The owner of the only known surviving car from the first Macau Grand Prix is selling his beloved 1953 Morgan Plus Four – and told Hoje Macau he believes the vehicle belongs in Macao or Hong Kong.
Englishman Dick Worrall purchased the car – dubbed ‘Betsy’ – from its original owner back in 1968, 14 years after its inaugural race, when he was working in Hong Kong as a policeman. Hoje Macau says Worrall and Betsy also raced on the Guia Circuit together, the last time in 1985, and the car returned to the UK with him and his wife in 1997.
Worrall, who is about to turn 80, said he recognised that “Betsy will be around much longer than me,” and he liked the idea of her ending up back in one of the SARs.
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“[Betsy] certainly has a unique history linked to both locations, which would certainly guarantee it a very special place in any vintage car collection in the region,” Worrall told Hoje Macau.
“I can’t help but think how great it would be if one day she returned to Hong Kong and Macao, where she spent so many of her 70 years. In fact, that’s where she belongs,” said Worrall, who played a key role in the founding of Classic Car Club of Hong Kong.
When the Morgan raced in the first Macao Grand Prix, in 1954, it was owned by Gordon John Bell, the director of the Hong Kong Observatory. Bell was the first leader in the race, but lost to Portugal’s Eduardo Carvalho and his Triumph TR2. Bell continued driving the car on Hong Kong’s streets until the end of 1950s.
