NEWS ARCHIVE

SBD HSA 2015 Speed Championship
21/12/2014

The 2015 SBD HSA Speed Championship has received its MSA Permit, has published the approved regulations and calendar and is now taking entries.

Regulations and entry forms (for postal entries) can be downloaded on the Regs page and on-line registration can me made here.

Not much has changed from 2014, including the cost, but we are visiting Barbon Manor for the first time.

STRINGENT NOISE POLICY AT PRESCOTT FOR 2015
20/12/2014

The Bugatti OC are to tighten up their noise monitoring policy in 2015. In a recent letter to competitors following a review at this year's September British and Midland Championship meeting, they found that: 'A number of runs were above the drive by limit as detailed in our 2014 supplementary regulations. Our analysis has shown that for the majority of cars any excess was only marginal. Some however were materially above the limit. For obvious reasons this cannot continue'.

After liaising with the MSA on a course of suitable action the BOC, who were among the pioneers of silencing regulations on the hills over thirty years ago due to local objectors, have decided that for 2015 a revised venue specific limit will be set and policed with zero tolerance by the MSA licenced environmental scrutineer, in conjunction with the Clerk of the Course. This scrutineer is, of course, a judge of fact whose decision is final and not subject to appeal.

A statement to be inserted into Prescott supplementary regulations for 2015 reads as follows:

'MSA Regulations in respect of noise testing apply, additionally any vehicle exceeding a reading of 106dB(A) on the drive by noise monitoring system will result in the time recorded on that run being disallowed and any vehicle breaching the drive by limit on two occasions will be excluded from the meeting without further participation'.

BOC have a record of all vehicles from the September meeting that exceeded the revised drive by limit and the Club office will be able to help any competitor with a query regarding their vehicle's reading.

Government petition concerning noise complaints near motor sport venues
11/12/2014

The link below refers to the latest Government e-petition concerning noise complaint waivers for anyone who buys or rents a property close to a motorsport venue.

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/72458

2015 SBD HSA Speed Championship - Update
01/12/2014

Please note a change, due to a clerical error by the Championship Co-Ordinator! (ie me) We also have a round at Gurston on the 18th April. Sorry for the confusion. The 2015 Hillclimb and Sprint Association's calendar has now been finalised. We are very grateful to SBD for their continuing sponsorship. SBD / HSA 2015
21st March	Castle Combe	Bristol MC
22nd March	Rockingham	BARC (Midlands)
12th April	3 Sisters	Longton & DCC
18th April	Gurston Down	BARC (SW)
18th April	Loton	HLDCC
19th April	Loton	HLDCC
2nd May	Werrington	Plymouth MC
3rd May	Werrington	Plymouth MC
2nd/3rd May	Shelsley	MAC
16th May	Snetterton	Borough 19 MC
17th May	Snetterton	Borough 19 MC
23rd May	MIRA	MAC
30th May	Pembrey	BARC (Wales)
31st May	Pembrey	BARC (Wales)
13th June	Anglesey	Chester MC/MAC
14th June	Anglesey	Chester MC/ MAC
14th June	Curborough	Owen MC
27th/28th June	Prescott	Bugatti OC
4th July	Barbon	Liverpool MC
5th July	Harewood	BARC (Yorks)
11th July	Blyton Park	Westfield SCC
12th July	Blyton Park	Westfield SCC
18th July	Llandow	BARC (Wales)
19th July	Llys y Fran	Swansea MC
25th July	Wiscombe	Woolbridge MC
26th July	Wiscombe	Woolbridge MC
2nd August	Hethel	Borough 19 MC
9th August	Loton	HDLCC
29th/30th August	Gurston Down	BARC (SW)
5th September	Aintree	Liverpool MC
12th September	Thoresby Park	Nottingham SCC
13th September	Thoresby Park	Nottingham SCC
19th September	Shelsley	MAC
10th October	Curborough	Hillclimb & Sprint Association

Return of the Chateau Impney hillclimb announced
27/11/2014

The return of hillclimbing to the grounds of the well known Droitwich hotel, the Chateau Impney, has just been announced and will take place on the 11th and 12th July 2015. The venue previously hosted hillclimbs from 1957 to 1967 on a shorter course, organised by the HDLCC.

"The Chateau Impney Hill Climb will see no less than 200 competitors sprint their way up the challenging 1,000-yard course against the clock, in a high-octane display of power, speed and skill. Some of the most famous and successful competition cars that raced between the inception of the motorcar and 1967 will be put to the test, and the winner of the Hill Climb will be awarded a prestigious trophy, commemorating the part that the Hagley & District Light Car Club played in Chateau Impney’s motorsport heritage."

More details can be found at www.chateauimpneyhillclimb.com/

2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship - Full awards list
16/11/2014

The full awards list for the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship has been published. It can be downloaded as a Word or pdf document.

In addition to the Class awards the special award winners are:

The Peter Stevens Memorial Cup for the competitor with the highest score of 4 qualifying rounds:

Keith Murray

The Russ Ward trophy awarded to the Organising Club of the 'best' Championship round:

BARC Midlands Centre

The Paul Squires Memorial trophy will be awarded to the most meritorious performance in a racing car up to 1100cc as determined by the Championship Organisers:

Simon Andrews

The Dual Drive Shield, or Tyre Warmers Trophy will be presented to the drivers with the highest combined overall score where the competitors share the same car in the same class:

Colin Satchell and Paul Drowne

Ginetta Speed Challenge - the top three Ginetta competitors in the overall standings will receive the GOC Championship shields that have been awarded since 1994:

1st – Matthew Eady

2nd – James Tearle

3rd – David Tearle

The Alan Payne Memorial Trophy

Andrew Cottrill

The MX-5 Owners Club Trophy

Tony Thomas

Congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to seeing as many as possible at the Awards Lunch in the Prescott clubhouse on November 30th.

The HSA Trophy

St Goueno Masters 2015 dates announced
11/11/2014

With interest levels in Hillclimbing on the continent increased by the FIA Masters event at Eschdorf  competitors may be interested in the announcement of the Saint Goueno Masters 2015 date which will take place over the weekend of 30th / 31^st May. As usual the fun and games will kick off on the Thursday evening followed by scrutineering on the Friday.

The entry list will open in a few weeks time at Hillclimb France

Brittany Ferries discount:

Fellow hillclimber and golf pro, Jon Langmead, has very kindly arranged a discount for people travelling to Saint Goueno for the event. It is available through the Brittany Ferries golf desk, 20% off and only £35 deposit needed with the balance required in April . The discount applies only to the travel element and not on board accommodation.

Graham Ruth, who runs the Brittany Ferries Golf Holidays, will be happy to help with the ferry crossings and pass on his discounts direct to the competitors.

Competitors will all get 20% off the list price quoting 'St Goueno Hillclimb'. You MUST ring the Brittany Ferries GOLF desk on the number below. The discounts will not be available direct with Brittany Ferries or with any other offer.

Please give Graham a call to discuss further if you wish and or email him at golf.desk@brittanyferries.com

The desk's number is 08712440808

HURRY! - BOOK NOW FOR OUR AWARDS LUNCH
08/11/2014

Time is running out to book your place for our 2014 SBD/HSA Speed Championship Awards Lunch on Sunday, November 30th, which is held once again at the superb Prescott Club House .

With places limited to just 85, there are still a few left for our annual event which proved such a hit last year. This year it promises to be even better as, for the second time in the long history of HSA awards lunches, we are delighted to welcome Mike Pilbeam as guest speaker for the first time since 1988. This is an event not to be missed, as we're sure that the intervening 26 years will have provided the longest standing and most successful constructor in British hillclimbing with quite a bit to talk about!

There will also be a raffle for a Famosa Ferrari California - a child's battery powered two-seater (with belts!) ride-on car. A perfect Christmas present for a young automotive enthusiast!

To ensure a place at this popular event, visit the the events page to book and pay on-line.

The MP97 in action - designer Mike Pilbeam is our guest speaker

This Famosa Ferrari California is our top raffle prize

2014 SBD HSA SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TOP TEN
13/10/2014

After 32 rounds of competition, we are pleased to announce the final top ten in the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship as follows. Particular congratulations go to the 2014 Champion, Chris Howard Harris, who was chased very hard all season by former Champion Tony Thomas and Matt Carter, rounding out the podium positions.

 

Posn	Name	Car	Cc	Cl	Pts
1	Chris Howard-Harris	Caterham Superlight R	1795	B2	147
2	Tony Thomas	Mazda MX5	1998	A21	143
3	Matt Carter	Radical PR6	1340	F	140
4	Andrew Cottrill	Subaru Impreza	2000	A3	136
5	Colin Satchell	Peugeot 205	1997	C2	133
6	Mike Hawley	Honda S2000 GT	1997	A2	126
7	Brian Marshall	Porsche 944 Turbo SE	3217	A3	123
8 =	Gavin Neate	Peugeot 106	1360	C1	122
8 =	Paul Webb	Van Diemen RF84	1600	J1	122
10 =	John Fox	Peugeot 106 XSi	1294	A1	116
10 =	Paul Morcom	Merlyn MK11a Formula Ford	1599	X	116

  

Planning for the 2015 season has been under way for several months and we are delighted to announce that SBD will be our Headline Sponsor again next year. Thanks go to all the competitors who joined the championship in 2014 and we hope you will be with us again next year. Don’t forget to sign up for our Awards Lunch which will be held at the Prescott Clubhouse on 30 November 2014.

2014 Champion Chris Howard-Harris

2014 Runner-Up Tony Thomas

BRITS SHINE BEFORE RAIN HALTS ESCHDORF
13/10/2014

With both drivers running inside the hill record at the inaugural FIA Hillclimb Masters event at Eschdorf, Luxembourg, British hillclimb champion Scott Moran finished second overall in his Gould-NME, a quarter of a second behind the Norma-BMW sportsracer of outright winner Nicolas Schatz, who averaged 137.76 kph (85.6 mph) for the 1.85 km (2022 yd) course.

In a fine showing by the home team amid a 138-strong field, British competitors filled three out of the top ten places. Will Hall was fourth overall in the Force-Nissan and Trevor Willis seventh in his OMS RPE. Also in the British contingent were Darren Warwick (17th), Tom New (21st) Paul Buckingham (24th), Keith Edwards (75th), Keith Murray (81st) and David Warburton (90th). A strong Irish contingent was led by Simon McKinley's Lant-Warrior (25th).

Originally scheduled for three competition runs, the event was decided on the opening two after heavy rain had halted proceedings midway through the third runs.

'Quite honestly, I didn’t expect to win today,' said Nicolas Schatz. 'There was such competition! The cancellation of third climb was both a frustration and a relief, because the Brits were coming ever closer and I might have had some difficulty in improving my time. In any event, I congratulate the FIA and the organisers. This Masters concept is brilliant and you couldn’t dream of any better publicity for hill climbing than we had this weekend, with all the best drivers together.'

TOP TEN FINISHERS:

FTD: Nicolas Schatz (4.0 Norma-BMW M20) 48.344s; 2 Scott Moran (3.5 Gould-NME GR61X) 48.587s; 3 Eric Berguerand (3.0 Lola-Cosworth B99) 4 Will Hall (3.5 Force-Nissan WH) 49.180s; 5 Simone Faggioli (3.0 Norma-Zytec M20) 49.233s; 6 David Hauser (3.0 Wolf GB08) 49.372s; 7 Trevor Willis (3.2 OMS-RPE 28) 49.445s; 8 Geoffrey Schatz (3.0 Reynard-Mugen 95D) 49.713s; 9 Milos Benes (3.0 Osella-Zytec FA30) 49.862s; 10 Christian Merli (2.0 Osella Honda PA) 49.957s; etc.

Full results here.

Scott Moran broke the Eschdorf hill record and finished second overall (zipp.co.uk)

HSA annual awards lunch Prescott Nov 30th
05/10/2014

The 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship, Annual Awards Lunch will be held in the Prescott Club House on November 30th.

This year the event promises to be even better than ever. Not only are we returning to the venue that met with such approval last year but we have a couple of additional items to make the day even more interesting. Mike Pilbeam is our confirmed after lunch speaker and will be drawing upon his many successful years as a race car manufacturer.

There will also be a raffle for a Famosa Ferrari California - a children's, battery powered, two seater (with belts!) ride on car. A prefect Christmas present for a young relative or friend!

To ensure you are guaranteed a place at this popular event please make your booking promptly as places are limited to just 85. You can book and pay on-line by visiting the events page.

Mike Pilbeam will be our guest speaker

A battery powered California will be raffled

2015 BRITISH HILLCLIMB CALENDAR
29/09/2014

With the 2014 British hillclimb season having concluded at Loton Park last weekend, the calendar for the 2015 Championship, sponsored once again by Avon Tyres and TTC Group, has now been announced:

April 25/26             Prescott                  Cheltenham

May 2                    Craigantlet*             Belfast

May 9/10               Harewood                Leeds

May 23/24             Gurston Down         Salisbury

June 6/7                Shelsley Walsh        Worcester

June 13/14            Loton Park               Shrewsbury

June 20/21            Doune                      Stirling

July 4                    Barbon Manor          Kirkby Lonsdale

July 5                    Harewood                Leeds

July 16                  Bouley Bay*             Jersey

July 18                  Le Val des Terres*   Guernsey

July 25/26             Wiscombe Park       Honiton

August 15/16        Shelsley Walsh        Worcester

August 29/30        Gurston Down          Salisbury

September 5/6      Prescott                   Cheltenham

September 19/20  Doune                      Stirling

September 26/27  Loton Park               Shrewsbury

All events are also rounds of the Hillclimb Leaders Championship, except for the 'non-mainland' rounds, marked *

The calendar follows in the main the usual time-honoured format, except that the Craigantlet round has moved from early August to early May, and the traditional May Barbon/Harewood weekend moves to July, having switched dates with Harewood's regular two-day meeting.

PURCELL AND GATES TAKE GURSTON TITLES
08/09/2014

With an unbroken string of maximum scores, Simon Purcell sealed his first Gates of Brockenhurst Gurston Down Championship title at Sunday's Championship finale. Having run close to his own class record all year, 2007 champion Mike Rudge tried hard to deny him the trophy but even had the Westfield-Duratec driver managed to find record pace at the final round, which would have tied on points, the consistent Purcell, driving his self-developed, supercharged Lotus Exige, would have taken the title on a tiebreak. 'It's a great feeling,' he said afterwards. 'I've never won a championship before!'

Competitors in the BARC Top Ten Challenge, which is based on outright pace, were hampered by an extensive oil spillage at Karousel during the first set of timed runs, which required copious application of cement dust. Series leader Chris Cannell spun during his first shot in the twin engined Force, letting hill sponsor Jonathan Gates through into the lead with an on-the-edge run in his supercharged Force. On the second runs, one of the Suzuki engine/gearbox units in the unlucky Cannell's Force selected neutral in the run up to Ashes and that was the end of his bid. With an improved time, good enough for second FTD, a delighted Gates took the Challenge title. Having won the Championship title back in 2006 in his Westfield-Vauxhall, he became the first driver to do the double.

Having missed several earlier rounds, Gurston ace Peter D Smith was never going to get his Force-Suzuki single-seater in the frame for the Challenge. But in another superb performance that outpaced the entire field, he took his third Gurston FTD of the year.

Simon Purcell - 2014 Gurston Down Hillclimb champion (John Hayward)

Jonathan Gates - the first driver to have won both Championship and Challenge trophies (John Hayward)

STEVENS' 4-WHEEL BRIGHTON WIN
08/09/2014

Having already scored the fastest class win on four wheels, Rob Stevens went on to find even more pace as the Brighton Speed Trials made a welcome return to the calendar last Saturday, 6 September. His best time of 9.87sec over the famous Madeira Drive standing quarter-mile was set during the top six run-off for cars, his self-developed, supercharged Force-Suzuki sports libre car clocking 144mph over the finish line.

Even so, as is usually the case these days it was the two-wheeled machines that set the overall best times at Brighton. On his opening class run, Craig Mallabone's Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo crossed the line at 169mph on an 8.94sec pass down the historic course, which was first used in 1905.

Rob Stevens prepares for a run in the Force at Shelsley in August (Jerry Sturman)

ENTRIES OPEN FOR THE HSA CURBOROUGH SPRINT
19/08/2014

The annual HSA Curborough Sprint will be held on Saturday October 11th over 1 lap of the Curborough sprint course. As well as being the final round of the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship the event will also feature the traditional class winners Run Off for the Alan Payne memorial trophy.

The regs and entry forms have now been published for this event and can be downloaded from the Events page. This year competitors are able to enter and pay on-line here.

The closing date for entries is October 1st.

YOUNG'S GURSTON VICTORY
21/07/2014

A three-way battle for FTD raged at Gurston Down on Sunday as the BMTR Tyres Midland Hillclimb Championship visited the Wiltshire hill for the third successive year.

With a 28.63, June's double Gurston winner Nic Mann set the initial pace during the opening class runs in his extraordinary Mannic Beattie turbocar. But in the opening TTC Group Top Ten Challenge run-off, a delighted Oliver Tomlin took his first ever run-off win, eclipsing Mann's time with a 28.32 aboard his 4-litre Pilbeam-Judd.

Mann then went one better, carving almost two tenths off his own sports libre class record with a 28.24 which was promptly equalled by Tomlin in qualifying for the second TTC shoot-out. But the last word went to Deryk Young, who had sat out the opening shoot-out after his Gould-Judd's driveshaft had broken in qualifying He bounced back into the fray with a 27.83 qualifier before going on to win the closing run-off, and the meeting, with a 27.52 FTD.

With the top four Challenge contenders contesting the Channel Islands BHC rounds and giving Gurston a miss, the win moved Young up to fourth place on the table ahead of Steve Owen with Tomlin, who trailed Young in the afternoon shoot-out, charging up from eleventh to shadow the absent OMS constructor in fifth place.

In the BMTR Tyres Midland Championship, class wins for series leader Mike Turpin in his supercharged VX220 and second place man Rodney Eyles, as ever the man to beat in the pre-'86 racing car class in his Pilbeam-Hart, meant that they strengthened their hold on the Championship table. Brabham-BDA driver Richard Jones, although amalgamated with the later class, ran third overall and finally blitzed Gurston's age-old pre-'72 record, set in 1971 by David Hepworth. The only pre-'72 record remaining on the Midland hills that's not yet on Jones's CV is Peter Voigt's Loton standard. He'll have the opportunity to rectify that at the British/Midland Championship finale in September...

Deryk Young took FTD at Gurston and moved up the TTC Challenge table (John Hayward)

Oliver Tomlin took his first ever run-off win in the battle for FTD (John Hayward)

WILLIS RULES AT PRESCOTT
29/06/2014

Trevor Willis moved another step closer to a sixth Midland Championship Top Ten Challenge title at Prescott on June 29 by winning both run-offs, the second with FTD despite a sideways moment at the notorious Pardon Hairpin. Some rounds are run concurrently with British Championship run-offs, but at the 'stand alone' rounds it's invariably Will Hall that poses the greatest challenge to Willis. Prescott was no exception and Hall chased hard for second place each time. Just twelve hundredths ahead in the opening shoot-out, Willis stretched the gap to six tenths in the afternoon, but Hall moved up into second place overall on the TTC Group Challenge table ahead of the absent Scott Moran who, like the majority of the BHC front-runners, had opted out of Prescott in favour of a breather between Doune and Harewood. Steve Owen was not about to miss out though, and with fifth and a fine third place in the works OMS 28, he strengthened his fourth place overall.

A defeat for the class based BMTR Midland Championship joint leader Robert Lancaster-Gaye by Roy Standley meant that the Porsche 996 driver dropped to third on the table. Rodney Eyles, for so long the man to beat in the pre-85 classic racing class, nipped ahead of R L-G by a single point and into second place overall in his Pilbeam-Hart while 2012 champion Mike Turpin took sole charge of the championship lead following his win over regular sparring partner Eynon Price, after another duel in their supercharged VX220s. Five times Midland champion Rob Stevens had another torrid weekend as after crashing his potent Force-Suzuki at Loton and suffering a gearbox breakage in practice at Shelsley, he retired from Prescott on Saturday after an engine problem.

One driver especially delighted after Prescott was Richard Jones, who finally erased Peter Voigt's 11-year-old pre-71 racing record with his 1.8-litre Brabham-BDA BT29X. Only Voigt's Loton Park record, set with the famous ex.Roy Lane TechCraft-Buick, remains on the Midland hills, one which Jones will hope to demolish in September's British and Midland finale.

Trevor Willis moved closer to a sixth Challenge title after a dominant performance at Prescott (John Hayward)

Another record for Richard Jones and the Brabham leaves just one of Peter Voigt's age-old records unbroken (John Hayward)

Harewood 6th July news
24/06/2014

In case you weren't aware of it, the world's largest (number of live spectators) sporting event takes place in July and just happens to be in the vicinity of Harewood on 5th/6th July.

The Tour de France starts in Leeds on Saturday 5th July and then proceeds to Harewood House for the start of the first stage. Full details of the route and timetable for the 1st stage and 2nd stage, between York and Sheffield, on Sunday can be found on the website http://letour.yorkshire.com/

BARC (Yorks) have advised the following: As a result of this clash, we have scheduled this year’s MSA British Hillclimb Championship round as a one day event on Sunday 6th July.

If you are coming to the hillclimb, please be aware of travel restrictions over the weekend. We have consulted West Yorkshire Police, who advise that whilst there will be no road closures around the Harewood area on Sunday, there will be closures from the routes passing through Harrogate and around North Yorkshire. Details of road closures can be found on the Tour website, see links below.

On Saturday 5th July, there will be significant road closures around Harewood. These will be in place until 1700hrs approx. Prior to this the only route in to Harewood hillclimb will be along the A659 Collingham Road. This will be busy until approx. 1200hrs after that time the majority of traffic will be leaving Harewood back towards Collingham.

In other news leading Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rookie Tom Ingram is set to take on a challenge with a difference at the beginning of the series' summer break - piloting his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis up Harewood Hillclimb on July 6th.

"I've always looked at hillclimbing and thought it would be awesome fun to have a go - but I honestly never thought I would get the opportunity," he confessed. "To go to Harewood and have a blast up the hill in the BTCC car will be massively exciting - if not a little terrifying - and I'm looking forward to it immensely!"

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Britain's other top hillclimber Chris Froome will be near Harewood in July

Tom Ingram in his Toyota Avensis will also be at Harewood

MANN'S GURSTON DOUBLE
23/06/2014

Nic Mann and his extraordinary Mannic-Beattie sports libre car took FTD on both days at Gurston Down's Tony Marsh Memorial weekend double-header on June 21/22.

Although Mann found another tenth of a second during practice for Sunday's meeting, his Saturday win set the fastest official time of the weekend at 28.70s. Just under a second away, his closest challenger was Andy McBeath, but any chance of a late victory evaporated when the supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa engine in McBeath's OMS 25 expired in a cloud of smoke under braking for Karousel second time up. A couple of tenths further back, the twin-engined Force-Hayabusa sports libre car of Chris Cannell and the ex.Willis OMS-Vauxhall of Guernseyman Chris Guille scrapped over third place, split by five hundredths, with local man Cannell getting the final verdict.

On Sunday, Mann had starting problems in the afternoon so his sole official time was a 29.25 opener, but with April double winner Peter D Smith on hand it looked vulnerable until Smith and co-driver Richard Gaylard failed to appear, their OMS-Suzuki having broken a front wing mounting in practice. Long-time Gurston sponsor Jonathan Gates took up the cudgels in his supercharged Force-Suzuki LM, but after co-driver Peter Sexton was unfortunate to break the car's drive chain during his second run, Gates' challenged ended. Guille now stepped in, easing the sportscar out of second place, but although quicker than Mann to Karousel, the 2-litre Vauxhall lacked the all-important grunt on the run over Burke's Rise to the finish and Mann was left with his second FTD of the weekend. Cannell had to settle for fourth overall this time, but with both events forming rounds of the Gates Gurston Championship and the Top Ten Challenge, he left the event with top spot on the Challenge table, two points clear of classmate Keith Diggle's WEV-BDG.

After three rounds it's Simon Purcell that now leads the Gurston Championship itself in his supercharged Lotus Exige, from Westfield driver Ritchie Gatt and Graham Beale's turbocharged Ginetta-Cosworth G33, class winners all. On this weekend in memory of the late Tony Marsh, the six-times British hillclimb champion who had such a close association with the BARC Southwest Centre's hill, this year's Tony Marsh Memorial Trophy went to Beale for the closest approach to a class record over the two days - his time just three hundredths away from Pete Tyler's 17-year-old large capacity Marque Sports Car mark.

Nic Mann set the outright pace each day at Gurston Down (John Hayward)

Tony Marsh Memorial Trophy winner Graham Beale (John Hayward)

The wager, the forfeit and the good cause
21/06/2014

The wager: That veteran Sprinter, Bill Gouldthorpe would never get on Facebook. Well he has!

The forfeit: British Sprint Championship front runner, Steve Miles, to run a lap of Knockhill in his underpants. Well, he says he will!

The good cause: The Alzheimers Society.

This has now turned into a small fund-raising effort, targeting £100 for the Alzheimers Society. So any donation of £5 or £10 made through Just Giving would be greatly appreciated. 

'Dangerous' Doreen, Bills wife, and many others would benefit if a cure or improvements could be found for this disease.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Bill in his familiar OMS (Andy Leivers)

Steve Miles in his Van Diemen (Kim Broughton)

Thomas' record day at the Palace
06/06/2014

The Sevenoaks & District Motor Club again organised their 'Motorsport at the Palace' event at Crystal Palace on May 25/26.

Gary Thomas set FTD on the Sunday in his familiar Force PC with a record breaking run of 32.58s followed by Andy Laurence's ADR on 35.12s and David Seaton's Pilbeam on 35.61s.

The Monday event was wet and was run on a shortened course with the Impreza of Justin Andrews taking FTD with a 31.19s run.

Gary Thomas on his way to FTD (Robert Baggs)

Saul Stevens' Lister 'Knobbly' Jaguar (G Thomas)

Caption competition
03/06/2014

We don't often get off beat photos submitted but just recently two arrived from different photographers from the same Werrington meeting. Click here for a larger version of photo1 or photo2.

They both have the potential for amusing captions so please send your efforts to editor@hillclimbandsprint.co.uk (now corrected!) and the best (and publishable) ones will be printed in Speedscene or this web site.

We should point out that, although we have a general policy of not publishing images of accidents, the competitor carefully parked in the rhododendrons suffered no damage to car (the odd scratch) or person (apart from pride)!

Thanks to David Garnett

Thanks to Jeremy Rundle

Brighton Speed Trials September 6th 2014
02/06/2014

The Brighton Speed Trials is now open for entries - the organisers, The Brighton and Hove Motor Club, have announced. Forms to enter the Speed Trials are now live to download via the web site. www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk

The Brighton Speed Trials has been running in Brighton since 1905 and this year’s hotly anticipated event will take place on 6^th September. Both cars and motor bikes are eligible to enter and there are a wide range of categories. The Brighton Speed Trials is a competition event so you will need a competition licence to enter. The level of licence you have dictates which class you run in. Full details of entry criteria and required equipment can be found on the web site.

Over two hundred cars and motor bikes line up to take a timed run including road cars, race cars and bikes who compete to win the fastest in their class. A top six run-off to find the fastest car and bike brings the day to a dramatic close.

Tony Watts of the Brighton and Hove Motor Club said: “We are expecting a very busy event this year after the overwhelming support we received to save the Speed Trials after initial resistance from the council. We recommend getting entries in early to avoid disappointment.”

“There are strict safety and regulatory issues for any event of this kind so be sure to read the instructions on the site carefully and if you have any questions about how to enter get in touch with us at the Brighton and Hove Motor Club.”

After the council initially declined an application to run the event in 2014, a petition with over 12,400 names and a major press and social media campaign forced the council to re-think their decision and the Speed Trials are back on. Among the supporters were Sir Stirling Moss, Brighton-based bestselling author Peter James, Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Top Gear’s The Stig.

Willis Wins at the Double
29/05/2014

Trevor Willis continued his rich vein of form with another pair of back-to-back Top 12 victories at the Hagley & District Light Car Club Midland Championship Meeting on 18^th May 2014.

An exceptionally healthy 1100 Racing Car class was next and up front Chris Aspinall led them home with the two fastest runs of the day. Second spot went to Jim Spencer in the Reynard-Kawasaki as Mark Goodyear in the OMS Hornet snatched third place from an off-the-pace Simon Fidoe in the Empire Wraith 02. Just one car and two drivers contested the Formula Ford class but Samantha Lester gave the Van Diemen’s owner Richard Summers a shock after she slipped ahead on her second run. Richard regained the lead but by less than 0.4. The 1600 class saw the two Steves, Owen and Day, once again battling for the honours and it was the Yorkshireman who emerged victorious whilst Lynn Owen took third spot. In the 2 litre class the forced induction Hayabusas reigned supreme. Ash Mason popped in two sub-48 second runs to take the class ahead of the Forces of Dave Uren and Tony Hunt. The select band of Over 2 litres were next and Trevor Willis led initially as Will Hall spun out. Then on the second runs Hall grabbed the class win with his best time of the day. Deryk Young and Oliver Tomlin were over a second adrift in third and fourth.

Round 5 Midland Hillclimb Championship

Sue Young and Sandra Tomlin were up first. Sue improved on her Q-time and would finish tenth whilst Sandra was slower and would end up eleventh. Graham Wynn then popped in his best time to take an initial lead that would see him finish seventh. Tony Hunt had a problem off the line and failed to post a time prior to the flying Chris Aspinall came to the line. The one litre wonder flew up the hill and slotted initially in behind Wynn – he would end up ninth. David Uren split Wynn and Aspinall for eighth. Steve Day then moved into the lead but would end up sixth in the Raptor. Ash Mason then set his fastest time of the day to grab the lead before Oliver Tomlin charged up to take the lead finishing third overall. Steve Owen’s flying 1600 was next and he was charging up clipping posts at every point on the track he slotted in just behind Tomlin. Deryk Young then put in the first sub-47 climb to take the lead. Finally Trevor Willis blasted off. Once again ‘Scary Trev’ was on a charge. He was quickest to triangle and held the advantage all the way up the hill posting the first sub-46 run of the day.

Round 6 Midland Hillclimb Championship

With just one dual driven car in the run-off it was Sue Young leading the way and after her first run charge it all went wrong for Sue on the bottom part of the hill as she came to a halt. After Sue returned to the Paddock it was Tony Hunt on the line. No problems for the Force driver on this run as he posted a steady 51.07 which would see him finish 8^th. Chris Aspinall pushed a tad too hard and fluffed Fallow and was shaking his head in disgust as he exited museum over two tenths shy of Hunt’s time. Graham Wynn was next and he too was somewhat off his earlier pace with a 50.37 to slot into the lead which would translate to 7^th. Dave Uren then set his fastest time of the day to move into the lead. Oliver Tomlin failed to take his run so it was Deryk Young next after a poor qualifying. His final run of the day was a couple of tenths shy of his first run-off time but slotted him into the lead. Steve Day then took the Raptor to the top just failing to match his Q-time and slotting in just behind Uren. Next was Steve Owen and Mr OMS was again on fire as he posted his best time of the day to slot in ahead of Day. Ash Mason then brought the spaceframe DJ Firehawk to the line but this time he too couldn’t match his Q-time failing by over a second and slotting in behind Day’s Raptor. Penultimate runner Trevor Willis then blazed up the hill in typical fashion as he set his best time of the day and led the run-off. This just left Will Hall and he was determined to beat Trevor. He was there or thereabouts up until Fallow and then it all went wrong. He was too early on the loud peddle and spun off onto the grass in-field. Having failed to qualify for the first run-off Hall again didn’t get to the top and gifted the win to Willis.

FTD: Trevor Willis (3.2 OMS-Powertek 28 V8) 45.54s

Full report and results in Speedscene

Steve Wilkinson

Trevor Willis dominated at Loton (Geoff Robinson)

The new Empire Carbon again went well in the hands of Chris Aspinall (Geoff Robinson)

Castle Hill Festival
28/05/2014

The Castle Hill car festival is to be held at Filleigh, Nr Barnstaple, Devon on 9th/10th August 2014.

We hear that the organisers have now been granted an MSA sprint permit and that the North Devon Motor club are hoping to publish the revised regulations and an entry form later this week, both of which will be available for download from the Festival website - www.castlehillcarfestival.co.uk

As well as the Track Sprint Challenge competition the Festival also features displays of hundreds of classic vehicles brought together by individuals and clubs from throughout the UK. Also on show will be the very latest models from the likes of Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, Lotus, BMW Audi plus many of the volume family motor manufacturers.

The headline attraction for 2014 is the Classic Formula One & Racing Paddock which will feature a number of iconic cars including a Schumacher Benetton - also on display will be a Le Mans Group C Tiga and the very latest David Appleby Bentley Continental GT3 racer. All of these wonderful; cars will be taking part in demonstration runs on the competition track during the interval.

Add to the mix the Abarth stunt plane on both days and helicopter pleasure flights and you have a wonderful weekend of motoring heaven.

Tomlin Tops the Times at Harewood
23/05/2014

BARC (Yorkshire Centre) Travelleads Trophy 10^th May 2014

Effectively the weather made the event a one shot competition. Light rain started early during the second runs and after just two classes had got to the top it intensified. The rain stopped but the track was awash and then part way through the third runs it again rained causing most single seaters to remain in the paddock.

In the Ferrari class Richard Allen took the early lead and took the win with Philip Whitehead (F355 Berlinetta) second and Shaun Smith (328 GTB) third. Colin Kingsman took a solo win the Aston Martin class then it was the Westfields. Terry Everall was the initial leader before first Matthew Turner and then Tim Nunn broke the class record. It looked set for the record breaking to continue but the rain put paid to that.

David Taylor took the first Roadgoing class with the lovely Alpine Renault A110 of David Holden second. Ian Butcher set a PB en route to victory in the two litre class with Russell Thorpe second (a 1-2 for the Renault R5GT Turbos). Richard Archbould took his customary class win ahead of perennial second place man Graham Cox. Simon Green was back with the Duratec powered Westfield and took the well supported Kit Car class.

In the first Mod Prod class Keith Newey, on his first visit to Harewood, took the win with fellow debutant Neville Astbury second. Vini Dobson held off Ralph Pinder et all for the two litre class and Steve Bussey took the over two litres class from Simon Dawes’ Porsche. Best entertainment came from the solo Sports Libre car – Craig Moore in his Rage. The little car was flung into the corners and opposite locked through to great applause from the crowd.

The 1100 class saw Bernard Kevill and Simon Andrews debut their OMS 28 whilst Clive Austin made his Harewood debut in the Empire Wraith. However it was local ace Ed Carter who took the win despite a broken throttle cable in practice. In thw 1600 class Steve Day took the win from Paul Martin (OMS 2000M) and Lynn Owen (OMS 28). In the two litre class it was Steve Owen who won as he had a guest drive in Nev Rollason’s new supercharged OMS 28. John Prikett was second and Tony Hunt a close third. Oliver Tomlin’s only run had him firmly ensconced in first in the Over 2 Litre class and bagged FTD to boot.

Despite the rain the organisers battled through and managed to cope with floods, thunder and lightning. A big thank you was paid to the hardy marshals and to Clerk of the Course Peter Whittle who was in charge for the first time.

FTD: Oliver Tomlin (4.0 Pilbeam-Judd MP97 V8) 53.01s

Report & photos Steve Wilkinson

Oliver Tomlin takes the Pilbeam to FTD

Craig Moore's Rage Kawasaki at Quarry

Two for Willis at Loton Park
22/05/2014

Trevor Willis continued his rich vein of form with back-to-back run-off victories in the Midland meeting at Loton Park on May 17th and 18th. The OMS driver took a simple first run-off win but in the next was only second fastest qualifier as Will Hall took the class win after a first run spin but in the second run-off Hall again spun.

Full Report in the next issue of Speedscene.

Trevor Willis took the OMS to a brace of wins (ZiPP photographic)

Will Hall blasts off the line in the Force (ZiPP photographic)

LEE’S WISCOMBE
22/05/2014

The dire weather experienced by competitors at Wiscombe Park earlier in the season gave way to hot and sunny conditions for Torbay MC’s meeting on May 17th, enabling Mike Lee to set FTD with a 38.49 in his OMS-Suzuki. Class rival Simon Clemow came closest among the single seaters, but it was Rodney Thorne’s burly Pilbeam-Rover sports libre car that posed the main threat to Lee, stopping the clocks over a second adrift on 39.84. Doug Bennett, who had dipped into the 39-second bracket a year earlier in his highly modified Sports Libre Sylva Stryker, had a bodywork-damaging ‘off’ at Wis Corner on his first run and was unable to challenge on his second. Organising club member Andrew Short won the smaller capacity sports libre class in his OMS SC1 by a full one and a half seconds in a time quick enough to beat several of the racing car entries. 

A spate of delays for mechanical failures hit the timed runs, the most serious occurring when Andy Traynor’s rally-replica Audi Quattro developed a split seam-weld in its aluminium fuel tank on the start line. Marshals acted rapidly to push the stricken Audi backwards off the asphalt and were quickly joined by Westcountry Rescue and the Tipton Garage recovery team in a combined effort to deal with the incident, but over half-an-hour elapsed before it was safe to resume competition. 

As part of the 25 year celebrations for their iconic MX-5 sports car, Mazda UK entered three cars in Mks 1, 2 and 3 specification, all three examples being driven by Doune resident Alisdair Suttie. The Scotsman’s practice and timed runs were filmed for a video documentary about the Japanese car’s extraordinary success story, which will be screened on the Mazda UK stand at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Mike Lee exits Sawbench on his way to FTD (teltphotography.com)

Figure 8 Curborough on 15 June 2014
08/05/2014

The Owen Motoring Club has asked us to inform you that, following a successful trial of the new Figure 8 course at the Shenstone and District Car Club meeting at Curborough on 5 May, they too will adopt this new layout for their Graham Hill Sprint on 15 June. This will be round 18 of the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship. You can see a diagram of the Figure 8 layout on the Curborough website, www.curborough.com. The new track appears to add about 10 percent to the normal 2-lap times, due to the longer overall distance.

Owen Motoring Club will apparently be publishing new regulations in the near future to address this change. 

MAC MIRA 24th May
02/05/2014

The Midland Automobile Club have extended the entry closing date into next week

300 NOT OUT!
30/04/2014

Having first run in 1967, Gurston Down hillclimb celebrated its 300th meeting last Sunday on the second day of the traditional April double-header.

     The biggest celebrant was perhaps Peter D Smith who, after being on the verge of an outright win for some seasons, scored his first ever FTD aboard his Force-Suzuki on Saturday before going on to make it two in a row the following day.

     A battle raged in his wake on the first day for although he was half a second clear of the field, the next three were covered by just four hundredths. Andy McBeath’s supercharged OMS 25 ran second once a loose wheel – which gave a few problems at Karousel on his first run! – had been tightened while two sports libres, Chris Cannell’s twin engined Force and long-time Gurston sponsor Jonathan Gates’ supercharged Force-Suzuki, made up the battling trio. Sadly, expensive noises from Gates’ car at the end of his final run meant that it was sidelined for the following day. 

     Rain rather dampened proceedings for Sunday’s milestone meeting. This opening round of Gurston’s home Championship saw several pre-event retirements, but this time Smith’s second FTD of the weekend earned him top spot on Gurston’s Top Ten Challenge table ahead of Keith Diggle’s immaculate, self-built, WEV, now with its Cosworth engine enlarged to 2.2-litres. Former Gurston champion Mike Rudge ran third overall in his Westfield-Duratec, a hundredth clear of Cannell’s unique sportsracer.

     A highlight of the 300th meeting was the appearance of 3-times BTCC champion Matt Neal in a Honda Jazz run by Synchro Motorsport, together with team boss Alyn James aboard a similar Britcar Civic. In less than ideal conditions, Neal got past James on the second runs to take the final verdict by three tenths.

     'I’d never actually driven up a hillclimb until now,’ said Neal. ‘There wasn’t much time to get to grips with it all, so I had to try to take everything on-board pretty quickly and I did scare myself a couple of times! The main thing that took me by surprise was how narrow it is. I was amazed by the diversity of machinery at the event.’

Peter D Smith made it two wins in two days at Gurston's milestone weekend (John Hayward)

Triple BTCC champ Matt Neal competed in his first ever hillclimb (John Hayward)

Variety on the hills
26/04/2014

One of the many good things about hillclimbing and sprinting is the enormous variety of vehicles taking part. Old and new, fast and slow, simple and sophisticated..........the list goes on.

A surprise entry in the SBD HSA Speed Championship this year was the Dodge Coronet of John Harrison. A few publicity photos could be found on Google but what this 5 litre monster looked like in the flesh was unclear until it appeared at Loton on Easter Monday.

Our reporter observed "John Harrison undoubtedly provided the best spectacle of any of the competitors as he wrestled his huge 5.3 litre 1958 Dodge Coronet up the hill. Everyone held their breath as he squealed around each corner, the whole car lurching from side to side and threatening to tip over, with John driving single handed, his left arm out of the window to hold on for dear life and stop him sliding across that very long bench seat. At first many of us thought it was all a joke and it would end in tears, but John completed all four runs - a testament to his skill and bravery and the car''s reliability."

This clearly deserves a photo record of the event and our thanks go to Rich Danby of Zipp Photographic for these images.

Hanging on!

Tyre shredding!

Busy season opener at Croft (NI)
15/04/2014

Last Saturday, 12^th April 2014 saw the 25^th running of Croft Hillclimb Holywood, Co Down, under the stewardship of the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club NI. With the sprinting season already underway this ever popular event gave Ulster’s hillclimbing fraternity their first competition action of the year, playing host to Round 1 of the 2014 ANICC Millers Oils Hillclimb Championship.

Cloudy skies and a damp course greeted the healthy entry of 70, of which four competed back in 1989. The first practice runs got underway on the 875metre course shortly before 10.30am, but after a heavy rain shower it didn’t take long for the red flags to fly as the hill took its first of many victims. Unfortunately Andy Hawthorne’s Vauxhall Lotus impacted against a bank on a lower part of the hill and due to unrepairable suspension damage Hawthorne’s day was over.

Further forays into the hedgerow and banking by Don Shannon, Volvo S40 and Jack Brien, MG Midget respectively, kept the marshals on their toes with only competitors pride and cosmetic damage being the end result.

The sun made a welcome appearance for the afternoons timed runs with the result that competitors times tumbled with their growing confidence. Graham Thompson took FTD 33.82s and class 15 in his GTR Turbo with local honours going to Newtownard’s Robert McGimpsey 34.97s, 1^st in the keenly fought class 14 and 2^nd overall in his RMG Busa. Bangor’s Chris Houston rounded off the top 3 overall 35.28s and 2^nd in class 14 in his OMS CF04.

Full report in Speedscene

Rudi Gage, Maguire Mini (Raceline Photography)

Chris Rogan, Escort (Raceline Photography)

Debden Sprint 11th May
08/04/2014

The Herts County Auto and Aero Club are holding a Sprint at Debden on May 11th. 

HSA members are invited and the SRs can be downloaded here.

The invite is also extended to the Sprint to be held on 28th September at the same venue. Former HSA Chairman, Paul Richardson, will be CoC so remember to say hello.

GURSTON TEST DAY
07/04/2014

Taking a total of six runs at a damp and slippery Gurston Down, John Oxborrow set the outright pace amid a 60-strong field aboard his 1-litre OX7-Suzuki at BARC(SW)’s annual test day on April 6. His best run was well over a second clear of another driver-constructor, Keith Diggle, who took just two runs in his WEV, the car’s Cosworth BDG enlarged to 2160cc for this year. 2013 HSA Championship runner-up Colin Satchell set the third fastest time in the hard-worked Peugeot 205, wider tracked for this year and shared as ever with Paul Drowne. Despite the presence of several single seaters, only Oxborrow and Drowne topped three-figure speeds over the finish in the treacherous conditions with the OX7 clocking 110mph on one run. The first competitive 2014 event at Gurston will be the HSA Championship round on April 26, the day before the Wiltshire hillclimb’s 300th Anniversary meeting.

Top six fastest times:

1 John Oxborrow (1.0 OX7-Suzuki) 35.89s

2 Keith Diggle (2.1 WEV-BDG) 37.21s

3 Colin Satchell (2.0 Peugeot 205 GTi) 37.77s 

4 Lewis Fanner (2.5t Subaru Impreza) 38.25s 

5 Bradley Hobday (1.0 Jedi-Suzuki Mk4) 38.66s 

6 Peter Sexton (1.3s Force-Suzuki LM) 38.84s

Full results on: www.tsl-timing.com/sprint/2014/141484.pdf

John Oxborrow set the testing pace at Gurston (John Hayward)

Colin Satchell defied the slippery conditions to run third fastest overall (John Hayward)

Introduction To Sprinting Day, Curborough, 13 April 2014
23/03/2014

At the HSA we regularly receive questions on how to get started in sprinting and hillclimbing, and we are happy to answer such questions. Indeed there is a good deal of useful information on this website for those wishing to take up the sport.

However, there is no substitute for attending events and getting directly involved.Shenstone and District Car Club (SDCC) will be holding an“Introduction To Sprinting Day” on Sunday 13^th April at their Curborough venue near Lichfield, Staffordshire, which will give newcomers to the sport a chance to learn the essentials and drive the course.

The day will be free to all comers, who can turn up with a road legal car and be shown through the various processes of getting involved in sprinting.Signing on will commence at 9.30am, and will close at 11.30am, with the first batches of new potential competitors through the processes at 10.00 am, and aiming to finish by early afternoon.

Please see www.curborough.com for details of the Curborough sprint course and SDCC. If you have any questions on any of the above, please contact John Williams, SDCC Competitions Secretary, on compsec@curborough.co.uk

MSA CALLS ON THE SPORT TO RESPOND TO GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION ON CLOSED ROAD EVENTS
27/02/2014

The Motor Sports Association has welcomed the launch of a government consultation regarding a proposed change in the law that would allow motor sport events to take place on closed public roads in Britain.

The Road Traffic Act states that it is illegal to organise or take part in a race or trial of speed on the public highway, but the MSA has been pushing successive governments to devolve power to local authorities to enable them to suspend the Road Traffic Act without having to resort to an Act of Parliament. Such an amendment would enable competitive motor sport events such as stage rallies, sprints and hill climbs to take place on closed public roads, as already happens across mainland Europe, in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

The MSA is now calling on the motor sport community to respond to the consultation and demonstrate the huge groundswell of support there is for these proposals. The governing body has produced a guide to the process and template answers to some of the questions posed by the consultation.

This can be found on the MSA website: 
www.msauk.org/uploadedfiles/newsletter/ClosedRoads.pdf

For a Q&A on the subject please click here: www.msauk.org/uploadedfiles/Closed_Roads_Q&A.pdf

Rob Jones, MSA Acting Chief Executive, hailed the consultation as a huge step forward for the MSA’s long-running closed roads campaign:

‘This is the news that British motor sport has been waiting for. It represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the landscape of our sport, allowing local communities across the country to host motor sport events and enjoy all the excitement and economic benefit they bring.

‘However to make that vision a reality, we need everybody involved with our sport – competitors and volunteers, clubs and organisers – to respond positively to the government consultation before the 10 April deadline.

‘The government’s enthusiasm for motor sport, and its launch of a public consultation, reflects years of hard work behind the scenes. It’s now up to us all to grab this chance to take the closed road campaign a big step closer to the finish line.’

British Hillclimb events have long been held on public roads in the Channel Islands...

...and in Northern Ireland

Mallory Park Open Day - March 1st
19/02/2014

Mallory Park Race Circuit is set to open its gates to everyone in a Motorsport Extravaganza Open Day on Saturday 1 March.

 

The management of Real Motorsport Ltd is pleased to announce that Mallory Park will officially re-open on 1 March from 10.30am, with a special "Meet the Team" day, when visitors will have the opportunity to view a host of cars and bikes, as well as the chance to talk to the stars.

 

The circuit will be open to all who wish to attend with no admission charges.

 

In addition, the Mallory Park team will be joining forces with its chosen charity, "353.org.uk", to raise funds for our military guys and girls returning from overseas action.

 

There will be plenty to see with displays from all aspects of motorsport:

:: Classic F1 cars

:: BSB Superbike teams

:: Rally, including Group B

:: Speedway

:: Supermoto

:: Track day companies (2 and 4 wheel)

:: Race driving school

:: Mallory Motorsport Club "Club Mallory"

:: Classic vintage cars and bikes.

 

And much more, including motorsport celebrities from all activities, and World and National Champions.

Rockingham regs published
24/01/2014

Regs and entry forms for BARC Midland's Rockingham Sprint to be held on March 16th have been published and can be downloaded from our Calendar page.

Brighton Speed Trials to go ahead in 2014
24/01/2014

Further to our previous item, here is the official press release by Brighton & Hove MC:

Brighton, 24 January 2014: The Brighton Speed Trials has been saved following a major campaign by event organisers, The Brighton and Hove Motor Club. After the council initially declined an application to run the event in 2014, its Economic Development and Culture Committee voted unanimously last night to allow the event to continue. It will be held this year on 6^th September.

The Speed Trials has been running in Brighton since 1905 and the initial council refusal caused outcry among Brighton residents, the motorsport industry and the many fans of the event around the UK and abroad. A Save the Brighton Speed Trials campaign was immediately launched by the motor club to save this historic event.

In just one month the Save the Brighton Speed Trials campaign generated over 12,400 names on a petition, over 7,000 likes on the campaign’s FaceBook page, hundreds of online forum discussions as well as dozens of articles in the local and national press, on TV and radio. Among the supporters were Sir Stirling Moss, local bestselling author Peter James, Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Top Gear’s The Stig.

Tony Watts of the Brighton and Hove Motor Club said: “This is a major victory not just for the club but for the heritage of Brighton, its residents and businesses and the history of motorsport. We couldn’t have achieved this without the overwhelming support we have received and want to thank everyone who has helped by signing the petition, spreading the word online and writing letters to the council and the local paper.”

“The council has listened to its constituents and acted in the best democratic interest of the City of Brighton and Hove. We are thrilled to be able to now start the planning of the 2014 Brighton Speed Trial and the subsequent two years events. With the support we have had this year promises to be the best Speed Trials yet. ”

For further information about the Speed Trials visit: www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk

REPRIEVE FOR BRIGHTON
23/01/2014

‘Brighton Speed Trials will go ahead in September this year following a huge public campaign’ said the Brighton Argus today, following a key town hall meeting at which opposition councillors joined forces to give the green light on the event. After it had come under threat by Brighton’s ruling Green council, more than 12,000 people signed a petition in support of the country’s oldest motorsports event, held annually on Madeira Drive seafront course..

 

Rodney Thorne on his way to the Brighton win in 2011

GEORGE TATHAM
15/01/2014

We are sorry to report that veteran hillclimber George Tatham lost his 2-year battle with cancer on January 14^th. He died at home, with his family by his side. George and his mighty 7.6-litre McLaren-Chevrolet M12C were a familiar sight – and sound – at hillclimbs across the country for decades. Fittingly, as the funeral directors took George away to the Chapel of Rest, his sons fired up the big McLaren once more in tribute to their father's life.

George launches the mighty M12C off the Shelsley startline in August 2010

Permit issued for the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship
11/01/2014

A permit has been issued for the 2014 SBD HSA Speed championship and the 'final' regs can be downloaded here.

We believe that the calendar is now fixed but should any changes occur they will be notified on these pages.

 

Rockingham March 16th!
10/01/2014

The HSA are very pleased to announce that the Sprint to be held at Rockingham Motor Speedway on March 16th has been added to the provisional calendar of the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship.

BARC Midlands have been working very hard to add this exciting new venue to the UK's Sprint tracks and we wish them all possible success with this venture.

More details of the event will be posted here as they become available.

2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship registration open
01/01/2014

You can now register for the 2014 SBD HSA Speed Championship, either on-line or by downloading an entry form and sending it in by post.

The regulations are still in draft form and may change either through the permit process or event organisers changing dates. Any changes will be posted on these pages.

The Class records are now fully up to date but should any competitor have a query please get in touch with the Championship co-ordinator, Pat Toulmin.

Championship stickers, which must be applied to competitors' cars, remain unchanged from 2013 so if a new set is not required please note on the entry form as appropriate. Finally, if paying by Paypal please remember to click on the "Return to the Hillclimb and Sprint Association Limited" link so that your registration number and details are displayed on screen and your registration is imediately picked up by our web site.

The committee of the HSA and our sponsors, SBD Motorsport, would like to wish all our competitors a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you all at events throughout 2014.