WOODFORD TRAILERS HSA SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP - Reports

WEBBER'S FOURTH TITLE

Event 33 at Curborough on 06/10/2024
The battle for FTD on the second day of Curborough’s HSA double-header finale, held on the Figure-8 course, could hardly have been closer with winner Simon Jenks just three hundredths clear of Andy Smith in a 57.12sec run. Unfortunately, the AFS P4t of the previous day’s winner Alex Summers had been withdrawn during practice with incurable front suspension problems and Jenks, aboard his new Ian Dayson built Force TA with, like the P4t, Cosworth/Opel V6 power, stepped in for the win. A newcomer to Curborough’s Figure-8 course, he skated straight on under braking for the tightening Flagpole Bend on his very first practice lap, but he more than made up for that later as he took the outright win, although at the awards presentation he gave due acknowledgement to Alex Summers’ non-start! And the delighted Andy Smith had once again won the 1100cc racing class in the Summers family’s Firehawk (the only spaceframe version and a car which Andy himself had designed at DJ) although his main class rival Richard Brant was another unfortunate practice retirement with a blown engine. In a fine drive aboard his 600cc OMS Hornet-Suzuki, young Morgan Hamer took third FTD just ahead of his father Ben.
          In fact the meeting started with Morgan’s sister Connie driving a Citroen C2 in the Junior class alongside her cousin Jensen Ker, but the main HSA protagonists first appeared in the 2-litre Standard Car class as Neal Bateman and William Hunt strove to keep in touch with Championship aspirant  Andrew Webber’s Europa, running in class U2. Neither were on record pace this time and Rob Thomson took the class win in his MX5. With another class win in his Exige, again from John Caldicott’s Elise, Andy Platt moved up into a final fourth overall on the Championship table ahead of over 2-litre class winner Glen Shaw. The Nissan driver won the class from Pekka Tulokas and James Hunt, maintaining his fifth place on the series table, while Hunt found his chirruping BMW E30 turbo eased down to sixth. Lewis Porto was the only HSA runner in the 2-litre Modified class, which was won comprehensively by Ian Carvell’s rapid VW Scirocco.
          The Pre-94 Formula Fords were out in force again, with Jimmy Harris and Trevor Willis once again first and second. But this time, perhaps fittingly, it was Trevor’s long time assistant Sam Wilson that took a fine third place in his Jamun. Unfortunately it was practice that saw the retirement of yet another potential front runner as the Ryders’ Van Diemen, which was to have been driven today by Alex Coles (who won the 2022 BH Cup in the car) was sidelined with clutch problems.
          Once again running on his own in Class U2, Andrew Webber was not this time on record pace. But he still did enough to secure his fourth HSA title, pushing battling classmates Willliam Hunt and Neal Bateman down to second and third overall in the standings. It was also Andrew’s first title win in the Europa V8, the previous three having all been won aboard his Elan Plus 2,

 

4-times HSA champion Andrew Webber took his first title in the Europa (Eric Morrey)


Glen Shaw - fifth overall in his Nissan 350Z (Eric Morrey)


James Hunt rouned off the Championship top six in his BMW (Eric Morrey)


Figure-8 newcomer Simon Jenks took FTD in his Force TA V6 (Eric Morrey)

SUMMERS WINS AT CURBOROUGH

Event 32 at Curborough on 05/10/2024
Alex Summers, sharing his unique AFS P4t V6 with Simon Mather, set a 51.51s FTD on the first day of the HSA Championship double-header at the Lichfield sprint course. Summers was chased home at a respectful 4.43s distance by DJ Racecar’s Andy Smith, winner of the 1100cc racing class driving Lindsay Summers’ DJ Firehawk. Having his first single seater drive for 15 years, Andy fought off stern opposition from early leader Richard Brant’s Force PT.
          In a 70-strong entry, 20 HSA contenders were present to contest the final two rounds over the weekend with Saturday’s event run over the 2-lap course and with three timed runs on offer. At the start of the day the outcome of the Championship was still undecided, but in the very first class, for 2-litre Standard cars, current leader Neal Bateman in his Clio was the first of seven contenders on the day to set a new HSA class record. Sixth in the series coming to Curborough, Andrew Platt and his Lotus Exige were also on record pace, winning the 2-litre Production Road class from another HSA record-breaker, John Caldicott in his Elise.
          After Andrew Tennent had set a new HSA record in the 2-car Mazda class A2.1, won by the non-registered Matthew Morgan, just three more were set on the day. In the over 2-litre production class, Porsche Carrera 2 driver Roy Newton, Pekka Tulokas with the Mazda and Glen Shaw in his Nissan 350Z all bagged record points, with Tulokas and Shaw both on a maximum, although the class was won by the non-HSA registered Tim Elmer, driving the Alpine he had acquired just a few days earlier from Roger Moran.
          Ben Bowdidge and Anthony Earl both scored class wins and HSA points, but the highest points scorer and final record-breaker of the day was defending champion Andrew Webber. Running literally in a class of his own, his 18 point maximum score matched those he set at Aintree. Lydden and Werrington earlier in the year. Third overall in the Championship coming to Curborough, his prospects for a fourth HSA title (and his third in a row) were looking good.
          With the weekend also featuring the closing rounds of the Pre-94 Formula Ford Challenge, their 22-strong class was won by the Van Diemen RF85 of Jimmy Harris, the defending champion rounding off a successful season which included joint second overall in the British Hillclimb Cup. As usual, 3-times British champion Trevor Willis was sharing Richard Summers’ elderly RF80 and finished second in class, ahead of newly crowned British champion Matt Ryder, out in the family Van Diemen RF86 alongside his father John.
          After three competition runs, track temperatures had cooled down by the time the Alan Payne run-off rounded off the meeting and no-one improved on their class winning times. But Neal Bateman missed his target by a hundredth to take the win in his Clio by a quarter of a second from Matthew Morgan’s Mazda, while just seven hundredths behind was the 4WD VW Golf R of Ben Bowdidge.

 

Neal Bateman won the Alan Payne run-off in his Clio (Eric Morrey)


Andy Platt scored two class wins and took fourth overall in the Championship (returedparamedic.co.uk)


After 'eading the HSA series coming to Curborough, William Hunt would be denied the title (retiredparamedic.co.uk)


New BHC champion Matt Ryder enjoyed a change of car at Curborough! (retiredparamedic.co.uk)

A low scoring day at Shelsley

Event 31 at Shelsley Walsh on 15/09/2024
Points were hard to come by at Shelsley Walsh on September 15th with no-one threating the existing HSA class records. This was largely down to the conditions, a bright and sunny morning followed by intermittent rain in the afternoon which meant that grip was hard to predict and, as one competitor put it, more of a pyschological exercise in approaching each run.

Top scorer was James Hunt in his BMW E30 who also won the well supported over 2000cc Series Production class with his first and only run of the day. In a similar fashion, Anthony Earl (Caterham) won the large Kit Car class but was some way off the HSA record and Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) won the Formula Ford class.

Sam Trundell and Chris Hancox, still enjoying their first season with their Standard Clio, went well but without a Standard Class on the day they were fighting it out with the regular up to 2000cc Series Production cars.

Bernie Kevill was the only driver to get under 30s and took FTD in his OMS28 with a 29.63s run.

Two of the top three competitors in the 2024 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship were absent and Andrew Webber retired after practice so there was no change in the overall leader board so, with only five points separating them, the final outcome of the championship will come down to the Curborough double header on October 5th and 6th.
 

A fine shot of Carole Nicholls' Nike MK4 (Rob MacDonald)


Lewis Porto lines the MX5 up for the Esses (Rob MacDonald)


Andrew Webber didn't make it past practice (Rob MacDonald)


Rare beast - Dave Nursey's Jag XJS (Rob MacDonald)

Platt, Hunt & Shaw break records at Hethel

Event 30 at Hethel on 08/09/2024
On Hethel's challenging Lotus test track, Andrew Platt (Exige), James Hunt (BMW E30) and Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) all set new HSA class records by large margins.

In the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship, Neal Bateman (Clio) who lies second overall failed to make up any ground on the series leader due to dropped scores coming into play despite narrowly setting a new HSA record and win the Standard class on the day.

Anthony Earl (Caterham) went well to win the smaller kit car class while Paul Beesley (Westfield) and Stephen Laing (Caterham) had a close battle in the well supported larger kit car class with Beesley just taking the win.

Charlie Reilly (Van Diemen RF92) managed to break the HSA formula Ford record and Tony staines took FTD with his familiar Reynard Formula Opel with a 76.26s run.

Charlie Reilly at speed in the Van Diemen (M&H Photography)


A good result for Stephen Laing (M&H Photography)


Alexander Andrews' MX5 at speed (M&H Photography)


Tony Staines takes plenty of kerb on his way to FTD (M&H Photography)

Bateman & Hunt again at Aintree

Event 29 at Aintree on 31/08/2024
The two front runners in the 2024 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship, William Hunt (Honda S2000) and Neal Bateman (Renault Clio) continued their season long battle again at Aintree. Both are competing the the Standard class and setting new records by such large margins they regulalry take maximum scores as at Harewood. They repeated performance again at Aintree with Neal finishing less than half a second ahead of his rival who maintains a slender lead in the championship. Not far behind the Standard class pair lies Andrew Webber in the Lotus 47/62 who also took maximum points and still has an outside chance of a 'threepeat'.

Dropped scores and the final rounds at Curborough will determine the final outcome of the championship.

Other competitors to scroe well included John Caldicott (Elise), Dave Mockford (MG Maestro) and James Hunt (BMW E30) while Alex Gilchrist Jones (Mistubishi EVO 9) and Roy Newton (Porsche Carrera 2s) won their classes on the day.

Former British Sprint champion, John Graham, took FTD in his Gould GR55B with a 39.15s run.

Thanks to Danny Walton for the images.

 

A good class win for Alex Gilchrist Jones (Danny Walton)


FTD went to John Graham's big Gould (Danny Walton)


John Caldicott won the Elise class (Danny Walton)


Roy Newton was another class winner (Danny Walton)

Far better day at Snetterton

Event 28 at Snetterton on 25/08/2024
In marked contrast to the day before, both the weather and the other issues which had brought frustration to competitors and organisers alike, had improved considerably and a pleasant and successful event ensued.

The Snetterton 100 sprint course has been a popular event and this year 26 Woodford Trailers HSA speed championship competitors turned up for the Sunday part of the double header with many of them taking class honours.

The Standard class is becoming very well subscribed and, with 13 entries, the class saw HSA competitors fill the top four places. Neal Bateman and Rafe Trundell took the first two places in their Clios followed by championship leader, William Hunt in his Honda S2000 less than a tenth behind with Chris Hancox in the Clio he shares with Rafe in fourth place. The result moved Neal to within three points of William at the top of the championship table. Reigning champion Andrew Webber (Lotus 47/62) went well, setting a new HSA class record and sits in third overall a couple of points further back.

Mike Edwards (Mini), Jonathan Baines (Clio), Andrew Platt (Exige), Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) and Tony Beesley (Jedi MK4) all won their classes on the day.

Justin Andrews (Impreza), having changed everything for plugs to coils, couldn't eradicate his misfire so called it a day.

Geoff Ward (Swift SC93) was again the quickest Formula Ford just ahead of Charlie Reilly's Van Diemen RF92 while Les Buck, chasing a misfire all day, won the best car at event award with his Pringett Mistrale.

Chris Jones (Force TA) was as dominant in the dry as he had been in the wet, taking FTD (an astonishing 6 in a row) with a 78.27s final run and moving up to fourth overall in the championship table.
 

Second in the Standard class for Rafe Trundell


Charlie Reilly took second in the Formula Fords


Another FTD for Chris Jones


The Pringett Mistrale - car of the day

More re-runs than Gone with the Wind

Event 27 at Snetterton on 24/08/2024
Incessant heavy rain and timing issues conspired to make life very challenging for the organisers and, according to one report, more than 70 re-runs were given for competing vehicles getting too close to one another. Nevertheless, one practice and three timed runs were completed, even if a bit later in the day than was anticipated.

Consequently for the 24 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors, scores were a wash out (!) except for those few runners fortunate enough to be in classes where there was no existing record.

There was some good in class competition with Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z), Andrew Platt (Exige), Justin Andrews (chasing a misfire in his Impreza) and Tony Beesley (Jedi MK4) all winning their classes.

The Formula Ford runners all found their tyres unsuitable for the conditions and each had a spin or indiscretion with Geoff Ward coming out on top in his Swift SC93 ahead of Paul Morcom's Van Diemen RF89.

Chris Jones (Force TA) was the only driver to get under 100s and duly took FTD with a 99.26s

While this was all going on the 2CV 24 hour race was taking place on Snetterton's 200 circuit and the commentators managed to keep the sprinters entertained while waiting for their next run.

A class win for Tony Beesley


A second in class for Paul Morcom


Imagine doing this for 24 hours!

Bateman & Hunt battle it out at Harewood

Event 26 at Harewood on 24/08/2024
The two front runners in the 2024 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship, William Hunt (Honda S2000) and Neal Bateman (Renault Clio) continued their season long battle at Harewood. Both are competing the the Standard class and setting new records by such large margins they are often taking maximum scores. This was repeated at Harewood with Neal finishing 0.7s ahead of his rival who maintains a slender lead in the championship.

Last year's champion, Andy Webber (Lotus 47/62) is running third in the championship and managed to set a new HSA class record but by a smaller margin than the two leaders.

Thanks to Chris Bannister at JCB Photography for the images.

Neal Bateman is the new HSA class record holder at Harewood


Series leader, William Hunt's Honda S2000


Andy Smith lifts a rear wheel in his Clio


A crossed up Henry Moorhouse still won his class in the Westfield

Miles & Jones climb up the table at Llandow

Event 25 at Llandow on 17/08/2024
With the British Sprint and Sprint Leaders championships making a welcome return to Llandow, a full entry of competitive cars assembled on August 17th and enjoyed a good days' competition in the warm sun. Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen RF96) and Chris Jones (1.0 Force TA) were at the top of the time sheets and both scored well in the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship moving them up to equal fourth overall. Steve Brown had the Empire Evo running well and set an impressive new HSA class record.

Current champion, Andrew Webber, wasn't far behind in the scoring stakes and moved up to third overall, just behind the two leaders who weren't present. Elsewhere however, points were hard to come by with many competitors struggling to get close to the existing HSA class records or even their own PBs. Matthew Parr  (Fiesta ST) took an excellent win (and a just broke HSA class record) in the 14 strong over 2000cc Roadgoing series production class with Pekka Tulokas a strong second. Julian Harber took a class win in his familiar, purple mod prod Mini Clubman while Paul Davies (Radical Clubsport) was third in the under 1800cc Libre class.

 

Matthew Parr setting a new HSA record (Tony Smith)


A class win for Julian Harber's Mini (Tony Smith)


Paul Davies' Radical Clubsport at speed (Tony Smith)


A good result for Steve Brown's Empire (Tony Smith)

MORE HSA ACTION IN WILTSHIRE

Event 24 at Gurston Down on 04/08/2024
Sunday’s Gurston Down round, held in similarly fine conditions to the previous day, saw Mike Edwards and James Hunt once again scoring in double figures. Although not quite on record pace this time, Edwards and his Cooper S moved a couple of places up the table to 15th overall, but Hunt found another half second to leap up the table from eleventh place to sixth in his BMW E30. Unfortunately Andrew Webber had been unable to cure the Lotus 47D’s misfire problem out of Karousel, which returned with a vengeance. However with the leading Championship contenders absent for the weekend his accumulated total of nine points, although perhaps not as many as he had hoped for, was still enough for the defending champion to take sole charge of third place overall on this year’s table, breaking clear of a tie with the absent Steve Miles.
          The17-strong Pre-94 Formula Ford class once again provided great entertainment, with Russell Haynes again leading the challenge from the Association’s five contenders, although this time at sufficient pace to take a new HSA record. Perhaps inevitably, the battle for outright honours featured another duel between Trevor Willis and Shaun Macklin, with Willis this time hanging on to his early lead despite a scrappy second run, but such was the competitiveness of the class that on Sunday Haynes dropped a place to fifth despite running almost half a second quicker than he had the previous day. Nevertheless, he moved up the HSA series table to eleventh place, retaining his status as the best placed Class J1 contender.
          Also with points in double figures on Sunday was last year’s series runner-up Pekka Tulokas, the MX5 driver moving up the table to end the weekend one place ahead of Haynes.

 

Russell Haynes and the Zeus not only broke the HSA's Gurston FF record but ended the day leading the Pre-94 Championship (Steve Lister)


Last year's series runner-up Pekka Tulokas was in action with his Mazda (Steve Lister)


Michael Bartlett took the dedicated HSA class win in his Radical (Steve Lister)


Despite a troubled weekend in his Lotus 47D, Andrew Webber hung on to his Championship third place (Steve Lister)

EDWARDS ON RECORD PACE AT HSA GURSTON

Event 23 at Gurston Down on 03/08/2024
The first of two warm, dry days at Gurston Down saw Mike Edwards emerge as top Association scorer on the day and, as it turned out, of the weekend. A spirited drive set the day’s only HSA record despite his Mini Cooper S being somewhat outgunned in a ‘catch-all’ general class for Woodford Trailers HSA Championship contenders. Up front, the class featured a close duel between the two relative lightweights, Michael Bartlett’s Radical Prosport and Anthony Earle’s Caterham Roadsport, in which Earle overturned Bartlett’s early lead to snatch the win by a hundredth of a second.
          The weekend also hosted four rounds of the popular Pre-94 Formula Ford Challenge and attracted seventeen contenders each day. Five of them were HSA entrants, among whom Class J1 Gurston record-holder Russell Haynes set the pace in his Zeus, finishing fourth overall in an ultra-competitive class. Haynes was just over half a second adrift of the overall class winner, outright Gurston FF class record-holder Shaun Macklin, who had set the mark back in 2018 in his Swift SC92. Macklin had overturned top British Championship contender Trevor Willis’s early lead in the elderly but rapid Van Diemen RF80 that he shares with Richard Summers by eight hundredths. The next highest HSA scorer was Les Buck, who brought his rare Pringett Mistrale home midfield a couple of seconds behind the class winner.
          Apart from Edwards and Haynes, the only other HSA contender to score in double figures was James Hunt, who moved up the Championship table as he brought his BMW E30 home third overall in the dedicated class for Association members. However defending champion Andrew Webber did not have the best of days, his Lotus 47D V8 suffering from a severe misfire exiting Karousel which was thought to be due to fuel starvation.

 

Mike Edwards and his Austin Mini set the day's only HSA record (Steve Lister)


Anthony Earle snatched the win in the dedicated HSA class by a hundredth of a second (Steve Lister)


James Hunt's BMW E30 ran third in the HSA class (Steven Lister)


Les Buck and the Pringett Mistrale - strong contenders amongst the HSA's Formula Fordsters (Steve Lister)

A better day at Loton

Event 22 at Loton Park on 14/07/2024
Fortunately Day 2 of HDLCC's July Interclub hillclimb was a much drier affair and saw a few more Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors entered.

The top two in the Championship, William Hunt (Honda S2000) and Neal Bateman (Clio) continued their close battle with only a tenth between the so scored the same number of points and keeping Hunt's three points lead intact.

Andrew Platt (Exige) had a good run, setting a new HSA class record and winning the well supported and competitive up to 2000cc Series Production class. There were twelve Formula Fords present and Russell Haynes put in a good perfoance with the Zeus ZR 163 to take second in class and set a new HSA Class record.

Anthony Earl took the 'kit car' class on the day and scored well while Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) took a good second in the over 2000cc Series Production class just ahead of Pekka Tulokas (MX50.

In the drier conditions compared with the previous day, normal service was resumed and Ben Bonfield took FTD with a 50.42s run.

An excellent class win for Andrew Platt (Geoff Robinson)


A good result for Glen Shaw's Nissan 350Z (Geoff Robinson)


FTD for Ben Bonfield (Geoff Robinson)


Tim Cowlam's Swift FB91 (Geoff Robinson)

Changeable Loton

Event 21 at Loton Park on 13/07/2024
Day 1 of HDLCC's summer Interclub hillclimb week-end was a story of the weather as showers affected just about everyone but at different times. So, some classes enjoyed a drier first run and a soaking second while the reverse was the case for some of the later classes to run. The result of all this was that Dave Banner took FTD with a 54.97s run in his Westfield Megabusa with Rick Leddy's Audi TT RS second fastest!

The weather also had a big impact on the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship as early runner, William Hunt was able to set a new HSA Standard Class record in his Honda S2000 and move ahead of Neal Bateman (just over a second behind) in his 'Standard Class' Clio at the top of the championship leader board.

Unfortunately for the rest of the HSA runners, points were hard to come by in the prevailing conditions with only Pekka Tulokas (MX5 and third in class on the day) and Michael Bartlett (Radical Prosport and fastest Libre) able to show their potential.

William Hunt leads the HSA championship (Geoff Robinson)


Carole Nicholls in her Nike Mark 4 (Geoff Robinson)


Rob Pallett in the ginetta G20 (Geoff Robinson)

Webber moves up at Lydden

Event 20 at Lydden Hill on 13/07/2024
Reigning HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, moved up to third equal in the 2024 Woodfrod Trailers HSA Speed championship with another maximum point score in his thundering Lotus Europ at Lydden Hill.

Organisers Borough 19, ran a typically slick event on this challenging East Kent track helped, in large measure, by the good weather and only a couple of on track incidents throughout the day. A practice, followed by four timed runs and prize giving were all concluded before 5pm allowing most of the 113 entrants to plan their M25 avoidance tactics for the journey home.

The track continues to benefit from investment including some resurfacing and a smart new entrance off the A2 and, although a little dusty and short of grip early on, soon permitted a number of new HSA class records to be set.  

Sam Trundell got things going with a new HSA record in his Standard Clio and a good second, by a couple of tenths, in the large, up to 2000cc Standard Class on his first and very enjoyable visit to Lydden (and all the way down from Manchester!). Sam's shared drive, Chris Hancox, was third in Class three tenths further back. Another new record and class win went to Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) in the up to up to 1600cc Roadgoing Class.

Chris Bennett (Caterham) enjoyed a very close, day long battle with a couple of other Caterhams in the small Kit Car Class, winning on the final run and helped, in part, by a re-run when no time was recorded.

Tony Beesley went well in his familiar, green Jedi and took the Interclub FTD with a 72.33s run. Steve Broughton (1.4 DJ Firehawk) scored maximum points in the 1600cc Racing Car Class and 2nd FTD while Steve Brown has his 1.3s Empire Evo2 running reliably and quickly, posting third fastest overall. Chris Jones (1.0 Force TA) 'only' managed a 16 point score but was still comfortably ahead of the entire field to take the National FTD on 66.10s.

 

Sam Trundell enjoying Lydden (M&H Photography)


Interclub FTD for Tony Beesley (M&H Photography)


A class win for Chris Bennett (M&H Photography)


Full commitment through Paddock bend from Chris Jones (M&H Photography)

Points aplenty at first visit to Mallory

Event 19 at Mallory Park on 23/06/2024
Mallory Park 23^rd June 2024 Event 19: Hot sunshine and a perfect track surface greeted competitors at the Sheffield & Hallamshire organised sprint over 1¾ laps of this well-known circuit, a round of all three Woodford Trailers HSA sponsored championships with 27 participants entered. Paddock parking had been allocated to help both organisers and competitors, masses of space and the ground clean enough, competitors allowed to stay in the paddock overnight.  Paddock catering was available together with the usual facilities and showers. The driver's briefing was at 09:00, practice starting at 09:30 with one hour's lunch break. With an entry of around 120 cars, there were one practice and two competitive runs, the average lap time around 85 sec. The track included Edwina’s Chicane which bisects Stebbe Straight beside the smaller lake, the 2nd lap finish just before, with finishers missing the chicane and returning to the paddock.

This being the HSA Championship contenders’ first time competing at this venue, where a driver won their class, they scored 12 points. Times varied from Pete Goulding’s 64.21s in his Mygale EcoBoost to just over 100s, some drivers happier than others driving the track whilst some had not driven here before.

The event ‘ran to the wire’ with 3rd runs completed after 17:00 after several delays and Sprint Championship runners forgoing their second run-off. It was clearly difficult with several car sharing the Tarmac at any one time, but more of a sense of urgency or a smaller entry list might have taken the pressure off the organisers, something they will doubtless consider with the good news that a double-header weekend is planned for 2025.

Fyrth Crosse

Graham Porrett Mygale FF200 SJ12 (Brian Tyler)


Steve Brown - RLM Empire Evo 2 (Brian Tyler)

Potter's FTD and Graham Hill trophy at Curborough

Event 18 at Curborough on 16/06/2024
The Owen Motoring Club's ever popular Graham Hill trophy sprint held on Curborough's Figure 8 track saw a close battle for FTD between Stephen Potter's 1.6 Empire EVO and Graham Blackwell's 1.6t Mygale Ecoboost with Potter taking the honours by less than a couple of tenths on the final run.

A new HSA class record for Neal Bateman (Renault Clio) saw him chip away at the absent William Hunt's championship lead and take a class win on the day. James Hunt (BMW E30) and Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) both just managed to break their respective HSA class records, with Hunt winning the class, and maintain their strong positions in the top 10 in the overall championship.

A happy Steven Potter with the Graham Hill trophy

Runs galore at Three Sisters

Event 17 at Three Sisters on 16/06/2024
With only a modest entry attracted by Longton & District motor club to their early summer 3 Sisters sprint, held on the 2 lap configuration of the track, competitors were able to take up to eight timed runs.

Andrew Cowell's nimble little 1.0l Jedi MK V was well suited to the tight track and took FTD with a 72.95s time.

From the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship only Jonathan Baines (Clio) and John Ward (MX5) made the trip but acheived a second and first in class respectively.

Three Sisters 2 Lap layout

Wet Barbon dampens scores

Event 16 at Barbon Manor on 15/06/2024
A rain soaked Barbon for Liverpool Motor Club's June hillclimb left competitors in the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship struggling for decent points scores. Nonetheless, Jonathan Baines (Clio 200 Cup) took an excellent class win in the very competitive (as in the top four were covered by less than half a second) up to 2000cc Series Production class.

John Ward (MX5) posted a DNF on his second run while Nick Scott (Force TA) failed to take the start for his second attempt.

One run was sufficient for Mark Hemingway to set FTD at 26.63s in his new Force TA fitted with the ex Simon Jenks 1670cc Hayabusa motor .

An excellent class win for Jonathan Baines (Steve Wilkinson)


Mark Hemingway 'tiptoes' to FTD (Steve Wilkinson)


John Ward in his Mazda MX5 (Steve Wilkinson)


Nick Scott crosses the line in the Force TA (Steve Wilkinson)

Bateman closes in at Prescott

Event 15 at Prescott on 09/06/2024
Neal Bateman (Renault Clio) and William Hunt (Honda S2000) were at it again on Day 2 of BOC's Mid Summer double header with Bateman lowering his HSA Standard class record again and closing the gap on Hunt who still leads the Championship.

The class for the Woodford Trailer HSA Speed championship competitors was won by Michael Bartlett in his Radical Prosport while Andrew Platt (Exige) substantially lowered the HSA Class record.

John Bradshaw (Westefield) and Laurence Marks (Van Diemen RF84) both won their respective BOC Handicap classes on the day.

Michael Bartlett won the HSA competitors' class (Capture Your Car Photography)


Laurence Marks won his BOC handicap class (Capture Your Car Photography)


Andrew Platt set a new HSA class record (Capture Your Car Photography)


David Garnett heads for the finish in the Abarth (Capture Your Car Photography)

Bateman and Hunt battle for HSA honours

Event 14 at Prescott on 08/06/2024
Day 1 of the Bugatti Owner's club Mid Summer double header saw the two leading contenders for the 2024 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship the top scorers on the day. Both running in the HSA's Standard Class, Neal Bateman (Renault Clio) set a new HSA class record and just over a second ahead of William Hunt (Honda S2000).

Winning the class for HSA championship competitors was Chris Guy in his 600cc Jedi MK4 while both Anthony Earl (Caterham) and John Bradshaw (Westfield) were running in the BOC Sports handicap class which Anthony won.

Russell Haynes emerged the fastest Formula Ford competitor in the unusual Zeus ZR163 and got close to the HSA class record while Speedscene editor, Michael Calvert, was out in his Caterham, missing out on a podium with the top eight in his very competitive class covered by two seconds.

A new HSA record for Neal Bateman (Capture Your Car Photography)


Russell Haynes' Zeus ZR163 (Capture Your Car Photography)


The Elise S1 of John Caldicott (Capture Your Car Photography)


Speedscene editor, Michael Calvert, presses on at Semi-Circle (Capture Your Car Photography)

Broughton & Earl top the scores at Pembrey

Event 13 at Pembrey on 02/06/2024
Day two of BARC Wales summer Pembrey Sprint was held on the Clubman circuit in pleasant, earm conditions with scores being easier to come by than the day before.

After recovering from an exploded brake disk in the morning, Steve Broughton had the Busa powered DJ Firehawk running well and was the only competitor to post a maximum points score setting a new HSA Class record by a wide margin.

On a day with few incidents and a modest number of competitors, everything ran smoothly and the organisers were able to offer five timed runs. William Hunt (Honda S2000) only needed a couple of runs before lunch to secure his class on the day and get well inside the HSA Class record before heading home.

Mike Smith (Striker) again won the smaller 'Kit Car' class and had another close battle with Chris Bennett (Caterham) in the larger class but Anthony Earl (Caterham VHPD) had arrived and put both well in the shade by setting a new HSA Class record by a huge margin.

Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) was alone in his Class but managed to post competitive times close to the record. James Hunt (BMW E30) managed one timed run before having to withdraw but it was still enough to take second in Class on the day and also get well under the HSA Class record.

Justin Andrews (Impreza),switching between pump and race fuel) and Chris Jones (Force TA) completed the HSA record breakers.



 

A new record for William Hunt's Honda (Rowan Flynn Media)


Mike Edwards going well in the Mini (Rowan Flynn Media)


Justin Andrews posted a new HSA record (John Surridge)

Jones the big winner at Pembrey

Event 12 at Pembrey on 01/06/2024
Day one of BARC Wales summer Pembrey Sprint was held on the National circuit in very warm and still conditions. Despite this scoring was hard to come by and few records were beaten with the exception of Chris Jones in the 998cc Force TA who was fastest overall on every timed run, took FTD (93.02s) and set new Class records in a couple of Championships. The only other new HSA record was set by Graham Blackwell (Mygale Ecoboost) who just managed to improve on the record for unlimited Racing Cars

William Hunt (Honda S2000) was running in the standard class on the day which he won. In the kit car' classes Mike Smith (Sylva Striker) and Chris Bennett (Caterham) both won their respective Kit Car classes on the day and enjoyed close battle.

In the big series production class James Hunt (BMW E30) and Roy Newton (Porsche Carrera 2) were up against a quick Elise and had to settle for 2nd and 3rd in Class.

Dave Mockford (MG Maestro) was having fuelling problems but still managed to post competitive times and enjoy the track. Paul Davies was getting to grips with his Radical Clubsport and reduced his times throughout the day.

Paul Davies in the Radical Clubsport (Rowan Flynn Media)


Roy Newton faced some stiff competition in his Carrera 2 (Tim Morris)


James Hunt's BMW at speed (John Surridge)

Webber ties Hunt to lead Championship at Blyton

Event 11 at Blyton Park on 19/05/2024
Day 2 of Longton's May Sprint week-end at Blyton Park was held on the Outer circuit in warm and dry conditions leading to plenty of good times and new HSA class records.

HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, is aiming to emulate John Palmer (2002-2004) and win the Championship in three consecutive years. This year he has swapped cars to the Lotus 47/62 which has taken many years of development but is now proving to be a strong contender. 17 points brought Andrew level with James Hunt (not present at Blyton) at the top of the championship table on 74 points apiece.

Andrew Platt (Exige) repeated his maximum points score from the day before to do the double while Neal Bateman again won the battle of the Clios in the Standard class from Sam Trundell and Chris Hancox. Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) took another good Class win. In the Racing Car classes Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) just managed to set a new HSA Formula Ford class record but had to give second best to Geoff Ward in the more modern Swift who set a new circuit record for the Class. Both Chris Jones and John Loudon (Force TAs) beat the existing 1100cc Class record by a large margin with Jones coming out on top.
 

Chris Hancox crosses the line in his Clio (Graham Stamper)


A new HSA class record for Russell Haynes in the Zeus (Graham Stamper)


Chris Jones at speed in the Force TA (Graham Stamper)


Phil Chatterton in the 'historic' Lotus 23 (Graham Stamper)

Records galore at Blyton

Event 10 at Blyton Park on 18/05/2024
Blyton Park is becoming one of the most popular Sprint venues. This was proved to be the case  - as 26 competitors in the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship turned up for Day 1 of Longton's May Sprint week-end held on the tricky Eastern circuit.

The good weather saw many HSA class records broken with standout performances from Andrew Platt (Exige) and Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) - both class winners on the day.

In the Standard class it was an all HSA Clio affair with Neil Bateman coming out on top ahead of Sam Trundell and Chris Hancox and maintain his position in the top half dozen overall in the championship. In the Kit car class, Anthony Earl (Caterham) faced some stiff opposition and was pipped for the class win (Matt Bramall) by a couple of tenths.

Regining HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, has goth the Lotus 47/62 running well and took a good class win and new HSA Class record.

Charlie Reilly (Van Diemen RF92) and Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) battled hard in the Formula Ford class but had to settle for second and third behind Geoff Ward back in his Swift SC92.

Fianlly, Martin Pickles made a welcome re-appearance in his Jedi MK1 but had to retire after a single (but competitive) practice run.

 

A maximum score for Andrew Platt's Exige (Graham Stamper)


A new HSA class record for Andrew Webber's Lotus 47/62 (Graham Stamper)


Nicholas Turley's Austin 7 Special (Graham Stamper)


Martin Pickles made a welcome re-appearance (Graham Stamper)

Rain dampens the paddock but not the spirits at Werrington

Event 9 at Werrington on 05/05/2024
Sunday started overcast with a breeze and the rain arrived late in the morning.  The bottom of the paddock was soon being churned up by the moving cars with mud drawn onto the track before the start. The rain did not last long, but was sufficient to make a mess; wheel spinning was now permitted, although someone with a broom after each spin would have reduced the standing mud. The same HSA entrants were competing as they were on Saturday.  Pekka Tulokas in his Mazda MX-5 set a time of 42.76s for 14 pts in class A3, whilst John Wells on 46.08s scored 6pts in his Mini Cooper S in the same class. On 49.02s, Andy Webber scored 4pts in his Lotus Europa in class U2 whilst both Carole Nicholls (Nike Mk4 FF) and Fyrth Crosse (Mallock U2) each scored 1pt with times of 53.01s and 58.45s respectively.

Ed Hollier took BTD both days in his 1-litre Force, setting a time of 35.34s on Saturday and 35.73s on Sunday.
The weekend is hard work for the volunteer organising team with a large paddock to lay out, number and tape, and then hundreds of ‘5 high’ stacks of tyres to be brought from storage and placed up and down the hill, belted securely in place — and then removed at the end of the meeting! The estate owners love this event and would even like to see a second organised each year. As someone opined, a gap in the hillclimb calendar would need to be found, and then a team of volunteers and officials!
 

Piles of five joined tyres covering the danger points need to be installed each time the meeting is run


The Force of Ed Hollier set BTD both days

Pekka Tulokas leads the HSA pack at Werrington

Event 8 at Werrington on 04/05/2024
The Woodford Trailers HSA Championship travelled south to Launceston and the gem that is Werrington Hillclimb. First run in 1977, this was the 45th anniversary of the event (foot and mouth and COVID-19 having caused some cancellations in the intervening years).  The 1,250 yards long track, which uses the access road of a private estate a mile or so north of town, includes a covered cattle grid and top paddock beside Werrington church. The main paddock is grassed and sloping, which can be difficult when wet. The hill record stands at 32.59s, a 77mph average which includes a slow 90° left in the middle, and unforgiving granite walls line the finish straight. Both days featured one practice and three competitive runs.

Saturday dawned misty — clearing to a blue sky and fair-weather cumulous clouds, perfect hillclimbing weather. With a full entry for both days, the track was clean although the edges were best avoided.  The sloping grass paddock was damp but manageable.  There was to be no wheel spinning before the start lest the Clerk of the Course consider that mud was being drawn onto the track. HSA entrant Pekka Tulokas in class A3 ran 43.31s in his Mazda MX-5 1800GT, scoring 18pts.  Classmate John Wells in his Mini Cooper S set 45.50s for 11pts. Andy Webber did well in his Lotus 47D/62R on a 44.40s for 18pts in class U. Carole Nicholls’ familiar Nike Mk4 FF took 1 pt in class J1 with a time of 49.46s, as did Fyrth Crosse in his Mallock U2 class W on 51.07s.
 

Carol Nichols' Nike in the lower paddock


The picturesque paddock leading on to the track was dry on Saturday, but that would all change...


Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX-5) was the cream of the HSA crop

William Hunt consolidates his championship lead at Wiscombe

Event 7 at Wiscombe Park on 28/04/2024
Wiscombe Park Sunday 28 April - Fyrth Crosse reports:

It rained during the night, but Sunday dawned dry and mild with occasional bursts of sunshine and reasonable track conditions. From the HSA perspective Willam Hunt consolidated on his current championship lead with 51.09s in his Honda S2000 and 14 pts, followed by John Wells Mini Cooper S with a time of 48.45s and 6 pts. Steve Chaloner did 52.62s in his Citroen C1 scoring 1 pt. Past champion Andy Webber manhandled his brutal Lotus Europa 47D/62R up the hill on 51.90s collecting 5 pts, his past gearbox problems now resolved with an Audi box. Fyrth Crosse’s Mallock Mk2B, 55.15s and 1 pt. Local Force HC 1100cc driver Ed Hollier took BTD on both days, Sunday his best on 38.77s.
Always picturesque and exciting to drive since the first event in 1958, chatting with Peter Issacs highlighted the problems of running a venue on a privately owned although supportive estate. We are fortunate that the Chichester family wish to continue and preserve the venue, the estate having been purchased by Richard
and Bunny Chichester in 1953 and with the encouragement of Charles Lambton the hill climb was established and prospered. Today a large team of volunteers do an excellent job preserving and maintaining the hill for us to play on.

Andrew Webber Lotus Europa '47D62 R'


John Wells Mini Cooper S 2l

Sunshine and hail greets Wiscombe competitors

Event 6 at Wiscombe Park on 27/04/2024
Wiscombe Park 27 April - Fyrth Crosse reports:

A large entry for both days of the Woolbridge Motor Club’s first hillclimb of 2024, both days being rounds of the Woodford Trailers HSA Championship. The estate was damp and the paddock difficult but manageable, the track excellent following resurfacing in 2023 and a winter to ‘weather’, Wiscombe Ltd having done considerable work bringing the track edges up to the higher level of the re-laid track. Both days were rather ‘slow’ and lugubrious - one practice and two competitive runs each day, compulsory practice for everyone commencing at 09:20 on Sunday.
Saturday was dry and mild with an odd flash of sunshine; the track dried steadily, then interrupted with a light hailstorm during T2 and most late batch runners declining to run although the track still had grip. There were seven HSA contenders, led by William Hunt and his Honda S2000, with 51.67s and 12 pts. Then John Wells Mini Cooper S on 50.19s and 4 pts, James Hunt BMW E30 on 58.19s on 1 pt, this remaining the score for Steve Chaloner Citroen C1 on 54.06s, Dave Mockford MG Maestro on 56.51s, Andy Webber Lotus Europa 47D/62R on 61.73s and Fyrth Crosse Mallock Mk2B on 54.88s.

 

Fyrth Crosse - Mallock Mk2B 1098cc


Steve Chaloner Citroen C1 998cc

Good day at Goodwood

Event 5 at Goodwood on 20/04/2024
Thirteen Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors made the trip to deepest Sussex and Goodwood's famous and challenging track.

Leading the way were Sam Trundell and Chris Hancox in their shared Clio 172 Cup with both drivers breaking the existing HSA class record (with Sam coming out on top) and finishing one two in their class on the day.

Anthony Earl (Caterham) and Mike Smith (Striker) did battle in the Kit Car class with Anthony continuing his strong start to the season with another good points finish and new HSA class record.

Reigning HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, has his Lotus Europa '47D/62 R'  running competitively and set another new HSA class record while Simon Wallis (OMS 3000M) and Tony Beesley (Jedi MK4) lined up against each other in the 1100cc Racing Car class with Simon taking second in Class on the day.

Finally, the Mygale Ecoboosts of British Sprint Champion, Pete Goulding and Graham Porrett were in contention in the big Racing Car class which Pete won and set FTD with a 74.69s run.

All images courtesy of Colin Dearlove

A good class win for Sam Trundell


Mike Smith at speed in the Striker


Tony Beesley's smart Jedi MK4


Chris Hancox in the Clio 172 Cup

Spring sunshine at Shelsley

Event 4 at Shelsley Walsh on 14/04/2024
MAC's season opener at Shelsley Walsh on April 14th was the 4th round of the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship and was held in bright Spring sunshine.

Last year's championship runner up, Pekka Tulokas was back in his boosted MX5 and was the only HSA competitor to score good points in the cold conditions and also won his class on the day against some strong opposition. Another good class win came the way of Fyrth Crosse, in his immaculate, ex Mike Wilds Formula Three Ensign LNF3 in the National Historic Speed Championship class.

Roy Newton was out in his Porsche Carrera 2S and took third in his class while Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) and Carole Nicholls (Nike MK4) battled it out in the Formula Ford class.

Pekka Tulokas went well in the boosted MX5 (Rob MacDonald)


Fyrth Crosse on the start line (Rob MacDonald)


Carole Nicholls and Russell Haynes prepare (Rob MacDonald)


Roy Newton's Porsche Carrera 2S (Rob MacDonald)

Bateman and W Hunt again at stormy Anglesey

Event 3 at Anglesey on 07/04/2024
Day Two of Longton's Doran Moore Memorial sprint week-end was held on the longer International Trac Mon circuit and the day dawned bright and windy but with a highly credible forecast of heavy rain moving in after lunch.

Competitors looked to make the most of their only timed run before lunch although the track remained damp in places. The rain duly arrived and many competitors either packed up or sat out the next couple of timed runs but the skies cleared and by late afternoon the track was the best it had been and saw some of the quickest times set.

Repeating their performance from the day before both Neal Bateman (Clio) and William Hunt (Honda S2000) both scored maximum HSA points and won their respective classes on the day. A strong showing in the first rounds of the Championship has allowed Hunt to take an early lead in this year's competition.

James Hunt (BMW E30), Justin Andrews (Impreza), Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) and Steve Miles (Van Diemen RF96) all scored well.

Maximum points for William Hunt's Honda S2000 (Neil Lambert)


4WD was useful in the wet for Justin Andrews (Neil Lambert)


A determined Glen Shaw in the 350Z (Neil Lambert)


John Caldicott's Elise (Neil Lambert)

Bateman & the Hunts score at tricky Anglesey

Event 2 at Anglesey on 06/04/2024
Day One of Longton's Doran Moore Sprint week-end was held on Trac Mon's shorter National track with the impending storm Kathleen threatening all day. Fortunately the rain held off except for a brief shower late in the afternoon but high winds and permanently damp sections of the track made setting fast times and new records tricky.

However, despite the conditions Neal Bateman (Clio), William Hunt (Honda S2000) and James Hunt (BMW E30) all scored maximum points by setting new records by a margin of more than 3%.

Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) wasn't far behind with Anthony Earl (Caterham) and Justin Andrews (Impreza) also setting (just) new HSA class records and winningn their respective classes. It was a strong perfomance from Anthony who hadn't been to the circuit before but got the benefit from doing a track day on the Friday.

It was also good to see Dave Mockford's MG Maestro back on track after a lengthy (6 year!) rebuild and looking rather smart. The car is fitted with a 2litre Rover 820 engine and a Colin Satchell 6 speed sequential gearbox.

Anthony Earl locks up avoiding a damp patch (Neil Lambert)


Maximum points for Neal Bateman's Clio (Neil Lambert)


Stormy weather ahead of James Hunt's BMW (Neil Lambert)


Dave Mockford's nicely engineered MG Maestro (Neil Lambert)

A bright start to 2024 at Cadwell

Event 1 at Cadwell Park on 23/03/2024
Despite a soggy start to the year BARC Midlands Cadwell Sprint on March 23rd enjoyed bright and dry conditions for the first round of the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship which saw competitors get four timed runs on the challenging Lincolnshire track.

The two Steves (Brown in an Empire EVO2 with a new RLM turbo Busa motor) and Miles (sporting an eye catching new livery) were the top points scorers, smashing the existing HSA records.

Behind this pair, Andrew Platt (Exige), William Hunt (Honda S2000), John Loudon (Force TA) and Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) broke the exisitng HSA class records. Joing the championship for 2024, Rob Pallett (Ginetta G20), Jonathan Baines (Clio 200), Roy Newton (Porsche Carrera 2) and John Ward (MX5) all scored points.

Thanks to Chris Bannister at JCB Photography for the images.

Jonathan Baines in his smart Clio 200 Cup (JCB Photography)


Eye catching new livery for Steve Miles (JCB Photography)


A new HSA record for Glen Shaw (JCB Photography)


Rob Pallett's Ginetta G20 (JCB Photography)

DOUBLE FTD FOR TATHAM

Event 32 at Curborough on 08/10/2023
The entry for Sunday’s HSA Championship finale, held  over the Figure 8 course, was almost identical to the previous day. This time six drivers scored record points, half of them from the now 25-strong Formula Ford class.
          Looking back through the classes, after Neal Bateman had taken another win in the 2-litre Standard Car class, the Hamer/Ker family were out in force again, with Jensen Ker running the Citroen C2 on his own in the Junior Sprint class. With the pair split by just over a second, Archie Ker was joined in the car by his uncle Ben Hamer in the 1600cc Roadgoing Production class, as Ben and Wil Ker’s OMS-Suzuki had been sidelined the previous day with turbo problems. But it was Dean Ratcliffe’s MG ZR that took the win. It was David Whiteley’s turn for the 2-litre win as he demoted the previous day’s winner, fellow Elise driver John Caldicott, to second place.
          Harewood regular Terry Deere was a Sunday visitor to Curborough, but even his pristine Talbot Sunbeam Lotus couldn’t quite get on terms with Saturday winner Nick Bayldon’s rapid Porsche 718 GT4 in the over 2-litre class. Anthony Earl took another win, plus an HSA record, in the Roadgoing Specialist class but up into second place, after being amalgamated with the bigger capacity cars in his 900cc Honda Fireblade powered Fisher Fury, came Gurston Down expert Rob Brodie on his first competitive visit to Curborough.
          With the previous day’s 2-litre ModProd leaders Tom Harding and Mike Harriman not present, 2017 HSA champion Justin Andrews took just one run in his de-stroked, 1400cc Impreza turbo to win the 2-litre ModProd class ahead of the hard driven Fiesta of Mark Linforth. After Antony Brown’s Audi TT and Andrew Webber’s Europa had run on their own (with Webber concluding his development weekend – and his victorious Championship year – with a lurid spin at Molehill!) Duncan Barnes took another Sports Libre win in ‘Big Norma’, seeing off a host of Radicals led by Matthew Price’s Prosport, with a run good enough for second FTD.  Peter Hawkey and Chris Guy were now present in their shared 600cc Jedi, with Guy breaking his own class record set back in June.
Unfortunately, after an argument with the bank at Molehill during practice, which resulted in front wing and suspension damage, Stuart Bickley was unable to take his place in the 1100cc racing class. So with his main opposition out of the way Dave Tatham took another class win and FTD with ease, this time with a low 50 sec run, leaving Ben Bonfield to bring his Jedi home in second place with third FTD.
It was no surprise that Trevor Willis took another win in the mammoth Formula Ford class in Richard Summers’ Van Diemen, again from Jimmy Harris, who had now clinched the Pre-94 FF Challenge title for 2023. Of the five contenders present, three ran inside the HSA record, which was bettered by no less than 18 drivers, many of them regular FF competitors at British Championship level. Highest HSA points scorer not only of the day but of the weekend, with 18 points, was Russell Haynes, the Zeus driver finishing seventh overall.
          An excellent weekend of sprinting ended with by a solo run by former sprint regular Richard Prosser, who had just spent 4½ years rebuilding his ex.Brian Moody Ralt, reverting the car to 1983 F3 circuit spec complete with 2-litre Toyota Novamotor engine.

 

2023 HSA Speed champion Andrew Webber (Steve Wilkinson)


Double class winner Anthony Earl (Steve Wilkinson)


Top HSA scorer of the weekend Russell Haynes (Steve Wilkinson)


David Tatham set FTD both days (Steve Wilkinson)

CLOSE CALL FOR WILLIS

Event 31 at Curborough on 07/10/2023
Although the winner of this year’s series had already been decided, amid an entry of around 70 each day for the HSA’s Championship finale weekend at the Lichfield sprint course, 14 HSA contenders were on hand to compete for the minor placings. With Andrew Webber already in an unassailable Championship lead coming to Curborough, 19 points clear of his closest opposition Pekka Tulokas, the Mazda driver didn’t enter and Webber, with a third HSA title in the bag aboard his Elan Plus 2, took the opportunity for some development work on his Rover V8 powered Lotus Europa 47C/62R, which featured a new Audi-based gearbox replacing the car’s previous Citroen/Maserati unit.
          Traditionally held on Curborough’s 2-lap course, Saturday’s event also features the Alan Payne class winners’ run-off. On this penultimate round of the Championship there were two HSA class record scores, by Anthony Earl and Anthony Brown, both of whom were also chasing Sprint Leaders points on the day. Earl’s spirited driving in his Caterham Roadsport took a clear Roadgoing Specialist Production win from Stephen Laing, also a Sprint Leaders contender aboard his Caterham R500, while Brown established a new over 2-litre ModProd record in his ‘teamrowdyaudi’ TT. Elsewhere, Connie Hamer battled with more experienced brother Morgan in their Citroen C2 in the Junior Sprint class, with Morgan qualifying for the run-off, while in the 2-litre Standard Car class Midland Speed Championship leader Neal Bateman also made the cut, as did John Caldicott, recovering from a first run spin in his Elise among the 2-litre Roadgoing cars. Apart from the eventual victor of the class winners’ run-off, of whom more later, these were the only drivers to improve on their winning times.
          Nick Bayldon made short work of the over 2-litre class in his Porsche 718 GT4, while Eric Morrey’s turbocharged Imp held off regular British round opponent Phil Tucker’s fleet Vauxhall Nova by over a second in the first of the ModProd classes. The second of them was the property of Tom Harding in his VW Golf, Mike Harriman bouncing back to second place after the first runs, when his Clio took a wrong course after a wayward moment at Flagpole. Webber’s Europa held off Lee Whitmore’s MGB GT in the Pre-76 Modified Classic, Specialist Saloon and Sports car class, and Duncan Barnes’ big Norma-Honda sped to third FTD with a clear win in the  Sports Libre class.
          The top pace was expected to come from the 1100cc racers and so it proved, Dave Tatham taking the win in his DK Firehawk and snatching FTD from perennial rival Stuart Bickley’s Force TA with the only two sub-50 sec runs of the day. No less than 24 Formula Fords were on hand to contest the last four rounds (two per day) of the Pre-94 FF Challenge, with five of them among the 12-car HSA Championship entry. At the wheel of his elderly RF80 Van Diemen, Richard Summers led from FF series leader Jimmy Harris’s RF85 after the first runs with his occasional co-driver Trevor Willis lurking in third place. But on the second runs, 3-times British Hillclimb champion Willis came through for the win. Not only that, but having qualified for the class winners’ run-off, he proceeded to snatch the win from John Caldicott’s Elise by just 0.03 sec!

 

Already HSA champion for the third time in his Elan Plus 2, Andrew Webber wheeled out his Lotus Europa V8 (Steve Wilkinson)


Trevor Willis won the Alan Payne run-off by 0.03 sec (Steve Wilkinson)


Anthony Brown was on record pace in his Audi TT (Steve Wilkinson)


Andrew Platt - a Championship fifth overall in his Exige (Steve Wilkinson)

Mixed fortunes at Shelsley

Event 30 at Shelsley Walsh on 16/09/2023
Eighteen HSA Speed championship competitors took part in Shelsley Walsh's Harvest Festival event on September 16th but experienced wildly different fortunes - particularly those running later as conditions deteriorated with many competitors going slower or passing on their second runs.

Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5), lying in a secure second place in the championship smashed the existing HSA Class record by more that 3% to achieve a maximum points score - the only HSA competitor to do so. Also setting a new HSA class record and, like Tulokas, winning his class on the day was Andrew Platt (Lotus Exige) ahead of Andrew Feakins (2nd in class) with his Clio 182.

The season long battle between Simon Clemow and Dave Greenslade in their shared Radical SR1 was joined by Speedscene columnist, Clive Wooster in his SR4. A strong first run saw Clemow take the win with Greenslade, the only competitor in class to take a second run, just edged out Wooster for second with Matthew Price just behind in fourth with his SR3.

Russell Haynes won the Formula Ford class in the unusual Zeus ZR163 while elsewhere, former HSA committee member, Fyrth Crosse recorded a very respectable 32s run in his Formula Three Ensign LNF3 and Allan Warburton took FTD with his Gould GR59 on 26.31s.

 

Simon Clemow won the battle of the Radicals (Rob MacDonald)


Tony Feakin's 205 GT1 (Rob MacDonald)


The Radical SR3 of Matthew Price at Bottom Ess (Rob MacDonald)


Fyrth Crosse prepares for a run (Rob MacDonald)

Webber continues to move ahead at Three Sisters

Event 29 at Three Sisters on 03/09/2023
Only championship leader Andrew Webber (Elan +2) and Anthony Brown (Audi TT) of the HSA Speed Championship competitors made the trip to Three Sisters for Longton & District's late summer sprint at the sinuous Three Sisters track.

Webber only needed three of the six timed runs on offer to repeat the maximum score he achieved the day before at Aintree. Brown made good use of the extra runs available to break the existing HS AClass record and score well.

Will Shuttleworth (T89) took FTD with a 70.78s run.

Anthony Brown's Audi TT (library image AMM Photography)

Records fall at Hethel

Event 28 at Hethel on 03/09/2023
A good selection of HSA Speed Championship competitors enjoyed the testing Hethel, home of Lotus, track in warm and sunny conditions with a number of new HSA class records being set.

Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) set the ball rolling with a new HSA record and a class win on the day with Chris Judge (Ford Fiesta) just behind. Alex Sutton (Clio 197RS) went well for another new HSA Class record as did Anthony Earl (Caterham) who also saw off a large kit car class for a win on the day.

Pete Goulding (Mygale Ecoboost) took FTD with a 71.32s and a new HSA Class record.

Mike Edwards on his way to a class win (Simon Reid, Fokus Media)


A new HSA record for Alex Sutton (Simon Reid, Fokus Media)


A good result for Chris Judge (Simon Reid, Fokus Media)


Rob Pallett's Ginetta in the Graham Hill Esses (Simon Reid, Fokus Media)

Andrew Webber's solo Aintree

Event 27 at Aintree on 02/09/2023
Championship leader, Andrew Webber (Elan +2) was the only HSA Speed championship contender to make the trek to Liverpool's iconic Aintree track and duly beat the exisitng HSA Class record by a large margin to take maximum points (and the class win) and cement his position at the top of the 2023 table.

Former British Sprint champion, John Graham took FTD with his Gould GR55B with a 39.43s run.

Andrew Webber's Elan +2 at Aintree (Keith Calder)


John Graham took FTD (Keith Calder)


Ben Eastick's unique Bentley T Type Special (Keith Calder)


Alex Thornton's Tatuus T014 (Keith Calder)

Weather affected Snetterton

Event 26 at Snetterton on 27/08/2023
Day two of BARC Midlands' Snetterton Sprint on the 100 circuit began as it had finished the day before by being warm and dry but by lunchtime threatening clouds began to move in. As competitors prepared for their third timed run the rain began and as it increased with thunder and lightning the organisers abandoned the meeting leaving only the first two timed runs to count.

These were enough for a number of competitors to improve on their times from the previous day including John Loudon (Force TA), Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) and Andrew Platt (Lotus Exige).

Andrew Platt, Lotus Exige (BARC Midlands)


Mike Edwards quick Mini (BARC Midlands)


John Loudon at the start (BARC Midlands)


Geoff Lancaster's Clio (BARC Midlands)

GURSTON - DAY TWO

Event 25 at Gurston Down on 27/08/2023
The second day of Gurston’s weekend double-header ended with Championship leaders Andrew Webber and Pekka Tulokas maintaining their advantage, although neither was able to match their previous day’s pace. Having missed Saturday’s event, Andrew Till and James Rushworth (BMW E30) took the place of Anthony Earl’s Caterham Roadsport in the HSA lineup and Till promptly set the day’s top score in his Fiesta ST-Line.
          Simon Clemow and Dave Greenslade continued their duel in the shared Radical, with Greenslade getting the advantage this time to set the fastest HSA time of the weekend with a 32.40s run. In another close-fought Formula Ford class, it was Russell Haynes that turned the tables on Les Buck this time, by half a second, within Class J1. Although not scoring high HSA points at Gurston, 2007 champion John Bradshaw ran his Westfield SEiW in a well supported Midland Speed Championship class and won both days.
 

Andrew Till was the day's highest HSA scorer (Steve Lister)


Dave Greenslade set the outright pace among the HSA contingent (Steve Lister)


Russell Haynes topped the Class J1 timesheets (Steve Lister)

Edwards & Platt top the scores at Snetterton

Event 24 at Snetterton on 26/08/2023
 The first day of BARC Midlands' double header on the 100 circuit saw 16 HSA Speed championship competitors enjoy with warm and sunny weather which allowed Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) and Andrew Platt (Lotus Exige) beta their respective HSA class records by a considerable margin to take maximum points scores.

Also scoring well were John Loudon (Force TA), Graham Blackwell (Mygale Ecoboost) and Pete Goulding (Mygale Ecoboost). Others though, struggled to match their class record targets but made up for it with their individual battles including Stephen Laing & Chris Bennett (Caterhams), Geoff Lancaster & Alex Sutton (Renault Clio) and Simon Broadbridge & Ed McDonough (Formula Fords).

 

Simoin Broadbridge in his Van Diemen RF87 (BARC Midlands)


Alex Sutton, Renault Clio (BARC Midlands)


Tony Beesley, Jedi MK4 (BARC Midlands)


Ed McDonough takes a neat lin in the Dulon (BARC Midlands)

WEBBER STILL IN CHARGE

Event 23 at Gurston Down on 26/08/2023
Despite clashing HSA rounds at Snetterton, twelve contenders turned out each day for the two rounds held over Gurston’s Championship finals weekend. Saturday’s event saw a class dedicated to HSA contenders, which featured the two series front runners Andrew Webber and Pekka Tulokas. With Webber the top scorer on the day, both drivers set new HSA class records and maintained their clear dominance of the series, in which Webber’s Elan Plus 2 now leads Tulokas’s MX5 by a clear 21-point margin once the Snetterton results are taken into account.
          Driving their shared Radical SR1, Simon Clemow took the HSA class verdict over Dave Greenslade, who only took one run. With the weekend hosting four rounds the Pre-1994 Challenge series there was a big Formula Ford entry, of which six HSA Class J1 contenders were present. Despite an earlier trip up the Karousel escape road on a wet and slippery track, which fortunately affected only part of the first runs, Les Buck eventually topped the HSA scoresheet in his venerable Pringett Mistrale ahead of Russell Haynes’ Zeus

Andrew Webber maintained his series lead at record pace (Steve Lister)


Pekka Tulokas also ran inside his class record (Steve Lister)


Les Buck led the HSA Formula Fordsters (Steve Lister)

Wiscombe wash out

Event 22 at Wiscombe Park on 30/07/2023
Sadly the second day of Wiscombe's July 'national' meeting was damp and Carole Nicholls (Nike Mk4) was the only HSA Championship representative but managed to complete all her runs safely.

Carole Nicholls in her Nike Mk4 (Nigel Cole)


Wil Ker puts his wets to good use in the OMS (Nigel Cole)


Speedscene contributor Steve Chaloner in the Citroën (Nigel Cole)

Bradley & Nicholls score at Wiscombe

Event 21 at Wiscombe Park on 29/07/2023
Surprisingly Damien Bradley (Subaru Legacy) and Carole Nicholls (Nike MK4) were the only HSA Speed championship competitors in attendance at Wiscombe's July 'National' meeting.

Nevetheless, Bradley set a new HSA class record by a large margin in the highly modified Legacy to maintain his position in the top 10 in the Championship.

Damien Bradley has the new Wiscombe HSA class record (Nigel Cole)


HSA committee member, Eric Morrey in his Imp (Nigel Cole)


Ed Hollier, class winner in the Force HC (Nigel Cole)

Tulokas maintains title challenge at Prescott

Event 20 at Prescott on 23/07/2023

Maximum score for Pekka Tulokas (Richard Besant)


John Bradshaw won the HSA class (Richard Besant)


Mike Edwards in his Mini (Richard Besant)


Andrew Feakins '3 wheels' Pardon (Richard Besant)

Low scores at a soggy Prescott

Event 19 at Prescott on 22/07/2023
Unfortunately the first day of the Prescott July double header on the Saturday was hampered by continuous rain, heavy at times, and the track did not start to dry out until after the event had been completed. Eight HSA championship contenders took part and all scored just one point except for Andrew Till (Ford Fiesta) and Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5) who each bagged 5 points for times between 7 and 9 percent of their respective class records.

Pekka won the combined Triple M HSA class in 56.99s and Tony Feakins (Peugeot 205Gti) was second in 58.19s. FTD was set by Stuart Bickley in his new Force TA in a time of 44.75s.

Tony Feakins was second in the HSA class (Richard Besant)


Tim Cowlam splashes off the line in his Swift FB91 (Richard Besant)

High scores hard to come by at windy Lydden

Event 18 at Lydden Hill on 15/07/2023
It may have been warm and sunny down in the paddock at Lydden Hill for Borough 19's traditional Ray Heal Memorial sprint but out on the track a fierce wind made life difficult for competitors.

Only championship leader, Andrew Webber (Elan +2), and Mike Edwards (austin Mini) were able to get close to maximum scores and win their respective classes on the day with Chris Judge's Fiesta close behind.

Speedscene columnist, Clive Wooster went well in his Radical SR4 to win his class and post a time that would have qualified him for a British Sprint Top 12 Run Off. Lydden often features unique and unusual cars and this event was no exception and included Dan Fountain' QT Wildcat 300STR (a 'rally raid' type vehicle?) and Stuart Ashwell's Sparton FF82.

Stuart Ashwell's Sparton FF82 (Chris Bennett)

Another rain affected day at Loton

Event 17 at Loton Park on 09/07/2023

Lizzie Weaver, having her first hillclimb in the Saxo enjoys some rare sun (Rob MacDonald)


Les Buck's Pringett Mistrale (Rob MacDonald)


A class win double for Dave Greenslade (Rob MacDonald)

Greenslade tops the scores at Loton

Event 16 at Loton Park on 08/07/2023
Sadly the changeable British summer weather took its toll on both days of the Loton July double header. Saturday morning was fine and dry but the heavens opened midway through the first competition runs in the afternoon. There was a torrential thunderstorm and the meeting was held up for about half an hour to allow the storm to pass over. The organisers decided to finish the event after just one set of competition runs as a result of the delay and to let everyone dry out overnight.

Dave Greenslade (Radical SR1) got well under the HSA Libre record to take a maximum score on the first day of the Loton July double header and win the class on the day. Co-driver, Simon Clemow, also went well but was a couple of seconds behind.

The Yapps, Jamie and Richard, were out in their venerable Vauxhall Nova which has made appearances in the HSA championship going back nearly 20 years with Jamie winning his class on the day. Anthony Earl put in a good performance in his Caterham to win a large and competitive Roadgoing kit car class - something not always seen these days.

The event was a round of the Pre '94 Formula Ford challenge with 19 competitors taking part including three time British Hillclimb champion, Trevor Willis in a Van Diemen RF80. But it was Richard Summers, also driving an RF80 who took the win fron Bernie Kevill's newer RF90. Best scoring HSA championship Fordster was Les Buck in his Pringett Mistrale.

Trevor Willis gets ready in the Van Diemen (Rob MacDonald)


Ed McDonough's Dulon MP15 (Rob MacDonald)


Paul Morcom in the Merlyn MK11A (Rob MacDonald)

Tulokas and Webber continue their struggle at hot Llandow

Event 15 at Llandow on 24/06/2023
At a very hot Llandow it was good to see the paddock full to overflowing in this oversubscribed event. Surprisingly only five HSA Speed championship contenders managed to secure an entry but this included two of the main protagonists for this year's title. Both were seeking maximum points by breaking the existing HSA class records by a significant margin. Andrew Webber (Elan +2) had his work cut out, having to replace a clutch master cylinder after practice and missing T1. A decent T2 left him half a second short but he found another second on T3 to achieve his goal. Pekka Tulokas in his potent turbocharged MX5 followed a remarkably similar pattern to Webber. He missed out on T1, set a decent time on T2 but somewhat short and found almost a second on T3 for a maximum score.

Damien Bradley won his class on the day in his well engineered and very quick Subaru Legacy. The car was originally a base model as that was the only one that came without a sun roof. Simon Broadbridge was the sole Formula Ford competitor scored well but couldn't approach Tony Jarvis' 15 year old record.

The Paul Matty championship competitors provided a fine spectacle of classic Lotus racing cars including no less that five type 69s in F3, F2 and Atlantic configurations. Dave Hampton in his 69 was the fastest of the Paul Matty runners with a 78.64s and Philip Montgomery-Smith continued the good form he showed at Pembrey by taking FTD in his OMS 2000M with a 69/69s run.

There were also more interesting and unusual cars including Owen Jones' beautifully presented Fiat 128, Graham Mintram's Delta HF Turbo and David Wheeler's Renault R8 Gordini.



 

Dave Hampton leaves the line in his Lotus 69 (Tony Smith)


Damien Bradley hustles the Legacy through the Bus Stop (Dave Meadows)


FTD for Philip Montgomery-Smith (Dave Meadows)


Pekka Tulokas was on form in the MX5 (Dave Meadows)

Blackwell's FTD as rain arrives at Curborough

Event 14 at Curborough on 18/06/2023
Graham Blackwell (Mygale Ecoboost) took FTD with a 53.15s at the Owen Motoring Club's traditional Graham Hill Sprint held on Curborough's Figure 8 layout. The two practice runs and first timed runs were dry but rain arrived and most competitors either passed on their second run or failed to improve.

With only their first run counting it was a hard ask for competitors to break the existing HSA class records by significant amounts but championship leader, Andrew Webber (Elan +2), Andrew Till (Fiesta ST) and Chris Guy (Jedi MK4)  just set new marks by small margins.

Laurence Marks (Van Diemen RF84) and Ed McDonough (Dulon MP15) battled for Formula Ford honours with Marks coming out ahead.

FTD for Graham Blackwell (Mad Welshman Photography)


A new HSA record for Andrew Till (Mad Welshman Photography)


Laurence Marks took Formula Ford honours (Mad Welshman Photography)


Chris Guy's Jedi MK4 (Mad Welshman Photography)

Andrews scores as Wood takes FTD at Barbon

Event 13 at Barbon Manor on 10/06/2023
Only three Triple M HSA Speed championship competitors made their way to Liverpool Motor Club's Barbon Manor hillclimb but Justin Andrews, making his 2023 season debut in the championship, just managed to break the C2 HSA class record in his unusually powered 1425cc turbocharged Impreza.

The Walkers, Andy and Jack, were present in their Westfield SeiW with Jack just managing to break the 30s barrier with a 29.79s run.

FTD went to Robin Wood in his 1100cc Force PT on 24.61s

Robin Wood took FTD in his Force PT (Mark Newbould)


Justin Andrews' 1425cc Impreza (Mark Newbould)


Jack Walker broke the 30s barrier (Mark Newbould)


Steven Rushworth's unusual Libre Morris Minor (Mark Newbould)

Bennett & Webber score at Pembrey Club

Event 12 at Pembrey on 04/06/2023
On the second day of the Pembrey June Sprint week-end, held on the Club circuit Chris Bennett (Caterham Roadsport) and championshile leader, Andrew Webber (Elan +2) both scored 18 points by eclipsing the existing HSA class records by more than 3%.

Stuart Lugger and Mike Edwards had a close battle in their Minis with only half a second separating them at the end and finish third and fourth in their class just behind a quick Honda.

Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5) and Chris Jones (Force TA) had higher hurdles to overcome but both beat their own HSA class records by significant amounts to score well and win their respective classes on the day.

After experiencing problems on the Saturday, the Clemow/Greenslade Radical SR1 was running well and, just like the day before, Clemow edged ahead by 0.15s.

 

Simon Clemow & Dave Greenslade overcame their problems (Gary Griffiths)


Mike Edwards at Dibeni in his Mini (John Surridge)


Chris Bennett took a maximum score (John Surridge)

Webber marches on at Pembrey

Event 11 at Pembrey on 03/06/2023
Reigning HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber is making another determined assault on the championship in 2023 with his very familiar Lotus Elan +2. At Pembrey, on the first day of the June Sprint week-end he took another new record by enough to secure a maximum points score despite taking only 2 of the 4 timed runs on offer.

Close behind were Stuart Lugger (Mini Cooper) and Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) who are both running in the top 5 in the championship.

Simon Clemow and Dave Greenslade were having problems with their shared Radical SR1 with the former only taking three of the five times runs on offer. They are usually closely matched and so it turned out with Clemow coming out ahead by a tenth.

Another championship contender, Pekka Tulokas, in his self engineered and developed tirbocharged Mazda MX5 was facing an uphill battle to outscore his own impressive records and a mistake on his final run cost him a higher score.

Anthony Earl (Caterham Roadsport) went well to win the Roadgoing Specialist class.

Credit should be given to the 'new' team running the event which ran very smoothly especially the organisation of the paddock and startline.

Stuart Lugger sets a new HSA Class record (Gary Griffiths)


Andrew Webber at speed (Gary Griffiths)


Class winner, Anthony Earl (Gary Griffiths)


Rally action from James Belton's Escort (John Surridge)

Webber closes in at Blyton

Event 10 at Blyton Park on 14/05/2023
On day two of Longton & District's Sprint Blyton double header, held on the Outer circuit, Andrew Webber (Elan +2) made it a perfect week-end with another maximum score to move to with two points of championship leader Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk).

Stuart Lugger (Mini Cooper) and Chris Guy (Jedi MK4) also went quickly to post maximum scores and move themselves up the leader board.
 

Andrew Webber left Blyton two points off the lead (AMM Photography)


Stuart Lugger showing good form in the Mini Cooper (AMM Photography)


Chris Guy 'on it' in the Jedi (AMM Photography)

Broughton and Webber on top at Blyton

Event 9 at Blyton Park on 13/05/2023
On day one of Longton & District's Blyton double header Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) and reigning champion Andrew Webber (Elan +2) both broke the existing HSA class records by more than 3% to take maximum scores and improve their positions at the top of the leaderboard.

Using the Eastern circuit asnd with 20 Triple M HSA Speed championship competitors present at this popular venue there were plenty of other good perfomances including Damian Bradley (Subaru Legacy) and Chris Guy (600cc Jedi MK4). Stuart Lugger won his class on the day in his Mini Cooper and scroed well. Andrew Platt (Exige), Anthony Earl (Caterham) and David Spencer (Reynard 883) also won their classes. 

Steve Broughton led the HSA championship in the Firehawk (AMM Photography)


A fine perfomance from Damien Bradley in the Legacy (AMM Photography)


A class win for Andrew Platt in the Exige (AMM Photography)


The Audi TT of Anthony Brown looking good (AMM Photography)

Tulokas outscores Webber at second Werrington

Event 8 at Werrington on 30/04/2023
Two of the early season front runners for the 2023 Triple M HSA Speed championship fought hard on day two of Plymouth Motor Club's spring Werrington meeting. Reversing their performance on day one, Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5) outscored Andrew Webber (Elan +2) by 13 points to 8 to leave him in a strong second in the championship.

Andrew Forsyth (OMS CF04) took FTD with a 34.29s a tenth ahead of Ben Wheeler's Empire EVO2.

Ben Wheeer second fastest on the day in his Empire (Howie Fowler)


Steve Furzeland's class winning Subaru WRC (Howie Fowler)

Webber sets the pace at Werrington

Event 7 at Werrington on 29/04/2023
On the first day of Plymouth Motor Club's Werrington double header, reigning HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber in his well known Elan +2 took over a second off his own HSA class record to post a high score. Pekka Tuloka (Mazda MX5) continued his strong start to the season with a good result despite taking a single practice and timed run.

Terry Graves (Gould DJ55XB) took FTD with 33.72s by 17 hundredths from Phil Montgomery-Smith's OMS 2000M.

Ian Ingleheart's class winning Westfield (Howie Fowler)


Peter Crewes leaves the line in his Mini Cooper (Howie Fowler)

Webber starts championship defence as Goulding take FTD

Event 6 at Goodwood on 22/04/2023
At Bognor Regis Motor Club's Goodwood Regis sprint, current HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber opened his 2023 title defence with a record setting and maximum points scoring run in his Elan +2. Pete Goulding's Ecoboost powered Mygale took FTD by around a second from Steve Broughton in the Busa powered DJ Firehawk who moved into the lead of the championship.

Anthony Earl continued his strong start to the season by taking a maximum points score in his Caterham Roadsport while Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5) also went well to maintain his position near the top of the championship leader board.

Winning their classes at the event were Webber and Andrew Till (Fiesta ST) with an impressive performance to win a large Roagoing Series Production class.

FTD for Pete Goulding's Mygale (Jean-Paul Da Costa)


Steve Broughton in the 'new' DJ Firehawk (SBD Motorsport)

Lugger and Tulokas in the points at Shelsley

Event 5 at Shelsley Walsh on 16/04/2023
Newcomer to the HSA Speed championship, Stuart Lugger (Austin Mini Cooper) and Pekka Tulokas (Mazda MX5) both smashed the existing HSA class records by some margin to post maximum scores. Tulokas, running a very potent, boosted engine in the MX5 moved to the top of the championship leaderboard, showing ominous early season form.

Mike Edwards (Austin Mini), Anthony Earl (Carterham Roadsport), John Bradshaw (Westfield SEiW) and, Speedscene columnist, Clive Wooster (Radical SR4) all went well with Earl winning the large and competitive Specialist Production class at the event. Tolukas and Wooster also won their respective classes.

Alex Summers took FTD with a 24.17s run in the DJ Firestorm.

All images courtesy of Rob MacDonald

A study in concentration as Clive Wooster heads to a class win


An interesting shot of Steve Barnard's Audi


FTD went ot Alex Summers' DJ Firestorm


Briony Serrell heads through Bottom Ess in her Elva MK7

LOCAL WIN FOR SPEDDING

Event 4 at Harewood on 09/04/2023
Shaking down his GWR Raptor-Suzuki prior to this year’s British Championship season, Richard Spedding took FTD at Harewood’s opening meeting of the year. The car’s handling was far from ideal on a chilly day, but the local man from Barnsley still beat OMS drivers Lee Griffiths and Steve Owen in their larger engined cars, plus the massed ranks of 1100cc racers, amongst which David Tatham, 4th FTD, led the way after a last minute switch to his DJ Firehawk-Suzuki.
          The BARC Yorkshire Centre’s Spring National Hillclimb was the fourth round of the HSA Championship season and the first hillclimb in the series. One of just two HSA contenders on the entry list, Andrew Platt had run his Lotus Exige at the opening round at Cadwell Park, but had given the two Anglesey rounds a miss. He led Harewood’s 2-car ‘Elise and other non-ferrous chassis cars’ class after the first runs, but after lunch David Leach remembered to pop an additional ‘mechanic’s gallon’ into his Elise’s tank, his misfire disappeared and he took a comfortable win. In HSA scoring terms Platt ran six tenths shy of Michael Thompson’s long-standing A2 record in the Honda S2000, leaving Harewood in 14th place on the series table, to level with the absent Lee Gavins’ MNR Vortex.
          The other HSA contender present was motoring writer Ed McDonough in his immaculate Dulon MP15. He got as close to his PB as most of the FF1600 class managed in the cold conditions but, predictably, it was Harewood Formula Ford ace Rob Spedding that took the win in his Vector. McDonough’s time for fourth place left him 17th on the HSA Championship table after his first appearance in this year’s series.
 

Richard Spedding set the outright pace at Harewood (Steve Wilkinson)


Andrew Platt flew the HSA flag in his Exige (Steve Wilkinson)


Ed McDonough opened his 2023 HSA account in the Dulon (Steve Wilkinson)

Bradley takes championship lead at Anglesey

Event 3 at Anglesey on 02/04/2023
Round 3 of the 2023 Triple M HSA Speed championship was held over a lap of Anglesey's International circuit in warmer conditions than the day before.

Damien Bradley (Subaru Legacy) repeated his maximum points scoring exploits of the day before to move into a one point lead over Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono) in the championship.

Pekka Tulokas (overcoming new turbo setup issues with his Mazda MX5), Anthony Brown (Audi TT) and Steve Broughton (in the newly acquired, ex Algar DJ Firehawk) all scoring well.

As they have done in previous years, Trevor Willis and Richard Summers bought the mighty F5000 Lola T140 along and Trevor set a new event class record with a fine 87.53s run.

Class winners at the event included Bradley, Tulokas, John Bradshaw (Westfield SEiw), Stan Matthews (Radical SR8) and David Spencer (Reynard 883).

Pekka Tulokas overcame turbo problems (Neil Lambert)


Richard Summers in the Lola T140 (Neil Lmabert)


John Bradshaw's Westfield SEiW (Neil Lambert)


Simon Broadbridge enjoys the view in his Van Diment (Neil Lambert)

Bainbridge takes early lead in HSA Speed championship

Event 2 at Anglesey on 01/04/2023
Round 2 of the 2023 Triple M HSA Speed championship was held over a lap of Anglesey's National circuit in cold but dry conditions. This provided an opportunity to see how the updated championship scoring method would work under normal conditions. Three competitors Damian Bradley (Legacy), Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono) and Grahame Harden (Radical PR6) all scored maximum points by beating the existing HSA class record by more than 3% while there was a good spread of points further down the field.

Class winners at the event included Bradley, David Spencer making a welcome return in the 1100 Reynard 883 and Matthew Price (Radical SR3) who only joined the championship after the event.

David Spencer sparks his way to a class win (Neil Lambert)


Matthew Price, another class winner in his Radical (Neil Lambert)


Anthony Brown in the Audi TT (Neil Lambert)

Soggy & challenging Cadwell opens season

Event 1 at Cadwell Park on 25/03/2023
The opening round of the 2023 Triple M HSA Speed championship attracted a good entry including plenty of HSA Speed competitors. However, the conditions remained wet throughout the day and with a number of 'no shows' and on track incidents the event proved a challenge for many.

As the only competitor in a class with no existing record, Steve Brown in his 1.3s Empire EVO2 (with electronics updated over the winter) was able to post a reasonable score although Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono) with effective aero and wet tyres was able to put in a very creditable perfomance.

Of the other competitors Andrew Platt (Lotus Exige) went well to win his class with a very competitive time matched by that of Chris Guy's class winning 600cc Jedi Mk IV. Also in a 600cc Jedi, Stephen Mason was caught out by the tricky conditions leading to his retirement while Alex Sutton and Geoff Lancaster managed to complete three runs each in their shared Renault Clio.

Stephen Mason caught out by the conditions (AMM Photography)


Geoff Lancaster in his Renault Clio (AMM Photography)

WEBBER'S SECOND HSA TITLE

Event 29 at Curborough on 09/10/2022
At Sunday’s Championship finale over Curborough’s ‘Figure 8’ course, Andrew Webber and Peter Taylor both ran on their own in their respective classes, Taylor slotted in a record run with the MX5 early on although the Elan Plus 2 driver had to wait until the end of the first runs to reply, but yet another class record left both drivers with 13 records apiece. Although not present at Curborough, Chris Edwards was still hot on the heels of the leaders in his Mazda 323 GTX, finishing a Championship third overall having set ten records in the course of the season. So one of the closest run HSA Championships since the series began in 1998 was decided on a tiebreak, after which Webber was awarded his second title.
          Pekka Tulokas was on record pace, too, which brought the MX5 driver up into a final Championship fourth place, two points behind the three leaders and a point clear of the absent Chris Berrisford. Andrew Till consolidated his Championship top six place after his seventh record of the year in the Focus ST-Line.
           At the end of the day, three drivers were on equal points for tenth place overall, but with one more class record in the bag Graham Blackwell got the tiebreak nod for the place over Tony Kiss, ahead of the absent Simon Clemow and Pete Goulding. Although not at record pace, Sprint Leaders contenders Blackwell and Goulding had a fine scrap for the class win in their similar Mygale Ecoboost single-seaters, Blackwell leading after the first runs until Goulding pulled a 53.58 out of the bag to grab FTD ahead of his rival. However Kiss, who would end the season as HSA class champion, was up against strong opposition in his Van Diemen RF87 in another massive Formula Ford class contesting the Pre-94 Challenge finale. The class was won by Alex Coles in his RF86 and already crowned as the 2022 British Hillclimb Cup winner, the 17-year-old secured the Pre-94 Challenge trophy ahead of Trevor Willis, the 3-times British champion enjoying himself hugely in Richard Summers’ Van Diemen RF 80 and finishing second in class.
          With yesterday’s winner Ed Hollier not entered, the 1100cc racing class went to his rival of the previous day, Martyn Turner. Ben Bonfield was second, not in the ultra-successful Jedi but together with his father Tony, sharing their new OMS-Suzuki 2000M. Sunday was also the final round of the Pirelli Ferrari Hillclimb Championship. Although Dave Snelson had already been confirmed as champion in his F430, ahead of John Kennedy’s svelte California T, both drivers had arrived to fight it out until the end with Kennedy turning the tables on Snelson to win the class by a hundredth of a second! Also among the eight-strong field was Pauline Goodwin, who won the classic section of the Championship in her 328.


 

Andrew Webber - 2022 HSA Speed champion (Steve Wilkinson)


Pete Goulding set FTD in his Mygale Ecoboost (Steve Wilkinson)


With a new class record, Pekka Tulokas secured a Championship fourth place (Steve Wilkinson)


Andrew Till with a record and a Championship sixth place (Steve Wilkinson)

NEW WINNER AT CURBOROUGH

Event 28 at Curborough on 08/10/2022
As HSA Speed contenders assembled at Curborough for Saturday’s opening stanza of the two day Championship deciding weekend, held over the 2-lap version of the Lichfield sprint course, the three drivers at the top of the order were still level on points. But with the third member of the trio, Chris Edwards in his Mazda 323 GTX, not entered for the event, Peter Taylor and Andrew Webber remained the leading contenders.
          A relatively small entry allowed three runs for the afternoon’s competition, all of them counting, although Taylor got off on the wrong foot by spinning his MX5 on the first bend. But second time round he made no mistakes and bagged his twelfth record of the season. Webber was also on record pace in his Elan Plus 2, so both now had set 12 HSA records during the season.
         With a minimum of two runners in each class required for Alan Payne class winners’ run-off eligibility and a number of single car runners on the entry list, there were a number of class amalgamations. This did not apply to the Formula Ford class, since it was the penultimate round of the Pre-94 FF Challenge and there were no less than 24 starters. 2022 BHC Cup winner Alex Coles took the win from Tom Weaver, the current 1100cc OMS Hornet driver reverting to his FF Van Diemen for the occasion. In fact the 1100cc racing class was the second largest, and one of the most competitive, classes of the day with eight starters. Martyn Turner was in charge at first and at one point held FTD in his Empire Evo 2, but after engine problems had twice slowed Ed Hollier’s Honda Fireblade engined Force HC, the Westcountryman produced a flyer on his third run to take the class.
          Andrew Webber’s solo entered Elan Plus 2 was among the class amalgamations for the Alan Payne Memorial Trophy, from U1 to A2. After his class win, Webber went on to take the Alan Payne Trophy for the third time with an improvement over his class run time of 1.11sec, 0.2sec clear of Championship rival Taylor who ran second. Third in the run-off was Tom New, in the process setting a 53.31s FTD in the 550bhp, 2-litre turbocharged Norma sportsracer which he shared with Duncan Barnes.
          An interesting sixth place finisher was 2018 run-off winner Dave Tatham, not driving his usual OMS Hornet, which had been sidelined with a broken gear linkage, but a Jaguar XJR which he’d recently acquired from Mathewsons of TV’s ‘Bangers and Cash’ fame, which he elbowed round with gusto!


 

Tom New set the day's outright pace in his Norma-Honda (Steve Wilkinson)


Andrew Webber bagged his second Alan Payne run-off trophy (Steve Wilkinson)


Webber's season-long rival Peter Taylor took second place in the run-off (Steve Wilkinson)


Dave Tatham exits Fradley in the 'Bangers and Cash' Jaguar (Steve Wilkinson)

Taylor, Tulokas and Webber match each other at Shelsley

Event 27 at Shelsley Walsh on 17/09/2022
At MAC's Harvest Festival meeting at Shelsley on September 17th, HSA Speed Championship front runners Peter Taylor (MX5), Pekka Tulokas MX5) and Andrew Webber (Elan +2) all broke the existing HSA Class records.

Simon Clemow  (Radical SR1) went well to join Taylor in winning his class on the day with other good performances coming from Anthony Earl (Caterham) and Andrew Platt (Exige).

Trevor Willis in a DJ Firestorm took FTD with a 26.15s run.

 

Anthony Earl hurls his Caterham through Top Ess (Rob MacDonald)


Mike Broome's lovely Alexis MK17 (Rob MacDonald)


Rob Anscombe's Empire EVO (Rob MacDonald)


Trevol Willis took FTD (Rob MacDonald)

Goulding's FTD at Hethel

Event 25 at Hethel on 04/09/2022
Relatively few HSA Speed Championship competitors made their way to Hethel to enjoy the fast flowing Lotus test track. Pete Goulding (Mygale Ecoboost) took time away from his British Sprint Championship campaign to take a comfortable FTD of 71.50s over two and a half seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Mark Chaplin (Jedi Mk6).

Geoff Lancaster (Clio 172) and Stephen Laing (Caterham R500) broke the existing HSA class records.

Pete Goulding and his Mygale (library image)

Another FTD for Sketchley

Event 24 at Aintree on 03/09/2022

Glyn Sketchley, driving his Force PC with its 1.3 turbo Suzuki engine, took FTD at Liverpool MC’s Aintree September sprint. The event was run in excellent conditions but suffered from a dearth of entries. However, the plus side was that competitors got their money’s worth with 10 timed runs on offer - even by lunch time, the club had managed two practice and three timed runs. although many competitors decided to call it a day as the temperature dropped and only the novices were improving their times.

Two class records fell, the first at the hands of Paul Gorge, who already held the Standard 2-litre Saloon record in his Citroen C2 VTS, but managed to twice break his record in the morning session carving off a total of 0.24sec. The second record went to Ian Butcher, driving his Honda Integra in the Roadgoing 2-litre class. Butcher had already equalled Fred Currell’s record, set back in 2014 in his Golf GTi. On his third run clipped off another 0.07s before loading up and heading off before the afternoon session.
 
It was a trying week-end for the timekeepers. Overnight, their van had been broken into and all the PCs were stolen. The back-up van was able to bring replacements but they had further problems during the second timed runs when a ‘tank slapper’ off the start-line by Michael Skidmore’s Westfield wiped out the 64 foot beam.

Of the HSA Speed Championship competitors, Andrew Till (Fiesta ST), Peter Taylor (MX5) and Chris Edwards (Mazda 323 GTX) all broke the existing HSA class records with Till and Taylor winning their classes on the day.

 

Glyn Sketchley set the Aintree pace in his turbo Suzuki powered Force (Steven D'Cruze)


Paul Gorge set the first class record in his Citroen C2... (Steve Wilkinson)


...followed by Ian Butcher in his Honda Integra (Steve Wilkinson)

TRIO AT THE TOP

Event 23 at Gurston Down on 28/08/2022
Peter Taylor was not present for Sunday’s event and so was unable to add to his record tally but Andrew Webber and Chris Edwards both reset their class records from the previous day and scored maximums. So at the conclusion of the day’s play, Taylor, Webber and Edwards went away all tied on 153 points with the absent Chris Berrisford still in fourth place on 150.
          Andrew Till made an appearance in his turbocharged Fiesta ST-Line and reset the A1 record and apart from those mentioned above, he was joined in the record-breaking bonanza by Pekka Tulokas and Paul Talbot, plus Dave Greenslade and Simon Clemow in their Radical, Greenslade finally getting the nod over his co-driver. Both broke the record with Greenslade finally getting the edge over his co-driver by four tenths.
          Ben Bonfield fell just short of his record in the Jedi and Anthony Earl once again scored well in his Caterham Roadsport. Historic single-seater exponents Fyrth Crosse and Mike Broome staged a repeat of Saturday’s close tussle with Crosse’s ex.Mike Wilds Ensign easing out Broome’s rare Alexis each time.
          With 5 rounds to go the title will be decided on tie-breakers and so we will possibly not know the champion until the end of the season at Curborough. At the moment Webber and Edwards have broken the class record on ten occasions, with Taylor and Berrisford having done it nine times!

 

Chris Edwards became the third joint series leader (Steve Lister)


Andrew Till joined the record breakers in his Fiesta ST-Line (Steve Lister)


Paul Talbot was on record form each day ... (Steve Lister)


... joined by Pekka Tulokas in his Mazda (Steve Lister)

RECORDS FALL AT GURSTON

Event 22 at Gurston Down on 27/08/2022
Seventeen HSA competitors made the trip to Gurston for host club BARC(SW)’s Championship finals weekend and with three of the top four entrants from our own Championship in attendance, all enjoyed a maximum score at Saturday’s event with an HSA class record. Joint series leader Andrew Webber did so on his first run in the Elan Plus 2 but for Peter Taylor, level on points in his Mazda MX5 and Chris Edwards, close at hand in his Mazda 323 GTX, it took until the second runs to lower the mark. Webber and Taylor now reached the maximum score of 153 while Edwards remained one point behind.
          Other records were broken by Pekka Tulokas with his Mazda MX5 in Class A3, Paul Talbot’s Mini in Class C1 and Ben Bonfield in his Class I Jedi-Suzuki, while Simon Clemow and Dave Greenslade in their shared Radical in Class F and Anthony Earl in his Class B2 Caterham also scored well.

 

Peter Taylor maintained his joint Championship lead in the Mazda (Steve Lister)


Also level on points at the top of the table, Andrew Webber is chasing a second HSA title (Steve Lister)


Dave Greenslade scored well in the Radical ... (Steve Lister)


... as did Anthony Earl in his Caterham (Steve Lister)

Edwards makes it a 4 way fight for the Championship at Wiscombe

Event 21 at Wiscombe Park on 31/07/2022
On Day 2 of Woolbridge Motor Club's National July meeting Peter Taylor (Mazda MX5) failed by 0.15s to better the Class record he had set the day before and Andrew Webber (Elan +2) came agonisingly close (0.06s) to breaking the Class U1 record leaving both on 151 points. If either driver had managed to break their respective records they would have achieved 9 maximum scores and been virtually assured of the 2022 Championship. Just behind, Chris Edwards (Mazda 323GTX) broke the HSA Class C3 record set the previous day by Chris Berrisford (Impreza) to leave both competitors level on 150 points. Four drivers covered by one point!

Elsewhere, Paul Talbot (Mini Clubman), Ben Bonfield (Jedi MK4) and Tony Kiss (Van Diemen RF87) completed their record breaking week-ends by beating the new records they had set the day before.

A record breaking run by Chris Edwards (Geoff Pickett)


Almost but not quite - Andrew Webber (Geoff Pickett)


Allan Mcdonald's 2.4l Mini Evo (Geoff Pickett)


A new HSA record for Ben Bonfield's Jedi (Geoff Pickett)

HSA records fall at Wiscombe as Championship battle heats up

Event 20 at Wiscombe Park on 30/07/2022
On the first day of Woolbridge Motor Club's National meeting at the end of July plenty of HSA Class records were broken along with some interesting and significant results.

With each competitor's nine best scores to count, Andrew Webber (Elan +2) had been on 8 maximum scores since Loton earlier in the month but had missed out on breaking the record at Lydden. Peter Taylor (Mazda MX5) arrived at Wiscombe on 7 maximum scores following new records at Lydden and Three Sisters. In the event Taylor broke the existing record while Webber was half a second shy of the exitsing record putting both drivers level in the Championship.

Just behind the two leaders are Chris Edwards in the highly developed Mazda 323GTX and Chris Berrisford's Impreza - both running in the same large Mod Prod class and, despite sharing the class arrived at Wiscombe with 6 and 5 maximum score apiece. Berrisford took a fine class win and broke the HSA class record on Saturday to level the number of maximum scores.

Elsewhere Pekka Tulokas continued his recent good form by breaking the HSA class record in his turbocharged MX5 as did Paul Talbot in his Mini Clubman, Ben Bonfield in his Jedi MK4 (an impressive 37.69s run after a troubled first run) and Tony Kiss with his colourful Van Diemen RF87.
 

A good class win for Chris Berrisford (Geoff Pickett)


Another good performance from peter Taylor (Geoff Pickett)


Mark Linforth trying hard in his Escort (Geoff Pickett)


Paul Talbot's Mini is beautifully presented and fast too (Nigel Cole)

Record runs at Three Sisters

Event 19 at Three Sisters on 24/07/2022
Only a handful of HSA Speed Championship competitors made the trip to Wigan for LDMC's Mid Summer sprint and for those competitors who felt they still needed to learn the course 12 (yes twelve!) timed runs were offered by the organisers. In the event, only three competitors had the time, energy or tyres left to take the twelth run!

Robbie Birrell (Force PT) took FTD with a 40.12s run from David Spencer's Reynard 883 while the only HSA Class record (A2.1) to be broken was by Peter Taylor in his MX5 which won his class on the day. Anthony Brown (Audi TT) took a class win while Andrew Till (Fiesta ST) and Pekka Tulokas (MX5) were in single car classes.

Peter Taylor broke the HSA Class record (LDMC/Denise Moore)


A class win for Anthony Brown (LDMC/Denise Moore)


FTD for Robbie Birrell (LDMC/Denise Moore)


Andy Walker's Impreza Sti (LDMC/Denise Moore)

Webber almost there at Lydden

Event 18 at Lydden Hill on 16/07/2022
Following his eighth max score at Loton Park the week-end before, Andrew Webber (Elan +2), the 2020 HSA Speed champion, needed just one more to secure the 2022 crown at Lydden Hill. But, despite almost perfect conditions, he was frustrated to come up almost a second short of his own record. 

Other championship front runners including Peter Taylor (MX5) and Chris Edwards (Mazda 323 GTX) closed the gap to Webber with new HSA Class records with Edwards taking a good class win on the day.

Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono), John Loudon (Force TA) and Steve Brown (Empire EVO 2) also set new HSA Class marks.

Adding some variety to the event was Tony Gomis' Marcadier CanAm sports racer. 20 or so of this French built, spaceframe hillclimb car were produced in the early seventies and it still looks the part to-day.

Perhaps the most notable result of the day was John Chambers' win in the 'standard roadgoing' EV class in his Tesla Model 3 Performance. His time of 80.45s was the second fastest of all the Roadgoing classes, ahead of some quick Caterham R500s, and was only narrowly beaten by one of the Mod Prods.

Andrew Webber, frustrated at Lydden (snapshotpics.co.uk)


Chris Guy's Jedi MK4 (snapshotpics.co.uk)


The impressive Tesla of John Chambers (snapshotpics.co.uk)


Tony Gomis' unusual Marcadier CanAm (snapshotpics.co.uk)

Webber inches closer at Loton

Event 17 at Loton Park on 10/07/2022
Andrew Webber (Elan +2) set a new HSA Class record (his eighth of the season) at Loton Park on July 10 to strengthen his position at the top of the 2022 Championship standings. Chris Berrisford (Impreza) was unable to quite match the new record set by fellow class competitor, Chris Edwards, the day before but still socred well to maintain his second place in the championship.

Pekka Tulokas (MX5) broke the record he had set on the Saturday as did class winner, Dave Greenslade (Radical SR1) who had co-driver, Simon Clemow, breathing down his neck less than half a second behind.

Adam Pemble has been campaigning his 33 year old Toyota Ceilca GT Four for over 10 years and continues to set competitive times against more modern machinery.

Simon Clemow's Radical SR1 (Gail Knight)


Adam Pemble set decent times in the Celica GT Four (Geoff Robinson)


Tony Kiss' colourful Van Diemen RF87 (Gail Knight)

Edwards & Tulokas score at Loton

Event 16 at Loton Park on 09/07/2022
Chris Edwards (Mazda 323GTX) continued his impressive start in his debut season in the HSA Speed Championship with his fourth new HSA Class record on the trot at Loton Park on July 9. He also won his class on the day and then went on to win the Top 10 Challenge with a significantly improved time. He was joined by Pekka Tulokas who set a new record in the over 2000cc Roadgoing Class and is also having a successful season with the turbocharged 1.8 MX5.

Anthony Earl (Caterham) and Dave Greenslade (Radical SR1) both took good wins in their classes on the day. Ben Bonfield (Jedi MK4) was up against strong opposition in the 1100cc Racing Car class and third was a good result. In the same class Jonny Ogden made a rare (and smoky) appearance in the unusual Yamapin R1.

 

Pekka Tulokas' MX5 (Geoff Robinson)


The rare Yamapin R1 of Jonny Ogden (Geoff Robinson)


Carole Nicholls' 'historic' Nike MK4 (Geoff Robinson)

Edwards & Berrisford score as Summers takes FTD at Shelsley

Event 15 at Shelsley Walsh on 26/06/2022
Chris Edwards in his mighty Mazda 323GTX continued his good run of form with a new HSA class record on the second day of the Shelsley Walsh Summer Spree event - but only just. Fellow Class (large Mod Prod) competitor, Chris Berrisford in his Impreza, led after the first run but both drivers found more time on the second run with Edwards finishing just one hundredth ahead. The results moved Berrisford to second and Edwards to fourth overall in the Championship standings.

Elsewhere, series leader Andrew Webber won the small Roadgoing Series Production class in his Elan +2 but was nearly a second and a half off his own HSA record and didn't score as well as he would have liked. In the 1100cc Racing Car class, Stephen Potter posted a good 28.61s run in his OMS2000 while Rob Anscombe (1.6 Empire Evo) went well and earned himself a spot in the MAC Members Run Off where he finished just behind Lindsay Summers (DJ Firestorm) who had earlier set FTD with a 25.60s.
 

Rob Anscombe prepares to leave the line (Rob MacDonald)


Ina Stringer's pretty Alfa Guilia waits in top paddock (Rob MacDonald)


Lindsay Summer's DJ Firestorm (Rob MacDonald)


Gary Hull's Jedi MK2 in top paddock (Rob MacDonald)

Miles takes FTD as leading HSA competitors fight it out at Llandow

Event 14 at Llandow on 25/06/2022
Steve Miles (Van Diemen RF96) took another FTD at the Bristol Pegasus/Bristol MC Llandow sprint on June 25th with a 68.76s run which was the only timed run he needed to secure the victory. The day was interspersed with some heavy showers and many competitors elected to miss runs in the difficult conditions.

Despite the changing conditions, many of the leading competitors in the 2022 Triple M/Pirelli Speed Championship were present and put in very competitive and class breaking performances. Andrew Webber (Elan +2) continued his strong run for the 2022 Championship with another new HSA Class record. Dave Greenslade and Simon Clemow contiued their close and hard fought battle in their share Radical SR1 with the former winning the class by half a second from his co-driver - both under the existing HSA record.

Chris Berrisford (Impreza) and Chris Edwards (Mazda 323 GTX) are running in the same Mod Prod class and lie in the top 5 in the Championship. Edwards won the large class on the day by just 2 tenths from Berrisford and again both drivers were under the HSA class record. 2021 Championship runner-up, Peter Taylor took his MX5 to a new HSA class record to stay in touch with the leaders in the 2022 Championship. 

Stephen Potter had a good run in his OMS2000 to take the 1100cc Racing Car class from Ben Bonfield while Fyrth Crosse took his venerable and immaculate Ensign LNF3 to a win in the 1600cc Racing Car class. Tony Kiss won the battle of the Formula Fords from Simon Broadbridge in their Van Diemens.



 

Best of the FFs. Tony Kiss' Van Diemen RF85 (Tony Smith)


Chris Berrisford attacks the kerbs (Tony Smith)


A class win for Stephen Potter's OMS (Tony Smith)


Andrew Till presses on in the Fiesta despite the conditions (Tony Smith)

Big turn out enjoys fine Prescott

Event 13 at Prescott on 19/06/2022
A strong turn out of 21 HSA Speed Championship compteitors enjoyed a fine Prescott on June 19. In place of the usual classes there were just 12 of them, arranged by Championship which meant that most, but not all, HSA competitors were in their own class. This gave Dave Greenslade and Simon Clemow, visiting Prescott for the first time with their Radical SR1, a good opportunity to take a Class win. Close after the first run, they finished the second a hundredth apart with Dave taking the narrowest of wins. Chris Guy took third with his Jedi MK4.

The battle for FTD was between the Racing Cars of Chris Green (OMS 28) and Stuart Bickley (Jedi) and the pair were never more than a tenth apart with Green taking the honours with a 41.33s run.





 

2nd FTD for Stuart Bickley's Jedi (Allan Rhodes)


Dave Greenslade won the HSA Championship class (Allan Rhodes)


Pau Batey's Rawlson Stiletto (Allan Rhodes)


Lewis Porto's smart MX5 (Allan Rhodes)

Webber pushes on at Barbon as Macdiarmid takes FTD

Event 12 at Barbon Manor on 11/06/2022
Barbon Manor in June should see wall to wall sunshine, but on arrival at the Cumbrian venue for the Liverpool MC/Kirky Lonsdale MC Regional Championship meeting on 11 June the wind was ripping through the valley and clouds filled the sky. Despite occasional sunshine it would remain cold, but the meeting started promptly at nine fifteen with two practice runs and the first timed run before the lunch break, followed by two more timed runs in the afternoon.

The Classic and Period cars provided entertaining battles. Andrew Webber led the Classics throughout in his Elan Plus 2, extending his lead after lunch with a new PB, with former champion circuit racer Steve Cole running second in his Ford Lotus Cortina Mk 1. Webber duly extended his lead in the HSA Speed Championship and is looking a storng contender to reclaim the title he won in 2020.

In the Period Road Car class, Keith Beningfield’s screaming supercharged MG TC led from the start as Mark 5 Bucklers, in the hands of Keith Thomas and Barbon regular Graham Curwen (who also drove his FF Van Diemen RF91) battled for second spot with Curwen’s immaculately restored car getting the verdict.

The large Roadgoing series production class saw Alex Gilchrist-Jones' Evo 9 take the win ahead of Jack Walker's Impreza STi while, in the class for Roadgoing sports cars over 2-litres, reigning Harewood champion Adam Riley, his Honda S2000 supercharged for this year, chopped over half a second off the class record on his first run and lowered it by a further tenth after lunch. He looked set to make it three in a row but his third run ended in a ‘rotational delay’ at Lafone Hairpin. In Modified Production saloons over 2-litres Chris Edwards’ 500bhp, 4WD, 1.8t Mazda 323 GFX closed in on his PB on his first two runs before running sub-26 for the first time, shattering Richard Hargreaves’ record, set 12 years ago, and establish an HSA Class record.

Jim MacDiarmid’s Hayabusa powered, ex Gary Thomas Force PC looked set for FTD initially, but the battling Wood brothers in their smaller Force-GSXR PT and Nick Scott in his Force TA started to close in. Anthony Wood got to within sixteen hundredths of MacDiarmid’s time on the third runs, before his brother Robin took the lead by a couple of hundredths and set a new HSA Class record, surprisingly there being no record prior to the event. The last car on the hill, MacDiarmid was marginally ahead into the fast Richmond sweeper and maintained his lead to the end, snatching FTD on a last ditch effort with Wood second and Scott three hundredths further back.

2nd FTD for Robin Wood's Force PT (Mark Newbould)


Chris Edwards' powerful Mazda 323 (Mark Newbould)


A class 2nd for Jack Walker (Mark Newbould)


FTD for Jim Macdiarmid in the Force PT (Mark Newbould)

Damp end to Pembrey week-end

Event 11 at Pembrey on 05/06/2022
Day two of BARC Wales' Summer Sprint week-end was help on a damp National circuit with the result that competitors were unable to approach their usual times leading to correspondingly lower championship scores.

Championship leader Andrew Webber (Elan+2) and Chris Edwards (Mazda 323GTX) were the highest scorers while Julian Harber also scored well in his Mini Clubman and won his class on the day. Simon Clemow (Radical SR1) demonstrated his wet weather skills by taking the small Libre class from Grahame Harden's Radical PR6 and his co driver, Dave Greenslade with the three covered by less than a second. Simon Broadbridge also went well in the conditions and just edged out fellow Formula Ford Van Diemen driver, Tony Kiss, reversing the positions from the previous day.

 

Dave Greenslade's Radical SR1 (John Surridge)


Perfect conditions for Angharad Williams' Escort MK2 (John Surridge)


Neil Thomas' MG Midget (John Surridge)

Records fall at Pembrey

Event 10 at Pembrey on 04/06/2022
Twenty one HSA Speed Championship competitors took part in day one of BARC Wales Pembrey Summer Sprint, held on the infrequently used Club track with no fewer than eight clas records being re-set.

Leading the way was Andrew Till, in the Fiesta ST beating his own record (set in his MG ZR105) by a massive seven seconds and take a narrow class win by two tenths. Chris Edwards (Mazda 323GTX) posted a similar performance in his Mod Prod class setting a new HSA record by more than 6 seconds and winning the class. Chris has had the Mazda for 21 years, continually developing it into a 500bhp+ monster but only recentyly begun competing in Speed events.

Andrew Webber (Elan+2) was another new record setter to maintain his strong start to the 2022 season and stay on top of the leader board.

The two Sylvas of Bob Bellerby (Riot) and Mike Smith (Striker) made up the small modified kit car class which Bob won, helped by his Pirelli slicks compared with Mike's, ex List 1B, Extremes but by less than half a second. Tony Kiss and Simon Broadbridge had a 'softish' record to beat with their Formula Ford Van Diemens and Tony emerged the winner by a couple of seconds.

A new HSA Class record for Nick Scott's Force TA (John Surridge)


Ceri Morgan's Ford Anglia (John Surridge)


Philip Matchwick's Caterham (John Surridge)

Bainbridge and Berrisford go joint top at Blyton

Event 9 at Blyton Park on 15/05/2022
The second day of the Longton & District Blyton Spring sprint week-end was held on the venue's tricky Outer circuit and saw Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono) and Chris Berrisford (Impreza) take maximum scores and move into the joint lead of the Triple M/Pirelli HSA Speed championship, overtaking Peter Taylor (MX5) who was absent.

Andrew Webber (Elan +2) and John Loudon continued their strong start in the championship with maximum scores to lie close behind the three championship leaders.

Stephen Laing (Caterham) appeared for Day Two and took a good class win annd joined other HSA competitors winning their classes including Webber, Berrisford, Andrew Platt (Exige) and Phil Archer (MNR Vortx).
 

Chris Berrisford, joint leader of the HSA Speed championship (Anthony Mitchell)


Michael Wilkinson's Fisher Fury at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)


Andrew Platt, class winner at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)


Phil Archer, also a class winner at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)

High scoring day at Blyton

Event 8 at Blyton Park on 14/05/2022
The first day of the Longton & District Blyton Spring sprint week-end was held in fine conditions on the venue's Eastern circuit and saw a massive turn out of 25 Triple M/Pirelli HSA Speed championship competitors in attendance.

The good weather saw plenty of new HSA class records set including Rob Kuschel (Cooper S), Andrew Webber (Elan +2), Phil Archer (MNR Vortx), Chris Berrisford (Impreza), Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono), John Loudon (Force TA), Nick Scott (Force TA) and Graham Blackwell (Mygale Ecoboost)!

HSA competitors also featured among the class winners including Andrew Platt (Exige), Anthony Earl (Caterham), Archer and Berrisford.

A new HSA class record for Rob Kuschel at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)


Chris Guy's Jedi MK4 at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)


Shane Dyson's Renault 5 at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)


A class win for Anthony Earl at Blyton (Anthony Mitchell)

Cornish mizzle dampens Werrington

Event 7 at Werrington on 01/05/2022
Unfortunately, day two of Plymouth Motor Club's Spring Werrington hillclimb event was beset wit Cornish mizzle which kept the track damp throughout the day keeping times well below their normal, dry levels.

Many drivers restricted their runs to a single practice and a single timed with even Werrington regula and Speedscene columnist Andrew Dinner (Pilbeam MP82) only taking a single practice run. It was left to Andrew Forsyth (OMS CF04) to take FTD and be the only driver to get under 40s with an impressive 38.92s run.

Andrew Webber, Elan +2 (John Wilde)

Records tumble at Werrington

Event 6 at Werrington on 30/04/2022
Day one of Plymouth Motor Club's Spring hillclimb at Werrington was run in clear and sunny conditions, which allowed a number of HSA Speed competitors to set new championship class records.

These included 2021 HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber in his Elan+2, Chris Berrisford (Impreza), Paul Reynolds (Caterham) and Dave Greenslade (Radical), the latter pushed hard by his co-driver Simon Clemow who was only a couple of tenths adrift. Chris Berrisford's result was enough to propel him to the top of the Championship table while Andrew Webber also moved up amongst the leaders.

Ben Bonfield (Jedi MK4) was a tenth away from his own HSA class record but still won the 1100cc Racing Car class. Philip Montgomery-Swift (OMS 2000M) took FTD with a 32.82s time.
 

Simon Clemow in the Radical (John Wilde)

Taylor extends lead as Broughton takes FTD at Goodwood

Event 5 at Goodwood on 23/04/2022
With another new HSA class record, Peter Taylor (Mazda MX5) further extended his early season lead in the 2022 Triple M/Pirelli HSA Speed Championship.

HSA championship regular, Andrew Till was out in his Fiesta, set a new class record and took the win on the day in the 1600cc Series Production class and Alex Gilchrist-Jones did the same with his Lancer Evo 9 in the 4wd Series Production class.

Andrew Webber had swapped his regular Lotus 47/62 for his Elan +2 and still managed a new HSA class record despite managing only a single timed run.

Tony Kiss and Simon Broadbridge had a close battle for Formula Ford hounous in their Van Diemen RF87s with Tony coming out ahead on the final run. Steve Broughton and Matt Hillam had entered the event in the SBD Dallara as it is their (most) local track and Steve took FTD with a 73.63s run.

Peter Taylor's MX5 (classicrevivalphotography)


Andrew Till at the Goodwood chicane (classicrevivalphotography)


The Van Diemen RF87 of Tony Kiss (classicrevivalphotography)


FTD for Steve Broughton (Kim Broughton)

New records for Berrisford and Wood at Harewood

Event 4 at Harewood on 10/04/2022
At Harewood on April 10th Andrew Platt (Exige) and Chris Berrisford (Impreza) made welcome returns to the HSA Speed Championship, finishing second in their classes on the day and scoring well.

Peter Taylor (MX5) maintained his run of good form to stay ahead of Harewood specialist, Bob Bellerby (Sylva Riot) in the title race while Robin and Antony Wood made a strong championship debut in their 'new' Force PT with Robin setting a new HSA class record.

Paul Talbot took a good 1400cc Mod Prod class win in his Mini 1275GT and Ivan Russell in his familiar Anglia won the very competitive 2000cc Mod Prod class with 0.4s covering the top three.
 

Chris Berrisford on his way to a new HSA record (JCB Photography)


Paul Talbot took a good class win (JCB Photography)


A successful outing for Robin Wood's Force PT (JCB Photography)


Bob bellerby lies second in the Championship in the Riot (JCB Photography)

A cold start at Anglesey

Event 3 at Anglesey on 03/04/2022
For day two of Longton & District Motor Club's Anglesey sprint on the longer International track competitors were faced with a very cold start. Campers reported overnight lows of minus 8°C and there was plenty of frost on the ground early on.

The day warmed up slowly and was bright and clear but the cooler temperatures meant that fewer records were broken than on the previous day. Andrew Webber had the Lotus 47/62, resplendent in Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours, going well for a new HSA class record.The only other drivers to achieve the same success were Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono), Chris Jones (Force TA) and Graham Blackwell (Mygale Ecoboost).

HSA competitor, Mike Smith, was out in his Sylva Striker but with his 'new' tyres being moved to List 1C over the winter he had to run out of his normal class in Modified but still managed to improve on his 2021 times by over a second.

Simon Clemow was pleased to get to within a couple of tenths of class winning (and new event record holder) Dave Greenslade in their shared Radical SR1.

Peter Taylor again won the up to 2000cc Roadgoing Series Production class in his MX5 and despite just being shy of the HSA record, scored strongly enough to take the lead in the 2022 championship.

 

Peter Taylor led the championship after Anglesey (Neil Lambert)


Andrew Webber's V8 Lotus 47/62 (Neil Lambert)


Ed McDonough in the Dulon MP15 (Neil Lambert)

High scoring day at Anglesey

Event 2 at Anglesey on 02/04/2022
Despite a wet morning practice and dry first timed run, competitors at Longton and District Motor Club's Anglesey Sprint on the National circuit, were able to enjoy improved conditions later in the day with many establishing new class records.

2021 Championship runner-up, Peter Taylor, and Pekka Tulokas were closely matched in their Mazda MX5 with Peter just ahead by a couple of tenths. Bob Bellerby in his slick shod Sylva Riot set a time that would have been respectable in the racing car classes while Dave Greenslade in the Radical SR1 was only half a second off Simon Bainbridge's best in the SBR Crono but still won the RS Interclub Libre class.

Enthusiastic Formula Fordsters, Simon Broadbridge, back for his second season in the Van Diemen RF87 and well known author (look out for a new biography of Pedro Rodriguez!), Ed McDonough in his Dulon MP15 were both enjoying their trip to North Wales but were up against the quick Van Diemens of Sarah Bosworth and Lindsay Summers.
 

Pekka Tulokas going well in the MX5 (Neil Lambert)


Simon Broadbridge searching for grip in wet practice (Neil Lambert)


Dave Greenslade was very competitive in the Radical (Neil Lambert)

Taylor, Berrisford and Bainbridge feature at Cadwell

Event 1 at Cadwell Park on 26/03/2022
A good turn out of competitors for the first round of the 2022 Triple M/Pirelli HSA Speed Championship at Cadwell Park on March 26th enjoyed glorious Spring weather with many scoring well to make a good start to their season.

One competitor making a strong start with a new record and maximum score was Peter Taylor in his familiar Mazda MX5. Peter has been runner up in the HSA Speed championship for the past two seasons (and third in 2019) so a good start to 2022 bodes well.

Chris Berrisford (Impreza) made a welcome and successful return to the championship with a maximum score as did Simon Bainbridge in the mighty SBR Crono V8.

Andrew Platt made a return to the championship after an absence of many years and scored well in his Lotus Exige.

Andrew Platt's Exige (library image by Rich Danby)