British Hillclimb Championship Prescott 3rd September 2023
MENZIES MAKES IT FOUR
British Hillclimb Championship Round 27
As the only shared car in the opening run-off, seventh qualifier Sean Gould went first and would set the benchmark time, 36.81 seconds, in the car bearing his name. The next three drivers couldn't better the Gould GR59JB's time so Jack Cottrill, Johnathen Varley and 2015 champion Alex Summers would have to wait and see how they fared among the points scorers, the ten quickest times of the twelve in the run-off scoring British Championship points. David Warburton's Gould GR59 went next and he was able to topple the car's creator from the top spot with a 36.57-second run, an impressive effort from the 1600cc machine. The little car's time at the top was brief as the next car up the hill lopped 0.76 seconds from his time, 'Scary' Trevor Willis reaching the top in 35.81 seconds aboard his OMS 28 RPE. A tricky run followed for Paul Haimes after stalling his turbocharged 1300cc Gould GR59 on his first attempt at leaving the line but as his rear wheels hadn't crossed the startline he was able to try again, setting 36.73 seconds after stuttering slightly as he launched into his run to still slot in front of Cottrill, Varley and Summers. Five competitors remained to tackle the 1031-metre course and next to go was title race leader Wallace Menzies, the Scotsman looked very likely to wrap up the championship at this meeting once dropped scores were taken into account and a safe 35.60 was enough to move him to the head of the times for the time being. Not for long as Sean Gould's sharing driver Matt Ryder would be next to go and the youngster blitzed up the hill to move the winning target to a rapid 34.95 seconds. Another Gould GR59 lined up next in the hands of Will Hall and the committed Midlander has been getting ever quicker in his new for 2023 chassis, after toiling for many years with a fast-but-fragile Force. Hall went up the hill in 35.43 seconds to sit between Ryder and Menzies, as two cars remained to set a time. Menzies only remaining rival for the championship was next in line, Scott Moran. The six-time British champion realistically needed to win each of the final four run-offs, with hill records in each, to stand any hope of capturing the crown and the Ludlow man gave it his best shot to tie at the top with Ryder on a 34.95 seconds. Last to go was top qualifier David Uren's Gould GR55B, the ultra-successful chassis that had held the outright record at Shelsley Walsh for many years with Martin Groves at the wheel and also took victories with Wallace Menzies. Uren failed to better his qualifying time with a 35.66 to end the run-off in fifth after being shown to be up on Ryder and Moran's time on the lower section of the hill but a messy passage through Pardon stymied his chances. Despite Moran's dead heat at the top of the times, fourth place was enough for Menzies to seal his fourth consecutive British Hillclimb Championship title in a car that was heavily damaged at Shelsley Walsh just three weeks previously and that his team had worked tirelessly on to have ready for the next meeting at Loton Park fourteen days later.
Round 27 Run-Off Times
1= Matt Ryder - Gould GR59JB 34.95
1= Scott Moran - Gould GRW59 34.95
3. Will Hall - Gould GR59 35.43
4. Wallace Menzies - Gould GR59M 35.60
5. David Uren - Gould GR55B 35.66
6. Trevor Willis - OMS 28 RPE 35.81
7. David Warburton - Gould GR59 36.57
8. Paul Haimes - GR59 36.73
9. Sean Gould - Gould GR59JB 36.81
10. Jack Cottrill - Dallara Cosworth 37.14
11. Johnathen Varley - GWR Predator 37.59
12. Alex Summers - AFS P4T 37.69
British Hillclimb Championship Round 27
As the only shared car in the opening run-off, seventh qualifier Sean Gould went first and would set the benchmark time, 36.81 seconds, in the car bearing his name. The next three drivers couldn't better the Gould GR59JB's time so Jack Cottrill, Johnathen Varley and 2015 champion Alex Summers would have to wait and see how they fared among the points scorers, the ten quickest times of the twelve in the run-off scoring British Championship points. David Warburton's Gould GR59 went next and he was able to topple the car's creator from the top spot with a 36.57-second run, an impressive effort from the 1600cc machine. The little car's time at the top was brief as the next car up the hill lopped 0.76 seconds from his time, 'Scary' Trevor Willis reaching the top in 35.81 seconds aboard his OMS 28 RPE. A tricky run followed for Paul Haimes after stalling his turbocharged 1300cc Gould GR59 on his first attempt at leaving the line but as his rear wheels hadn't crossed the startline he was able to try again, setting 36.73 seconds after stuttering slightly as he launched into his run to still slot in front of Cottrill, Varley and Summers. Five competitors remained to tackle the 1031-metre course and next to go was title race leader Wallace Menzies, the Scotsman looked very likely to wrap up the championship at this meeting once dropped scores were taken into account and a safe 35.60 was enough to move him to the head of the times for the time being. Not for long as Sean Gould's sharing driver Matt Ryder would be next to go and the youngster blitzed up the hill to move the winning target to a rapid 34.95 seconds. Another Gould GR59 lined up next in the hands of Will Hall and the committed Midlander has been getting ever quicker in his new for 2023 chassis, after toiling for many years with a fast-but-fragile Force. Hall went up the hill in 35.43 seconds to sit between Ryder and Menzies, as two cars remained to set a time. Menzies only remaining rival for the championship was next in line, Scott Moran. The six-time British champion realistically needed to win each of the final four run-offs, with hill records in each, to stand any hope of capturing the crown and the Ludlow man gave it his best shot to tie at the top with Ryder on a 34.95 seconds. Last to go was top qualifier David Uren's Gould GR55B, the ultra-successful chassis that had held the outright record at Shelsley Walsh for many years with Martin Groves at the wheel and also took victories with Wallace Menzies. Uren failed to better his qualifying time with a 35.66 to end the run-off in fifth after being shown to be up on Ryder and Moran's time on the lower section of the hill but a messy passage through Pardon stymied his chances. Despite Moran's dead heat at the top of the times, fourth place was enough for Menzies to seal his fourth consecutive British Hillclimb Championship title in a car that was heavily damaged at Shelsley Walsh just three weeks previously and that his team had worked tirelessly on to have ready for the next meeting at Loton Park fourteen days later.
Round 27 Run-Off Times
1= Matt Ryder - Gould GR59JB 34.95
1= Scott Moran - Gould GRW59 34.95
3. Will Hall - Gould GR59 35.43
4. Wallace Menzies - Gould GR59M 35.60
5. David Uren - Gould GR55B 35.66
6. Trevor Willis - OMS 28 RPE 35.81
7. David Warburton - Gould GR59 36.57
8. Paul Haimes - GR59 36.73
9. Sean Gould - Gould GR59JB 36.81
10. Jack Cottrill - Dallara Cosworth 37.14
11. Johnathen Varley - GWR Predator 37.59
12. Alex Summers - AFS P4T 37.69
British Hillclimb Championship Round 28
The shared Gould GR59JB of Sean Gould again went first in the meeting-closing second run-off and the four-litre car made the climb in 36.16 seconds to draw a line in the sand for the other competitors. The next four cars weren't able to beat Gould's time, including Johnathen Varley's 2-litre V8-engined GWR Predator, Alex Summers' self-designed and built AFS P4T - which was pressed into service after throttle problems with his regular DJ Firestorm at Loton Park a week previously, 1600cc class winner David Warburton's Gould GR59 and Jack Cottrill's brightly hued Dallara Cosworth. Equal sixth-placed qualifier Trevor Willis was the first to go under Gould's target, the three-time champion's commitment overcame his car's shortfall in power to record a 35.76 but the OMS would top the times only briefly as his time survived just two runs before demotion. Paul Haimes' Gould GR59 turbocar failed to better Willis' run with a 36.42 but the next car in the hands of David Uren went up in 35.60, despite a twitch through the Orchard sweeper, to move the goalposts once more. Will Hall went next and he too bested Willis' effort, pipping the OMS by just 0.01 seconds to slot into second place with three cars to go. The next two to tackle the hill had tied for the win of the opening run-off and, going first, Matt Ryder took Uren's place at the top of the times with a 35.17 before being bumped on the following run by the super smooth Scott Moran's similar Gould GR59 on a 35.01, as he sought to keep the spoils for himself with just the newly crowned champion left to bat. Freed from the pressure of the championship fight, top qualifier Wallace Menzies was fired up to add a cherry to his championship cake but a slide at the Pardon hairpin condemned him to third on a 35.51 so Moran racked up his 173rd run-off victory from Ryder.
Round 28 Run-Off Times
1. Scott Moran - Gould GRW59 35.01
2. Matt Ryder - Gould GR59JB 35.17
3. Wallace Menzies - Gould GR59M 35.51
4. David Uren - Gould GR55B 35.60
5. Will Hall - Gould GR59 35.75
6. Trevor Willis - OMS 28 RPE 35.76
7. Sean Gould - Gould GR59JB 36.16
8. Paul Haimes - GR59 36.42
9. Jack Cottrill - Dallara Cosworth 36.55
10. David Warburton - Gould GR59 36.74
11. Alex Summers - AFS P4T 37.35
12. Johnathen Varley - GWR Predator 38.29
The shared Gould GR59JB of Sean Gould again went first in the meeting-closing second run-off and the four-litre car made the climb in 36.16 seconds to draw a line in the sand for the other competitors. The next four cars weren't able to beat Gould's time, including Johnathen Varley's 2-litre V8-engined GWR Predator, Alex Summers' self-designed and built AFS P4T - which was pressed into service after throttle problems with his regular DJ Firestorm at Loton Park a week previously, 1600cc class winner David Warburton's Gould GR59 and Jack Cottrill's brightly hued Dallara Cosworth. Equal sixth-placed qualifier Trevor Willis was the first to go under Gould's target, the three-time champion's commitment overcame his car's shortfall in power to record a 35.76 but the OMS would top the times only briefly as his time survived just two runs before demotion. Paul Haimes' Gould GR59 turbocar failed to better Willis' run with a 36.42 but the next car in the hands of David Uren went up in 35.60, despite a twitch through the Orchard sweeper, to move the goalposts once more. Will Hall went next and he too bested Willis' effort, pipping the OMS by just 0.01 seconds to slot into second place with three cars to go. The next two to tackle the hill had tied for the win of the opening run-off and, going first, Matt Ryder took Uren's place at the top of the times with a 35.17 before being bumped on the following run by the super smooth Scott Moran's similar Gould GR59 on a 35.01, as he sought to keep the spoils for himself with just the newly crowned champion left to bat. Freed from the pressure of the championship fight, top qualifier Wallace Menzies was fired up to add a cherry to his championship cake but a slide at the Pardon hairpin condemned him to third on a 35.51 so Moran racked up his 173rd run-off victory from Ryder.
Round 28 Run-Off Times
1. Scott Moran - Gould GRW59 35.01
2. Matt Ryder - Gould GR59JB 35.17
3. Wallace Menzies - Gould GR59M 35.51
4. David Uren - Gould GR55B 35.60
5. Will Hall - Gould GR59 35.75
6. Trevor Willis - OMS 28 RPE 35.76
7. Sean Gould - Gould GR59JB 36.16
8. Paul Haimes - GR59 36.42
9. Jack Cottrill - Dallara Cosworth 36.55
10. David Warburton - Gould GR59 36.74
11. Alex Summers - AFS P4T 37.35
12. Johnathen Varley - GWR Predator 38.29
Highlights from the Classes
The first class on the hill produced one of the tightest finishes as Jonathan Langmead's 48.59 aboard his Lotus Elise secured him victory in the Road Going Series Production up to 2000cc division from Peter Siddle's Renault Clio by a slim 0.11 seconds. Rodney Eyles' 46.85 from his first run established a new class record and gave his Alfa Romeo 4C the win in the over 2000cc Road Going Series Production class by 0.37 seconds from Robbie Birrell's Porsche Cayman GTS. The 4WD Series Production class comfortably went the way of Isabella Lawrence's powerful Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 as she bested the Toyota GR Yaris of Peter Richings by 2.62 seconds. The closely-fought Specialist Production Road Car class saw victory go to Steven Garner's Westfield SEi by 0.33 seconds from Richard Price's Caterham 7. The fleet forced-induction Hillman Imp of Eric Morrey had 1.77 seconds in hand from the ever-present Andrew Russell's Ginetta G15 as they contested the Modified Series Production Car up to 1400cc class. Stephen Moore inflicted a narrow defeat of just 0.01 seconds on the hugely powerful Subaru Legacy of Damien Bradley in the larger engined Modified Series Production over 2000cc class, Bradley was only present on Sunday after competing in the Brighton Speed Trials on Saturday. As the sole entrant in the Modified Specialist Production Car class, Stuart Dow was guaranteed the win as long as he completed a run and the Caterham Hyabusa still set a quick 43.31 as he grabbed the trophy. A few hundredths split the Force SR4 of Allan McDonald, the Scot famous for his home-brewed Mini Evo, and the diminutive OMS SC1 of Richard Matossian as the former's 42.51 bested the latter's 42.54 among the Sports Libre up to 2000cc runners. Of the larger capacity Over 2000cc Sports Libre cars, the turbocharged Norma M20 of Duncan Barnes sped to the top in 41.37 seconds to nail the class win by 3.85 seconds from a tie for second between Graham Loakes' Porsche-powered Tiga Sports 2000 car and the Skoda Fabia R5 rally car of 1997 British Hillclimb champion Roger Moran. The usually ultra-competitive 600cc-1100cc Racing Car class went to the DJ Firehawk of Dave Tatham, who had 0.91 seconds in hand from the OMS 28 of Dylan Flesher. Lady drivers were at the forefront of the Pre-1994 FF1600 class as Caroline Ryder's 47.80 from her afternoon run gave the Van Diemen RF86 driver victory by 0.13 seconds from Sarah Bosworth's 47.93 set during the opening timed runs. David Warburton's Gould GR59 took the Up to 1600cc Racing Car class by 1.09 seconds from Adam Greenen's Empire Evo, who had to rely on his first run time after skating off into the Ettores gravel trap during the afternoon. The GWR Predator of Johnathen Varley, once the fearsome Judd V10-engined projectile of Graeme Wight Jnr but now powered by two Yamaha R1 engines fused together into a 2-litre V8, took the Normally Aspirated Up to 2000cc Racing Car class with a new record of 37.38 to win by 0.30 seconds from the Force TA of former rallyman Eynon Price as he qualified for both run-offs. In the Forced-Induction up to 2000cc Racing Car class, Paul Haimes was another to qualify each time as he ran out a clear winner in the turbocharged 1300cc Gould GR59 by 1.93 seconds from Pete Tatham's OMS 28. In the headline class for the Over 2000cc Racing Cars, David Uren's fastest qualifying time for the opening run-off of 35.43 was enough to give him the class win by 0.19 seconds from Wallace Menzies' 35.62 effort which topped the Round 28 qualifying times. Andy Tippett's V8-powered Brabham BT30X rumbled to the Pre-1971 Racing Car class win by 2.13 seconds from Martin Jones' older BT21, whilst in the 1971-1990 division Joe Mackrell's Peugeot-powered Tiga SC83 FF2000 car took the glory by 1.05 seconds from Tom Brown's Mallock Mk17. The two remaining non-handicap classes both had solitary entries as John Harding's whining supercharged Jaguar E-Type and Simon Braithwaite's immaculate Mk1 Escort took the Pre-1971 Saloon and Sports Car and 1971-1990 Saloon and Sports Car classes respectively. The resident Bugatti Owners Club Handicapped classes saw the three-wheeling Mini of Matt Clarke come closest to his target time, just 0.18 seconds away, to take the Saloon car spoils, whilst Austin Weltman's S1 Lotus Elise was within half a second of his target to bag the Sports Car prize and the Racing Car split went to Laurence Marks' Van Diemen RF84 'Pterodactyl' after setting a time 0.15 seconds away from his target. Among the club's Interclub Speed Championship, Stuart Diaper's Caterham was 0.86 seconds away from his target to take the spoils from Patrick Hadley's Morgan Plus 8.
The first class on the hill produced one of the tightest finishes as Jonathan Langmead's 48.59 aboard his Lotus Elise secured him victory in the Road Going Series Production up to 2000cc division from Peter Siddle's Renault Clio by a slim 0.11 seconds. Rodney Eyles' 46.85 from his first run established a new class record and gave his Alfa Romeo 4C the win in the over 2000cc Road Going Series Production class by 0.37 seconds from Robbie Birrell's Porsche Cayman GTS. The 4WD Series Production class comfortably went the way of Isabella Lawrence's powerful Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 as she bested the Toyota GR Yaris of Peter Richings by 2.62 seconds. The closely-fought Specialist Production Road Car class saw victory go to Steven Garner's Westfield SEi by 0.33 seconds from Richard Price's Caterham 7. The fleet forced-induction Hillman Imp of Eric Morrey had 1.77 seconds in hand from the ever-present Andrew Russell's Ginetta G15 as they contested the Modified Series Production Car up to 1400cc class. Stephen Moore inflicted a narrow defeat of just 0.01 seconds on the hugely powerful Subaru Legacy of Damien Bradley in the larger engined Modified Series Production over 2000cc class, Bradley was only present on Sunday after competing in the Brighton Speed Trials on Saturday. As the sole entrant in the Modified Specialist Production Car class, Stuart Dow was guaranteed the win as long as he completed a run and the Caterham Hyabusa still set a quick 43.31 as he grabbed the trophy. A few hundredths split the Force SR4 of Allan McDonald, the Scot famous for his home-brewed Mini Evo, and the diminutive OMS SC1 of Richard Matossian as the former's 42.51 bested the latter's 42.54 among the Sports Libre up to 2000cc runners. Of the larger capacity Over 2000cc Sports Libre cars, the turbocharged Norma M20 of Duncan Barnes sped to the top in 41.37 seconds to nail the class win by 3.85 seconds from a tie for second between Graham Loakes' Porsche-powered Tiga Sports 2000 car and the Skoda Fabia R5 rally car of 1997 British Hillclimb champion Roger Moran. The usually ultra-competitive 600cc-1100cc Racing Car class went to the DJ Firehawk of Dave Tatham, who had 0.91 seconds in hand from the OMS 28 of Dylan Flesher. Lady drivers were at the forefront of the Pre-1994 FF1600 class as Caroline Ryder's 47.80 from her afternoon run gave the Van Diemen RF86 driver victory by 0.13 seconds from Sarah Bosworth's 47.93 set during the opening timed runs. David Warburton's Gould GR59 took the Up to 1600cc Racing Car class by 1.09 seconds from Adam Greenen's Empire Evo, who had to rely on his first run time after skating off into the Ettores gravel trap during the afternoon. The GWR Predator of Johnathen Varley, once the fearsome Judd V10-engined projectile of Graeme Wight Jnr but now powered by two Yamaha R1 engines fused together into a 2-litre V8, took the Normally Aspirated Up to 2000cc Racing Car class with a new record of 37.38 to win by 0.30 seconds from the Force TA of former rallyman Eynon Price as he qualified for both run-offs. In the Forced-Induction up to 2000cc Racing Car class, Paul Haimes was another to qualify each time as he ran out a clear winner in the turbocharged 1300cc Gould GR59 by 1.93 seconds from Pete Tatham's OMS 28. In the headline class for the Over 2000cc Racing Cars, David Uren's fastest qualifying time for the opening run-off of 35.43 was enough to give him the class win by 0.19 seconds from Wallace Menzies' 35.62 effort which topped the Round 28 qualifying times. Andy Tippett's V8-powered Brabham BT30X rumbled to the Pre-1971 Racing Car class win by 2.13 seconds from Martin Jones' older BT21, whilst in the 1971-1990 division Joe Mackrell's Peugeot-powered Tiga SC83 FF2000 car took the glory by 1.05 seconds from Tom Brown's Mallock Mk17. The two remaining non-handicap classes both had solitary entries as John Harding's whining supercharged Jaguar E-Type and Simon Braithwaite's immaculate Mk1 Escort took the Pre-1971 Saloon and Sports Car and 1971-1990 Saloon and Sports Car classes respectively. The resident Bugatti Owners Club Handicapped classes saw the three-wheeling Mini of Matt Clarke come closest to his target time, just 0.18 seconds away, to take the Saloon car spoils, whilst Austin Weltman's S1 Lotus Elise was within half a second of his target to bag the Sports Car prize and the Racing Car split went to Laurence Marks' Van Diemen RF84 'Pterodactyl' after setting a time 0.15 seconds away from his target. Among the club's Interclub Speed Championship, Stuart Diaper's Caterham was 0.86 seconds away from his target to take the spoils from Patrick Hadley's Morgan Plus 8.
|
|
|
The British Hillclimb Championship reaches its conclusion for 2023 at Loton Park in Shropshire on the 23rd and 24th of September.