The Pretoria Triumph Sports Car Club / Sportmotorklub constitutes the local chapter or centre for those members of the Triumph Sports Car Club of South Africa who are resident in the northern part of Gauteng Province in South Africa and adjacent areas such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West Provinces.
Membership of the Pretoria Triumph Sports Car Club is open to owners of Triumph cars or people who take an interest in Triumphs, while membership is not restricted to the Pretoria area and environs only. We have members resident on the East Rand and the Johannesburg area as well.
Members of the Pretoria Triumph Sports Car Club / Sportmotorklub mainly own Triumph sports cars – hence the name – but owners of Triumph saloon cars are equally welcome to join. The Pretoria centre is a social club that encourages members to bring their spouses, partners and families along on events, runs and ‘noggin and natters’. Being centered in Pretoria, the Club has a significant percentage of members whose home language is Afrikaans, and it therefore proudly boasts a unique bilingual character.
Monthly meetings, known as ‘noggin and natters’, are regularly held on the third Wednesday of every month, starting at the club house at 19:30. A regular monthly event usually follows on the Sunday following the noggin, or the last Sunday of the month. The exact dates are reflected in the program of events for the year that appears elsewhere on the Club’s website.
Established in 1981, the Pretoria centre was characterized by dynamic growth and an equally dynamic series of events during its relatively short history of twenty seven years. The three largest gatherings of club members and Triumphs in South Africa to date were initiated, organized and hosted by the Pretoria centre:
In 1991 the club celebrated its first ten years by means of the first ‘Triumph 100’ that attracted 145 Triumphs at a prominent landmark, the University of South Africa, including a ‘Triumphant’ motorcade through Pretoria that ended at the historic Pioneer Park in Silverton.
In 1998 the Pretoria centre organized the Grand Anniversary Gathering at AFB Zwartkop in celebration of Triumph’s 75 years of existence. A total of 254 Triumphs were arranged in a neatly encircled ‘75’ for an aerial photo that was published internationally and also featured on television. Many more members, including overseas guests and people from the press attended.
In 2006 the Pretoria centre’s silver anniversary was celebrated by means of the second ‘Triumph 100’ at the Voortrekker Monument in a carnival atmosphere with a spit braai picnic and a magnificent exhibition of 109 Triumph cars that included some rare specimens. It attracted entries and members from all the TSCC centres in South Africa in addition to press and television coverage.
To date two national gatherings have been organized and hosted by the Pretoria centre: Loskop Dam in 1992 and the event at the Hartebeespoort Dam in 1998. The centre’s third national event is being organized at Maselspoort in the Free State Province from 26 April to 1 May 2008 and full details appear elsewhere on this website.
Membership benefits include access to the Triumph Club’s car insurance and parts sourcing schemes, a regular and informative monthly newsletter in addition to subscription of the TSCC of SA’s quarterly magazine, Sabrina, as well as a variety of club regalia ranging from special shirts, jackets, caps, badges to key rings, etc. The most important benefit, however, is the opportunity for a Triumph owner to share his/her passion for Triumphs with other likeminded enthusiasts. The pool of technical expertise available within the club, and the privilege to benefit from the advice of experienced Triumph owners in terms of repairs, rebuilding or evaluating a Triumph in terms of condition, originality and value before acquisition, is as invaluable as the level of camaraderie found within the club.
