This day has been chosen as it falls on the anniversary of the original unveiling of the Ford Mustang – 17 April 1964.
Alex Fearn, MOCGB Channel Islands area secretary, said: ‘MOCGB was founded in 1979 and started off with a few Mustang owners attending race meetings at Santa Pod. There are just under 2,000 paid-up members with membership mainly based in the UK. The club has a busy online forum together with Facebook pages and Instagram.’
Alex, who is also regional director for Team Shelby, British Isles, the Shelby American enthusiasts club, is a Mustang owner and has been a keen supporter of the Mustang marque since his early years.
He explains: ‘I have been a fan of the iconic Mustang since the early 1960s. I also saw, first-hand, the close partnership between Ford and Shelby American which led to their famous one-two-three victory at Le Mans in 1966 with the GT40s and I want to continue that connection for both clubs in the islands. These days, the business relationship between Ford and Shelby American has never been stronger.’
MOCGB represents enthusiasts and owners of the Ford Mustang, which has been in continuous production since 1964. The club caters for all models and is there to help anyone with an interest in anything ‘Mustang’.
‘With the launch of the right-hand drive Mustang in 2015, the dynamics of Mustang ownership has changed from the early days and numbers have swelled with these new model owners,’ says Alex. ‘However, the friendly and helpful outlook shown by many owners, together with the Mustang tradition of personalisation is still as strong as ever.’
Alex is eager to see the Channel Islands develop as a major region for the MOCGB and thinks the time is right to have a dedicated area secretary who can support owners with regular meetings and events across the islands, once the Covid restrictions are lifted.
‘The plan is to launch Jersey first, then Guernsey will be considered when travel becomes possible again,’ he said. ‘Since 2015 local ownership has increased significantly and the time is now right to join these owners and enthusiasts together while maintaining friendly support and working partnerships with the other Ford owners’ clubs in the islands.
‘I have been fully supported by the MOCGB committee, who have worked tirelessly to help me with the CI area launch. I am also grateful to TrustFord, who are helping with our launch and their Victoria Avenue showroom will be one of the stops during our inaugural meet. They had a great 2015 Mustang launch party which included the presence of Ford GT race driver and Channel Islander Andy Priaulx and I am delighted we are maintaining this close link locally.’
The MOCGB offers benefits to its members, which include a bi-monthly magazine, free insurance valuations, club and member discounts on insurance together with technical help on age-related number-plate issues.
There are regional meetings held across the UK, an annual club car show, together with attendance at major events and shows. These include the London Classic Car Show, NEC Classic Car Show, Speedfest at Brands Hatch and the Silverstone Classic. New members receive a welcome pack which includes a keyring, car window sticker and membership card.
The inaugural meeting will take place at 4pm on Saturday 17, meeting up at Les Jardins de La Mer car park in St Helier. This will be followed by a visit to TrustFord, Victoria Avenue, and a short drive around the Island to commemorate the 1964 Mustang launch at the World Fair in New York. This will adhere to government Covid guidelines.
Stuart Foulds, chairman and chief executive at TrustFord, said: ‘It is fantastic to see the iconic Ford Mustang will be celebrated in the Island on National Mustang Day. We are so pleased that the Mustang Owners’ Club of Great Britain will make a pit-stop at our Victoria Avenue site during their commemorative drive around the Island, and that we will be able to share the moment with the local community.’
Island Mustang enthusiasts and owners are encouraged to get in touch and are invited to bring their Mustang along to the official launch and first meeting. There are dedicated MOCGB Channel Islands and Team Shelby Facebook pages set up at the following addresses: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mocgb.channelislands, and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1944918509129772.
Alex can also be contacted by email at CI@mocgb.net or teamshelbyuk@gmail.com.
National Mustang Day
National Mustang Day will be celebrated across the world and a report on the event in Jersey will be shared in the May/June edition of the MOCGB club magazine, together with the global Ford Mustang community including the UK, Europe and the USA.
This celebrates the original launch of Ford’s longest continuously produced model, now in its sixth generation. On the same day that Henry Ford II launched the Mustang, the car debuted in Ford dealer showrooms across America and 22,000 were immediately sold. In its first year of production the Ford Mustang sold over 500,000 units. This ‘working man’s Thunderbird’ with its long hood and short deck created the ‘Pony Car’ segment. More than ten million have now been sold.
Looking ahead, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, a regular meeting will be set up, probably on a monthly basis. Alex is planning to attend the MOCGB track day at Santa Pod on 13 August, which is currently open for booking to MOCGB members.
There have already been some exciting new Mustang model-launch announcements in 2021, including the Shelby Super Snake and Speedster and the new Mach 1. It is hoped the MOCGB Channel
Islands will be able to organise some
events around new model launches in the future.
The next large Island event will be the Jersey International Motoring Festival and during previous years Alex has organised a suitable Mustang presence. Due to Covid restrictions the event will take place later this year and it is hoped this will again include a corral of Mustangs.
