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BOB DAYSON
27/10/2009
A memorial service for the late Bob Dayson will take place in the paddock at Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb on Friday 6th November at
The service will be of approximately 35 minutes duration. The paddock bar will be open from |
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Speedscene Issue 155
23/10/2009 Speedscene Issue 155 has been printed and is being despatched. However, the ongoing situation in the Postal Service, both locally and nationally, will unavoidably delay deliveries. We are sorry for this inconvenience and are currently working hard to ensure that the delivery of Issue 156, the Christmas issue, will be sent out to arrive before the holiday period. |
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Llys y Fran Hill Climb Improvements
22/10/2009 Following sterling efforts by Swansea Motor Club, Llys y Fran hill climbs will run with better organisation and improved facilities for 2010. The testing and difficult to master Llys y Fran hill climb course is located in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Drawing on experiences gained over recent years, the Swansea Motor Club is working on various upgrades for the 2010 meetings. The club team plan considerable upgrades to track safety with a new dedicated and fully equipped team. They also plan to introduce new practices and back-up systems to help make the events run more smoothly. |
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ROY LANE
14/10/2009
In what has been a desperately sad week for hillclimbing, we are sorry to announce that Roy Lane has finally succumbed to the illness from which he had suffered for several years now. A true hillclimb legend, there is insufficient space here to do justice to Roy’s achievements in a British Hillclimb career that thrived for over three decades, but in sending condolences to his family, friends and fellow competitors, we are certain that the memory of this popular, dedicated and innovative engineer will survive as long as the sport he loved so much continues to flourish.
An in-depth tribute to
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BOB DAYSON
12/10/2009
We are sorry to report that Bob Dayson finally lost his battle with cancer in the early hours of this morning. The ever jovial arch-enthusiast for motorsport, particularly hillclimbing and sporting trials, will long be remembered for his light-hearted but always competitive approach to the sport to which he contributed so much, in so many ways. The HSA would like to offer sincere condolences to Bob’s family and countless friends. One of hillclimbing’s true characters, he will be much missed.
A full appreciation will follow in a future issue of Speedscene
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HENSON’S WIN – GALLAGHER’S TITLE
11/10/2009
As the only sub-30sec runner of the day, Andrew Henson set the outright pace at Curborough’s Richard Egger HSA Speed Championship finale in his Ralt-Rover, edging out first run spinner Jim Yardley. A sudden rain shower caught out the veteran Beagle-Honda driver midway through the first runs and put pressure on many of the single seater drivers, including Brian Ball. The 600cc Force-Yamaha driver also spun on his first run and although he recovered later, he failed to catch class winner
John Gallagher (pictured earlier this year at Harewood) was also on class-winning record form in his Mazda MX5, confirming the 2009 Richard Egger HSA title that he’d already secured by the preceding round at Shelsley.
After a fine opening shot by Peter Kukainis in his Westfield-Duratec had got right in amongst the single seaters to secure third FTD, Elden FF driver Mike Broome won one of the closest fought Alan Payne Trophy class winners’ run-offs ever seen with the top three; Broome, Ben Hamer’s Mini Turbo and Clive Wooster’s Radical, covered by just seven hundredths of a second on corrected times. Results sheet can be downloaded here Full report in Speedscene 156. Provisional final championship positions: 1 John Gallagher (1.8 Mazda MX5); 2 Simon Andrews (1.8 MG TF); 3 Brian Ball (0.6 Force-Yamaha); 4 Steve Filkin (1.8 Lotus Elise); 5 Geoff Kershaw (2.9 Ford Sierra); etc.
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Successful Curborough Sprint Course Repairs
09/10/2009 The ever popular course operated by Shenstone and District Car Club has been enhanced by surface repair works that should improve both the single and double lap formats. Following the drainage relief work undertaken in the paddock during the spring, the latest improvement work has focused upon the course itself. The course now benefits from a re-surfaced start area and repair work to the outside of paddock rise. These particular repairs should now enable all cars to use the full width of the road at this formidable corner. Fresh surfacing around flagpole will be of note to all those interested in the double lapper format, where the repairs have smoothed out the tight line approach.
The effect of this work was in evidence at the recent MAC autumn sprint, with Richard Spedding re-setting the 1600cc racing car class benchmark set back in 2002 by Tim Wilson, whilst Rob Turnbull nearly eclipsed the long-standing overall course record set back in 1996 by Roy Lane.
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CRYSTAL PALACE 2010
08/10/2009 There is to be a two-day sprint event at the London venue in 2010. Two one-day meetings; one a Nat B event and the other aimed at Historic cars. The week-end chosen is the bank holiday with the events on Sunday 30th & Monday 31st May. |
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Final documents for HSA Curborough event on October 11th
08/10/2009 The final entry list , Final regs and Commentary sheet for the Oct 11th event at Curborough have been published. Check the entry list as a few more entries have been confirmed at the last minute. |
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AMBITION FULFILLED
27/09/2009
‘I’ve always wanted to win here,’ said Trevor Willis after taking FTD at the daunting Carse of Cambus hillclimb at Doune. With it came victory by two hundredths of a second over British champion Scott Moran in the final MCL Motorhomes British Hillclimb run-off of the year. Despite gearshift problems demanding second gear starts, Scott and father Roger opened the day’s run-off action with another family one/two after Willis had skated straight on at the notorious East Brae in qualifying. But later in the day, backed up in the OMS-Powertec by constructor Steve Owen (in the points on his first outing in the car), Willis scored his sixth win of the year – and the tenth of his career – to underline his status as 2009 championship runner-up.
With a blinding sub-record shot in the second run-off, four-times Scottish champion Jonathan Rarity chased home the two leaders to head Moran Sr, but not before he’d seen his 1600 racing class record officially broken by the flying Will Hall. With top six finishes each time, Hall finished the year in a fine eighth place on the British series table, but even a class win at record pace was not enough to prevent rival Paul Haimes winning the Hillclimb Leaders Championship for the second time. A class win for Haimes – who also steered the Dallara to a 2009 best third place in the opening shoot-out – was enough to do the trick for the F1 Racing Fuel series’ title.
With Eynon Price also in the points each time and finishing tenth overall on the British table, 1600cc cars figured well in both run-offs. Lee Adams made a great British Championship debut in the new Graeme Wight Jr built GWR Raptor-Hayabusa (pictured), opening his account straight away with sixth place in the opening run-off before an oil leak stemmed the superb new machine’s progress. Final British Championship positions: 1 Scott Moran 246pts; 2 Trevor Willis 219; 3 Roger Moran 202; 4 Martin Groves 184; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 87; 8 Will Hall 83; 9 Deryk Young 80; 10 Eynon Price 75; 11 Paul Haimes 66; 12 Rob Turnbull 45; etc.
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Notice of Annual General Meeting
24/09/2009 Notice is hereby given that the tenth Annual General Meeting of the Hillclimb and Sprint Association Limited will be held at: The Cromwell Hotel Banbury OXON OX16 0TB at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday October 14th for the following purpose: 1. To receive the report of the Chairman for the 12 months ended 31st October 2008 2. To receive the report of the Secretary for the 12 months ended 31st October 2008 3. To receive the report of the Directors and accounts for the 12 months ended 31st October 2008 4. To re-elect the Directors who retire and offer themselves for re-election 5. To appoint a Committee to hold office unitl the next Annual General Meeting 6. To transact any other ordinary business of an Annual General Meeting Nominations for the positions of director or committee member should be received by the Secretary 14 days before the meeting. A member of the company entitled to attend and vote may appoiunt a proxy, who need not be a member, to vote on his/her behalf. The full notice and accounts summary may be downloaded here. |
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The HSA Sprint at Curborough on October 11th
23/09/2009 A reminder that it isn't too late to get an entry to the HSA's traditional end of season sprint at Curborough on October 11th. Regulations and entry forms can be downloaded from the events page. To see the list of early entries you can download this spreadsheet. |
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Richard Egger Insurance for the HSA
22/09/2009 Richard Egger Insurance offer a unique range of insurance products for the motor sport competitor. A new web page has been created specially for visistors from this site. |
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Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival 2009
14/09/2009 In two days of action-packed hill climbing at the second Revival meeting the organisers laid on a veritable feast. Behind the steering wheel were many of Scotland's finest ranging from the legendary Kenny Allen through such stalwarts as Alex Brown and Alex Graham. Chris Merrick was having a fun week-end driving Vernon Williamson's ex-James Hunt Dastle F3 car whilst Stewart Robb wheeled out his MG Midget - this the car both he and then recently son Stewart made their motor racing debuts. Pictured on the right is Martin Spencer in GN Spider II in the wonderful Courtyard section.
A full report will be appearing in an up-coming Speedscene.
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Algar sets the pace
09/09/2009 Nick Algar not only took the Top 12 Run-off victory in the final round of the 2009 SBD Motorsport British Sprint Championship but he also lowered the course record and set a new outright Lap Record for the 1.35 mile lap. Algar had already secure the title at Colerne the previous Monday but the pace he showed at Mallory was the icing on the cake.
September 6th 2009 - Rd 14 SBD British Sprint Championship
1 Nick Algar (3.5 Gould-NME GR55) 54.46secs;
2 Steve Broughton (1.3s OMS-Suzuki CF06) 59.61secs; 3 Mark smith (2.0 Reynard-Vauxhall 903G) 59.67secs;
4 Terry Holmes (3.5 Lola-Judd T90/50) 60.32secs;
5 Graham Porrett (3.5 Lola-Judd T90/50) 62.59secs;
6 Kevin Lealan (2.0 Pilbeam-Vauxhall MP62) 62.64secs;
7 Steve Miles (2.0 Van Diemen-Zetec RF96M) 63.81secs;
8 Glyn Sketchley (1.6 Force-Suzuki PT1600) 64.83secs;
9 Tony Ellis (2.0 Megapin-Duratec 31-07) 66.47secs;
10 Tony Jarvis (2.0 Reynard-Opel FVL) 67.15secs;
11 Martin Webb (2.0 Reynard-Opel FVL) 67.54secs;
12 Bill Gouldthorpe (2.0 Van Diemen-Zetec RF96M) 68.42secs.
Final SBD Motorsport British Sprint Championship positions after Round 14:
1 Nick Algar 146 pts; 2 Steve Broughton 119pts; 3 Mark Smith 115pts; 4 Terry Holmes 113pts; 5 Steve Miles 87pts; 6 Kevin Lealan 74pts; 7 Graham Porrett 68pts; 8 Stewart Robb Jnr 66pts; 9 Glyn Sketchley 64pts; 10 Stewart Robb Snr 63pts; 11 Ross Napier 50pts; 12 Phil Lynch 43pts; etc. |
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TWO MORE FOR TREVOR
06/09/2009
Trevor Willis (pictured) clocked up his fifth win of the year with two successive British run-off victories at
After an uncharacteristic spin at SemiCircle during the opening run-off, Roger Moran bounced back to chase Willis home in the second shoot-out with a second gear start, the paddle-shift change from first to second having already blunted son Scott’s earlier challenge. Rob Turnbull continued his late season form with second and third places chased first by Deryk Young and then Will Hall. The expected battle raged between Hall and Eynon Price in their Force-Hayabusas, with each bagging successive fourth places after Price had qualified in the afternoon with a new 1600 class record – which was promptly (although unofficially) lowered by Hall during the second shoot-out! In another superb performance in the ‘budget’ 1000cc Martlet-Suzuki, Adam Steel qualified for the opening run-off by demolishing Adam Fleetwood’s long-standing 1100 class record, however a paddle-shift fumble kept him down the order with points at stake.
British Championship positions after Prescott: 1 Scott Moran 230pts; 2 Trevor Willis 214; 3 Roger Moran 194; 4 Martin Groves 184; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 87; 8 Deryk Young 80; 9 Will Hall 72; 10 Eynon Price 71; etc.
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TWO IN A ROW FOR SCOTT
30/08/2009
Scott Moran (pictured) secured his second consecutive British Hillclimb Championship title at Gurston Down on August Bank Holiday Sunday.
But on a day when wet weather turned the form book on its ear, neither series leader Moran nor his closest rival, Trevor Willis, qualified for the opening run-off, when a delighted Rob Turnbull took his first British win for over six years ahead of the consistently rapid Roger Moran. Peter Marsh took a superb third place in the V6 Gould on his first ever British run-off appearance, while James Blackmore’s bike-engined OMS, 2-litre class winner Chris Guille and new 1600 racing class record-holder Will Hall rounded out an eclectic top six.
Following a spin during qualifying for the opening run-off, Willis finally came good with a magnificent drive in the closing shoot-out to take his third win of the year in the OMS-Powertec by over a second. Once again the ultra-dependable Roger Moran grabbed second place, leapfrogging the absent Martin Groves to move into third place on the series table. But by that stage, he knew that son Scott needed only a mid-field finish to be sure of a second British title. He was already assured of that by the time Roger took the penultimate run and despite a one/two by Willis and Moran Sr, Scott’s sixth place at the end was enough to clinch a well-deserved second British title.
British Championship positions after Gurston Down: 1 Scott Moran 230pts; 2 Trevor Willis 194; 3 Roger Moran 188; 4 Martin Groves 184; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 87; 8 Deryk Young 66; 9 Will Hall 65; 10 Eynon Price 62; etc. |
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MORANS’ CLEAN SWEEP
16/08/2009
In what has been something of a ‘comeback year’, Moran Sr looks set to overhaul Driving his Pilbeam-Judd, Oliver Tomlin enjoyed his finest British Championship day so far with sixth and later fifth place, while the impressive Simon Marsh made the cut each time aboard his late father Tony’s Gould V6, getting his first ever British points on the board with ninth place in the afternoon. British Championship positions after Shelsley Walsh: 1 Scott Moran 225pts; 2= Martin Groves and Trevor Willis 184; 4 Roger Moran 170; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 87; 8 Deryk Young 63; 9 Eynon Price 62; 10 Will Hall 53; etc.
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FINTRAY HILL RECORD FALLS AFTER 20 YEARS
12/08/2009
Stewart Robb Jr finally broke
The traditional large sign at Ruin, which displays the current hill record and its holder, was updated and in place by the start of practice for Sunday’s event!
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HILLCLIMB MINI IN THE WIND TUNNEL
11/08/2009 You wouldn’t think that the Alec Issigonis Mini was 50 years old in 2009, judging by the strength in numbers still out there competing in a wide range of competition categories, including hillclimbing and sprinting. And while the ‘special saloon’ variants from the past may be consigned to the sports libre classes in our sport these days, courtesy of the modified production regulation changes of the early 1990s, the classic Mini is still a strong and popular contender in the up to 1400cc modified limited production saloon car class. But when most folk hear the suggestion that some modern aerodynamic thinking could be applied to the Mini the response frequently includes unkind comparisons with house bricks! The implication is that the classic Mini is beyond help, aerodynamically speaking. Well, recently Racecar Engineering magazine took a hillclimb Mini into the MIRA wind tunnel for a hectic but very revealing half-day session to provide data and copy for a short series of articles in its monthly Aerobytes column, written by former hillclimber Simon McBeath, who’s still very much involved at his local hill, Gurston Down. The car was provided by Graham and Neal Masters, the father and son team from Southsea,
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GROVES ENDS BRITISH HILLCLIMB TITLE BID
11/08/2009
Following their Gould-NME’s recent engine problem at Craigantlet, Martin Groves and Paul Ranson have reluctantly decided to withdraw from the 2009 British Hillclimb Championship. The replacement ’standby’ unit was fitted for the July Harewood event after problems with their own engine, but when during practice in Northern Ireland this unit began smoking heavily, they withdrew the car.
With their own engine awaiting parts and unable to be repaired in time for Shelsley Walsh this coming weekend,
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WILLIS STARS, BUT MORAN EXTENDS HIS LEAD AS GROVES NON-STARTS IN ULSTER
01/08/2009
In a day-long duel with Scott Moran, Trevor Willis won his second British round in as many weekends with a superb closing run-off shot at
On a day punctuated by brief spells of intermittent drizzle, Moran set the outright pace in winning the opening shoot-out from Willis. Martin Groves never entered the equation as for the second successive year at Craigantlet his Gould was sidelined during practice, this time with engine problems. With
Chasing Roger Moran home each time, two fourth place finishes marked Tom New’s best result of the year. His co-driver Chris Merrick spun out of the opening qualifying runs – which with just 13 potential runners let in Peter Herbert for his first British run-off appearance in the Westfield-BDH – but recovered to finish sixth in the second stanza behind the flying Will Hall. And after two mid-field placings as he swapped run-off honours with sparring partner Eynon Price, Hall eased the absent Paul Haimes off the number ten spot on the championship table. Championship standings after Craigantlet: 1 Scott Moran 205pts; 2 Martin Groves 184; 3 Trevor Willis 168; 4 Roger Moran 152; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 81; 8 Eynon Price 62; 9 Deryk Young 49; 10 Will Hall 47; etc.
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Motorsport Insurance discounts for HSA competitors and members
29/07/2009 Richard Egger Insurance have announced some exciting new motorsport insurance deals for HSA championship competitors and members. You can download a pdf of the promotional leaflet (which incidentally features a nice photo of Joe Tisdall's Vixen) by clicking here. |
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WILLIS’S WISCOMBE WINNER
26/07/2009 Trevor Willis stormed to his first British Hillclimb run-off win of the year, and the fifth of his career, at The points battle up front remained largely unchanged as rain upset the form book during qualifying for the second run-off and the later running top contenders, including Willis, failed to make the cut. Having qualified before the rain started in earnest, Roger Moran took his third win of the year in streaming wet conditions, leapfrogging the non-qualifying Chris Merrick to go fourth on the points table. Eynon Price and John Bradburn ran second and third, each scoring their best ever British result. Performance of the day came from Adam Steel who, on his first British run-off appearance, scored a point in the dry opening shoot-out driving the tiny ‘budget racing’ 1000cc Martlet-Suzuki built in less than four months by his co-driving father Tony. Later, Steel climbed within half a second of Adam Fleetwood’s 1100 class record to qualify equal second with Moran for the second stanza, before splashing through to sixth place in the run-off itself. Championship positions after Wiscombe Park: 1 Scott Moran 186pts; 1 Martin Groves 184; 3 Trevor Willis 149; 4 Roger Moran 136; 5 Chris Merrick 129; 6 Paul Ranson 106; 7 Tom New 67; 8 Eynon Price 52; 9 Deryk Young 49; 10 Paul Haimes 44; etc. |
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TIGHT AT THE TOP
20/07/2009
Indifferent weather produced some surprise results, particularly in
Jersey’s Bouley Bay rounds produced a Moran double, with Roger taking another win at the scene of his first ever victory in 1996 before failing to qualify for the second, rain-affected, shoot-out when it was Scott’s turn to win. Chris Merrick ran a consistent second each time ahead of
Two days later, at Le Val des Terres on Guernsey, the weather was even more unpredictable and top qualifier Chris Guille scored a brilliant first ever British win in the 2-litre OMS-Vauxhall, with even Scott Moran unable to challenge the Guernsey-born driver and Eynon Price and Will Hall proudly flying the 1600 flag in third and fourth. Groves, who had missed the opening cut after a failed run, made up for it later on to take the second run-off win from Trevor Willis and the on-form Guille, thus matching Roy Lane’s all-time best total of 90 British run-off wins. Full report in Speedscene 155. Championship positions after Le Val des Terres: 1= Martin Groves and Scott Moran 177pts; 3 Trevor Willis 139; 4 Chris Merrick 123; 5 Roger Moran 118; 6 Paul Ranson 101; 7 Tom New 59; 8 Deryk Young 49; 9 Paul Haimes 41; 10 Eynon Price 40; etc.
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Successful Curborough Sprint Course Repairs
10/07/2009 The ever popular curborough sprint course operated by Shenstone and District Car Club has been enhanced with the successful completion of repair work that should improve both the single and double lap formats. Following the drainage relief work completed during the spring, the latest works have focused upon the course itself. The course now benefits from a resurfaced start area and repairs to the outside of paddock rise and flagpole corner. The repairs to the formidable paddock bend should now enable all cars to use the full width of the road. The repairs to flagpole will be of note to all those interested in the double lap events as the new surface has smoothed out the inside of the corner.
The effect of this work was in evidence at the recent MAC autumn sprint where Richard Spedding re-set Tim Wilson's benchmark set back in 2002, whilst veteran Rob Turnbull nearly elcipsed the long-standing overall course record set in 1996 by Roy Lane.
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DUEL IN THE SUN
05/07/2009
Martin Groves took over the series lead from Scott Moran in another gripping British Hillclimb duel at a warm and sunny Harewood. After first Groves, then Moran had broken the class record in qualifying, Moran failed to score in the opening run-off when a traction control wheel sensor failed, leaving Groves to take the win by four tenths of a second from a hard charging Trevor Willis. After fitting a replacement sensor, Moran fought back in the second shoot-out with an FTD shot on the last run of the day, beating his season-long rival by just two hundredths, but Groves (pictured) is now back in charge of the Championship with a four point lead.
With a new class record in his Caterham-Hayabusa, Andrew Griffiths began a record-breaking trend which was taken up in all but one of the single-seater classes, Mark Hemingway, Will Hall and Paul Haimes all setting new class standards with Hall and Haimes making the run-off cut each time. Hall’s 1600cc bike engined Force outran Haimes’ 2-litre Dallara by two hundredths in the opening shoot-out, but a broken driveshaft stemmed his challenge in the second stanza.
As at Prescott the previous weekend, Lee Griffiths once again set the outright pace among a strong Richard Egger/HSA championship contingent, whilst Robert Capper, continues to impress, finishing third in the 600cc racing class in his Nemesis. After a head gasket had blown on his Elise, Steve Filkin shared REI/HSA championship third place man Simon Andrews’ X-Power Cup MG TF, chasing his benefactor home behind a strong contingent of 2-litre ModProd British championship regulars. In the HSA ‘B’ Licence class, Eric Morrey followed up his Full report in Speedscene 155. Championship positions after Harewood: 1 Martin Groves 151pts; 2 Scott Moran 147; 3 Trevor Willis 116; 4 Chris Merrick 105; 5 Roger Moran 95; 6 Paul Ranson 91; 7 Tom New 56; 8 Deryk Young 49; 9 Paul Haimes 29; 10 Jos Goodyear 21; etc.
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WILLIS SETS PRESCOTT PACE
30/06/2009 Defending Avon/BMTR
Challenge champion Trevor Willis was in a class of his own at
Full report in Speedscene 155. |
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Something different.....
24/06/2009 Malta may be quite a small island but would you believe that it has seven speed venues? You can find out more about their championship and the tracks at the Island Car Club's web site. So if you are planning a trip to Malta you may be able to combine it with a spot of spectating. |
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MORAN AND GROVES ON RECORD FORM AGAIN
21/06/2009
In a re-run of their duel at
Willis hurled the diminutive OMS-Powertec up the daunting, barrier-lined slopes for third place each time, drawing clear of Chris Merrick for third spot on the MCL Motorhomes series table.
Chased hard by Will Hall, Scottish hillclimb champion Jonathan Rarity was one of several drivers on record-breaking form at Doune as he took the 1600 racing class win in his minimalist MH Ghost. Both drivers made the cut for the opening run-off but in the heat of battle during qualifying for the second shoot-out, both spun away a further chance for points at the notorious, blind brow East Brae! A full report will follow in Speedscene. Championship standings after Doune: 1 Scott Moran 137pts; 2 Martin Groves 132; 3 Trevor Willis 100; 4 Chris Merrick 92; 5 Roger Moran 80; 6 Paul Ranson 79; 7 Tom New 50; 8 Deryk Young 44; 9 Paul Haimes 24; 10 Jos Goodyear 21; etc.
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TWO MORE FOR MORAN
14/06/2009
With two straight run-off wins at
The latest of a growing number of competitors to install a paddle gearshift, Trevor Willis dialled in the new system to run third each time and level with Chris Merrick in third place on the series table. Another superb performance from Will Hall brought his tiny bike-engined Force, the only 1600cc car to make the run-off cut, into the points each time.
Backed up by his father Roger (pictured) in the supercharged DJ Firehawk, ‘occasional driver’ Todd Fleetwood mirrored his brother Adam’s Easter class win over 2-litre ace Paul Haimes and would also have made second cut, had he been registered for the championship. Despite warm, dry weather, the only other class record of the day fell at the hands of Midland Man of the Meeting Andrew Griffiths, who lowered his previous record in the Caterham-Hayabusa by half a second. Full report in Speedscene 154. Championship positions after
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Wet Graham Hill Trophy Sprint doesn't deter REI/HSA competitors
11/06/2009 Despite a succession of early torrential downpours complete with thunder and lightning, the Owen Motoring Club ran the 2009 Graham Hill Trophy with their usual skill and spirit. Despite standing water on the course and a large puddle on the startline access/return road most competitors elected to take both practice runs, although it was too much for some! With a great second run shot on a still greasy track, Gary Thomas in the ex.Phil Davies Force PT claimed his second Curborough FTD in as many months to take the prestigious wooden-rimmed 1960s F1 BRM steering wheel trophy. Former double winner, Jeremy Wilson in the larger engined PT, was unable to defend as he declined to take his second run following a high speed spin just after the finish line which caused some damage. Other potential FTD contenders Steve Day and Ash Mason were unable to take their timed runs with a gear selection problem in their newly acquired DJ Firehawk, whilst Lindsay Mercer's very rapid Radical was unfortunately a non-starter.
Despite the poor weather there were some similarly impressive Round 8 performances by other REI/HSA competitors. Michael Andrews contunues to impress on only his first competitive visit to the course with two solid runs. The unfortunate Jim Stevens understeered off at Fradley causing some minor damage, although co-driver Farid Ahmed got a respectable first run in to score some points. Upon inspection the damage was too great and the car was withdrawn. Michael Cowen ran under 40 secs on his second run and on only his second competitive visit to the venue.
John Gallagher, who is currently at the top of the table took the Mazda points with Tony Thomas taking second. Kevin Hamilton who made the trip down from Scotland pay dividends narrowly beat Barbara Fogden into fourth position to take third in the class.
Current champion, John Palmer was unable to get on terms with his own B1 record, being over two seconds adrift was followed home by Graham Boulter in the Kudos Coupe.
Ben Hamer took the small capacity mod-prod points after he and brother Wil elected to run the Mini turbo on slicks. Unfortunately, Wil threw away his initial lead with a high speed spin at Paddock on his second timed run. In the larger capacity mod-prod class initial leader Simon Andrews swapped places with Steve Filkin, with Filkin taking the points with a decisive second shot. An on-form Bernard Kevill took third on both runs closing to within two tenths of co-driver Andrews' time. Phil Skipp lost the Astra GSi following a long graceful slide through paddock leaving him unable to challenge Emerson Kent who claimed fourth from co-driver Chris Flavell in the Spoox Peugeot.
Brian Ball took the small capacity racing car class REI points although guest co.driver Simon Marsh took a n excellent class win on the day. Newcomer Robert Capper completed two solid runs whilst Peter Hubbard threw away his challenge with a spin. Paul Tinsley was very quick on the drying track, running just under 32 seconds despite a wet weather set up complete with the anti-roll bars disconnected in the class K Swift, whilst Chris Machell in the Mygale declined to take his second run.
Welcome returnee Graham Cashmore took the points in the Imp-engined Davrian from Michael TIndale in the Clan, whilst Eric Morrey who is still getting used to the new turbo installation in his Clan took the class P points. Geoff Stallard ran his Ginetta G12 to the class W points with a second run in the low 38 secs bracket.
Hugh Whitcombe took a good win in the treacherous track conditions over an exuberant Jonathan Plowe who was running his recently acquired 3.1 litre Gilbern for the first time.
See the results page for all the details and analysis.
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HSA Members invited to Scimitar Owners Club Curborough August 16
11/06/2009 HSA members are invited to the Scimitar Owners Club event to be held on the Curborough long course on August 16th. Regs can be found here. |
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MORAN BACK ON TOP
31/05/2009 Scott Moran powered into the lead of the MCL Motorhomes British Hillclimb Championship last weekend after taking both run-off wins at Shelsley Walsh. Under pressure from his top qualifying rival, Martin Groves spun out of the opening shoot-out and failed to score, but a marginally more cautious runner-up spot in the second run-off (‘I couldn’t afford to drop another round!’ confessed the three-times champion) left Moran with a three point series lead. An on-form Paul Ranson continued his climb up the championship table to fifth place, with second and third in the run-offs. After taking a front corner off the Gould-Judd during Saturday’s practice, Tom New (pictured) recovered brilliantly to finish fourth in the closing run-off, beating co-driver Chris Merrick for the first time. The best weather of the year so far prompted several new class records, including the pre-71 racing car mark as Richard Jones and the Brabham-BDA shaved four hundredths of Peter Voigt’s 5-years-old Techcraft-Buick standard. Full report in Speedscene 154. Championship positions after Shelsley Walsh: 1 Scott Moran 97pts; 2 Martin
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GROVES AND MORAN SHARE GURSTON HONOURS
24/05/2009
Topping 130mph into the Hollow Bend sweeper and 150mph over the finish line, championship leader Martin Groves and rival Scott Moran swapped wins and second places at Sunday’s MCL Motorhomes British Hillclimb rounds at Gurston Down. With 24 rounds still to run, the battling duo are inching clear of the field and the series is looking increasingly like a two-horse race, but Chris Merrick and Trevor Willis are still fighting hard for third place.
Basking in the May sunshine, a good crowd also enjoyed entertaining class battles, the Rutland brothers disputing the1100cc racing class by hundredths before a similarly close1600cc tussle between the ever spectacular Eynon Price and Will Hall. Amid fine two-wheel action from the NHCA contingent, Glyn Poole repeated his April Prescott form as he twice lowered Gurston’s outright motorcycle record.
Full report in Speedscene 154. British Hillclimb Championship positions after Gurston: 1 Martin Groves 85pts; 2 Scott Moran 77; 3 Chris Merrick 59; 4 Trevor Willis 55; 5 Roger Moran 43; 6 Paul Ranson 42; etc.
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TONY MARSH
16/05/2009
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WET WEEKEND FOR BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP CHASERS
11/05/2009
The weather did its best to disrupt a hectic two days for MCL Motorhomes British Hillclimb competitors travelling north for rounds at Barbon Manor and Harewood last weekend. After torrential rain shortly after the start of Barbon’s event on Saturday and a long delay to clear standing water, most of the top championship runners qualified, and then ran for points, in sunshine on a steadily drying track. With second runs abandoned due to time constraints, Championship leader Martin Groves set FTD in the single run-off, chased hard by Trevor Willis and an on-form Chris Merrick, who eased out defending champion Scott Moran by a hundredth. An early class run in the dry had paid off for Mike Fitzsimons. Just two weeks short of his 71st birthday, he made history in Tim Wilson’s OMS-Hayabusa as the oldest driver ever to qualify top for a British Hillclimb run-off – the single point he scored on the day’s final run being the icing on the cake!
More rain, though only showery by comparison with Barbon, turned the two run-offs at the following day’s Harewood event into something of a lottery on a slippery track. Groves' co-driver Paul Ranson made the most of the worsening conditions to take second place each time and bag the best combined result of his career while Roger Moran, also running early in the opening shoot-out, took his first win of the year. Running last, a superb shot from
Outqualified by his father Roger (pictured), who topped the Q-sheets with a time that would remain as the best of the day, Scott Moran ran early to bag the second run-off win in similar conditions, making it a family clean sweep on the day. Once again, Full report in Speedscene 154. Championship positions after Harewood: 1 Martin Groves 66pts; 2 Scott Moran 58; 3 Chris Merrick 45; 4 Trevor Willis 42; 5 Roger Moran 33; 6 Paul Ranson 27; etc.
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TONY MARSH
08/05/2009
In-depth tributes to HSA members Tony Marsh and Allan Staniforth will follow in Speedscene 154
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ALLAN STANIFORTH
06/05/2009
The Association was saddened to hear of the passing of Allan Staniforth, on May 2nd. He was 84. One of the true ‘elder statesmen' of the sport, he began racing and writing about motor racing in the 1950s. For many years, his ‘day job’ was as a staff journalist on the Daily Mirror, a discipline that honed his style as perhaps the most readable of all motorsport technical authors. As a driver/constructor, the originator of the Terrapin range of ‘do it yourself’ hillclimb single-seaters influenced just about everyone who’s ever built or worked on their own cars, including top hillclimb car constructor David Gould. On his retirement from full-time journalism, Allan’s Terrapin Services consultancy proved invaluable to generations of racers. Allan was a regular competitor in his Megapin single-seater right up until his final weeks, and his death will leave a void in paddocks across the country, particularly his beloved Harewood, that will be difficult, if not impossible, to fill. The Association offers sincere condolences to Allan’s family, and to the countless enthusiasts whose motorsport careers have been influenced by his wise and unfailingly jovial guidance.
A full appreciation of Allan’s career will follow in a future issue of Speedscene.
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Shelsley Walsh May 4th
05/05/2009 After a pleasant practice day on the Sunday, normal Bank Holiday Monday weather returned for the timed runs on the following day. Most competitors experienced two wet or very damp runs with only a small number being lucky enough to get a run in on an almost dry track. Being a round of the Midland Hillclimb Championship there was a very full entry including many of the top single seaters in the country. Trevor Willis came out on top in both run-offs and took FTD in the second run-off with a time of 29.25 seconds driving his 2.8 litre OMS-Powertec. There wan an excellent entry of single seaters including the 'new' spaceframe DJ Firehawk of Ash Mason and Steve Day which had only been picked up the Wednesday before. Also very much in attendance were competitors in the Paul Matty Lotus Championship including the pretty Lotus 69 of Tony Wallen pictured here. A few misfortunes befell HSA competitors with the FVL of Martin Webb and Tony Jarvis breaking is diff on its final practice run and didn't appear for the timed runs. The wet track saw five serious incidents occur during the day, all expertly handled by the marshals and rescue teams. Thankfully there were no injuries but there was some sad looking machinery including the RALT RT3 of John Burton/Richard Opie with damage to front and rear and for Mike Gale, who took a corner off his Dad's Westfield on his second run. |
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WERRINGTON PARK 2nd & 3rd MAY
05/05/2009 Dave Gardner, sharing John Forsyth’s well known 3.5litre Pilbeam MP58, broke John’s 1996 record on both days to leave it at 33.94sec, an improvement of 0.87sec. Otherwise a busy weekend with obviously fine track conditions following overnight rains. With resurfacing planned for later this year that record must surely be at risk in 2010? |
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REI/HSA Speed Championship. Round 5; Oliver's Mount
04/05/2009 This weekend saw the REI/HSA Speed Championship's first outing to it's most northern event; the challenging 1076 metre hill at Oliver’s Mount near Scarborough. Saturday's event, round 5 of the Championship, was the first of three days' hillclimbing which form the popular Oliver's Mount Festival of Speed weekend. Open to cars and bikes alike, the Festival attracts an eclectic mix of machinery from Frazer Nashs and Radicals to classic Nortons, full race motorbikes and sidecars.
We had hoped to see six of our competitors score, but sadly car troubles kept Barbara Fogden and Matt Carter at home, leaving Wil Ker, Ben Hamer, Kevin Hamilton and John Gallagher to compete. Luckily, the weather was perfect and all competitors enjoyed consistent improvements in their times.
With slick organisation managed by Auto 66 Club, the offer of six runs (two practice and four timed) represents excellent value for money. The MX-5s of Kevin Hamilton and John Gallagher swapped fastest times all day, with Kevin edging the win on his last Championship qualifying run. However, the most notable time of the day came from Wil Ker, in the turbo Mini, who managed to re-set the course class record (mod prod up to 1400), which had remained unbeaten since 2001. For anyone who considered attending this event, but may not have been able to enter, don't forget HSA members are invited to other meetings at Oliver's Mount which are being held later in the year. See 'Invited Events' for more information.
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THE STOLEN MARCH & LOLA
01/05/2009 News has just surfaced that the two cars have been recovered, the March untouched and the Lola dismantled but everything there. Nice to have a happy ending for a change! |
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REI/HSA Speed Championship. Rounds 3 & 4; Wiscombe Park
27/04/2009 Another weekend and yet another round of the Richard Egger Insurance/HSA Championship. In fact two rounds with the weekend of hillclimbing at Wiscombe Park. Track conditions started slippery on Saturday but improved with a dry and windy day, Sunday was generally better although interspersed with two light showers. Inevitably there were a few incidents and our John Bradshaw may be sidelined for several rounds following an off with his Striker. Saturday and Matt Carter took his class award and set a new REI/HSA Championship class A2 record. Geoff Kershaw, Vincent Dubois and Neil Duncanson did the same in class C3, Geoff leading our pack and a class 2nd on the day by just 0.21sec from Wiscombe icon Jonathan Williamson in this 911. Similarly the two Johns set a new standard in class W2 with their shared Ralt RT3. Sunday and Geoff Kershaw again set a new standard in class C3 with Vincent snapping at his heals. Class W2 and the two Johns both broke Burton’s Saturday record and split by just 0.03sec! Both days saw Dave Gardner split the overall honours with John Forsyth in their shared MP58. |
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GROVES’ PRESCOTT DOUBLE
26/04/2009 ‘This is my best start to a season yet,’ said Martin Groves, after two straight wins at After a two-week break, the British Hillclimb circus heads north for the most hectic weekend of the series. Two rounds at Full Championship positions after rounds 3 & 4: 1 Martin Groves 40pts; 2 Scott Moran 38; 3 Deryk Young 24; 4 Chris Merrick 23; 5 Trevor Willis 22; 6 Jos Goodyear 21; etc.
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Two historic cars stolen
20/04/2009 Bruce Fullerton has had a March 78B and Lola T460 Atlantic, which are campaigned in the HSCC Championship, stolen from a garage last week. He is trying to spread the word around the motor racing community to both get the cars back as well as avoiding someone buying car/spares which are stolen. He is offering a £10,000 reward for info leading to their return as they are very prized cars which have been completely restored and are now used in competition.
e: brucef@wessextg.com m: +44 (0) 7712 885 354 t: +44 (0) 8700 869 941 |
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REI/HSA Speed Championship. Round 2; Gurston Down
19/04/2009
Multiple Midland Speed Champion Gary Thomas, driving his new Force-Suzuki, led a strong HSA contingent at Gurston Down on Saturday contesting round two of the Richard Egger Speed Championship on the opening day of the BARC Southwest Centre’s April double-header. After overcoming starter motor problems, Ralt-Vauxhall pairing John Burton and John Opie took second and third places in the racing class. Ed Bradshaw kept his bike powered Caterham clear of a 16-strong saloon and sportscar field as Neil Duncanson powered his Quattro through from fourth place to depose early runner-up Steven O’Leary’s Megablade.
Saturday’s FTD man James Blackmore in his diminutive OMS-Hayabusa came under fire the following day once the big V8s got into gear, defending Gurston Top Ten Champion Dave Gardner snatching top honours by just six hundredths from Pilbeam-DFZ co-driver John Forsyth after the duo had tied for the outright lead on the first runs. Although Sunday’s Gates Gurston Championship round wasn’t an HSA round, Association stalwart Fyrth Crosse had stayed on for the weekend and bagged the Historic class record in his ex.Mike Wilds Ensign from long-time holder Geoff Hunt as the local driver closed his Lotus 22 to within a hundredth of his old mark. With a time almost half a second inside Hunt’s record, Crosse also grabbed grab fourth place on the Gurston Championship table after this opening round.
A full report of both days’ motorsport will appear in Speedscene 153.
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Regs for Debden 10th May & Bentwaters 17th May
15/04/2009 The regs for the meeting to be held Debden on May 10th can be downloaded here and those for Bentwaters Park on May 17th can be dowloaded here. HSA members are invited. |
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HILL RECORD DUEL IN OPENING CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
13/04/2009
Former double champion Adam Fleetwood made his comeback in the ex.Wallace Menzies supercharged DJ Firehawk-Hayabusa, demolishing the 2-litre class record and qualifying the car each time, scraping into the points in the first run-off before skating straight on at Hall on the second. On a day of records unprecedented at a Full report and pictures in Speedscene 153. Championship positions after rounds 1 and 2: 1= Scott Moran and Martin Groves 20pts; 3= Deryk Young and Jos Goodyear 15; 5 Chris Merrick 9; 6 Roger Moran 8; etc. |
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REI/HSA Speed Championship. Round 1; Curborough Double Lap
06/04/2009 Sunday 5th April saw the opening round of the Richard Egger Insurance/HSA Speed Championship held in bright and dry, but cold conditions at Curborough organised by the MGCC. Overnight campers reported ice on the inside of their tents – Brave! It was a 2 lap event so all Class winners were establishing HSA record times. 20 Championship contenders finally made the start line with Matt Clarke, running first, but on his own in the Class with a fine 1st run at 71.23 secs. The Imp Class saw the Cairney father and son team battle with newcomer Graeme Williamson, father Stuart running out the eventual winner with a 70 dead, some 1.35 secs in front of son, Andrew. Class A2.1, the Mazda MX5 class saw last year’s winner Barbara Fogden, with the 1590cc engine, battling with the larger 1840cc units of Kevin Hamilton and John Gallagher. Surprising extra competitor on the day was Robert Way since his normal 600cc Jedi had succumbed to fuel feed problems, so Rob used his entry for a day out. Robert led the day with 2 very fast drives and a best of 71.14 secs which compared favourably to the days Class winner John Gallagher at 72.56. Barbara was pleased with her 74.47 secs but needs a gate to stop engaging 5th instead of 3rd on her upshifts!!! Class A2 saw Matt Carter at the wheel of the Honda S2000 stopping the clocks at 67.86 secs to beat the Lotus Elise of Jim Stevens and newcomer co-driver Farid Ahmed. With 2007 Champion John Bradshaw unfortunately a non starter Bob Gale's Westfield took the B2 with a quick 65.26 secs. Unfortunately last year’s woes continued for the dual driven MG TF of Simon Andrews and Bernard Kevill in Class C2. The engine blew as Simon crossed the line on his first timed run. A cracked liner was the initial diagnosis. Richard Colwill, on his own in the Class F Radical, did well to run under the magic minute achieving a best time of 59.68 secs. Five single seaters concluded the day all running in different Classes. Paul Tinsley 57.14, Chris Machell 59.62, Darren Gumbley running in new tyres at 61.58 and a storming FTD time of 54.64 for Paul Masters in the 998cc Jedi. The next round sees competitors take to the hills for the first time this season and will take place at Gurston Down on the 18th April. A healthy entry list is reported and weather permitting the early season pace-setters form should shine through. |
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