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2024 Team

In the pits at Daytona before practice

Left to right: Barry Sumner (Team Boss), Jack Bellinger (driver),  Neil Peters (engine builder) Neil's sons (Arthur and Bertie), Ian Sumner, (driver) and George Montgomery (radio comms man for ship to shore radio).​

At Hooters Bar relaxing​

The Team unwinding with some new friends at Hooters.

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Barry Sumner

Owner of Black Sheep, Team Manager and single-handed pit crew

Barry has been competing in motor sport since 1967. He started with motor bikes and scooters in ACU trials and speed events.

He competed in the 1967 ACU National Rally.

In 1968 he did the ACU National Rally again - 600 miles round Britain in 24 hours. He won the Bronze award. 

He also did scooter racing and did one event on an Enfield 250.

He then took up trialling on two wheels although he did one event in a Reliant 3-wheeler. He recalls that this was very scary and never competed in a Reliant 3-wheeler again. 

He then tried an Enfield with a sidecar but, unsurprisingly, his wife refused to crew for him.

Barry had developed a taste for trialling and was a frequent competitor in MCC Classic trials events as well as production car trials in his Morgans. Barry won a coveted Triple, something that very few Morgans have achieved.

He also did autotests, sprints and hillclimbs in his Morgan.

Always up for a challenge, Barry also competed in a number of classic rallies in his Morgan and a Jaguar XK150. Events included the Pirelli Marathons, the Monte Carlo and the London to Sydney. 

Barry has competed in circuit racing for over 40 years including Bentley Drivers’ Club meetings.  He has driven in several winning teams in 750 Motor Club relay races.  He has been a regular competitor in the Morgan Challenge since it started in 1985. 

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Things that Barry says he will never forget:

Meeting Jack and Sally Bellinger one dark night in November 1982.

They had broken down and Barry towed them to his home.

Jack's account of this memorable meeting:

Sally was pregnant (8.5 months). We went to a skittles evening (I know how to treat a girl)  when we left we got half a mile down the road and broke down. 

We were left stranded at the side of road in the dark (she was not happy).

Then along came Barry, her Knight in shining armour.

He stopped, got out of his car and asked what was wrong. I told him I had broken down - no oil pressure . ”Don’t worry"  he said "I'll tow you back to our place”.

To my horror he bent my noumber plate out of the way (on my pride and joy !) and hooked up the tow rope saying  “follow me “ .  No blooming choice I thought .

We ended up in his garage he lent me an oil pump and fitted it. 

Meanwhile we left Sally with Janny, waiting for the baby to turn up.

Janny fed her some special recipe (to stop the baby popping ) which worked luckily. I'm not sure if I ever paid for the oil pump  (shhhh) but Janny did get a bunch of red roses for her endeavours.

That started our great friendship going back 40 odd years.

 

750MC 6-hour Relay at Snetterton in 1999 in the wet in Black Sheep.

The throttle stuck open coming into the chicane, switched ignition off using the key, switched ignition on and then off to get through bomb hole and same for Coram – Decision time do I go in pits unannounced or do it tell them have a problem and drive another lap on the key – chose latter, scary beyond belief with a full house V8 suddenly unleashing power, but did it and we won on handicap.

 

The hare and tortoise races in Morgan 4/4s with Jack in the early years, and who would do the next go faster modification first.

The first meeting of the cars and drivers was at the Long Marston Sprint.

In order to try to beat each other they made more modifications including carburettors, shock absorbers and camshafts. Barry had the last word by fitting a camshaft designed for cars towing caravans. Jack couldn't get one and so Barry always managed to have better performance comiing out of tight corners. 

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Barry at the top of Stelvio on a Classic Marathon

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Barry and Keith Morris discuss a technical issue

Ian with the winner's spoils from a Morgan Challenge race in 2022

Ian Sumner - Driver

Ian is Barry’s son and has been encouraged from a very young age to take part in motor sport in some of Barry’s varied collection of Morgans. 

His initiation to circuit racing was when Barry took him and his brother James to Llandow where he insisted they drove lap after lap in the rain getting to know how to handle a car on circuit and in wet conditions. It stood them in good stead as they are both now very quick and competent drivers.

Ian’s first event was in a production car trial in 2008. His first circuit race was a handicap race at Bentley Drivers’ Club Silverstone in the wet when he achieved an impressive 9th place. Clearly his initiation stood him in good stead.

Ian has, since then, gone from strength to strength, following in his Dad’s wheeltracks competing in many Morgan races including at Spa and Assen.

Jack Bellinger - Driver

Founder member of the Morgan Challenge Series and regular competitor both in the UK and Europe in Morgans and other historic cars.

Jack’s first competitive event was in 1970 when he did a Brands Hatch Formula Ford day. In 1978 he competed in auto cross in a Mark1 Escort 

He later replaced it with a Mark 2 Escort and in1979 he sprinted it at Goodwood and rolled it at the chicane with Sally his wife and their baby watching. 

 

In 1980 Jack bought a Morgan that he fitted with an Escort engine. This he sprinted it at Curborough in the early 1980s.

 

During the 1980s Jack was chief mechanic for John and Mary Lindsay’s team Bulldog Morgan +8 in the Willhire 24 hour races at Snetterton. He fell in love with the Moss box Plus 8 and his wife Sally gave him a Plus 8 rebuild project that many will know as 123WAR. 

 

Jack has raced in the Morgan Challenge since the beginning in 1985 to 2022 in a variety of Morgans but mostly in WAR. He had a many class wins during that time. 

 

He has competed in a number of Birkett 6-hour relays, winning on handicap several times.

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In addition to Morgan racing Jack has raced a Lotus Cortina at Spa (unfortunately it blew the head gasket).

He has raced with David Cook in a Lotus 11 at Imola, Spa, Zandvoort, Monthlery and other European circuits. 

Other Morgan racing included with Adrian Van Der Kroft in his +4,  XOV555, his Series1 Morgan and his Cooper Bobtail all at Le Mans a few times as well as racing Adrian’s Cooper Monaco and SLR Morgan in the UK, Europe and Bahrain.

Jack has also driven Keith Ahlers’ Morgan TOK258 with Rick Bourne at Le Mans and has also driven his SLR

He has raced with and against Barry Sumner for the last 30 odd years including winning at Silverstone in Black Sheep.

Jack also drove in the Lindsay’s 2CV team in four 24 hour races in their car “Wild Thing”.

Races he says he will never forget:

  • Being beaten by Mary Lindsay (more than once)

  • Bursting Barry’s tyre with a nut spinner

  • Fuel cap coming loose on the Lotus11 spilling fuel on his feet 

  • Braking for a corner the rear brake pipe leaked spraying fluid on rear disk and smoking like mad, went into the pits with no brakes turned ignition off and managed to select first, just managing to stop (getting a 10-second time penalty for speeding in pit lane. 

  • Accidentally setting off the fire extinguisher in the Citroen 2CV and being sprayed with cold CO2 in a sensitive place.

Friends and Family

No project is possible without the loyal and generous support of friends and family.

 

Barry's wife Jan has always supported and encouraged him in his various Morgan exploits over the years. Always welcoming, cheerful and optimistic, Jan has hosted and fed countless friends and helpers who have worked, often until late into the night, on his assorted Morgans. 

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Barry's elder son James is holding the fort at Barry's Bracknell-based company. There is currently a great deal going on in the business and James keeping everything under control during Barry's absence.

James is also a keen racer and races Barry's well-known and highly competitive Morgan 4/4 , VMO. 

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Jack's wife Sally has supported and encourage him in his countless Morgan racing adventures over the years. She managed to bring up the three "Belliinger Boys", Billy, Bob and Ben, often seen with them in the paddock in their camper van. Sally even bought Jack a Morgan for his birthday. 

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Jack's eldest son Billy, now a very successful racing driver in Morgan and historic racing, uses the expertise and contacts of his Morgan specialist company to assist with parts and expertise. Billy has raced Black Sheep with considerable success.

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Barry with Sally Bellinger

James Sumner after a successful race in VMO

Barry Sumner, Ian Sumner and Sally Bellinger

Barry, James and Ian with their awards won in the Morgan Challenge

Billy Bellinger receiving the TT race award from  Leigh Sebba

The 2CV connection

Barry is a talented engineer and innovator and was instrumental in preparing and driving a Citroen 2CV in four of the 24-hour races at Snetterton with Jack Bellinger and Mary Lindsay.

Jack's memories of 2 CV Racing

Mary and John Lindsay had a plan to go 2CV 24-hour racing and needed an engine so what really expensive engine builder could they use?

Let’s try Barry, he's cheap. So that was that. And what great engines were built - well done Barry!

Barry and I thought we would sort out the suspension (now that’s a laugh).

We jacked it up and looked at those big tubes, trying to work out what to do .

Easy (we thought) so we worked out a plan and did what we thought wouid work. 

Put it back on the floor to find that it was 6 inches higher - “what” ???

Then we decided that it was time to look at the instructions.  Funny people the French !!

Jack Bellinger, Mary Lindsay, Barry Sumner and Peter Garland,  2CV 24 hour race team drivers

The 2010 2CV crew. Left to right front:

Tim Clark, Mary Lindsay, Barry Sumner, Jack Bellinger, Sally Bellinger and Nicola Downes.

Wild Thing, cornering hard round Russell at Snetterton

Jack Bellinger, Barry Sumner and Tim Clark

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