Rapid Rundown - December 2025

Hello everyone.

It has been another very successful year for our club. There have been scores of social activities, including drives, lunches and dinners which were available for the enjoyment of all members. If you didn’t manage to attend any of these, then make a new year’s resolution to get along to one in 2026. Thank you to all the Chapter Leaders who have produced these events every month for our enjoyment. And thank you to all the group leaders and tail ends who contributed to the success of the drives.

There was also a huge variety of motorsport events available to all members. You should be proud of your club as the outright winner of the Inter Club Competition (ICC) for 2025. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Henri van Roden to encourage entries, 40 or so MX-5 Club Qld members competed over the series and outscored 11 other clubs which included BMW Club Qld, Porsche Club Qld, MG Car Club Qld, Lotus Club Qld and Qld 86/BRZ Club. This is a repeat of the performance in 2024. Congratulations Henri and the team!

Many members will be looking forward to NatMeet XVI to be held in the Cessnock area in early May 2026. This is a great biennial event with large attendance from all over Australia. If you left it too late to register, then join the waitlist now and be first in line if there is a cancellation. A notice will be going out in the new year to ascertain which participants in the various regions are interested in a group drive to the event with an overnight stop.

Some new members may be wondering why they have not received their membership badges. Don’t worry, you haven’t been forgotten. The badge template and layout are under review as some production inconsistencies have been observed. So, new badge production is temporarily on hold until these issues have been addressed.

Unfortunately, we still don’t have a Gold Coast Chapter Leader. I implore members in the Gold Coast region to seriously consider taking on the role. It does not have to be one member. Why not put two or three heads together and share the coordination duties? The management committee will provide you with all the help we can muster and I’m certain that members in the area will be in full support.

Eric McColough has also stepped down from the role as editor of the Rag-Top Review online magazine. I thank Eric for all the work he has put into producing the Rag-Top Review every quarter for you. We now need one of you to please step up and collate the publication. You will be supplied with an Apple Mac laptop loaded with InDesign publishing software and separate screen. So, if you want to unleash that inner newsletter editor in you, then please do it now and call me.

On behalf of the Management Committee, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a healthy 2026. Busy schedules never seem to end, but I trust that you will be able to find time to relax with family and friends or to get away for a break.

And don't forget to ensure that your treasured MX-5's health is also maintained in the new year with an annual service and thorough check over.

Keep zooming.
John Tait
President