written by Terence McKillen

The COVID-19 Pandemic has thrown everyone a curveball and regretfully the Toronto Triumph Club has made the difficult decision to cancel British Car Day scheduled for Sunday 20th September 2020.



This is not a step we have taken lightly and we’ve waited until the last possible moment to cancel but it is the only socially-responsible option during this virus crisis. Given the current guidance of the health authorities we believe this is the right decision to take as an organization in order to ensure the health and safety of our sponsors, our vendors, our car show owners, our visitors, our volunteers and the local community.



Please mark your calendars for Sunday 19th September 2021 for the 37th running of British Car Day. We look forward to seeing you then but in the meantime stay safe!



The 37th Annual British Car Day will be held on Sunday, September 19th, 2021 at Bronte Provincial Park.

A Message from the BCD Chairman

Another great show is planned and we are expecting over 1,000 British Cars, great vendors, 3 wonderful anniversary cars, a fly by of WW1 bi-planes and tri-planes courtesy of The Great War Flying Museum, and much more. Pre-registration through FASTLANE will be avaialble in May 2021; it's a great way to save money ($15 versus $20 at the gate) and time (you pick up your goody bag on the way in which includes an excellent programme, voting card and pencil, dash plaque and much, much more). The Awards Ceremonies start at 2 p.m. and go for about an hour. Please stick around so you can pick up your award ... we have 57 different car classes and 3 awards per class so the odds are pretty good that you might! There will also be a panel of judges selecting the Best of Show car and a Long Distance Award presented to the car driven the furthest (you must pre-register to be eligible). Winner of the 2019 Best of Show car, a 1933 Morgan Supersports JAP owned by Dave & Pauline Smith for 53 years typifies the wonderful cars and enthusiasts that come to the show.

I look forward to seeing you on the 19th September 2021. Dave Sims, Chairman British Car Day®.

About British Car Day

British Car Day® is hosted annually by the Toronto Triumph Club, on the third Sunday of September. Since its inaugural event in 1984, it has grown in leaps and bounds, and now draws more than 1,000 British cars and over 9,000 spectators, with room to grow even bigger. British Car Day® is open to vintage, classic and current British manufactured vehicles, including motorcycles. The event is the largest, one-day, all-British car event in North America, with visitors from Ontario, the northeast United States, the Maritime provinces, Quebec, and Manitoba, representing membership in 100 British car clubs. However, you do not need to be a member of a car club to participate. Over the years, we have even had visitors from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Texas, the UK, and New Zealand.

Venue

The venue for British Car Day® is Bronte Creek Provincial Park, about 25 miles west of downtown Toronto, conveniently located at the Burloak Drive exit off the Queen Elizabeth Way. The south entrance is for non-British cars & spectators, while the north entrance is reserved for British car exhibitors and vendors.

Every year one of the most popular destinations at British Car Day® is the Vendor Village area. Over 50 British-related vendors offer their new and used goods for sale, including car parts, complete cars, t-shirts, hats, tools, books, supplies, and so on. Many vendors offer end-of-season specials, so there are lots of bargains to be had and great food is available from the many food vendors on site.

Another popular destination is 'Sponsor Street' where our valued sponsors demonstrate their products and services. In 2019, Exotic Motorworks, Crescent Oil, travel Oakville, Lant Insurance, Autoglym, Hagerty Insurance and Edward Jones sponsored our event, and we hope that they will be back for more in 2021.

Access & Times

Show cars gain access to the park via the north maintenance/service entrance, at the bend where Burloak Drive becomes Upper Middle Road, from 8:00am onwards. The spectator gates open at 9:00am and Participant's Choice & Best of Show judging begins in earnest. The judging wraps up at 1:00pm and the awards ceremony begins at 2:00pm. Some cars attend from a long distance away, so they may leave the show early to make it home before dark. Best to plan to be at the show as early as possible so as not to miss any of the amazing vehicles on display.

57 Classes

BCD comprises 57 classes of cars and motorcycles, running the whole range of British automobile marques from Austin to Westfield with model names from Anglia to Zephyr, and everything in between. The organizers encourage everyone to bring along their British cars, whether they be current model cars, daily drivers, partially restored cars or projects-in-progress, to line up with the many classic and concours-class cars in the appropriate marque and model class. British Car Day® is the opportunity everyone looks forward to, to chat, to scrutinize, and to plan for next year. It's a car show but it is also a big, end of season, social event.

Featured Models 2021

Notable British car anniversaries include those carried forward from 2020 are MG TD, Morgan Plus 4 (celebrating 70 years) and Triumph Stag (50 years) as well as 3 additional models - Jaguar E-type, Triumph TR4 and MG Midget, all celebrating 60 years in 2021. Examples of these fine British marques will be located on Sponsor Street just south of Registration.

The executive and members of the Toronto Triumph Club, together with the organizing committee look forward to welcoming you to the 37th British Car Day®. Enjoy!



The Charlie Conquergood Memorial Award

Charlie Conquergood was a friend to all and a staunch supporter of the Toronto Triumph Club and British Car Day. Charlie passed away on March 9, 2009 from cancer. He was always there to help and happy to do so. He never complained and most of all was well known and loved by many people throughout our hobby. Over the years he touched the hearts - and cars - of many.

Charlie took on many roles within the TTC including a term as President. He was instrumental in developing and computerising the master plan for the lay out of the various marques and models and vendor stalls at British Car Day and for many years would personally be involved in the laying out of the field on the Saturday morning before BCD.

Each year, his friends at the Toronto Triumph Club award a special commemorative plaque in recognition of Charlie’s passing and his unreserved devotion to his wife Sandy, his family and faithful Triumph Spitfire 'Gumby'.

The recipient of the award is decided by the Executive Committee of the TTC and their decision is based on members who have demonstrated a similar devotion and dedication to the Club and as a reflection of the life values and spirit of friendship, which Charlie Conquergood always shared with us.

At the 36th British Car Day, the Charlie Conquergood Award was presented to long-time club member, Johan Aaltink of Lefroy, ON. Johan is responsible for field layout at British Car Day and has been an active volunteer, including President, in Toronto Triumph Club for many years. Congratulations to Johan from all of your many friends at the TTC!