid the rain and it’s made me realise how little I know about how to get the best driving from the car! I’m saving my pennies to book one of your courses!"

Even Though the Country Was in Recession, the Turnout Was Strong

It was always a worry, seeing as though the country was at the time in deep recession; to gauge just how well supported an event like the Griff Growl was going to be. There was a TVR Griffith sports car owner from Australia, who had attended last year, complete with his car, and another from Holland.

Traders at the site reported a high level of interest from the public, they having been kept on their feet all weekend. That was certainly the case for the Ride Drive team, only they were kept on another part of their anatomy – in the cars out on the road!

As usual, there was the charity auction to which traders had donated various items for people to bid for. Ride Drive had donated a gift voucher, representing a full–day performance car advanced driving experience.

The highest bidder for the Ride Drive gift voucher was Mr. Paul Davies from Bridgend, which netted £180.00 for the charity, Get A Head. This organisation raise money to help those who suffer from cancer and other diseases of the head and neck. The money raised by the Ride Drive advanced driving gift voucher added to an overall total of £1,500.

The 2009 Griff Growl was a rather special one as for this year there was a guest appearance of someone who is a special part of TVR manufacturing history. Martin Lilley, owner of the TVR sports car company from 1965 to 1980 had travelled down from Blackpool to support the event.

If you know anything about the history of TVR as a sports car manufacturer you will be aware that Martin Lilley bought the business from the business founder, Trevor Wilkinson, and ended up passing it on to Peter Wheeler.

Remembering Peter Wheeler 1945 – 2009

It was remembered with sadness that Trevor Wilkinson died after losing a battle against cancer in June 2008, and that Peter Wheeler also passed away in the same month of the following year. As a tribute to Peter Wheeler’s recent passing, more than 90 TVR Griffiths all roared their engines in unison, an orchestra conducted by Ride Drive and TVR Car Club official, Bob Young.

This was a fitting tribute to the man who it is said took TVR to super sports car stardom and who was responsible for the creation of the TVR Griffith as seen in large numbers at The Griff Growl every year.

Martin Lilley honoured the TVR Car Club and Griffith sports car owners by presenting a certificate for the best car of the show, the winner being Nigel Lewis for his red TVR Griffith SE.

So, from a wet and miserable start (weather–wise), through a warm and glorious sunny Sunday, it was farewell to another edition of TVR Griff Growl. We can now look forward to meeting everyone next year at the usual stomping ground of Ettington Chase in Warwickshire.

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Wednesday, 08-Dec-2010

Griff Growl 2009 – A TVR Griffith Sports Car Gathering