The forward planning had taken months. In fact, it had taken so long that there was no time left to actually get anything ready and everyone had to take the Friday off work. Nick was busy polishing his newly-installed VGI Manifold and fitting Samco hoses. Damo and Paul were working flat-out to get Damo’s oak-green GTI ready in time for the show and Justin spent the day polishing every available surface in his engine bay, just in case someone decided to eat off it. Tris’s cabby wore a new set of Zenders, Joe had fitted his coilovers and Jeff, realising the Rallye wasn’t going to be ready, had spent a couple of days trying to start the Scirocco. It takes something pretty big to inspire that level of activity.
GTI International was especially big for Junction29, as it was to be the location of the first-ever club stand. Everyone was keen to get there early and the J29 convoy was amongst the first of the cars heading up the A12. The roads are a strange place on the way to these events as some of the best VWs in the country pass each other, almost like a rolling exhibition. The police are always keen to keep an eye on proceedings, especially near the venue itself, but there’s a competitive spirit in any dubber and just occasionally it gets the better of them, as one R32 driver found out when he came flying past Jct29’s convoy and suddenly found himself pursued by one oak-green 16v and a silver VR6, from which he wasn’t getting away! Another highlight of J29’s trip up was a pit-stop in a delightful Suffolk country lane off the A14, just beyond the Ipswich exit, in which the group parked up and contemplated the benefits of letting Nick lead the convoy.
Some members had less convoying to do that others. A select group of masochists convoyed to Woodbridge on the Friday afternoon, with essentials such as alcohol and luxuries like tents and sleeping bags, packed tightly into their boots. The tents were a waste of time the first night - the field had turned into marshland in the rain and the happy campers spent the night trying to keep warm in their cars. It turns out that a mk1 cabriolet is a remarkably comfortable place to sleep, as long as the roof isn't leaking! The second, slightly dryer night was a bigger success - after watching the spectacle of Rob and Tim from no-rice playing tug-o-war with their dubs, everyone sat round barbeques and drank themselves silly. Eventually, as the fire was dying down (after a visit from the Suffolk Fire Brigade) the campers settled down to sleep, the night air filled with the sounds of bass booming, engines being revved and Graham shouting at everyone to shut up.
The mud turned out to be an unexpected feature of the show. The cars were so caked in dried earth after trips onto the campsite that their owners decided not to clean them. Bruce and Jeff were amongst those owners, and the GT and Scirocco looked conspicuous parked alongside the other, cleaner cars on the Junction29 stand. If the quantity of comments on the internet is any way to judge a car’s popularity, then Damo’s newly-restored mk2 was the star of the J29 cars. The show represented its first public outing and, even on steel wheels, the response was great. It was a shame that Jeff’s turbo conversion wasn’t ready in time, but at least it gave the mk2 a long-awaited chance to shine. All the cars looked superb lined up together, especially with their black ‘Junction29’ show plates. They had been reversed into position so people could get a better view (despite strange warnings from the stewards that they would get blocked in because of this). We also had the most ambitious banner, a free-standing affair which wasn’t such a success. It didn’t fall over as we had feared, but unfortunately it did bend rather a long way. Far enough, in fact, to leave a permanent reminder of the event on Nicki’s spoiler, to which she reacted with remarkable grace.
Of course, Junction29 weren’t the only club at the show, and many closely-associated clubs had stands too. VR6Golf were located directly opposite J29 in the club parking area and No-Rice had a display in the main arena, on which Team Guru were proudly displaying their Derby. Jamie’s Corrado was a notable absentee from the J29 stand – it was on the Corrado Club UK display, but still proudly sported its J29 plates. The club display areas contained just about every water-cooled VW ever made, from mk1 Polos to R32s. A trio of Belgian mk1 Golfs attracted a huge amount of attention whilst the Club GTI regional stands had a fine turnout. A blue mk2 VR6 took first place in the show’n’shine and second in the concours and, having been spotted on many an occasion in Chelmsford, the owner, Tris, was quickly signed up to Junction29. There wasn’t a particular styling trend this year – there was the usual mix of Euro- and Brit-look cars, but more and more people are beginning to do their own thing, which has to be good.
It seemed traders were thinner on the ground than last year – most of the major retailers had turned up, but there were fewer small stalls. The lack of traders was reflected in a wider range being allowed in. There were stands selling garden furniture and some motor traders from outside the usual VW scene. The most notable of these was the Fuel stand, which was trying to sell bass CD’s and neon strips, but the only strips that anyone showed interest in were the ones being performed by the girls on the stand. Few people were complaining, including the eight-year-old lads watching, but it wasn’t appropriate for a family show and the stewards put a stop to it by lunch.
Of course, GTI International isn’t all about shopping and there are other ways to spend your time and money. A few J29ers attempted runs on the strip, with varying degrees of success. Bruce ran the quarter-mile in 18.25 seconds in his Polo GT. Lee’s mk1 GTI was quicker with a time of 17.01, but fastest of the day was Graham’s VR6 with 15.98. As usual, the second day brought out the really big-hitters. Star of the show was the Dyalinx Audi Quattro, which on its best run of the weekend completed the standing-quarter in 10.06 seconds, having hit 60 in only 2.5. The Dubweiser mk1 crossed the line in 11.04 seconds, making it second fastest of the weekend, but the really impressive duel was between the KW twin-turbo R32 and the Dubsport twin-engine VR6. The light went green and both cars leapt off the line, each reaching 60mph in 2.98 seconds and there was only a few hundredths of a second in it 440 yards later – amazing. Lee was also the first of the weekend to tackle the tyre-testing handling circuit, which involved plenty of screeching and tyre smoke as he scattered cones left and right on his way round the course. It certainly looked fun from the side of the track, as did Damo and Paul’s successful efforts to get the car moving again, after the immobiliser wires got damaged and the car ground to a halt.
Over the last few years it seems GTI International has been in danger of grinding to a halt. This year’s show was a definite improvement over last year’s, apart from the weather, but work still needs to be done if it is going to continue attracting the crowds it wants to attract. However, with the support of the VW community it could be a great show again, so rest assured Junction29 will be back in force next year.
Words by Nick, pictures by Tris.