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TR drivers gather for 'Bullet Run'

Published 30 June 2016

TR fans gathered to celebrate the life and work of Standard-Triumph’s chief development engineer Tony Lee in June. The event, which was dubbed the ‘Bullet Run’, took place on the weekend of 17-19 June.

Inspired by the famous TR7 prototype photos with Lee, 42 cars headed to Bwlch y Groes in Wales via the test route regularly used by factory test drivers. Known at the Canley factory as ‘Ride and Drive’, it was a thorough test with up to 300 miles along varied roads that culminated at the scenic Bwlch y Groes location. The run, which was organised by the TR Drivers’ Club, aimed to recreate the route and invited owners of all Triumph models to take part.

Drivers departed from the Ettington Chase hotel near Stratford-Upon-Avon shortly after 9am on Saturday and headed on various cross country/motorway routes for the secondary start at Oswestry A5 Services where the second batch of Triumphs driven by the Lee family members awaited them.

Oswestry is the gateway from the busy motorway network of the Midlands to the scenic driving roads of Wales and then the real driving began. Heading towards Lake Vyrnwy at the base of Snowdonia National Park, the convoy was guided to the Artisan Café where it were greeted by a plethora of Triumphs from the club’s Red Dragons group.

Bwlch -Y-Groes Prototype Image.

The famous 1974 TR7 protoype photo of Tony Lee (left) and John Lloyd, director of engineering (right) at Bwlch-Y-Groes, Wales.

After arriving back at Ettington, guests were treated to some rare, unseen historic Triumph films. before the highlight of the evening when Gordon Birtwistle, Triumph’s high speed development engineer who worked closely with Tony Lee, addressed drivers.

Birtwistle took us through his 21 year career at Triumph, which covered every model from the Herald to the Acclaim. He worked for Tony Lee and the two became close friends so it was fitting to welcome him as our guest speaker.

The Bullet Run was a different type of event on the Triumph calendar and proved popular – so much so that the TRDC is looking to organize another Bullet Run next year.