Shelsley Walsh lines up 2013 Calendar

a British Hillclimb Championship competitor blasts up the 108 year old course

2013 at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb will feature six speed hill climb weekends, two of which are rounds of the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship held in June and August.

Throughout 2013 we are celebrating a number of notable anniversaries starting with 100 years of Morris at “Speed Into Spring” May 4/5th where the Morris Owners Club will be displaying a variety of cars in the public areas and up the famous 108 year old hill.

June 1st/2nd welcomes the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship for “Best of British” where fans can see some of the most powerful cars in British motor sport reach 0-60 in under 3 seconds before topping out at 140mph over the finish line. And all up a single track tarmac road in the beautiful Teme Valley where time really has stood still...

July has two meeting with the “Reg Phillips Trophy Meeting” on Saturday July 6th followed by the “Vintage and Post Vintage Thoroughbreds” on Sunday July 7th celebrating 100 years of the Vauxhall 30/98 with up to 100 cars arriving after a tour of the UK.

At the end of July over the weekend of 27/28th “Classic Nostalgia” will celebrate 50 years of the Mini Cooper S. There will be the very popular and often oversubscribed Concours d’elegance for the first 100 pre 1982 cars supported by Classic and Sports Car Magazine and judged by Simon Taylor. We will also be welcoming Sir Stirling Moss OBE, who in the very early days of his career drove at Shelsley. He will be here with Peter D James Insurance who is also supporting the event this year.

Our highlight meeting in August takes place on 17th/18th with “Championship Challenge” offering a second chance to see the high powered cars of the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship, as well as celebrating Aston Martin’s Centenary in association with the Aston Martin Owners Club and Aston Martin Heritage Trust. There will be parades, displays and a competition class. More news to follow.

The season will round off in September with the “Autumn Speed Finale” where records can still be broken and championships won or lost as the English summer comes to a close with evocative long shadows that are so in keeping with Shelsley Walsh over its 108 year history.

May 4th - 5th SPEED INTO SPRING Midland Hill Climb, Paul Matty Lotus & SBD H.S.A. Speed Championships, Westfield Speed Series. Also celebrating the Centenary of Morris

June 1st - 2nd BEST OF BRITISH Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship Midland Championships. Ferrari Owners Club Championship, Shelsley Specials and other feature classes

July 6th REG PHILLIPS TROPHY MEETING Bert Hadley Memorial, Service Hydraulics Speed Championships, Westfield Speed Series and NHCA Motorcycles

July 7th VINTAGE & POST VINTAGE THOROUGHBRED MEETING co-promoted with the Vintage Sports Car Club, Centenary celebrations of the Vauxhall 30/98

July 27th & 28th CLASSIC NOSTALGIA, Luffield Cars MG, Paul Matty BOC Classic Championships, Pre & Post war racing & sports cars, 50th anniversary celebration of the Mini Cooper S, (Sunday)Concours D’Elegance supported by Classic and Sports Car Magazine (Sunday)

August 17th - 18th CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hill Climb & Hill Climb Leaders Championship, Midland Championships, Paul Matty Lotus Championship, Celebrating 100 years of Aston Martin, AMOC parade and competition class.

September 21st & 22nd AUTUMN SPEED FINALE Porsche Club, TR Register, BARC SBD, Service Hydraulics Speed Championships, NHCA Motorcycles, TVR, Morgan, Austin Healey, Ferrari, SBD H.S.A Championships

David Wright takes on the Wyedean Rally

David Wright aims to get his 2013 season off to a flying start on the slippery Wyedean rally

Bentham's David Wright will start his 2013 rally season next weekend when he contests the Wyedean Forest rally in his Kumho Tyres, Proflex, Drenth, York Brewery, Millers Oils, Owen Developments and Grove Hill Garage-backed GPM Mitsubishi Evo 9.

The Chepstow-based event is the opening round of the BTRDA rally championship which Wright is intending to contest this season.

"I can't wait for the season to commence," said Wright. "I'm keen to get the year off to a good start after our disappointing retirement from the Grizedale Stages at the end of last year."

"I enjoy the Forest of Dean stages that the Wyedean uses although I am hoping that conditions will be better than last year when the stages were covered in sheet ice - it becomes a bit of a lottery when we have zero grip."

"Thanks to the support from my sponsors we are starting the year with the aim of contesting the full BTRDA championship. I will be trying to repeat the title win I achieved in 2009."

The rally starts from Chepstow racecourse on Saturday morning with the crews facing tough stages such as Speech House and Serridge.

Yokohama supports Formula Four and Atom Cup in 2013

The new Ariel Atom Cup car

Following a hugely successful year of motorsport in 2012, the Japanese brand of high performance and motorsport tyres, Yokohama, is looking forward to another noteworthy season this year. Continuations of existing relationships and new race series will see even greater penetration for the brand in motorsport, in the UK throughout 2013. 

The brand has been selected as control tyre for two of the newest and potentially most exciting formulae for the 2013 season. Formula 4 is a new series, run by the British Racing Drivers' Club, the BRDC. Based on identical cars owned and run by teams or individual drivers, the series is based on three races per weekend at some of the UK's most prominent circuits. Identical engines, transmissions and chassis but with huge set-up options mean that the emphasis will be on drivers feel and ability, generating what promises to be exceptional racing. 

Another new series to feature Yokohama as control tyres is the Atom Cup, the first race series created for race-prepared versions of the legendary high-performance Ariel Atom road cars. The series will feature two races over each race weekend and visit eight circuits around the UK. The series will be run under three packages, catering for drivers with a wide range of budgets and based on the success of similar series run in America, should provide excellent, cost effective racing for experienced, as well as novice, drivers. 

Yokohama will continue with its numerous relationships with race and rally series in the UK, including Formula 1000, which allows young drivers to start in rallying before they turn 17, the Caterham Academy and of course, Sports 2000. It will also continue as tyre supplier to the Irish Touring Car Championship, which sees exciting racing in a two-class structure in Ireland, for Touring and Super Touring-specification cars. 

The UK distributor, Yokohama HPT Ltd, will also introduce the new radial tyres for sidecar racing, an area it has enjoyed notable success in recent years, particularly in the world-famous Isle of Man TT races. Tyres are already in production for F2 specification outfits and testing on F1 class machinery will begin in the New Year. 

Commenting, Head of Motorsport at Yokohama HPT Ltd, Mark Evans, said; "2012 was a fantastic year for Yokohama in all forms of motorsport and it looks as if 2013 will go one step further... In the UK, we're very excited to be involved in both Formula 4 and the Atom Cup. F4 looks to be a fantastic start in single seat racing for up and coming drivers looking for a series that will allow their talent to shine through. And the Atom Cup has given racers something they have been looking for for some time - a genuine race series for the Ariel Atom."
For more information on Yokohama and its motorsport involvement, go towww.yokohama.co.uk. 

Check out our interview with Atom Cup series director, Mark Harrison here

750 Motor Club announces 2013 Calendar.

The 750 Motor Club has announced an expanded racing programme for the 2013 season, having experienced growth in a number of its core categories during the past year. The calendar includes first visits to the Snetterton 300 circuit and Rockingham, and the first event on the Donington Park Grand Prix layout for several seasons.

“We have pursued a policy of conservative expansion,” said the Club’s Competition Manager, Giles Groombridge. “We have two more days of racing than in 2012, but have maintained a good variety of circuits and a sensible spacing in the calendar. The majority of our competitors will have the opportunity to race on one or more new layouts next season, and I know that they will enjoy the challenge.”

The increase in dates, combined with the earlier cancellation of the Saxmax championship, has allowed Groombridge to increase the number of championship rounds by two for 750 Formula, Bikesports, Classic Stock Hatch, Compact Cup and Sports Specials. “All five of these championships showed growth in 2012 so the extra dates are justified,” he said. “This demonstrates the Club’s commitment to developing our categories and rewards the loyalty of our competitors.”

The popular Locost Championship, which fielded average grids of 39 cars in 2012, will feature on the bill at the Motors TV Live Race Day at Castle Combe on the May Bank Holiday. The Club’s season will close, as is traditional with the Birkett Six Hour Relay Race on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on 26 October. A near capacity entry of 67 teams took part this year.

Silverstone will also be the venue for the Club’s Summer Festival on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The full calendar of race events organised by the 750 Motor Club in 2013 is as follows:

23 March                       Donington Park (Grand Prix) 

1 April                           Mallory Park

27/8 April                      Brands Hatch (Indy)

25/6 May                       Snetterton (300/200)

15/6 June                      Pembrey

13/4 July                       Rockingham (International Super Sportscar Long)

24/5 August                  Silverstone (National – Summer Festival)

21/2 September             Donington Park (National)

12/3 October                 Cadwell Park (Full)

26 October                    Silverstone (Grand Prix – Birkett Relay)

[2 out of 3 Grand Prix Circuits!]

Toughest LeJog ever

A BMW 2002 makes it's way through a winter wonderland

More than 60 classic cars battled their way between Land’s End and John O’Groats on this year LeJog endurance rally, which is being described as the toughest ever.

Tomas de Vargas Machuca, joint Managing Director of the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (H.E.R.O.), said: “This year’s LeJog was probably the toughest we have ever had, with new routes and fewer but longer special tests.”

“The weather gave enough challenges to the competitors but without being too appalling – it was slippery but road conditions were good enough to allow us to carry on with the tests and trials without having to cancel any section”.

Drivers set off from Land’s End on Saturday 1^st December on an epic 1,400 mile route across Britain, travelling through Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Northumbria, Northumberland, East Lothian, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, and across Scotland to arrive in John O’Groats after a four day period of tough rallying.

Porsche 911races towards the sunrise

Tomas added: “As expected, crews were very competitive and top positions kept changing during the first days of competition. There were a few retirees due to mechanical problems but overall we had a very successful event.”

The winners of the elusive gold medal of this year’s LeJog were Andy Lane from Saddleworth and FIA Champion Navigator Iain Tullie from Cumbria, who came first in their 1973 BMW 2002 Tii.

Andy Lane said: “It was a very hard event this year. We were only able to come first because car eleven, who was leading, got hit by another vehicle on the road se we were able to take over the first place and win.”

The “Team Triumph”, formed by driver Tony Sheach from Fleet, Hampshire, and navigator Richard Lambley from Slough, Berkshire, finished in second place in their 1964 Triumph TR4. Tony Sheach also won the Test Pilot Award as he had the best overall performance on the tests.

Roger Bricknell from Bodmin, Cornwall, and Ryan Pickering, from Totton, Southampton, finished third in their 1966 Triumph TR4A

LeJog served as the fourth and final qualifying round of the much coveted HERO Cup, which went to father and son team from Bolton, Michael Baker and Simon Baker. During the year, the Bakers were the crew with the overall highest score, having driven their 1978 Porsche 911 SC to 3rd place in the Scottish Malts and 2nd in the Summer Trial.

Peter Nedin, Hero’s Event Director and Clerk of the Course for LeJog, said: “LeJog is one of the toughest events of its kind in Europe, possibly the world, and we constantly strive to maintain this enviable reputation. As expected, we had freezing temperatures, rain, snow, black ice, but that certainly didn’t stop the drivers who wanted to finish the course no matter what the conditions were.”

A variety, built before 1984, took part including a 1957 MGA coupe driven by Curt Wagner and Horst Pokroppa, a 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL driven by Jochen Gabriel and Onder Turker and a 1974 Datzun 240 Z driven by Riccardo Moraldi and Pietro Turrinelli, amongst others including BMWs, Alfa Romeos, Triumphs and Porsches.

Patrick Burke, joint Managing Director of the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (HERO), said: "LeJog is one of the most testing events that we have ever run. It continues to attract crews from all over Europe which is a testament to the event and all those who worked so hard to make it happen.”

He added: “We were delighted with the welcome LeJog received around the country with people being more than willing to allow use of their land and to let controls be sited in appropriate places. For many people, LeJog is the only competitive motor sport event that comes past their door and they were keen to turn out and see the cars go through their area.”

Come rain, wind and weatther, Le Jog continues south

HERO supported the Whyte Sisters, Seren (23) and Elise (21), who tackled LeJog to raise funds for the Pink Ribbon Foundation in a 1964 Mini Cooper S provided by HERO Arrive & Drive. The Sisters were also the youngest female crew to compete ever.

LeJog was supported by AVIS, exclusive support vehicle partners of HERO Events and Orianda (www.orianda1937.com), who sponsor the first prize of the HERO Cup by offering a week sailing in the Mediterranean on board this splendid yacht.

Every competitor dreamed of collecting one of the elusive gold medals, but crossing the finishing line was the main aim of many, particularly novices. The sense of achievement is immense and most crews passed under the finish banner with huge smiles on their faces. 

Mull Rally : Leg 1 Report

THE TUNNOCK'S MULL RALLY got underway in some of the wettest, soggiest, slippery conditions in its 43-year history. How bad were conditions? Well when Dervaig's Calum Duffy opted to start the rally on four wet tyres for the first time ever, you realise conditions must have been pretty treacherous (see photos from the Tunnock's Mull Rally).

But even before the rally started, there were disappointed faces in the field.

Car 70, the Vauxhall Nova of John Paterson (Salen) and Lee Paterson Proud (Dervaig) suffered a broken camshaft on the way to scrutineering and failed to start.

Then Car 42, the Ford FiestaST of Luke Pinder (Shipley) and Martin Taylor, burst its power steering on way to the start. At one stage it looked as though they might be able to carry out repairs and take their place on the start, but they couldn't get the parts.

Duffy though, co-driven by Iain Duffy, threw down the gauntlet right from the start, opening up a 12-second lead on the BMW Mini of Daniel Harper (Nelson) and the Ford Fiesta ST of Iain MacKenzie (Dervaig).

"Very slippery out there: probably some of the worst conditions I've rallied in," Duffy said at first service. "Glad we softened up the suspension before we started. Our front tyres had a bit of grip, but the rears we just couldn't get enough heat into them. We obviously need to soften the rear suspension, so we'll be faster next stage.

"It's very easy to go off tonight: stages are very slippery. We'll get through the next few shortish stages, then make another big push over the closing two long stages tonight."

But while all went according to plan for pre-event favourite and six-time winner Duffy, it was a nightmare opening 100-metres for rival James MacGillivary.

The Mull driver, seeded No2, ground to a halt in his MkII at Post 1 on the opening stage with fuel and electrical problems: and with it evaporated any chance of winning the rally.

MacGillivary eventually managed to identify the problem and restart, but by that time he'd dropped just under six minutes. Ironically, the car then proceeded to run faultlessly for the rest of the night. Typical Mull!

Duffy continued to set the pace through the next stage, the 14-and-a-half miler at Hill Road, though by now Tony Bardy had found his feet in his Nissan Sunny GTi-R. The Richmond driver was just 2.0secs off the pace and eased himself into second overall.

Bardy then took 8secs out of Duffy on the two circuits of Bunessan, and the gap at the top was down to 12s. It had closed to 7s by the time they exited the to blasts round the 2.62-miles at Ardtun.

At this stage the two drivers were so well matched that they set identical times of 4mins 13secs on SS6, the 4.63-miles at Loch Scridian. Duffy though was about to light the blue touchpaper.

Fastest again through the eight-miler at Gribun Rocks, where Lewis Gallagher was second-fastest in his Subaru and Bardy dropped 10s, it was the night's final test at Calgary Bay where Duffy stamped his authority.

The Ford driver finished 38s ahead of the field, with Mull's WRC Academy contender John MacCrone finishing second in his Ford Fiesta. Significantly, Bardy dropped 1min 34secs, though he was perfectly content with his night's work: "We're taking no risks and just not overdriving the car," he said.

That left the Duffy leading Bardy by 1:51s overnight. All the more impressive given he'd run through Gribun on dipped lights. The headlights hadn't been charging properly due to the alternator hanging off because a bracket had broken. How did the crew fix the problem?

"The Boys fixed it with a tree-felling wedge to tension the alternator pulley, tied in with a bit of fence wire and held in place with tie-wraps,” Duffy explained.

Tunnock's Mull Rally — End of Leg 1 of 3 (Overall Top 10 after SS9 of 17):

1. Calum Duffy 59.37;

2. Tony Bardy +1min 51secs;

3. John MacCrone +2.01s;

4. Daniel Harper +2.10s;

5. Jonathan Mounsey +2.34s;

6. Lewis Gallagher +3.01s;

7. Eddie O'Donnell jnr +3.49s;

8. John Cope +3.57s;

9. Tristan Pye +4.10s

10. Billy Bird +4.55s.

MacCrone starts today just 10s behind Bardy, and 9s ahead of fourth-placed Harper. Jonathan Mounsey (Settle) was fifth in his Mitsubishi Evo XI, 24s behind Harper, with Lewis Gallagher's Subaru sixth. The Tobermory driver starts today just 27s adrift of Mounsey.

Top 10 was rounded out by seventh-placed Eddie O'Donnell's Ford Escort RS, 8s ahead of the Subarus of John Cope (Walshaw) and Tristan Pye (Bishop Auckland) Billy Bird's Vauxhall Chevette holds 10th.

In the Classes, MacCrone holds healthy lead of almost 3mins in Class B ahead of the Honda Civic of Ian Chadwick. Class C though is shaping up to be a tight battle, with the Opel Manta of Graham Wilcock 15s ahead of the Peugeot of Huddersfield's Matt Tarbutt. He in turn holds a 37s advantage over the Ford Escort MkII of Ellon's Doug Weir. Kircudbright's Stephen Thompson leads Class A behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Nova.

In the Historics, Northallerton's Andrew Smith leads H5 in his Ford Escort MkII, with John Marshall (Dunblane) ahead in H4 piloting his Escort. The lead in H3 is held by Jim McDowall's Hillman Avenger.

ON THE ROCKS

The Peugeot 205GTi (Car 69) of Nantwich duo, Andrew Woodward and Tom Bowen, ended up stranded on rocks after it went off on SS8 at Gribun. The medics and midpoint rescue crew attended the incident and both competitors were taken out of the stage uninjured.

Subsequently Car 68 — the Citroen C2 R2 of Yorkshire crew Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor — was reported 'missing'. As a result of the rescue crew from the start of the stage being sent in to 'find them', a decision was taken to run the remaining 25 cars through 'uncompetitively'.

"We had huge numbers of spectators standing waiting to see the action at Smithy Corner and Dervaig," Clerk of the Course Iain Campbell explained, "and as it was looking like the gap would be up to around 35 mints, we didn't want to leave them standing in the pouring rain with no action to watch."

STAR ATTRACTION

There's at least one 'celebrity' on Mull this weekend. Roy Pilkington was marshalling on Bunessan last night, and will be on the Long One this evening. He has though been getting chased by autograph hunters. Why? Because he's one of the guys filmed in Eddie Stobart Truck & Trailers. Aye, the stars are all here!

Contrasting days for final Shelsley events

Terry Graves with his victorious Gould

MAC member Terry Graves from Cornwall took both Fastest Time of Day awards on a weekend of diverse conditions for the last event of the season at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb.

Driving his 3.5 litre Gould GR37, chassis number 001, competitors enjoyed perfect conditions on Saturday with Terry posting a time of 26.68 seconds to win FTD, with fellow club members John Jones of Kington taking second place in his Pilbeam MP88 with a time of 27.22 and local man Darren Gumbley from Tenbury Wells taking an excellent third place in his 1100 Class Force PT single seater, with a time of 27.39.

Terry commented: “I usually compete in the British Sprint Championship and at some of the South West hill climbs, but have driven at Shelsley Walsh some years ago in a Pilbeam, however, this was my first visit in this, the original Gould, so I took things pretty steady at first, but was delighted with the end result and have had a fantastic weekend.

“I found the track very green in places and quickly realised that you are never going to learn to drive it correctly in just one weekend, so I am looking forwarding to returning here on more occasions with this car next season.”

Paul Howells in his Porsche 911 RSR took the class win in the Porsche Club Speed Championship, while David Hardcastle won the TR Register class.

Ben Wilkins on an Aprilia won the NHCR motorcycle run off with a time of 30.39 followed very closely by Honda rider Paul Jeffrey on 30.71, with Sam Matthewman on a Suzuki TL in 31.06.

Sunday saw the conditions change dramatically, but Terry Graves once again managed to repeat his FTD, posting a time of 31.16 seconds in appallingly cold and wet weather, which thankfully seemed to make competitors respect the conditions and drive with some caution, ensuring that the meeting still ran smoothly.

The Ferrari Drivers maintain sporting behaviour despite close competition!

Following Sunday’s very close results, the Pirelli Ferrari Championship will now go down to the wire at the MAC’s last event of the year at Curborough Sprint Circuit, near Lichfield, in October, where Chris Butler, Richard Prior and Andrew Holman are all still in with a chance of taking the title.

Invited clubs on Sunday provided close competition with Clive Glass taking the class win in the MSCC Techniques Morgan Speed Championship with a time of 41.70, Matthew Oakley won his class with a time of 39.66 in the TVRCC Speed Championship and Richard Mason took class honours with a time of 41.24 in the Healeysport Championship.

Rally2Raise enjoy successful Speyside Rally

The Rally2Raise team run ahead of the pack on the Spayside Stages

The Rally2Raise team of Rachel Medich, from Aberdeen, and Katherine Begg, from Morecambe, enjoyed a very successful Speyside Stages rally last weekend when they had a troublefree run through the three stages they had been allocated to complete as well as raising over £340 for the four charities that the Rally2Raise project is supporting.

The Elgin-based event was round six of the Scottish Rally Championship and the organisers, 63 Car Club, had invited Rachel and Katherine to drive some of the stages ahead of the competitors as “000” car.

The day started with stages one and two which were held in Cooper Park in Elgin in front of a large number of spectators.  The Rally2Raise team had a clear run through the stages in their Clark Motorsport and DMack supported-Nissan Micra, entertaining the crowd with a dramatic lock-up of the tyres as they approached a tight hairpin bend on the course.

The team then headed for the Rosarie stage which was a forest test near the town of Keith. Despite having to use a map rather than pacenotes the girls negotiated the very slippery stage well and made it to the finish without a mark on the car.

“I was pleased to get through the stages unscathed,” said Rachel. “It was first time Katherine and myself had driven on an event since our accident on the Granite City rally so we were both quite nervous before the start. It went really well though and we both had a very enjoyable time.”

“We were absolutely delighted to find that we had received over £340 in donations from the spectators and officials of the rally, a huge thank you to everyone who supported us and our four causes and thanks also to the 63 Car Club for letting us run on the event.”

The Rally2Raise car’s next scheduled appearance is at the Merrick Stages in South West Scotland which takes place on 1st September.

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information on the project or to make a donation to the charities the project is supporting.

Monaghan heads for Tyneside Stages on new Dunlop Tyres

Kev Monaghan's new tyres should allow him to reach new heights

Kev Monaghan is hoping that brand new Dunlop tyres supplied by new sponsor Stauff will help him challenge for a class win on next weekend’s Tyneside Stages rally on Otterburn army ranges.

The event is round six of the MSA Asphalt Championship and despite not entering the last two rounds Monaghan presently lies third in his class championship, his points tally boosted by a class win on the last rally he contested.

Chris Purvis is still not 100% fit so Steve Dargan will take his place in the co-driver’s seat in the Pirtek and Stauff-backed Vauxhall Corsa Kit Car

“It has been a few weeks since we competed so I’m raring to go,” said Monaghan. “I can’t wait to get the car on Otterburn on the new tyres. It will be the first time I have ever used brand new rubber, I usually use part-worn or 10 year old S1600 tyres.”

“We will be pushing hard for a class win to try and move ourselves up the championship standings but there is some top class competition so it will be very tough.”

“Thanks to Pirtek, Stauff, GB Lubricants and F&R Belbin for their continued support and also to Chris for working with Steve preparing the pacenotes.”

The rally starts on Sunday morning (11th August) and the crews will face around 90 miles of stages on the notoriously difficult ranges.

Shelsley Walsh starts season in style

Aylesbury driver Trevor Willis was the clear winner in both rounds of the Midland Hill Climb Championship at Shelsley Walsh on 6^th May.

Driving his V8 powered OMS 25, Trevor recorded times of 24.16 and 23.85 with two scintillating drives – taking less that two seconds for the first 64 feet and reaching the Bottom Ess at a speed of 130mph – beating Derek Young with his 4-litre Gould GR51 into second place, followed by Will Hall in the new V6 Force in third place, on both runs.

Several ‘new faces’ also made the run-offs, with current ladies hill record hold Sue Young joining her husband to qualify in their shared Gould, with Lyn Owen, wife of car constructor Steve Owen, also making the run-off in their OMS 25, as did Howard Savage-Jones in his beautifully sculptured Lola V8.

Will Hall of Halesowen, had mixed fortunes in his V6 Force, having to make a trip to constructor Ian Dayson at Rugeley for emergency repairs to the rear of the car on Saturday evening, before ably proving the potential of the new car in timed competition on Sunday.

Simon Fidoe of Fernhill Heath faired less well, having to retire his 1,000cc Empire racing car after suspension failure on Sunday morning.

The new spectator platform created over the winter months at Kennel Bend proved very popular throughout the weekend, giving visitors a splendid new view of the wide variety of sports, saloons and racing cars leaving the start line.

Guests for the weekend included a small number of drivers of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year.

Debut driver Tracey Cameron, from Malvern, overcame early nerves in her 600cc Honda powered Nemisis racing car to hit her target of beating 40 seconds at Shelsley Walsh, and did so by managing a 39 seconds run in practice and then a superb run of 35 seconds on Sunday.

The Paul Matty Sports Cars Lotus Championship was well supported with over 20 cars from 1960s racers up to modern day Elise variants taking part and their ‘boisterous’ prizegiving ceremony was taking place in fine humour on the terrace in the late afternoon sunshine, while the other competitors were packing up after a very successful weekend.

The next meeting at Shelsley Walsh is a round of The British Hill Climb Championship on the 2^nd and 3^rd of June.

The highlight of the weekend will be the BRM celebrations with the P25 that won BRM’s first World Championship Grand Prix at Zandvoort in 1959, Richard Attwood’s P261, and the BRM FF built by Roy Lane already confirmed. Notable BRM personnel will also be present throughout the weekend with BRM designer Tony Southgate and Team Manager Tim Parnell.

To buy tickets or find further information, visit www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk

Kev Monaghan heads to the Isle of Man

Kev Monaghan in action on the Tour of Epynt, before the problems that cost him a finish.
Photo : Songasport

Kev Monaghan is aiming to get his rally season back on track next weekend when he contests round 2 of the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, the Manx National rally.

After retiring from the opening championship round in March Monaghan needs a good finish on the Manx to kick start his championship campaign.

With usual co-driver Chris Purvis out injured after an accident at work Monaghan will have David Jones on the pacenotes in the Pirtek-backed Vauxhall Corsa Kit Car.

“Having competed for more years than I care to remember I cannot wait to rally on the Isle of Man, it is a venue that I have always wanted to compete at,” said Monaghan.

“Losing Chris is a big blow - as most drivers know the confidence you get from working together with the same co-driver over a period of time is difficult to replace but David Jones has competed on the Manx before so that experience will be very useful. Everyone at Pirtek wishes Chris a speedy recovery and we hope to see him competing again soon.”

The front hubs have been strengthened on the Corsa following problems on the last event and an additional front engine mount has been added to cope with the paddle shift gearbox.

“Hopefully the work we’ve done on the hubs will prevent the problem we had on the last round reoccurring. I’ll be aiming to get into the top three of the class so that we pick up a decent amount of points. Thanks to Pirtek Tyne & Wear, F&R Belbin, GB Lubricants, Playskool Motorsport and Carl and Rob Tuer for getting the car setup sorted.”

The rally starts on Friday evening (11th May) before continuing with a full day of action on Saturday. Competitors will face 120 miles of stages all held on the island’s closed public roads.

Rally 2 Raise passes £1500 in donations

Rachel Medich and the Rally 2 Raise Micra : Photo by Songasport

The Rally2Raise project, which is using motorsport to raise funds and awareness for charitable causes, recently passed the £1,500 mark in donations.

The project was set up in late 2011 by Rachel Medich to support the Nystagmus Network, the MS Society, Cancer Research UK and the Joanne Bingley Memorial Foundation for post-natal depression.

As well as undertaking fundraising activities Rachel and her friend Katherine Begg have been promoting all four causes through participating in motorsport events in their DMACK Tyres and Clark Motorsport-supported Rally2Raise Nissan Micra rally car.

 “The support for the project has been absolutely fantastic,” commented Rachel. “I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us so far, I am delighted that we have been able to raise so much already.”

“We’ve got a lot more fundraising events planned over the next few months so hopefully we will be able to raise even more.”

Nystagmus Network development manager John Sanders said: "We are so grateful to Rachel and Katherine for all that they are doing to raise both funds and awareness through their rally driving. At around one in 1,000, nystagmus is more common than most people think - you've almost certainly met someone with nystagmus for instance. One of the challenges we face is getting that message across, and that's where Rally2Raise is making a big difference."

Rachel is hoping to contest the Dumfries-based Scottish rally in June and she has already agreed to take part in the Merrick stages in September after the rally organisers made Rally2Raise their nominated charitable cause for 2012.

For more information on the project please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise. Online donations can be made via http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rally2raise.

Sykes endures disappointing Pirelli Rally

 Sykes in action on the Pirelli before technical problems
Photo : Songasport

Rally driver Richard Sykes had a disappointing Pirelli Challenge rally last weekend when a mystery electrical problem caused him to retire from the event.

The Carlisle-based event was round 3 of the BRC Challenge championship and after excellent performances in his Bathams Brewery, G I Sykes Ltd, Boroughbridge Marina and Silverstone Tyres-supported Citroën C2 R2 Max on the opening two rounds Sykes went into the event at the head of the championship leaderboard.

The rally started well and going into the third stage Sykes was just six seconds behind rally leader Simon Moore despite not pushing hard as his target for the event was a podium finish rather than a win.

Part way through the third stage the car suffered an electrical problem which meant it had very little power as the engine would not rev above 1500rpm. Sykes and co-driver Simon Taylor carried on through the stage hoping to nurse the car to the end but there was a steep hill near the finish and the car did not have enough power to get up it. Despite frantic attempts to repair the car the event was over for the Stourbridge driver.
 
“Everything was going to plan, we were aiming for a podium finish so to be in second place early on was ideal,” commented Sykes. “Sadly the mysterious electrical fault ended our hopes. I tried changing various items on the car at the side of the stage but I couldn’t cure it.”

“It’s very disappointing as we’d prepared for the Pirelli more than any other rally we’ve done – I didn’t drink in the week before the event and I’d even been to the gym three times. The only positive thing is that the guys who took the podium places have already had retirements on the previous events so we’re still in a good position for the championship, especially as the next three rounds are on my preferred surface of tarmac.”

“Thanks to my service crew who have put heart and soul into the car for the last four weeks and were more gutted than we were at the retirement. We’ll get the little glitches sorted and move forward.”

Sykes’ next event will be the Jim Clark Challenge rally which takes place at the start of June.

Shelsley Walsh starts with high speed action

Tracey Cameron and her 600cc Nemesis

This weekend sees the first speed hill climb meeting of the year taking place at Shelsley Walsh, near Worcester, and it has attracted a full house of top drivers and their cars from across the UK.

2012 sees the 50^th anniversary of British Women Racing Drivers Club, formed in 1962 to promote and support women in all forms of motorsport, and they have recently proudly announced that young Scottish member Susie Wolff has been appointed as a development driver for the Williams F1 Team.

On a local level, Tracey Cameron, a company secretary from Malvern will be making her debut in a single seat racing car and commented: “I have driven a 3-wheel Morgan in the past, but this machine is very different indeed, it is a 600cc Honda-powered Nemesis with wings and slick tyres and I will be aiming to do a sub-40 second run.”

Two championship contenders entered with a new car this weekend are father and son, Charles and James Williams, of Claverley, near Wolverhampton, who are competing in a Force PC racing car.

Charles commented: “I have competed at Shelsley in an F3 Dallara in the past, but this machine is very different indeed, it is very light and powered by a highly tuned 1585cc Suzuki Hayabusa engine and we will be aiming for a 26 second run if skill and the conditions allow!”

Shelsley Walsh will be hosting a special class for competitors from the BWRDC this weekend, and other clubs invited to attend including, ‘Flat Head’ historic cars, Aston Martin, and entrants in the Paul Matty Sports Cars Lotus Championship.

The event is a round of the TTC Group Midland Hill Climb Championship and attracts a wide variety of competition classes for saloon, sports and racing cars, with the action starting at 9.30am each day.

Practice and qualifying takes place on Saturday, with timed competition runs on Sunday, together with a separate ‘run off’ for the twelve fastest championship contenders, which takes place after the morning session and at the end of the afternoon competition runs.

Shelsley Walsh is run by the Midland Automobile Club which enjoys the sponsorship of Midlands prestige car dealerships Stratstone, who provide course cars for each event and Brightwells Auctioneers and Valuers of Leominster, one of the oldest salerooms in the country.

Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB Highlights

The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge continues at Rockingham over the weekend of 19/20 May. 

Shelsley Walsh announces Calendar

If you haven't been to beautiful and historic Shelsley Walsh yet... Why not!? It's a great place to watch motorsport, and see some amazing cars (just look at the photo below). And now you know when to go too!

Neville Rollason in an OMS 25. Photo credit Rich Danby www.zipp.co.uk

As the start of the hill climbing season approaches, Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb announce key dates and headline events for the forthcoming year.

The Midland Automobile Club who manage and organise the events at Shelsley Walsh are pleased to give a brief overview of what is planned for 2012.

May 5^th and 6^th sees the Midland Hill Climb Championship visit the historic venue with celebrations for the 50^th anniversary of The British Women Racing Drivers Club.

The leading ladies of motorsport will be celebrated in style with a dedicated class for BWRDC members.

In June on the 2^nd and 3^rd The British Hill Climb Championship will be in action and the MAC will be organising a gathering of significant BRMs to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Graham Hill winning his first world championship. Two of the iconic front engine P25s have already been confirmed including the “258” that Jo Bonnier raced to BRM’s first world championship grand prix victory at Zandvoort in 1959. A number of key BRM personnel have also confirmed their attendance with Tony Southgate (designer), Tim Parnell (Team Manager) and David Owen OBE. More announcements are due shortly.

June 30th is the annual Reg Philips Trophy meeting with a number of invited groups competing with the REIS HSA Championship and Midland Speed Championship.

The following day on July 1^st the Vintage Sports Car Club have their annual gathering which always proves a very popular meeting with vintage and post vintage thoroughbred cars competing on the hill.

The MAC’s key event of the year is Classic Nostalgia on the 28^th and 29^th July celebrating the 50^th of the MGB with a selection of key cars tackling the hill. The 289 Register will also be celebrating 50 years of the Cobra with a number of historic AC Cobras on display as well as competing. Sunbeam will also be honoured, it is 100 years since they achieved a 1,2,3 in the Coup De L’auto race in Dieppe in 1912.

There will also be a Street Concours d’Elegance supported by Classic and Sports Car magazine for cars which are driven to the event. Leading judge will be Simon Taylor, motorsport journalist and competitor.

Visitors and competitors are encouraged to dress up in 50s and 60s style to recreate the glory days of hill climbing and motorsport.

In August on the 18^th and 19^th 50 years of the Lotus Elan will be celebrated with a number of Lotus car clubs attending for what will be a very full on weekend. There will also be a demonstration and parade of historic and notable F1 Lotus cars going up the hill.

The season rounds of in September on the 22^nd and 23^rd with the Midland Speed Championship and REIS HSA Championship with Ferrari, Healey, Morgan and TVR championships included.

To buy tickets or find further information, visit www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk