British Hillclimb Championship Prescott 19th & 20th September 2026
RYDER HOOKS HAT-TRICK IN DRAMATIC THREE-WAY PRESCOTT DENOUEMENT
The British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport gathered at the beautiful parkland setting of Prescott in Gloucestershire on the 19th and 20th of September. Rounds 25 and 26 were the last two Top 12 Run-Offs of the 2026 season and the championship was yet to be decided. The meeting was livestreamed on YouTube by Richard Danby in association with Hay Fisher Productions, with a big screen provided by the start to show the action to those choosing not to climb the hill. The 2015 British Hillclimb champion Alex Summers was among the commentary team, rather than pedalling his self-designed and built AFS P8T, after having his appendix removed shortly before the meeting.
The British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport gathered at the beautiful parkland setting of Prescott in Gloucestershire on the 19th and 20th of September. Rounds 25 and 26 were the last two Top 12 Run-Offs of the 2026 season and the championship was yet to be decided. The meeting was livestreamed on YouTube by Richard Danby in association with Hay Fisher Productions, with a big screen provided by the start to show the action to those choosing not to climb the hill. The 2015 British Hillclimb champion Alex Summers was among the commentary team, rather than pedalling his self-designed and built AFS P8T, after having his appendix removed shortly before the meeting.
The Cotswold estate held its first event on the 15th of May 1938, won by Arthur Baron in a Bugatti T51. Featuring a 200 ft elevation change from the start line to the finish line, the ‘Long’ course measures 1127 yards in length after the 1960 extension to the 880-yard original ‘Short’ course, which nowadays only sees regular use by the VSCC in August. The hill also had a crossover section added before Ettores hairpin but this is now disused. The current hill record of 34.60 seconds was set by the Gould GR59 of Matthew Ryder in 2024.
|
|
The 2026 British Hillclimb Championship season so far…
Rounds 1 & 2 Prescott 25th & 26th April: The new season got underway at Prescott towards the end of April and the honours were split across the opening two Top 12 Run-Offs between reigning champion Matthew Ryder and Will Hall, with the former drawing first blood by just 0.03 seconds before 0.13 seconds separated them later to set the tone for the season ahead. Four-time champion Wallace Menzies began his year with a pair of podium finishes, with all three of them at the wheel of Gould GR59 chassis.
Rounds 3 & 4 Craigantlet 2nd May: The May Day Bank Holiday weekend visit to Craigantlet saw Matthew Ryder take the hill record under 39 seconds for the first time on the closed-road course as he claimed the opening Run-Off and the subsequent bonus point. Will Hall and Wallace Menzies also made the ascent under the previous hill record in the earlier Run-Off as just 0.06 seconds covered the trio. Ryder repeated his earlier success in Round Four as he shaved 0.37 seconds from his Round Three time for another point, Hall also scored a bonus point in the later contest when he guided his Gould up the course in the ’38s’ for the first time, a slim 0.04 seconds behind Ryder as Menzies secured another third.
Rounds 5 & 6 Harewood 10th May: The championship visited Harewood in West Yorkshire for the first time during 2026 the weekend after the Northern Irish event. Quadruple champion Wallace Menzies took his first Run-Off win of the season in Round Five before Matthew Ryder hit back to grab the Round Six spoils. Ryder had scored zero points in the first Top 12 Run-Off as electrical dramas hobbled the Judd DB4-engined GR59 and Ryder lost the championship lead to Will Hall as a result, with the new table-topper taking a pair of second places. Trevor Willis took his first top-three finish of the year in Round Five before earlier victor Menzies completed the podium in Round Six.
Rounds 7 & 8 Gurston Down 23rd & 24th May: The annual visit to Gurston Down was held on a searing Spring Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. Matthew Ryder dominated at the Wiltshire hill as the Gould GR59 cantered to both Run-Off victories but chief rival Will Hall kept him in sight with a pair of second places, whilst Wallace Menzies added two more thirds to his tally. The practice runs were marred by a scary incident for Australian champion Dean Tighe, whose Empire Wraith was wrecked when it became airborne after the finish line at over 140mph before crashing down in the hedgerow alongside the course but fortunately Tighe was largely unhurt.
Rounds 9 & 10 Shelsley Walsh 6th & 7th June: The first visit of the year to the famed Shelsley Walsh course was made in early June. Championship leader Will Hall was on imperious form at the historic hill as the Gould GR59 pilot flew to both Run-Off victories and secured a precious bonus point in Round Nine to rapturous applause with a 22.33-second shot, cutting 0.04 seconds from Sean Gould’s previous mark of 22.37 seconds set in 2021. Chief rival Matthew Ryder was second in the opening Run-Off before David Uren scored his best result of the year up to the Prescott finale in the later stanza. Wallace Menzies took two more thirds as he also bested fourth-placed Ryder in Round 10.
Rounds 11 & 12 Doune 20th & 21st June: The fearsome Scottish course of Doune played host over the summer solstice weekend and Will Hall continued his Shelsley Walsh form to prevail in the first Run-Off by 0.64 seconds from Matthew Ryder, with Wallace Menzies taking his tenth third place finish of the season from Alex Coles’ supercharged Force TA in a great fourth. Ryder got back to winning ways later on with a 0.49-second margin to runner-up Menzies. David Warburton was a brilliant third with his 1600cc Gould GR59. Hall was a non-qualifier for the second Run-Off after an incident during his class run so left Scotland tied at the top of the standings with Ryder. 2015 British champion Alex Summers scored the first point for his self-designed and built AFS P8T chassis during Round 12 with tenth. Remarkably, Dean Tighe was back in action at the Scottish hill after the Australian's enormous crash at Gurston Down, having only missed the Shelsley Walsh weekend whilst his Empire Wraith was rebuilt.
Rounds 13 & 14 Harewood 4th & 5th July: The championship moved on to Harewood next and the second trip to the longest mainland course came on British Grand Prix weekend in early July. Wallace Menzies recorded his second Run-Off victory of the season in Round 13, besting Matthew Ryder by 0.05 seconds as Will Hall took third. Jack Cottrill impressed with his season’s best result so far of fourth. Hall returned to winning ways in Round 14 by 0.13 seconds from Ryder, with the Dallara Cosworth of Cottrill improving to third in the afternoon and equalling his career-best result. Missing out on the later Run-Off was Menzies after his engine let go on his qualifying run and the Scot faced a battle to make the Channel Island double-header just nine days later. Hall and Ryder left Yorkshire still tied at the top of the standings.
Rounds 15 & 16 Bouley Bay 14th July: The opening leg of the traditional Channel Island trip in July began with a mid-week run up the demanding Bouley Bay hill on Jersey. Wallace Menzies had replaced the Cosworth XD unit in the back of his Gould GR59 to make it to Jersey and the hard work by his crew was repaid with victory in the opening Run-Off by a hefty 0.89 seconds from Matthew Ryder and Will Hall in third, the Scot’s time was just 0.04 seconds away from a hill record bonus point too. Menzies completed the double in Round 16 by 0.30 seconds from Hall, whilst Ryder completed the podium. With Hall and Ryder reversing their earlier result, they remained tied at the top of the standings leaving the third meeting in a row as Menzies lurked just 11 points behind them. A number of mainland competitors missed the event after problems with the ferry crossings, including hill record holder Trevor Willis, which meant that only nine cars contested the first Run-Off before ten took part later.
Rounds 17 & 18 Val des Terres 18th July: The second part of the Channel Island double-header took place four days later up the Val des Terres course on Guernsey. Wallace Menzies made it a hat-trick in the archipelago with victory in the opening Run-Off by 0.69 seconds from Matthew Ryder and also bagged a bonus point after shaving 0.30 seconds from his 2023 hill record. The reigning title holder Ryder defeated his championship rival Will Hall by 0.17 seconds to sit alone at the points summit, at least for a few hours. More success followed for Menzies later on, along with another bonus point, meaning that his margin to the top spot in the championship was reduced to just six points after taking all four Run-Offs on Jersey and Guernsey. The four victories also moved the Scot past the legendary Roy Lane into third on the all-time Run-Off winners list with 92. The ongoing tug of war between Hall and Ryder saw the pair tied for the points lead yet again as they returned to the mainland, after the pair once more reversed their morning results as Hall took second from Ryder. Having missed the Jersey meeting, Trevor Willis was present at the St Peter Port hill to consolidate his fourth position in the championship with a sixth and fifth place finish in the Run-Offs. Alex Summers also missed the Bouley Bay event but matched Willis’ performance on Guernsey with the carbon-chassised AFS P8T, a week after starring in the Goodwood Festival of Speed shoot out with a Can-Am Shadow DN4.
Rounds 19 & 20 Wiscombe Park 25th & 26th July: The technical Devonshire parkland course at Wiscombe Park was the setting for the British Hillclimb Championship’s next competitive action in late July, with Wallace Menzies taking his fifth Run-Off win in a row and sixth from seven on Saturday. Will Hall was second to the Scot by 0.24 seconds as Alex Summers scored his maiden podium with the V8-powered AFS P8T chassis in Round 19. Matt Ryder didn’t score on Saturday after the Gould broke a driveshaft whilst warming its tyres but stormed to victory by 0.53 seconds on Sunday and claimed a bonus point too, after slicing 0.04 seconds off his existing hill record. Menzies followed up his win on Saturday with the runner-up position in Round 20. Will Hall took third and left Devon four points clear of new second place holder Menzies, with Ryder another two points back in third. Alex Summers added to his Saturday podium with fourth on Sunday from Paul Haimes, who set a new Up to 2000cc (Forced Induction) Racing Car class record over the weekend. David Warburton also rewrote Jos Goodyear’s long-standing Up to 1600cc Racing Car class record, the GWR Raptor pilot having set his benchmark time in 2012. Devon native Alex Coles miraculously escaped a high-speed trip into the boonies on Saturday with all four wheels still attached and the Force TA returned to seal sixth on Sunday.
Rounds 21 & 22 Shelsley Walsh 8th & 9th August: An amazing second visit of the year to the celebrated Shelsley Walsh venue in the middle of August began with the three championship challengers already getting into the ’22s’ during Saturday’s practice runs. The record duly fell to Matthew Ryder in the opening qualifying runs before a stunning Round 21 Run-Off saw all three title contenders make the ascent under Will Hall’s benchmark time from June, with Wallace Menzies and Hall both streaking to the top in 22.27 seconds as third-placed Ryder fell just 0.02 seconds shy of the pair as he matched his class run. The result marked the closest top three podium in the history of the championship. Menzies blazed to the later Run-Off victory in another new hill record time of 22.20 seconds, with Hall just 0.08 seconds behind to score a bonus point of his own. Ryder took third and rued a brush with the bank early in his run. With dropped scores starting to come into play, the top three in the championship left Shelsley Walsh covered by a trio of points. Hall led the way by two points from Ryder and Menzies sat a point further back in third.
Rounds 23 & 24 Loton Park 29th & 30th August: The damp August Bank Holiday weekend saw the championship pay its sole visit to Shropshire’s Loton Park for its penultimate event and the ’big three’ were to the fore in the Round 23 Run-Off, with Matthew Ryder slithering to victory by 0.92 seconds from Wallace Menzies and Will Hall was 0.04 seconds behind the Scot in third. The victory moved Ryder into the championship lead by a point from Hall. In Round 24 later in the day, Menzies produced a timely tenth Run-Off victory of the season in the trying conditions. Ryder trailed the Scot by 0.29 seconds but was more than half-a-second clear of his other championship rival Hall in third to set up the return to Prescott for the finale.
Rounds 1 & 2 Prescott 25th & 26th April: The new season got underway at Prescott towards the end of April and the honours were split across the opening two Top 12 Run-Offs between reigning champion Matthew Ryder and Will Hall, with the former drawing first blood by just 0.03 seconds before 0.13 seconds separated them later to set the tone for the season ahead. Four-time champion Wallace Menzies began his year with a pair of podium finishes, with all three of them at the wheel of Gould GR59 chassis.
Rounds 3 & 4 Craigantlet 2nd May: The May Day Bank Holiday weekend visit to Craigantlet saw Matthew Ryder take the hill record under 39 seconds for the first time on the closed-road course as he claimed the opening Run-Off and the subsequent bonus point. Will Hall and Wallace Menzies also made the ascent under the previous hill record in the earlier Run-Off as just 0.06 seconds covered the trio. Ryder repeated his earlier success in Round Four as he shaved 0.37 seconds from his Round Three time for another point, Hall also scored a bonus point in the later contest when he guided his Gould up the course in the ’38s’ for the first time, a slim 0.04 seconds behind Ryder as Menzies secured another third.
Rounds 5 & 6 Harewood 10th May: The championship visited Harewood in West Yorkshire for the first time during 2026 the weekend after the Northern Irish event. Quadruple champion Wallace Menzies took his first Run-Off win of the season in Round Five before Matthew Ryder hit back to grab the Round Six spoils. Ryder had scored zero points in the first Top 12 Run-Off as electrical dramas hobbled the Judd DB4-engined GR59 and Ryder lost the championship lead to Will Hall as a result, with the new table-topper taking a pair of second places. Trevor Willis took his first top-three finish of the year in Round Five before earlier victor Menzies completed the podium in Round Six.
Rounds 7 & 8 Gurston Down 23rd & 24th May: The annual visit to Gurston Down was held on a searing Spring Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. Matthew Ryder dominated at the Wiltshire hill as the Gould GR59 cantered to both Run-Off victories but chief rival Will Hall kept him in sight with a pair of second places, whilst Wallace Menzies added two more thirds to his tally. The practice runs were marred by a scary incident for Australian champion Dean Tighe, whose Empire Wraith was wrecked when it became airborne after the finish line at over 140mph before crashing down in the hedgerow alongside the course but fortunately Tighe was largely unhurt.
Rounds 9 & 10 Shelsley Walsh 6th & 7th June: The first visit of the year to the famed Shelsley Walsh course was made in early June. Championship leader Will Hall was on imperious form at the historic hill as the Gould GR59 pilot flew to both Run-Off victories and secured a precious bonus point in Round Nine to rapturous applause with a 22.33-second shot, cutting 0.04 seconds from Sean Gould’s previous mark of 22.37 seconds set in 2021. Chief rival Matthew Ryder was second in the opening Run-Off before David Uren scored his best result of the year up to the Prescott finale in the later stanza. Wallace Menzies took two more thirds as he also bested fourth-placed Ryder in Round 10.
Rounds 11 & 12 Doune 20th & 21st June: The fearsome Scottish course of Doune played host over the summer solstice weekend and Will Hall continued his Shelsley Walsh form to prevail in the first Run-Off by 0.64 seconds from Matthew Ryder, with Wallace Menzies taking his tenth third place finish of the season from Alex Coles’ supercharged Force TA in a great fourth. Ryder got back to winning ways later on with a 0.49-second margin to runner-up Menzies. David Warburton was a brilliant third with his 1600cc Gould GR59. Hall was a non-qualifier for the second Run-Off after an incident during his class run so left Scotland tied at the top of the standings with Ryder. 2015 British champion Alex Summers scored the first point for his self-designed and built AFS P8T chassis during Round 12 with tenth. Remarkably, Dean Tighe was back in action at the Scottish hill after the Australian's enormous crash at Gurston Down, having only missed the Shelsley Walsh weekend whilst his Empire Wraith was rebuilt.
Rounds 13 & 14 Harewood 4th & 5th July: The championship moved on to Harewood next and the second trip to the longest mainland course came on British Grand Prix weekend in early July. Wallace Menzies recorded his second Run-Off victory of the season in Round 13, besting Matthew Ryder by 0.05 seconds as Will Hall took third. Jack Cottrill impressed with his season’s best result so far of fourth. Hall returned to winning ways in Round 14 by 0.13 seconds from Ryder, with the Dallara Cosworth of Cottrill improving to third in the afternoon and equalling his career-best result. Missing out on the later Run-Off was Menzies after his engine let go on his qualifying run and the Scot faced a battle to make the Channel Island double-header just nine days later. Hall and Ryder left Yorkshire still tied at the top of the standings.
Rounds 15 & 16 Bouley Bay 14th July: The opening leg of the traditional Channel Island trip in July began with a mid-week run up the demanding Bouley Bay hill on Jersey. Wallace Menzies had replaced the Cosworth XD unit in the back of his Gould GR59 to make it to Jersey and the hard work by his crew was repaid with victory in the opening Run-Off by a hefty 0.89 seconds from Matthew Ryder and Will Hall in third, the Scot’s time was just 0.04 seconds away from a hill record bonus point too. Menzies completed the double in Round 16 by 0.30 seconds from Hall, whilst Ryder completed the podium. With Hall and Ryder reversing their earlier result, they remained tied at the top of the standings leaving the third meeting in a row as Menzies lurked just 11 points behind them. A number of mainland competitors missed the event after problems with the ferry crossings, including hill record holder Trevor Willis, which meant that only nine cars contested the first Run-Off before ten took part later.
Rounds 17 & 18 Val des Terres 18th July: The second part of the Channel Island double-header took place four days later up the Val des Terres course on Guernsey. Wallace Menzies made it a hat-trick in the archipelago with victory in the opening Run-Off by 0.69 seconds from Matthew Ryder and also bagged a bonus point after shaving 0.30 seconds from his 2023 hill record. The reigning title holder Ryder defeated his championship rival Will Hall by 0.17 seconds to sit alone at the points summit, at least for a few hours. More success followed for Menzies later on, along with another bonus point, meaning that his margin to the top spot in the championship was reduced to just six points after taking all four Run-Offs on Jersey and Guernsey. The four victories also moved the Scot past the legendary Roy Lane into third on the all-time Run-Off winners list with 92. The ongoing tug of war between Hall and Ryder saw the pair tied for the points lead yet again as they returned to the mainland, after the pair once more reversed their morning results as Hall took second from Ryder. Having missed the Jersey meeting, Trevor Willis was present at the St Peter Port hill to consolidate his fourth position in the championship with a sixth and fifth place finish in the Run-Offs. Alex Summers also missed the Bouley Bay event but matched Willis’ performance on Guernsey with the carbon-chassised AFS P8T, a week after starring in the Goodwood Festival of Speed shoot out with a Can-Am Shadow DN4.
Rounds 19 & 20 Wiscombe Park 25th & 26th July: The technical Devonshire parkland course at Wiscombe Park was the setting for the British Hillclimb Championship’s next competitive action in late July, with Wallace Menzies taking his fifth Run-Off win in a row and sixth from seven on Saturday. Will Hall was second to the Scot by 0.24 seconds as Alex Summers scored his maiden podium with the V8-powered AFS P8T chassis in Round 19. Matt Ryder didn’t score on Saturday after the Gould broke a driveshaft whilst warming its tyres but stormed to victory by 0.53 seconds on Sunday and claimed a bonus point too, after slicing 0.04 seconds off his existing hill record. Menzies followed up his win on Saturday with the runner-up position in Round 20. Will Hall took third and left Devon four points clear of new second place holder Menzies, with Ryder another two points back in third. Alex Summers added to his Saturday podium with fourth on Sunday from Paul Haimes, who set a new Up to 2000cc (Forced Induction) Racing Car class record over the weekend. David Warburton also rewrote Jos Goodyear’s long-standing Up to 1600cc Racing Car class record, the GWR Raptor pilot having set his benchmark time in 2012. Devon native Alex Coles miraculously escaped a high-speed trip into the boonies on Saturday with all four wheels still attached and the Force TA returned to seal sixth on Sunday.
Rounds 21 & 22 Shelsley Walsh 8th & 9th August: An amazing second visit of the year to the celebrated Shelsley Walsh venue in the middle of August began with the three championship challengers already getting into the ’22s’ during Saturday’s practice runs. The record duly fell to Matthew Ryder in the opening qualifying runs before a stunning Round 21 Run-Off saw all three title contenders make the ascent under Will Hall’s benchmark time from June, with Wallace Menzies and Hall both streaking to the top in 22.27 seconds as third-placed Ryder fell just 0.02 seconds shy of the pair as he matched his class run. The result marked the closest top three podium in the history of the championship. Menzies blazed to the later Run-Off victory in another new hill record time of 22.20 seconds, with Hall just 0.08 seconds behind to score a bonus point of his own. Ryder took third and rued a brush with the bank early in his run. With dropped scores starting to come into play, the top three in the championship left Shelsley Walsh covered by a trio of points. Hall led the way by two points from Ryder and Menzies sat a point further back in third.
Rounds 23 & 24 Loton Park 29th & 30th August: The damp August Bank Holiday weekend saw the championship pay its sole visit to Shropshire’s Loton Park for its penultimate event and the ’big three’ were to the fore in the Round 23 Run-Off, with Matthew Ryder slithering to victory by 0.92 seconds from Wallace Menzies and Will Hall was 0.04 seconds behind the Scot in third. The victory moved Ryder into the championship lead by a point from Hall. In Round 24 later in the day, Menzies produced a timely tenth Run-Off victory of the season in the trying conditions. Ryder trailed the Scot by 0.29 seconds but was more than half-a-second clear of his other championship rival Hall in third to set up the return to Prescott for the finale.
|
|
|
The championship was finely poised arriving in Gloucestershire, with Matthew Ryder leading the standings by two points from the tied Wallace Menzies and Will Hall. The great run of form for Menzies since replacing the engine in his Gould has seen the Scot take the most Run-Off victories this season so far with ten, whilst Ryder has taken three more wins than Hall with nine to the Midlander's six. Menzies and Ryder have both scored three bonus points for beating the existing hill record at the start of each meeting, with Hall bagging one less. The latter the is 11-8 up on second places to Ryder, with Menzies trailing them on three. Menzies notched a consistent tally of ten third places earlier in the season as Hall added six and Ryder four to their totals but all three would lose two of those third places with dropped scores taken into consideration, with their best 20 results counting towards the final score and they at least match those results in the Cotswolds. Ryder came into the weekend in the strongest position and would wrap the championship up with victory in one the Top 12 Run-Offs. On the other hand, double Run-Off glory for either Hall or Menzies would see them crowned as the champion. Then things get complicated… Menzies would take his fifth title if he were to prevail, with Ryder completing a hat-trick and Hall sealing his first. The battle for fourth place was also a point of interest as three-time champion Trevor Willis and David Uren arrived at Prescott tied on 118 points, with the tie-break favouring the latter after his second place at Shelsley Walsh in August.
|
|
Practice: In a rain-interrupted opening day of practice, four-time champion Wallace Menzies signalled his intent with an impressive 35.38-second run when the track dried out for the third blasts on Saturday. Championship leader Matthew Ryder was just over three tenths down after making it to the top in 35.70 seconds, whilst Will Hall was 0.71 seconds adrift of the Scotsman in third with a time of 36.10 seconds. Alex Coles was a promising fourth fastest with the supercharged Force TA on 37.40 seconds, just one hundredth of a second ahead of triple British champion Trevor Willis in fifth. Coles’ Up to 2000cc (Forced Induction) Racing Car class rival Paul Haimes completed the top six on 37.93 seconds. It looked as though the Up to 1100cc Racing Car split would be a close contest as Wil Hamer’s OMS 28 headed Scottish champion Gary Warren’s Empire Evo2 by just 0.11 seconds with a 39.14-second effort versus 39.25 seconds. The final sighters on Sunday morning saw Menzies continue to lead the way with a rapid 35.42 seconds, with Ryder again his nearest opponent on 35.79 seconds and third-fastest Hall was yet to break into the ’35s’ on a 36.40 seconds after altering the gearing of his Gould overnight. Jack Cottrill began the weekend eight points behind Johnathen Varley in the standings as he sought to catch the tenth-placed GWR Predator for the coveted last ‘number’ but his Cosworth XD powerplant suffered a major oil leak during Saturday’s practice runs. Fortunately, just an oil line had come adrift but taking a no-risk approach with the highly-strung engine denied him the chance to compete and guaranteed the 2027 number ten seed for Varley.
British Hillclimb Championship Round 25
The penultimate Top 12 Run-Off for 2026 could see the championship fight ended if Matthew Ryder were to win it but Wallace Menzies and Will Hall would try everything in their power to stop that from happening. The slowest qualifier was the first car of the 12 to attempt the hill and Darren Gumbley set the initial benchmark of 38.38 seconds in his Force TA. 2022 Australian Hillclimb champion Dean Tighe went second in the ex-Graham Wynn/Scott Moran Gould GR59 that he’d purchased during the summer in the search for more power and he stalled the V8 car twice before settling a time of 37.75 seconds to take over the lead from Gumbley. Richard Alexander was third to go in the turbocharged Force TA shared with the opening runner Gumbley but his run was a fail after spinning the smart machine into the Ettores gravel trap, having made a great start to cover the 64 feet in under two seconds. Johnathen Varley was the fourth driver to tackle the course and recorded a time of 37.52 seconds to take over the lead, just 0.01 seconds faster than the time that got the GWR Predator into the Top 12 Run-Off. Young Alex Coles went fifth and the supercharged Force TA pilot moved the goalposts significantly with a personal-best mark of 36.26 seconds, the result confirmed Coles' seventh overall finish in the championship. Seventh qualifier David Warburton's 1600cc Gould GR59 reached the top six tenths slower than the Force that had just ran before and his time of 36.86 seconds placed Warburton in position two for the time being. Paul Haimes had qualified his turbocharged Gould sixth for the Run-Off and was a quarter-of-a-second down on his 2000cc Forced Induction Racing Car class rival Coles at the midway point but lost time with a big twitch entering Semi-Circle to slot in 0.04 seconds behind Warburton's smaller-engined GR59 in third on 36.90 seconds. David Uren and Trevor Willis came into the final meeting level on points for fourth in the standings, with Uren qualifying fifth for Round 25. The Gould GR55B driver laid down a marker to Willis with a super first run in the '35s' of the Run-Off and hit the front on 35.74 seconds. 'Scary Trev' had outqualified his rival Uren and was the ninth to set off but the OMS 28 suffered from too much understeer and Willis' 36.01-second effort dropped him in behind his championship competitor. Only the 'big three' championship contenders remained and the pressure began to mount. Third qualifier Will Hall was the first to run and the pace really ramped up when the Gould blasted up the course. The Judd-engined GR59 darted off the line and took just 1.82 seconds to cover the first 64 feet and went under the Orchard footbridge at 117 mph. The rapid start had given Hall an advantage of 0.46 seconds by Ettores and his margin had extended to 0.61 seconds at halfway. Hall had added another tenth at the Esses and blasted across the line 0.70 seconds quicker than Uren to grab the lead, with 35.04 seconds the target time laid down for his title rivals to beat. Having set the pace throughout practice, a fired-up Wallace Menzies came to the start with new rear tyres fitted to his Gould. The Scot matched Hall's 117 mph at the footbridge before a committed passage through Orchard saw the quadruple champion 0.36 seconds ahead of Hall by Ettores. The flying GR59 arrived at the Esses 0.59 seconds clear before racing out of Semi-Circle to cut the beam in a stunning 34.22 seconds, resetting the outright hill record by 0.38 seconds and toppling Hall by a hefty 0.82 seconds. Also with new rear tyres fitted, fastest qualifier Matthew Ryder came to the line with the chance to seal his third championship and was buoyed by his near-hill record pace in qualifying. All eyes were on the Gould as it launched its offensive and Ryder flew to the footbridge at 117 mph but was 0.14 seconds down on Menzies at Ettores. The GR59 had closed marginally to trail the Scot by 0.12 seconds at the Pardon hairpin but Ryder's deficit had stretched to 0.23 seconds at the Esses and to 0.39 seconds by the finish line for second place, meaning the fight would go to a nailbiting final Run-Off as his counterattack of 34.61 seconds was just outside his now defunct 2024 hill record. Menzies and Ryder were tied on 191 points with just the one Top 12 Run-Off remaining and only a victory would do for either. The third place finish for Hall meant that he didn’t add to his total of 188, effectively knocking him out of the race for the title as a win with a hill record in the Round 26 Run-Off would only move Hall to the same total as the other two starting the shootout.
Round 25 result
1. Wallace Menzies - 3300cc Gould GR59 34.22 (hill record)
2. Matthew Ryder - 4000cc Gould GR59 34.61 +0.39
3. Will Hall - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.04 +0.82/+0.43
4. David Uren - 3500cc Gould GR55B 35.74 +1.54/+0.70
5. Trevor Willis - 3200cc OMS 28 36.01 +1.79/+0.27
6. Alex Coles - 1300s/c Force TA 36.26 +2.04/+0.25
7. David Warburton - 1600cc Gould GR59 36.86 +2.64/+0.60
8. Paul Haimes - 1300t/c Gould GR59 36.90 +2.68/+0.04
9. Johnathen Varley - 2000cc GWR Predator 37.52 +3.30/+0.62
10. Dean Tighe - 4000cc Gould GR59 37.75 +3.53/+0.23
11. Darren Gumbley 1300t/c Force TA 38.38 +4.16/+0.63
12. Richard Alexander 1300t/c Force TA Fail
The penultimate Top 12 Run-Off for 2026 could see the championship fight ended if Matthew Ryder were to win it but Wallace Menzies and Will Hall would try everything in their power to stop that from happening. The slowest qualifier was the first car of the 12 to attempt the hill and Darren Gumbley set the initial benchmark of 38.38 seconds in his Force TA. 2022 Australian Hillclimb champion Dean Tighe went second in the ex-Graham Wynn/Scott Moran Gould GR59 that he’d purchased during the summer in the search for more power and he stalled the V8 car twice before settling a time of 37.75 seconds to take over the lead from Gumbley. Richard Alexander was third to go in the turbocharged Force TA shared with the opening runner Gumbley but his run was a fail after spinning the smart machine into the Ettores gravel trap, having made a great start to cover the 64 feet in under two seconds. Johnathen Varley was the fourth driver to tackle the course and recorded a time of 37.52 seconds to take over the lead, just 0.01 seconds faster than the time that got the GWR Predator into the Top 12 Run-Off. Young Alex Coles went fifth and the supercharged Force TA pilot moved the goalposts significantly with a personal-best mark of 36.26 seconds, the result confirmed Coles' seventh overall finish in the championship. Seventh qualifier David Warburton's 1600cc Gould GR59 reached the top six tenths slower than the Force that had just ran before and his time of 36.86 seconds placed Warburton in position two for the time being. Paul Haimes had qualified his turbocharged Gould sixth for the Run-Off and was a quarter-of-a-second down on his 2000cc Forced Induction Racing Car class rival Coles at the midway point but lost time with a big twitch entering Semi-Circle to slot in 0.04 seconds behind Warburton's smaller-engined GR59 in third on 36.90 seconds. David Uren and Trevor Willis came into the final meeting level on points for fourth in the standings, with Uren qualifying fifth for Round 25. The Gould GR55B driver laid down a marker to Willis with a super first run in the '35s' of the Run-Off and hit the front on 35.74 seconds. 'Scary Trev' had outqualified his rival Uren and was the ninth to set off but the OMS 28 suffered from too much understeer and Willis' 36.01-second effort dropped him in behind his championship competitor. Only the 'big three' championship contenders remained and the pressure began to mount. Third qualifier Will Hall was the first to run and the pace really ramped up when the Gould blasted up the course. The Judd-engined GR59 darted off the line and took just 1.82 seconds to cover the first 64 feet and went under the Orchard footbridge at 117 mph. The rapid start had given Hall an advantage of 0.46 seconds by Ettores and his margin had extended to 0.61 seconds at halfway. Hall had added another tenth at the Esses and blasted across the line 0.70 seconds quicker than Uren to grab the lead, with 35.04 seconds the target time laid down for his title rivals to beat. Having set the pace throughout practice, a fired-up Wallace Menzies came to the start with new rear tyres fitted to his Gould. The Scot matched Hall's 117 mph at the footbridge before a committed passage through Orchard saw the quadruple champion 0.36 seconds ahead of Hall by Ettores. The flying GR59 arrived at the Esses 0.59 seconds clear before racing out of Semi-Circle to cut the beam in a stunning 34.22 seconds, resetting the outright hill record by 0.38 seconds and toppling Hall by a hefty 0.82 seconds. Also with new rear tyres fitted, fastest qualifier Matthew Ryder came to the line with the chance to seal his third championship and was buoyed by his near-hill record pace in qualifying. All eyes were on the Gould as it launched its offensive and Ryder flew to the footbridge at 117 mph but was 0.14 seconds down on Menzies at Ettores. The GR59 had closed marginally to trail the Scot by 0.12 seconds at the Pardon hairpin but Ryder's deficit had stretched to 0.23 seconds at the Esses and to 0.39 seconds by the finish line for second place, meaning the fight would go to a nailbiting final Run-Off as his counterattack of 34.61 seconds was just outside his now defunct 2024 hill record. Menzies and Ryder were tied on 191 points with just the one Top 12 Run-Off remaining and only a victory would do for either. The third place finish for Hall meant that he didn’t add to his total of 188, effectively knocking him out of the race for the title as a win with a hill record in the Round 26 Run-Off would only move Hall to the same total as the other two starting the shootout.
Round 25 result
1. Wallace Menzies - 3300cc Gould GR59 34.22 (hill record)
2. Matthew Ryder - 4000cc Gould GR59 34.61 +0.39
3. Will Hall - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.04 +0.82/+0.43
4. David Uren - 3500cc Gould GR55B 35.74 +1.54/+0.70
5. Trevor Willis - 3200cc OMS 28 36.01 +1.79/+0.27
6. Alex Coles - 1300s/c Force TA 36.26 +2.04/+0.25
7. David Warburton - 1600cc Gould GR59 36.86 +2.64/+0.60
8. Paul Haimes - 1300t/c Gould GR59 36.90 +2.68/+0.04
9. Johnathen Varley - 2000cc GWR Predator 37.52 +3.30/+0.62
10. Dean Tighe - 4000cc Gould GR59 37.75 +3.53/+0.23
11. Darren Gumbley 1300t/c Force TA 38.38 +4.16/+0.63
12. Richard Alexander 1300t/c Force TA Fail
British Hillclimb Championship Round 26
Everything boiled down to the final British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport Top 12 Run-Off of the 2026 season in the fight to be this year’s champion. It was a winner takes all situation, with the top two being level on points after Menzies took the Round 25 victory plus the hill record bonus point. Another win for the Scot would crown him as the champion for the fifth time but if Ryder was victorious then a third title was his. 12th qualifier Gary Warren got the ball rolling in a vital Run-Off with a 39.00-second ascent in the 1100cc Empire. Next up came Johnathen Varley and the 2-litre TKD V8-engined GWR Predator soon toppled the Scottish champion by 0.71 seconds with a 38.29-second response. There would be a third leader in three cars as tenth-qualifier Steve Brehaut’s silky-smooth style took the turbocharged Empire Wraith to the top in 37.68 seconds to lead by a little over six tenths. Dave Tatham’s DJ Firehawk couldn’t match the Channel Islander but his 38.68-second dash did knock his 1100cc class rival Warren back into fourth. Newly confirmed as finishing seventh on the final 2026 championship table, Alex Coles put in a great run as the youngster fired the supercharged Force TA to the top 1.03 seconds quicker than Brehaut to take the lead on 36.65 seconds. David Warburton’s following tilt was 0.37 seconds slower than Coles’ effort to take over second place on 37.05 seconds, just one hundredth quicker than the agile 1600cc Gould’s qualifying time. Paul Haimes' chase of his Up to 2000cc (Forced Induction) classmate Coles slipped away throughout and finished with a 0.76-second deficit to the Force, meaning the turbocharged Gould GR59 sat in third on 37.41 seconds with the top division heavy hitters still to come. The first ‘big banger’ Over 2000cc Racing Car in the Run-Off belonged to three-time champion Trevor Willis and the OMS 28 became the latest leader after beating Coles’ benchmark by just 0.05 seconds despite fishtailing out of Semi-Circle. Willis needed a big result to overturn his deficit to Uren from the morning and it remained to be seen if the 36.60-second time was enough. After getting the upper hand in the battle over the fourth 'number' earlier, David Uren was next up and his NME V8 bogged a little off the line but a neat and tidy run saw the Gould GR55B reach the top in a fleet 36.09 seconds to take over the lead and cement his fourth place in the championship. It was all or nothing between Wallace Menzies and Matthew Ryder for the title and the former was the first to go as the third qualifier. Covering the first 64 feet in 1.86 seconds, the new record-holder rocketed off the line determined to seal his fifth crown but the old adage that ‘if you don’t crash, you’re not trying hard enough’ rang true when Menzies dramatically lost the rear of the GR59 exiting Orchard and spun into the Armco. The shunt removed both wings and rearranged the offside-front corner but the four-time champion hopped out unhurt, “Pure driver error, the back came round and I’ve not caught it.” the philosophical Scot admitted “I put it all on the line and it didn’t work out”. Second qualifier Will Hall did what he could to end the year in style with a gritty run and set the fastest time so far of 35.22 seconds with one runner left. Joint championship leader Matthew Ryder was the last driver to attack the hill and the pressure was on for a clean run as the two-time champion needed a top-two finish to claim the title after Menzies’ incident. The shadows had become very long and the setting sun sat low in the sky as the Gould came to the line for the final run of the year. The tension was palpable as the Gould GR59 tackled the hill, with Ryder 0.18 seconds down on Hall by Ettores but he had reduced the deficit to just over a tenth by midway before slipping to 0.39 seconds down at the Esses and 0.48 seconds in arrears at the line for a time of 35.70 seconds, good enough to seal the crown by a point in second place. Ryder had done it, his third British Hillclimb Championship in a row was now in his posession. "I don’t even know what to say. What a day, what a year! Thanks to Wallace and Will for such great racing. I’m just chuffed to get there first" he enthused to 2015 champion Alex Summers before receiving the customary water bucket drenching from his vanquished rivals. Hall's eighth win of the year left the Midlander one point behind Menzies on the final points table in third.
Round 26 result
1. Will Hall - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.22
2. Matthew Ryder - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.70 +0.48
3. David Uren - 3500cc Gould GR55B 36.09 +0.87/+0.39
4. Trevor Willis - 3200cc OMS 28 36.60 +1.38/+0.51
5. Alex Coles - 1300s/c Force TA 36.65 +1.43/+0.05
6. David Warburton - 1600cc Gould GR59 37.05 +1.83/+0.40
7. Paul Haimes - 1300t/c Gould GR59 37.41 +2.19/+0.36
8. Steve Brehaut - 1340t/c Empire Wraith 37.68 +2.46/+0.27
9. Johnathen Varley - 2000cc GWR Predator 38.29 +3.07/+0.61
10. Dave Tatham - 1100cc DJ Firehawk 38.68 +3.46/+0.39
11. Gary Warren - 1100cc Empire Evo2 39.00 +3.78/+0.32
12. Wallace Menzies - 3300cc Gould GR59 Fail
Final championship top ten
1. Matthew Ryder 192
2. Wallace Menzies 191
3. Will Hall 190
4. David Uren 128
5. Trevor Willis 123
6. Paul Haimes 85
7. Alex Coles 78
8. Alex Summers 71
9. David Warburton 69
10. Johnathen Varley 43
Everything boiled down to the final British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport Top 12 Run-Off of the 2026 season in the fight to be this year’s champion. It was a winner takes all situation, with the top two being level on points after Menzies took the Round 25 victory plus the hill record bonus point. Another win for the Scot would crown him as the champion for the fifth time but if Ryder was victorious then a third title was his. 12th qualifier Gary Warren got the ball rolling in a vital Run-Off with a 39.00-second ascent in the 1100cc Empire. Next up came Johnathen Varley and the 2-litre TKD V8-engined GWR Predator soon toppled the Scottish champion by 0.71 seconds with a 38.29-second response. There would be a third leader in three cars as tenth-qualifier Steve Brehaut’s silky-smooth style took the turbocharged Empire Wraith to the top in 37.68 seconds to lead by a little over six tenths. Dave Tatham’s DJ Firehawk couldn’t match the Channel Islander but his 38.68-second dash did knock his 1100cc class rival Warren back into fourth. Newly confirmed as finishing seventh on the final 2026 championship table, Alex Coles put in a great run as the youngster fired the supercharged Force TA to the top 1.03 seconds quicker than Brehaut to take the lead on 36.65 seconds. David Warburton’s following tilt was 0.37 seconds slower than Coles’ effort to take over second place on 37.05 seconds, just one hundredth quicker than the agile 1600cc Gould’s qualifying time. Paul Haimes' chase of his Up to 2000cc (Forced Induction) classmate Coles slipped away throughout and finished with a 0.76-second deficit to the Force, meaning the turbocharged Gould GR59 sat in third on 37.41 seconds with the top division heavy hitters still to come. The first ‘big banger’ Over 2000cc Racing Car in the Run-Off belonged to three-time champion Trevor Willis and the OMS 28 became the latest leader after beating Coles’ benchmark by just 0.05 seconds despite fishtailing out of Semi-Circle. Willis needed a big result to overturn his deficit to Uren from the morning and it remained to be seen if the 36.60-second time was enough. After getting the upper hand in the battle over the fourth 'number' earlier, David Uren was next up and his NME V8 bogged a little off the line but a neat and tidy run saw the Gould GR55B reach the top in a fleet 36.09 seconds to take over the lead and cement his fourth place in the championship. It was all or nothing between Wallace Menzies and Matthew Ryder for the title and the former was the first to go as the third qualifier. Covering the first 64 feet in 1.86 seconds, the new record-holder rocketed off the line determined to seal his fifth crown but the old adage that ‘if you don’t crash, you’re not trying hard enough’ rang true when Menzies dramatically lost the rear of the GR59 exiting Orchard and spun into the Armco. The shunt removed both wings and rearranged the offside-front corner but the four-time champion hopped out unhurt, “Pure driver error, the back came round and I’ve not caught it.” the philosophical Scot admitted “I put it all on the line and it didn’t work out”. Second qualifier Will Hall did what he could to end the year in style with a gritty run and set the fastest time so far of 35.22 seconds with one runner left. Joint championship leader Matthew Ryder was the last driver to attack the hill and the pressure was on for a clean run as the two-time champion needed a top-two finish to claim the title after Menzies’ incident. The shadows had become very long and the setting sun sat low in the sky as the Gould came to the line for the final run of the year. The tension was palpable as the Gould GR59 tackled the hill, with Ryder 0.18 seconds down on Hall by Ettores but he had reduced the deficit to just over a tenth by midway before slipping to 0.39 seconds down at the Esses and 0.48 seconds in arrears at the line for a time of 35.70 seconds, good enough to seal the crown by a point in second place. Ryder had done it, his third British Hillclimb Championship in a row was now in his posession. "I don’t even know what to say. What a day, what a year! Thanks to Wallace and Will for such great racing. I’m just chuffed to get there first" he enthused to 2015 champion Alex Summers before receiving the customary water bucket drenching from his vanquished rivals. Hall's eighth win of the year left the Midlander one point behind Menzies on the final points table in third.
Round 26 result
1. Will Hall - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.22
2. Matthew Ryder - 4000cc Gould GR59 35.70 +0.48
3. David Uren - 3500cc Gould GR55B 36.09 +0.87/+0.39
4. Trevor Willis - 3200cc OMS 28 36.60 +1.38/+0.51
5. Alex Coles - 1300s/c Force TA 36.65 +1.43/+0.05
6. David Warburton - 1600cc Gould GR59 37.05 +1.83/+0.40
7. Paul Haimes - 1300t/c Gould GR59 37.41 +2.19/+0.36
8. Steve Brehaut - 1340t/c Empire Wraith 37.68 +2.46/+0.27
9. Johnathen Varley - 2000cc GWR Predator 38.29 +3.07/+0.61
10. Dave Tatham - 1100cc DJ Firehawk 38.68 +3.46/+0.39
11. Gary Warren - 1100cc Empire Evo2 39.00 +3.78/+0.32
12. Wallace Menzies - 3300cc Gould GR59 Fail
Final championship top ten
1. Matthew Ryder 192
2. Wallace Menzies 191
3. Will Hall 190
4. David Uren 128
5. Trevor Willis 123
6. Paul Haimes 85
7. Alex Coles 78
8. Alex Summers 71
9. David Warburton 69
10. Johnathen Varley 43
|
|
AET Turbos Tin Top Challenge
MORAN MOTORS TO TIN TOP TITLE
The AET Turbos Tin Top Challenge also reached its conclusion at Prescott after four weekends and seven Top 10 Run-Offs. An impressive forty-odd registrations were received and the entry included an international entry from Australian Wayne Penrose, whose centre-seat 600bhp VW Beetle ‘Phoenix’ was shipped over to contest the series. The new Tin Top season began at the demanding Doune venue in Scotland on the 20th and 21st of June.
The 2026 Tin Top Challenge season so far...
Rounds 1 & 2 Doune 20th & 21st June: The 2026 season got underway with Damien Bradley sealing the opening Run-Off spoils at the Stirlingshire hill by just 0.06 seconds from local expert Donald McCaskill. Fellow Scot Stuart Reid impressed with third aboard his Peugeot 205, Australian Wayne Penrose scored points on his hill debut with ninth. Bradley prevailed in Round 2 from McCaskill again but with a bigger 1.21-second margin this time as the Subaru set the fastest ever time for a saloon car up the challenging course, with Steven Darley taking third aboard Bradley’s Legacy after bending his own Impreza. Penrose’ turbocharged Beetle scored again with a repeat of Saturday’s ninth place. Simon Bainbridge’s defence of his Tin Top title got off to a bad start with driveshaft issues preventing any competition running on Saturday and Sunday.
Rounds 3 & 4 Harewood 4th & 5th July: Simon Bainbridge hit back from his zero score in Scotland in the best possible manner at Harewood with both Run-Off wins from Damian Bradley’s Legacy in the morning and Steven Darley’s Impreza, nicknamed the ’Red Baron’, later on. Roger Moran’s powerful OMSE-built Fiesta grabbed a pair of thirds as Bradley non-scored during the afternoon when his engine cut out with electrical dramas. Wayne Penrose suffered myriad issues with ‘Phoenix’, including an oil leak-induced fire and a seized turbo.
Rounds 5 & 6 Wiscombe Park 25th & 26th July: Damien Bradley took the mighty Subaru Legacy to the opening Run-Off victory on Saturday at Wiscombe Park as Simon Bainbridge failed to score after stopping mid-run. Second and third places went to Steven Darley and Roger Moran. Bradley’s Legacy let him down on Sunday, allowing Darley to take the Round 6 win with his raucous Subaru Impreza and Moran to take the championship lead after arriving at the Honiton hill tied with Bradley. Bainbridge made amends for his Saturday failure by finishing second to Darley as Moran took another third. Wayne Penrose unfortunately damaged his VW Beetle ‘Phoenix’ in an incident approaching the final Martini hairpin on day two after losing control when the car got light on Castle Straight.
Round 7 Shelsley Walsh 8th & 9th August: A controversial build up to the fourth meeting of 2026 at Shelsley Walsh saw only two of the top four in the championship secure an entry, with points leader Roger Moran and third-placed Steven Darley the lucky ones. Double champion Simon Bainbridge only made the reserve list and Damien Bradley missed out altogether for the double-points scoring, single Run-Off meeting. Roger Moran duly scored big with victory by 0.48 seconds from Stephen Moore’s Mitsubishi. Wayne Penrose had straightened out the VW Superbug’s damage from Wiscombe Park and was present in Worcestershire, the Australian’s hard work was rewarded with third but sadly the Beetle wouldn’t be present at the Gloucestershire finale due to commitments back home. The impressive roadgoing Porsches of Rodney Eyles and Richard Snow scored top six finishes, with the pair split by Richard Hampstead’s Subaru in fifth. The title hopes of Steven Darley’s ‘Red Baron’ Impreza took a blow as he failed to score after crashing the Subaru approaching Bottom Ess during his Run-Off attempt.
The AET Turbos Tin Top Challenge also reached its conclusion at Prescott after four weekends and seven Top 10 Run-Offs. An impressive forty-odd registrations were received and the entry included an international entry from Australian Wayne Penrose, whose centre-seat 600bhp VW Beetle ‘Phoenix’ was shipped over to contest the series. The new Tin Top season began at the demanding Doune venue in Scotland on the 20th and 21st of June.
The 2026 Tin Top Challenge season so far...
Rounds 1 & 2 Doune 20th & 21st June: The 2026 season got underway with Damien Bradley sealing the opening Run-Off spoils at the Stirlingshire hill by just 0.06 seconds from local expert Donald McCaskill. Fellow Scot Stuart Reid impressed with third aboard his Peugeot 205, Australian Wayne Penrose scored points on his hill debut with ninth. Bradley prevailed in Round 2 from McCaskill again but with a bigger 1.21-second margin this time as the Subaru set the fastest ever time for a saloon car up the challenging course, with Steven Darley taking third aboard Bradley’s Legacy after bending his own Impreza. Penrose’ turbocharged Beetle scored again with a repeat of Saturday’s ninth place. Simon Bainbridge’s defence of his Tin Top title got off to a bad start with driveshaft issues preventing any competition running on Saturday and Sunday.
Rounds 3 & 4 Harewood 4th & 5th July: Simon Bainbridge hit back from his zero score in Scotland in the best possible manner at Harewood with both Run-Off wins from Damian Bradley’s Legacy in the morning and Steven Darley’s Impreza, nicknamed the ’Red Baron’, later on. Roger Moran’s powerful OMSE-built Fiesta grabbed a pair of thirds as Bradley non-scored during the afternoon when his engine cut out with electrical dramas. Wayne Penrose suffered myriad issues with ‘Phoenix’, including an oil leak-induced fire and a seized turbo.
Rounds 5 & 6 Wiscombe Park 25th & 26th July: Damien Bradley took the mighty Subaru Legacy to the opening Run-Off victory on Saturday at Wiscombe Park as Simon Bainbridge failed to score after stopping mid-run. Second and third places went to Steven Darley and Roger Moran. Bradley’s Legacy let him down on Sunday, allowing Darley to take the Round 6 win with his raucous Subaru Impreza and Moran to take the championship lead after arriving at the Honiton hill tied with Bradley. Bainbridge made amends for his Saturday failure by finishing second to Darley as Moran took another third. Wayne Penrose unfortunately damaged his VW Beetle ‘Phoenix’ in an incident approaching the final Martini hairpin on day two after losing control when the car got light on Castle Straight.
Round 7 Shelsley Walsh 8th & 9th August: A controversial build up to the fourth meeting of 2026 at Shelsley Walsh saw only two of the top four in the championship secure an entry, with points leader Roger Moran and third-placed Steven Darley the lucky ones. Double champion Simon Bainbridge only made the reserve list and Damien Bradley missed out altogether for the double-points scoring, single Run-Off meeting. Roger Moran duly scored big with victory by 0.48 seconds from Stephen Moore’s Mitsubishi. Wayne Penrose had straightened out the VW Superbug’s damage from Wiscombe Park and was present in Worcestershire, the Australian’s hard work was rewarded with third but sadly the Beetle wouldn’t be present at the Gloucestershire finale due to commitments back home. The impressive roadgoing Porsches of Rodney Eyles and Richard Snow scored top six finishes, with the pair split by Richard Hampstead’s Subaru in fifth. The title hopes of Steven Darley’s ‘Red Baron’ Impreza took a blow as he failed to score after crashing the Subaru approaching Bottom Ess during his Run-Off attempt.
Roger Moran had an almost unassailable lead in the championship arriving at the season finale, with the four-wheel-drive Fiesta holding a commanding 19-point lead with just 20 available but Moran would have to lose his two worst results, which were a fourth and a fifth from the opening event at Doune leading into Prescott. Stephen Moore came into the weekend second in the standings with one score to drop if he qualified for the two Run-Offs and needed to win both of the shoot outs without Moran improving his score to steal the title on the number of Run-Off wins (2-1) but a strong field had gathered in Gloucestershire. The Mitsubishi pilot was six points clear of Damien Bradley’s highly-developed Subaru Legacy, who had no points to lose, and if Bradley triumphed in both Top Ten Run-Offs and Moore was kept off the podium in each then the Mitsubishi’s grasp of second place would slip. Steven Darley was another six points further back in fourth and would be sharing the Team Bradley Legacy as his own 'Red Baron' Subaru Impreza was still undergoing repairs after its Shelsley Walsh prang. Double and defending champion Simon Bainbridge sat fifth after a boom-or-bust season for the SBR Chrono to date and was another four points down on Darley but wasn’t entered at Prescott. The Scottish Peugeot 205 of Stuart Reid completed the top six.
Tin Top Challenge Round 8
Steven Darley shared Damien Bradley’s Subaru Legacy and the second-fastest qualifier ran first in the Top 10 Run-Off as he was at the wheel of the only double-driven car to make it in. Darley made a large step up from his qualifying time to set a scorching 42.60-second target for everyone else to chase. Robert Lancaster-Gaye's gorgeous roadgoing Porsche 991.2 GT3 was the second car up the hill but he was unsurprisingly well adrift of the powerful Subaru on 46.96 seconds. Welshman Eynon Price started third and stayed third as the Audi TT trailed Lancaster-Gaye by 0.46 seconds. Paul Howells lined up fourth and the modified Porsche 911 RSR's 45.04-second drive stood out as a decent improvement from its qualifying time to move into second. Stuart Reid's Peugeot 205 hot hatch came to the startline next and the Scot mounted a fully-committed charge of 46.17 seconds to go third. A pair of roadgoing Porsches followed the French machine up the hill and the triple British Sprint Championhip title holder Rodney Eyles guided his all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo to the top in 45.89 seconds to take over third place. Richard Snow was in a battle with Eyles for two championship titles and the Cayman GT4 RS driver couldn't defeat his rival as his 46.95-second riposte put him behind Reid in fifth and just 0.01 seconds ahead of Lancaster-Gaye. An outside bet for the AET Turbos Tin Top Challenge crown, Stephen Moore's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 was the eighth starter in the Run-Off. With a win required to keep the title race alive, Moore crossed the line 0.03 seconds behind Howells’ Porsche in 45.07 seconds and slid into third place with another two cars to come. The champion-elect Roger Moran was the second-to-last competitor to start their onslaught on the course and a clean shot of 43.60 seconds put the Swedish-built Fiesta second and secured the Tin Top title for the Ludlow man. Top qualifier Damien Bradley was the last to go and the 900bhp Team Legacy Subaru fired up the hill quicker than any Tin Top has gone before to take victory by 0.87 seconds in a scintillating 41.73 seconds.
Round 8 result
1. Damien Bradley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH 41.73 seconds
2. Steven Darley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH 42.60 +0.87
3. Roger Moran - 2300t/c Ford Fiesta OMSE 43.60 +1.87/+1.00
4. Paul Howells - 3800cc Porsche 911 RSR 45.04 +3.31/+1.44
5. Stephen Moore - 2300t/c Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 45.07 +3.34/+1.47
6. Rodney Eyles - 3800t/c Porsche 911 Turbo 45.89 +4.16/+0.82
7. Stuart Reid - 1927cc Peugeot 205 46.17 +4.44/+0.28
8. Richard Snow - 4000cc Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 46.95 +5.22/+0.78
9. Robert Lancaster-Gaye 4000cc Porsche 991.2 GT3 46.96 +5.23/+0.01
10. Eynon Price - 1800t/c Audi TT Quattro 47.40 +5.67/+0.44
Steven Darley shared Damien Bradley’s Subaru Legacy and the second-fastest qualifier ran first in the Top 10 Run-Off as he was at the wheel of the only double-driven car to make it in. Darley made a large step up from his qualifying time to set a scorching 42.60-second target for everyone else to chase. Robert Lancaster-Gaye's gorgeous roadgoing Porsche 991.2 GT3 was the second car up the hill but he was unsurprisingly well adrift of the powerful Subaru on 46.96 seconds. Welshman Eynon Price started third and stayed third as the Audi TT trailed Lancaster-Gaye by 0.46 seconds. Paul Howells lined up fourth and the modified Porsche 911 RSR's 45.04-second drive stood out as a decent improvement from its qualifying time to move into second. Stuart Reid's Peugeot 205 hot hatch came to the startline next and the Scot mounted a fully-committed charge of 46.17 seconds to go third. A pair of roadgoing Porsches followed the French machine up the hill and the triple British Sprint Championhip title holder Rodney Eyles guided his all-wheel-drive 911 Turbo to the top in 45.89 seconds to take over third place. Richard Snow was in a battle with Eyles for two championship titles and the Cayman GT4 RS driver couldn't defeat his rival as his 46.95-second riposte put him behind Reid in fifth and just 0.01 seconds ahead of Lancaster-Gaye. An outside bet for the AET Turbos Tin Top Challenge crown, Stephen Moore's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 was the eighth starter in the Run-Off. With a win required to keep the title race alive, Moore crossed the line 0.03 seconds behind Howells’ Porsche in 45.07 seconds and slid into third place with another two cars to come. The champion-elect Roger Moran was the second-to-last competitor to start their onslaught on the course and a clean shot of 43.60 seconds put the Swedish-built Fiesta second and secured the Tin Top title for the Ludlow man. Top qualifier Damien Bradley was the last to go and the 900bhp Team Legacy Subaru fired up the hill quicker than any Tin Top has gone before to take victory by 0.87 seconds in a scintillating 41.73 seconds.
Round 8 result
1. Damien Bradley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH 41.73 seconds
2. Steven Darley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH 42.60 +0.87
3. Roger Moran - 2300t/c Ford Fiesta OMSE 43.60 +1.87/+1.00
4. Paul Howells - 3800cc Porsche 911 RSR 45.04 +3.31/+1.44
5. Stephen Moore - 2300t/c Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 45.07 +3.34/+1.47
6. Rodney Eyles - 3800t/c Porsche 911 Turbo 45.89 +4.16/+0.82
7. Stuart Reid - 1927cc Peugeot 205 46.17 +4.44/+0.28
8. Richard Snow - 4000cc Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 46.95 +5.22/+0.78
9. Robert Lancaster-Gaye 4000cc Porsche 991.2 GT3 46.96 +5.23/+0.01
10. Eynon Price - 1800t/c Audi TT Quattro 47.40 +5.67/+0.44
Tin Top Challenge Round 9
The final Tin Top Challenge Run-Off of 2026 began with Tony Adams' roadgoing Porsche Cayman making the ascent in 47.49 seconds. Eynon Price's Audi TT Quattro went second and had lost a little time at Ettores but a typically determined drive afterwards saw the Welshman take the lead on 47.29 seconds. Eighth qualifier Richard Hampstead missed a gear leaving the startline but a good run thereafter saw the Impreza make up all the lost time and more to take up the running in 47.01 seconds. Stuart Reid's Peugeot 205 went fourth and another high-energy run of 46.39 seconds put the Scotsman into the lead by 0.62 seconds. Next up was BHC Cup title hopeful Richard Snow but his Porsche Cayman GT4 RS appeared to bog down out of the Pardon hairpin to be slowest of the five cars so far with 47.57 seconds. The roadgoing Porsche 911 Turbo of Rodney Eyles was the sixth car to tackle the hill and the four-whell-drive machine became the new leader by almost half-a-second as Eyles' mark of 45.93 seconds saw him outpace Reid by 0.46 seconds. Paul Howells' older, much-less standard Porsche 911 RSR was next to speed up the hill and the German machine cut almost six tenths from Eyles' short-lived benchmark to become the quickest so far on 45.31 seconds. Eighth runner Stephen Moore's Mitsubishi followed the Porsche and the pair were closely-matched again. Moore was 0.14 seconds up on the 911 at the Esses but the Evo 6 had slipped to 0.05 seconds down on Howells at the line as he carded a time of 45.36 seconds. Champion-elect Roger Moran was the ninth competitor to mount his assault and celebrated winning the title in style with a tidy but fast run of 43.59 seconds to parachute into first place. The four-wheel-drive Fiesta was already 0.71 seconds ahead by the Pardon hairpin and was over a second to the good at the Esses, which translated to a winning margin of 1.72 seconds. Top qualifier Steven Darley was unable to run in the mighty Subaru Legacy after driving partner Damien Bradley suffered an engine problem in his second class run, giving the Team Legacy outfit an unwanted headache before a trip to the Hillclimb Monsters Bongo Skradin hillclimb in Croatia a few weeks after Prescott.
Round 9 result
1. Roger Moran - 2300t/c Ford Fiesta OMSE 43.59 seconds
2. Paul Howells - 3800cc Porsche 911 RSR 45.31 +1.72
3. Stephen Moore - 2300t/c Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 45.36 +1.77/+0.05
4. Rodney Eyles - 3800t/c Porsche 911 Turbo 45.93 +2.34/+0.57
5. Stuart Reid - 1927cc Peugeot 205 46.39 +2.80/+0.46
6. Richard Hampstead - 2000t/c Subaru Impreza 47.01 +3.42/+0.62
7. Eynon Price - 1800t/c Audi TT Quattro 47.25 +3.66/+0.24
8. Tony Adams 2500cc Porsche Cayman 47.49 +3.90/+0.32
9. Richard Snow - 4000cc Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 47.57 +3.98/+0.08
10. Steven Darley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH non-starter
Final championship top six
1. Roger Moran 70
2. Stephen Moore 59
3. Damien Bradley 50
4. Steven Darley 45
5. Paul Howells 41
6. Stuart Reid 38
The final Tin Top Challenge Run-Off of 2026 began with Tony Adams' roadgoing Porsche Cayman making the ascent in 47.49 seconds. Eynon Price's Audi TT Quattro went second and had lost a little time at Ettores but a typically determined drive afterwards saw the Welshman take the lead on 47.29 seconds. Eighth qualifier Richard Hampstead missed a gear leaving the startline but a good run thereafter saw the Impreza make up all the lost time and more to take up the running in 47.01 seconds. Stuart Reid's Peugeot 205 went fourth and another high-energy run of 46.39 seconds put the Scotsman into the lead by 0.62 seconds. Next up was BHC Cup title hopeful Richard Snow but his Porsche Cayman GT4 RS appeared to bog down out of the Pardon hairpin to be slowest of the five cars so far with 47.57 seconds. The roadgoing Porsche 911 Turbo of Rodney Eyles was the sixth car to tackle the hill and the four-whell-drive machine became the new leader by almost half-a-second as Eyles' mark of 45.93 seconds saw him outpace Reid by 0.46 seconds. Paul Howells' older, much-less standard Porsche 911 RSR was next to speed up the hill and the German machine cut almost six tenths from Eyles' short-lived benchmark to become the quickest so far on 45.31 seconds. Eighth runner Stephen Moore's Mitsubishi followed the Porsche and the pair were closely-matched again. Moore was 0.14 seconds up on the 911 at the Esses but the Evo 6 had slipped to 0.05 seconds down on Howells at the line as he carded a time of 45.36 seconds. Champion-elect Roger Moran was the ninth competitor to mount his assault and celebrated winning the title in style with a tidy but fast run of 43.59 seconds to parachute into first place. The four-wheel-drive Fiesta was already 0.71 seconds ahead by the Pardon hairpin and was over a second to the good at the Esses, which translated to a winning margin of 1.72 seconds. Top qualifier Steven Darley was unable to run in the mighty Subaru Legacy after driving partner Damien Bradley suffered an engine problem in his second class run, giving the Team Legacy outfit an unwanted headache before a trip to the Hillclimb Monsters Bongo Skradin hillclimb in Croatia a few weeks after Prescott.
Round 9 result
1. Roger Moran - 2300t/c Ford Fiesta OMSE 43.59 seconds
2. Paul Howells - 3800cc Porsche 911 RSR 45.31 +1.72
3. Stephen Moore - 2300t/c Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 45.36 +1.77/+0.05
4. Rodney Eyles - 3800t/c Porsche 911 Turbo 45.93 +2.34/+0.57
5. Stuart Reid - 1927cc Peugeot 205 46.39 +2.80/+0.46
6. Richard Hampstead - 2000t/c Subaru Impreza 47.01 +3.42/+0.62
7. Eynon Price - 1800t/c Audi TT Quattro 47.25 +3.66/+0.24
8. Tony Adams 2500cc Porsche Cayman 47.49 +3.90/+0.32
9. Richard Snow - 4000cc Porsche Cayman GT4 RS 47.57 +3.98/+0.08
10. Steven Darley - 2350t/c Subaru Legacy PPIH non-starter
Final championship top six
1. Roger Moran 70
2. Stephen Moore 59
3. Damien Bradley 50
4. Steven Darley 45
5. Paul Howells 41
6. Stuart Reid 38
BHC Cup
The British Hillclimb Cup puts the emphasis on speed among the classes, with points awarded for each timed run. A closely-fought championship fight saw the top two contenders separated by just one point arriving at the finale, with Richard Snow’s one extra class record time giving the Porsche driver the upper hand over previous champion Johnathen Varley’s 2-litre GWR Predator single seater. David Warburton lurked only six points adrift of Snow in third, despite the 1600cc Gould GR59 missing the Harewood and Gurston Down meetings earlier in the season. Prescott was the only meeting where Warburton was required to start dropping scores, with the 14 best scores counting. The Gould stood to lose a second and a third-placed score so a pair of rapid times could really bring Warburton into the reckoning. A fourth contender could pull the rug from under all of them, with Rodney Eyles sat 18 points from the summit but two fastest-in-class times with record bonuses could send the Porsche to the top. Richard Snow set a new Roadgoing Series Production Cars over 2000cc record on his first timed run, beating his previous benchmark by a whole 0.93 seconds, and the Porsche’s second run was also half-a-second quicker than the old record to secure another bonus point. Johnathen Varley was within three tenths of his own Racing Cars up to 2000cc (Normally aspirated) class record of 38.27 seconds, set five years previously, first time up but dropped over one second later on to set a 38.29-second time after an untidy passage through Pardon. However, the GWR Predator was still fastest in its class even with the mistake but a bonus point went begging. David Warburton gave it his best shot and his 37.03 and 37.06-second efforts were the quickest of the 1600cc single seaters both times but Jos Goodyear's 2013 record of 36.35 seconds remained out of reach so the Gould GR59 received no bonuses to his score. Rodney Eyles' first run was the fastest in his Roadgoing Series Production 4WD division but wasn’t a new record. The four-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo improved after lunch to knock another 0.04 seconds from his morning time to win the class but failed to beat his record set in April once more. Completing two record runs where no-one else achieved one ensured that Richard Snow clinched the BHC Cup crown by a point from David Warburton, with Rodney Eyles third and former champion Johnathen Varley ended the season in fourth. Each competitor was just one point ahead of the next, with Snow's tally reaching 130 points to beat Warburton's score of 129, Eyles' total of 128 and Varley's 127.
The British Hillclimb Cup puts the emphasis on speed among the classes, with points awarded for each timed run. A closely-fought championship fight saw the top two contenders separated by just one point arriving at the finale, with Richard Snow’s one extra class record time giving the Porsche driver the upper hand over previous champion Johnathen Varley’s 2-litre GWR Predator single seater. David Warburton lurked only six points adrift of Snow in third, despite the 1600cc Gould GR59 missing the Harewood and Gurston Down meetings earlier in the season. Prescott was the only meeting where Warburton was required to start dropping scores, with the 14 best scores counting. The Gould stood to lose a second and a third-placed score so a pair of rapid times could really bring Warburton into the reckoning. A fourth contender could pull the rug from under all of them, with Rodney Eyles sat 18 points from the summit but two fastest-in-class times with record bonuses could send the Porsche to the top. Richard Snow set a new Roadgoing Series Production Cars over 2000cc record on his first timed run, beating his previous benchmark by a whole 0.93 seconds, and the Porsche’s second run was also half-a-second quicker than the old record to secure another bonus point. Johnathen Varley was within three tenths of his own Racing Cars up to 2000cc (Normally aspirated) class record of 38.27 seconds, set five years previously, first time up but dropped over one second later on to set a 38.29-second time after an untidy passage through Pardon. However, the GWR Predator was still fastest in its class even with the mistake but a bonus point went begging. David Warburton gave it his best shot and his 37.03 and 37.06-second efforts were the quickest of the 1600cc single seaters both times but Jos Goodyear's 2013 record of 36.35 seconds remained out of reach so the Gould GR59 received no bonuses to his score. Rodney Eyles' first run was the fastest in his Roadgoing Series Production 4WD division but wasn’t a new record. The four-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo improved after lunch to knock another 0.04 seconds from his morning time to win the class but failed to beat his record set in April once more. Completing two record runs where no-one else achieved one ensured that Richard Snow clinched the BHC Cup crown by a point from David Warburton, with Rodney Eyles third and former champion Johnathen Varley ended the season in fourth. Each competitor was just one point ahead of the next, with Snow's tally reaching 130 points to beat Warburton's score of 129, Eyles' total of 128 and Varley's 127.
Classes
A (i) Series Production Road Cars up to 2000cc: Michael Thomson’s first timed run was good enough for the class win but the Lotus Exige still went 0.42 seconds quicker during the afternoon to hammer the point home in 47.48 seconds, whilst David Wilson overcame class record holder Jonathan Langmead for second place during the later timed runs.
A (ii) Series Production Road Cars over 2000cc: With a great run of 45.62 seconds, Richard Snow reset his own record by a hefty 0.93 seconds first time up to secure the class win by 1.64 seconds. Porsche Cayman GT4 RS pilot Snow also bettered his old record during the afternoon to boost his BHC Cup chances. Tony Adams' Porsche Cayman found 0.59 seconds during his second attempt to leapfrog Robert Lancaster-Gaye's Porsche 991.2 GT3 and Steven Atkins' BMW M2 Competition into the runner-up position.
A (iii) Series Production Road Cars 4WD: Two consistent runs within 0.04 seconds of each other gave Rodney Eyles’ Porsche 911 Turbo the victory by a dominant 2.42 seconds from Tony Hawkins’ Toyota Yaris GR with a best time of 45.64 seconds. Peter Richings' VW Golf R finished only 0.09 seconds behind the Japanese hatchback in third. Despite missing out on the BHC Cup crown after failing to score any class record bonus points, Eyles did wrap up the Midland title at the expense of BHC Cup winner Richard Snow.
B Specialist Production Road Cars: It was a family 1-2 in the Roadgoing Specialist Production Car class as Richard Price, the 2025 Midlands champion, defeated his son Tom Price by 0.21 seconds in their Caterham 7s, with the former's 45.02-second afternoon run beating his offspring's 45.23-second reply.
C (i) Modified Series Production Cars up to 1400cc: Eric Morrey ran out a comfortable winner by 3.22 seconds from Andrew Russell’s venerable Ginetta G15, despite a persistent misfire afflicting his turbocharged Hillman Imp and his first timed run of 49.69 seconds was enough for the win.
A (i) Series Production Road Cars up to 2000cc: Michael Thomson’s first timed run was good enough for the class win but the Lotus Exige still went 0.42 seconds quicker during the afternoon to hammer the point home in 47.48 seconds, whilst David Wilson overcame class record holder Jonathan Langmead for second place during the later timed runs.
A (ii) Series Production Road Cars over 2000cc: With a great run of 45.62 seconds, Richard Snow reset his own record by a hefty 0.93 seconds first time up to secure the class win by 1.64 seconds. Porsche Cayman GT4 RS pilot Snow also bettered his old record during the afternoon to boost his BHC Cup chances. Tony Adams' Porsche Cayman found 0.59 seconds during his second attempt to leapfrog Robert Lancaster-Gaye's Porsche 991.2 GT3 and Steven Atkins' BMW M2 Competition into the runner-up position.
A (iii) Series Production Road Cars 4WD: Two consistent runs within 0.04 seconds of each other gave Rodney Eyles’ Porsche 911 Turbo the victory by a dominant 2.42 seconds from Tony Hawkins’ Toyota Yaris GR with a best time of 45.64 seconds. Peter Richings' VW Golf R finished only 0.09 seconds behind the Japanese hatchback in third. Despite missing out on the BHC Cup crown after failing to score any class record bonus points, Eyles did wrap up the Midland title at the expense of BHC Cup winner Richard Snow.
B Specialist Production Road Cars: It was a family 1-2 in the Roadgoing Specialist Production Car class as Richard Price, the 2025 Midlands champion, defeated his son Tom Price by 0.21 seconds in their Caterham 7s, with the former's 45.02-second afternoon run beating his offspring's 45.23-second reply.
C (i) Modified Series Production Cars up to 1400cc: Eric Morrey ran out a comfortable winner by 3.22 seconds from Andrew Russell’s venerable Ginetta G15, despite a persistent misfire afflicting his turbocharged Hillman Imp and his first timed run of 49.69 seconds was enough for the win.
|
|
|
C (ii) Modified Series Production Cars up to 2000cc: Stuart Reid’s Peugeot 205 was the only starter in its class but that didn’t stop the Scot from putting in two determined charges in order to qualify for both Tin Top Run-Offs, with his opening 45.86-second time the quicker of the two.
C (iii) Modified Series Production Cars over 2000cc: The mighty Porsche 911 RSR of Paul Howells crushed its class opposition by 2.97 seconds to triumph in the Modified Series Production Over 2000cc division with a 45.46-second best set on Sunday afternoon, with Jonathon Williamson’s Porsche 911 taking second place by two tenths from Robert Toon’s rumbling Morgan +8.
C (iv) Modified Series Production Cars 4WD: Wiltshire farmer Stephen Moore's opening effort of 44.80 seconds was his best as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 fired to the top 1.55 seconds quicker than the Subaru Impreza of runner-up Richard Hampstead, who found 1.94 seconds in the afternoon to usurp the spectacular Eynon Price’s eBay-sourced Audi TT.
D Modified Specialist Production Cars: The dual-driven MK Indy 400 Turbo of Rob Lloyd and Stuart Hook held the first two finishing positions among the Modified Specialist Production Cars set, with the former prevailing by 1.21 seconds on 43.13 seconds.
E Sports Libre Saloon & Sports Cars: The monsters from the Sports Libre Saloons and Sports Cars had already seen Damien Bradley go up the hill in a time under Roger Moran’s class record during Sunday morning practice. He then removed six tenths from the 42.78-second benchmark on his first official go, blazing up the hill in 42.18 seconds, but the 900bhp Subaru Legacy went into limp mode during its second timed run. Driving partner Steven Darley ran before Bradley in the afternoon and made a great improvement of 1.09 seconds to get ahead of 1997 British Hillclimb champion Moran’s 800bhp Fiesta, giving the Team Bradley Legacy a 1-2 result.
C (iii) Modified Series Production Cars over 2000cc: The mighty Porsche 911 RSR of Paul Howells crushed its class opposition by 2.97 seconds to triumph in the Modified Series Production Over 2000cc division with a 45.46-second best set on Sunday afternoon, with Jonathon Williamson’s Porsche 911 taking second place by two tenths from Robert Toon’s rumbling Morgan +8.
C (iv) Modified Series Production Cars 4WD: Wiltshire farmer Stephen Moore's opening effort of 44.80 seconds was his best as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 fired to the top 1.55 seconds quicker than the Subaru Impreza of runner-up Richard Hampstead, who found 1.94 seconds in the afternoon to usurp the spectacular Eynon Price’s eBay-sourced Audi TT.
D Modified Specialist Production Cars: The dual-driven MK Indy 400 Turbo of Rob Lloyd and Stuart Hook held the first two finishing positions among the Modified Specialist Production Cars set, with the former prevailing by 1.21 seconds on 43.13 seconds.
E Sports Libre Saloon & Sports Cars: The monsters from the Sports Libre Saloons and Sports Cars had already seen Damien Bradley go up the hill in a time under Roger Moran’s class record during Sunday morning practice. He then removed six tenths from the 42.78-second benchmark on his first official go, blazing up the hill in 42.18 seconds, but the 900bhp Subaru Legacy went into limp mode during its second timed run. Driving partner Steven Darley ran before Bradley in the afternoon and made a great improvement of 1.09 seconds to get ahead of 1997 British Hillclimb champion Moran’s 800bhp Fiesta, giving the Team Bradley Legacy a 1-2 result.
|
|
|
F Sports Libre & Sports Racing Cars up to 2000cc: Matthew Price led the Up to 2000cc Sports Libre class after the morning runs on 43.30 seconds despite a leaking head gasket but the Radical SR3 was a non-runner later on so Sam Nicholson’s Mallock was able to nick it by 0.40 seconds after going up in 42.90 seconds. Mike Luck’s self-built Dart was only 0.18 seconds adrift of Price in third, after his afternoon improvement put him temporarily ahead of the class winner Nicholson. An ingenious device in the class belonged to Matthew Zammit, whose Van Diemen AMZ284 featured a pair of 1000cc Suzuki GSXR engines and four-wheel-drive. The Maltese unfortunately spun down the bank at Semi-Circle during practice, tearing off the left-front wheel and ending his weekend.
G Sports Libre & Sports Racing Cars up to 2000cc: The Opel V6-engined Force TAS of Graham Wynn obliterated his competition by 6.46 seconds to take a clear win after breaking the 40-second barrier on his opening run with a 39.45-second sprint, with the Porsche-engined Lola T492 of Graham Loakes coming closest on 45.91 seconds.
I Racing Cars up to 1100cc: Spectacular opening runs from Wil Hamer and Tom Weaver, whose gearshift had a mind of its own, saw both take turns in the class lead but it was David Tatham who led the way at lunchtime. Gary Warren vaulted from fourth to the lead of the class with a committed 38.31-second bid during the afternoon runs before a rapid 38.03-second shot from Tatham gave the pretty DJ Firehawk victory by 0.28 seconds from the Empire Evo2.
J (i) Formula Ford Racing Cars up to 1600cc: Jimmy Harris recovered from trailing Andrew Mathis' Van Diemen by 0.03 seconds after a scrappy opening run in the popular FF1600 class with a rapid 46.49-second shot, a mere 0.27 seconds away from his class record, to give the Van Diemen RF85 the victory by close to a second-and-a-half from the RF89. British Hillclimb Championship challenger Matthew Ryder’s mother Caroline was less than a tenth further back in third.
J (ii) Racing Cars up to 1600cc: David Warburton set two times within 0.03 seconds of each other and his opener was the quicker of the pair to take the class spoils from Jason Tunniclffe on a time of 37.03 seconds. Tunnicliffe's 1-litre turbocharged Empire Evo3 improved to within 1.48 seconds of the flying Gould during the later runs and headed Nick Saunders’ self-developed Reynard 893-based Reynick in third despite a failed run for the latter after lunch.
G Sports Libre & Sports Racing Cars up to 2000cc: The Opel V6-engined Force TAS of Graham Wynn obliterated his competition by 6.46 seconds to take a clear win after breaking the 40-second barrier on his opening run with a 39.45-second sprint, with the Porsche-engined Lola T492 of Graham Loakes coming closest on 45.91 seconds.
I Racing Cars up to 1100cc: Spectacular opening runs from Wil Hamer and Tom Weaver, whose gearshift had a mind of its own, saw both take turns in the class lead but it was David Tatham who led the way at lunchtime. Gary Warren vaulted from fourth to the lead of the class with a committed 38.31-second bid during the afternoon runs before a rapid 38.03-second shot from Tatham gave the pretty DJ Firehawk victory by 0.28 seconds from the Empire Evo2.
J (i) Formula Ford Racing Cars up to 1600cc: Jimmy Harris recovered from trailing Andrew Mathis' Van Diemen by 0.03 seconds after a scrappy opening run in the popular FF1600 class with a rapid 46.49-second shot, a mere 0.27 seconds away from his class record, to give the Van Diemen RF85 the victory by close to a second-and-a-half from the RF89. British Hillclimb Championship challenger Matthew Ryder’s mother Caroline was less than a tenth further back in third.
J (ii) Racing Cars up to 1600cc: David Warburton set two times within 0.03 seconds of each other and his opener was the quicker of the pair to take the class spoils from Jason Tunniclffe on a time of 37.03 seconds. Tunnicliffe's 1-litre turbocharged Empire Evo3 improved to within 1.48 seconds of the flying Gould during the later runs and headed Nick Saunders’ self-developed Reynard 893-based Reynick in third despite a failed run for the latter after lunch.
|
|
|
K (i) Racing Cars up to 2000cc (Normally Aspirated): Class victor Johnathen Varley’s neat 37.53-second opening shot was only three tenths off his own class record before a messy attack on Pardon in the afternoon, as he made another assault on his 37.23-second benchmark from 2024, didn’t cost the GWR Predator a fastest time in his BHC Cup campaign or a place in the Top 12 Run-Off. After visiting the Ettores gravel trap during morning practice, Andy Bougourd’s Force PT was cleaned up to see off the threat from Tom Morgan’s Dallara F399 by 0.49 seconds in the afternoon after just one hundredth separated them earlier on.
K (ii) Racing Cars up to 2000cc (Forced Induction): Paul Haimes’ Gould GR59 qualified in sixth place for the Round 25 Run-Off with his opening 36.72-second attempt and led by 0.78 seconds from the Force TAs of Alex Coles and Richard Alexander, with 0.16 seconds separating the two Forces. None of the top three improved during the afternoon as Haimes recorded a time 0.28 seconds down and Coles was 0.44 seconds slower than his morning best after getting well crossed up exiting Pardon, whilst Alexander was almost two seconds adrift of his earlier time to stay third.
L Racing Cars over 2000cc: The Racing Cars over 2000cc division is the top class of British hillclimbing and the split also pulled the largest entry of the weekend. Matthew Ryder temporarily set a new class record of 34.65 seconds as he qualified for the opening Run-Off before taking another 0.09 seconds off later on. His 34.56-second winner bettered his hill record that stood at the start of the weekend by 0.04 seconds. Will Hall’s 34.84-second run after lunch was his best of the weekend and pushed Wallace Menzies’ ascent of 34.99 seconds from the morning back to third.
M Pre '71 Racing Cars & Sports Racing Cars: Brabham single seaters monopolised the Pre ‘71 Racing Car and Sports Racing Car class as the V8-engined BT30X of Andy Tippett overpowered the twin-cam powered BT21 of Martin Jones by 3.22 seconds, setting a best climb of 44.43 seconds to claim the win.
O Pre '71 Saloons & Sports Cars: Simon Durling's Alpine A110 Berlinetta was in a class of one and the former Gurston Down chief instructor's morning time of 57.50 seconds was much faster than his afternoon go after running down the grass exiting Ettores.
K (ii) Racing Cars up to 2000cc (Forced Induction): Paul Haimes’ Gould GR59 qualified in sixth place for the Round 25 Run-Off with his opening 36.72-second attempt and led by 0.78 seconds from the Force TAs of Alex Coles and Richard Alexander, with 0.16 seconds separating the two Forces. None of the top three improved during the afternoon as Haimes recorded a time 0.28 seconds down and Coles was 0.44 seconds slower than his morning best after getting well crossed up exiting Pardon, whilst Alexander was almost two seconds adrift of his earlier time to stay third.
L Racing Cars over 2000cc: The Racing Cars over 2000cc division is the top class of British hillclimbing and the split also pulled the largest entry of the weekend. Matthew Ryder temporarily set a new class record of 34.65 seconds as he qualified for the opening Run-Off before taking another 0.09 seconds off later on. His 34.56-second winner bettered his hill record that stood at the start of the weekend by 0.04 seconds. Will Hall’s 34.84-second run after lunch was his best of the weekend and pushed Wallace Menzies’ ascent of 34.99 seconds from the morning back to third.
M Pre '71 Racing Cars & Sports Racing Cars: Brabham single seaters monopolised the Pre ‘71 Racing Car and Sports Racing Car class as the V8-engined BT30X of Andy Tippett overpowered the twin-cam powered BT21 of Martin Jones by 3.22 seconds, setting a best climb of 44.43 seconds to claim the win.
O Pre '71 Saloons & Sports Cars: Simon Durling's Alpine A110 Berlinetta was in a class of one and the former Gurston Down chief instructor's morning time of 57.50 seconds was much faster than his afternoon go after running down the grass exiting Ettores.
|
|
|
P Pre '90 Saloons & Sports Cars: The class was fought out between Simon Braithwaite's free-revving Mk1 Ford Escort BDG and Ross McDonald’s Porsche 911 2.7 RS replica. The former went just over three tenths quicker on his first run to set a marker of 49.52 seconds, just two tenths away from Peter Herbert's 2024 class record, and Braithwaite won the class by 1.34 seconds from the Porsche, who went exactly one second slower on his second attempt.
BOC 1 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 1: Only the first of the two Mk1 Escorts in the class beat their handicaps, with Steve Downey’s BDA machine taking 0.48 from his marker to triumph. Martin Saunders’ less powerful version was 0.33 seconds outside of his target to beat Leigh Carter’s diminutive Abarth 695S, with the tiny Italian machine 0.98 seconds down on its number.
BOC 2 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 2: David Fripp took 1.16 seconds off his target time aboard the pretty Fiat 124 coupe to prevail in the biggest class from Tim Lakin's MGB GT, who beat his handicap by 0.08 seconds to finish runner up. Terry Drinkwater’s MGA coupe was fastest on scratch times but was 0.28 seconds adrift of his goal.
BOC 4 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 4: The shared MGB Roadster of James Stott and Daniel Carroll had the class to themselves, with the former getting the verdict with a time 0.78 seconds over his target compared to 0.94 seconds over for Carroll.
BOC 5 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 5: Another shared car, a Lotus 51A Formula Ford single seater, would contest the split and Richard Morris was 1.38 seconds inside his handicap time to defeat driving partner Colin Richards, who went past the timing beam 0.79 seconds beyond his handicap.
BOC 1 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 1: Only the first of the two Mk1 Escorts in the class beat their handicaps, with Steve Downey’s BDA machine taking 0.48 from his marker to triumph. Martin Saunders’ less powerful version was 0.33 seconds outside of his target to beat Leigh Carter’s diminutive Abarth 695S, with the tiny Italian machine 0.98 seconds down on its number.
BOC 2 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 2: David Fripp took 1.16 seconds off his target time aboard the pretty Fiat 124 coupe to prevail in the biggest class from Tim Lakin's MGB GT, who beat his handicap by 0.08 seconds to finish runner up. Terry Drinkwater’s MGA coupe was fastest on scratch times but was 0.28 seconds adrift of his goal.
BOC 4 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 4: The shared MGB Roadster of James Stott and Daniel Carroll had the class to themselves, with the former getting the verdict with a time 0.78 seconds over his target compared to 0.94 seconds over for Carroll.
BOC 5 Fassi Classic Speed Championship Class 5: Another shared car, a Lotus 51A Formula Ford single seater, would contest the split and Richard Morris was 1.38 seconds inside his handicap time to defeat driving partner Colin Richards, who went past the timing beam 0.79 seconds beyond his handicap.
|
|
|
Mini Feature: Gould 84G
A special single seater was present in Gloucestershire, the aluminium honeycomb Gould 84G. The chassis was the first machine to carry the name of the ultra-successful constructor and claimed the 1985 British Hillclimb Championship crown with Chris Cramer at the wheel. The 2500cc Hart-engined car was given a full rebuild ahead of this season for designer and driver David Gould to share with his son Sean, a multiple British Hillclimb Championship Run-Off winner and hill record holder. The first visit to Prescott in April didn’t end well when a suspension breakage pitched the car into the air before crashing back to earth. A top Class L result was unlikely this time, given its presence among the latest-spec machines in the Over 2000cc Racing Cars division, but that wasn’t the aim and Sean Gould placed the sleek machine 12th in the split, some 6.38 seconds away from their modern GR59 chassis in the hands of Matthew Ryder to show just how far the sport’s machinery has progressed.
A special single seater was present in Gloucestershire, the aluminium honeycomb Gould 84G. The chassis was the first machine to carry the name of the ultra-successful constructor and claimed the 1985 British Hillclimb Championship crown with Chris Cramer at the wheel. The 2500cc Hart-engined car was given a full rebuild ahead of this season for designer and driver David Gould to share with his son Sean, a multiple British Hillclimb Championship Run-Off winner and hill record holder. The first visit to Prescott in April didn’t end well when a suspension breakage pitched the car into the air before crashing back to earth. A top Class L result was unlikely this time, given its presence among the latest-spec machines in the Over 2000cc Racing Cars division, but that wasn’t the aim and Sean Gould placed the sleek machine 12th in the split, some 6.38 seconds away from their modern GR59 chassis in the hands of Matthew Ryder to show just how far the sport’s machinery has progressed.
|
|
|
The 2026 British Hillclimb Championship season thus concluded in spectacular fashion, with next year a milestone for the competition as 2027 marks the 80th anniversary of the first title being awarded. The first event was held at Bo’ness in Scotland on the 17th of May 1947 and Raymond Mays was the inaugural champion after five events, with the other contests taking place at Bouley Bay, Craigantlet, Prescott and Shelsley Walsh. 32 drivers have claimed the crown since the title came into being, including acknowledged greats of the discipline Ken Wharton, Tony Marsh and Roy Lane. One of the biggest names to have taken the title was Andy Priaulx, with the 1995 champion going on to win three World Touring Car Championship crowns for BMW. More recent multiple winners have included David Grace, who took a hat-trick at the turn of the century. Graeme Wight Jnr and Adam Fleetwood took a pair apiece before Martin Groves scored a trio, who then added another in 2010. Trevor Willis became a three-time winner during the 2010s, whilst Wallace Menzies became the second Scot on the roll of honour and won four on the bounce before current champion Matthew Ryder claimed the last three. One cannot talk about the greats of the British Hillclimb Championship without Scott Moran coming into the conversation, the Ludlow man emulated his father Roger’s 1997 championship win by sealing the 2008 crown but his smooth style would carry him to another five titles, matching the six of Tony Marsh, and an incredible 173 Run-Off victories. The historic 2027 season kicks off at Prescott on the 24th and 25th of April.