Championship and Top Ten Challenge Standings after Round One

Sunday 23rd April saw the first round of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship and The Cavendish Ships Stores Top Ten Challenge.

The results of the first round produced some interesting results, perhaps even some surprises.

The Cavendish Ships Stores Top Ten Challenge

Jonathan Gates leads the challenge after his Fastest Time of the Day run in the Force LM he shares with Peter Sexton, Managing Director of Gurston Down’s main championship sponsor, Meadens Skoda, who is third.

Peter D Smith is second in the Empire he shares with Richard Gaylard, who is fourth.

Chris Cannell and his Force SR8 is fifth.

The full table reads:

After Round One

Points

Jonathan Gates

10

Peter D Smith

9

Peter Sexton

8

Richard Gaylard

7

Chris Cannell

6

Mike Rudge

5

James Moore

4

Martin Watson

3

Anthony Orchard

2

Sue Hayes

1

 

Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship

The Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship is currently lead by Mark Crookall from the Gurston Down Mazda MX5 class. He broke his existing class record on Sunday by just 0.03s which gave him the extra bonus point that makes him championship leader.

The next three have 21.50 points, Stephen Moore, the 2015 and 2016 champion, Neil Turner and Chris Cannell.

The next three are Simon Purcell, the 2014 champion on 21.23 points, James Moore 21.20 points and Tim Forster on 21 points.

After Round One

Points

Mark Crookall

22.50

Stephen Moore

21.50

Neil Turner

21.50

Chris Cannell

21.50

Simon Purcell

21.23

James Moore

21.20

Tim Forster

21.00

There are a number of people with scores very close to these top seven drivers, including some former champions so it’ll be good to see how the season pans out.

The next rounds of both championships are on our 50th Anniversary weekend in June! With a round both days, there might be more clarity in how this season will go. Although if last season is anything to go by, they may be settled on the final runs of the season!

The full class tables are available online.

We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support in our 50th Anniversary year!

Anthony Record – Press Officer – BARC SW, Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb

April 23rd Meeting Report

The 2017 Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb Championships got under-way on the Sunday 23rd April.

It was the first of five rounds of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship and the Cavendish Ship Stores Top Ten Challenge. Both championships are very competitive and very well supported.

About 130 cars and drivers came to Gurston together with around 30 motorbikes and combinations. There is a separate report on Sunday’s bike action.

Overnight it was cold. Those staying on site were greeted with a very cold and a little frosty start to the morning. But by the time the course was open, it looked like and became a glorious day.

Spectators turned out to see all the action.

The weekend’s marshal shortage continued through to Sunday so we would like to thank those drivers who helped at the start-line. We rely on the goodwill of all our marshals to run every event so we would like to thank them here too!

First up should be the Volvo Owners Club which had only one entry. Richard Conway’s rather pretty Volvo PV544 had a great day. He smashed the class record, previously held by John Dando in a Volvo 144 at 45.00s. Richard first run was 43.70s and second even faster at 43.53s. Congratulations on that achievement!

The TR Class was next to the line. This class is always hotly contested and Sunday was no exception. Roderick Warner in his TR7 V8 put in a pace setting first timed run of 40.55s which was always going to be a tough one to beat. Richard ended on that time and won the class. Second was a bit of a battle too, Nick Smith in his TR6 managed to stave off Tony Browne’s beautiful Dolomite Sprint. Nick ended on 41.32s and Tony on 41.92s.

The classic British Austin Healey’s were next, in the Austin Healey – Big Healey and Warwick Car Class. Richard Mason ended as the envetual winner on 38.90s, his first timed run in his 3000 Mk2. Paul Baker and Pat Cooper in their respective 100/6 and 3000 were second and third, finishing on 39.12s and 40.36s respectively.

Next went the Austin Healey – Sprites Class. The two Sebring Sprites driven by David Abram and Stephen Casson were in form from the word go! Colin Gale and his Sprite made sure they both worked hard. The first three being separated by less than half a second. It finished David, Stephen and Colin, 40.07s, 40.23s and 40.56s respectively.

The huge class in the ‘Classic Marques Speed Championship’ were entertaining as usual. Class. Matthew Eady and his Ginetta G4 won on Saturday beating Steve Cox but he couldn’t repeat that performance on Sunday. It was as close as ever! Steve Cox and his TVR V8S came in first with a faster time than Saturday on 37.19s with Matthew Eady, second with 37.38s.

Then it was time for the first round of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb Championship and the Cavendish Ship Stores Top Ten Challenge.

The Gurston Down Mazda MX5 Class, supported by DoctorMX5 went first. Mark Crookall, yesterday’s winner, class record holder and the 2016 class champion made it two in a row. His first timed run broke his own class record which now stands at 40.98s. David Lord joined the class after having an issue with his Quest, borrowing Nick Hollier’s car but couldn’t beat Nick’s time of 43.36s giving Nick second.

The Road Going Series Production Class up to 2000cc, supported by Record-Designs was next. Tim Foster and his lovely Lotus Elan was nearly a second quicker than his Saturday time stopped the clocks on 37.93s. Dean Cubitt’s Mazda MX5 was nudged out of second by Paul Dickinson’s Honda S2000. Paul finished on 38.93s and Dean on 39.28s.

The over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Class, supported by Turbo Dynamics came next. Stephen Moore, the 2015 and 2016 Meaden’s Skoda Champion. Stephen’s super fast Mitsubishi Evo took the class win on 33.70s. Shaun Fudge and his Impreza and Jon Maycock’s turbocharged Mazda MX5 fought hard for second. Shaun was ahead after the first timed run by Jon pulled out a great run pipping Shaun by just 0.10s!

Next up was the Fieldfare Trailer Centre supported Road Going Specialist Production Class. The tables were turned on Saturday’s result. Adrian Lewis turned up the power in his 1.3 Westfield Supercharged Superbusa which gave him the tiniest of margins in the first timed runs over Clive Skipper and his 2.0 Caterham HPC. Clive went ahead after his second timed run but Adrian produced a superb run snatching the win with a 34.62s just 0.10s ahead of Clive’s time!

Steve Butts, a former Gurston Down Champion, and his Lotus Elise were the only entry in The Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Cars up to 2000cc Class. Steve improved his time over Saturday stopping the clocks on 34.02s, just 0.64s short of his existing class record.

The over 2000cc Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Car Class was won by Simon Purcell and his Lotus Elise, He finished on 34.73s. Steve Holley (TVR Griffith) came second.

Derek Mullis had problems on Saturday with his Mini in the up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Class. David Bean kindly shared his car with Derek so he could drive on Sunday. But it wasn’t to be either man’s class. Neil Turner made sure of that, beating them both and finishing on 35.67s.

Richard Wood had a good weekend in his Modified Series Mini Class, Yamaha powered car. His time of 39.46s wasn’t far from his existing class record.

Darren Balster and his Peugoet 205 in the 1401cc to 2000cc Modified Series Production Class, supported by Tipadel managed a very keen 35.50s run which was faster than the cars in the larger capacity class.

The over 2000cc Modified Series Production Class, supported by Meadens Skoda saw Tim Painter and Andrew Fraser’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4 go head to head against Mike Butler’s Toyota Celica GT4. Tim repeated his class win, finishing on 35.50s.

Mike Rudge repeated his Saturday win in the over 2000cc Modified Specialist Production Class, supported by Gates of Brokenhurst with a 31.75s second timed run. Martin Watson too second on 32.15s.

Tables were turned in the Historically Interesting Class, supported by Kalvin Jouhar. Mike Broome and his Alexis Mk17 F3 overcame Saturday’s winner Geoff Hunt and his Lotus 22. Mike’s first timed run was 36.38s.

Derek Harris in his Mallock17b improved on his Saturday time in the Hill Climb Super Sports Class. Derek finished on a 34.91s.

The Sports Libre up to 2000cc Class, supported by Lewis Property Services had four entrants but it ended up be a race between the Force LM drovers Peter Sexton and Jonathan Gates. It was Jonathan’s day! He finished on 29.45s and claimed Fastest Time of the Day and ten points in the Cavendish Ship Stores Top Ten Challenge.

The mad 7.5 litre Chevrolet Camaro of Jeffrey Way joined Chris Cannell and Sue Hayes’s Force SR8 in the Sports Libre over 2000cc Class, supported by Berazzi Wheels. Chris won the class with a 30.28s second timed run. It’s always great to see cars like the Camaro on the hill!

The 500 Owners Association went next. These super-lightweight 500cc are fast. The 2001 Rules Class saw John Dent in his Cooper Mk8 win with a 42.66s second timed run just ahead of Finlay MacIntosh and his Cooper Mk6, 43.04s.

The 500 Owners Association, Other Cars class had just one entrant. A 650cc Cooper Mk6. Ainsley Barwick stopped the clock on 43.60s.

The 601cc to 1100cc Racing Car Class, supported by Drynham Project Management Limited went next. James Moore in the Empire ran slightly quicker time than Saturday crossing the line with a 31.98s. A great weekend for James!

The 1101cc to 1600cc Racing Car Class, supported by SM AeRoTechniques with Brian and Adrian Moody, saw a reversal of the Saturday result. Peter D Smith overcame Richard Gaylard in their shared Force PC, finishing on 29.72s and 30.19s, respectively.

Mark Alley was again victorious in the Formula Ford Class, supported by Basil and Lorraine Pitt. He and his Swift FB91 had a really close battle with George Haynes. It could have gone either way. The first timed runs saw them separated by just 0.02s. They both improved on their times but Mark by a better margin. His time of 37.87s was on 0.07s ahead of George’s 37.94s.

We would like to thank everyone who made the day possible, the office staff, the marshals, timekeepers, scrutineers and officials without whom we couldn’t run the meeting. Thanks to Ashley Wood Recovery, TSL Timing, Insight Medical Services, Insight Security and Peter Crutcher from Ringwood PA.

Anthony Record – Press Officer – BARC SW, Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb

April 23rd Motorbikes Meeting Review

Sunday 23rd April brought the riders from the National Hill Climb Association’s motorbike championship to Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb.

The riders and their machines always produce some spectacular racing and Sunday did not disappoint. If you’d like to see more action on video, check out our Facebook page!

The Solo Motor Cycles 100cc to 250cc class, went first, it had eight entrants. With Gurston being one of the early events in the year it was very difficult to predict. Callum Short on Honda competing for the first time at Gurston Down put in an great performance. His time of 38.43s was almost one second quicker than his nearest rival.

The bigger Solo Motor Cycles 351cc to 500cc class, went next. Chris Keates (Honda CRF), Mark Tilley (Honda CR) and Richard Bowker (Honda CRF) finished as the top three. Chris finished just 0.21s ahead of Mark. Chris’s time was 35.99s.

The Solo Motor Cycles 501cc to 750cc class had six entries. Peter Short and KTM had a poor second run which left Tommy Hodges (KTM SMR) to take the win. Tommy’s second timed run of 34.11s was just 0.88s quicker than Peter’s first timed run of 34.89s. Mark Short (Aprilia SXV) was about one second adrift of these times and finished third.

The Solo Motor Cycles 751cc to 1300cc class saw Stuart Mills who take the win with a fine performance on his Aprilla Tuono. Paul Jeffery and his KTM was ahead after the first timed run but Stuart had a brilliant second run meaning he qualified fastest for the Top Ten Run-Off! Stuart’s time was 34.05s and Paul’s 34.17s. You can see Stuart’s run on video on our Facebook page!

Then it was the turn of the side cars! The rider and pillion race up the hill, the rider laying on their front and the pillion hanging on or sometimes out of the combination!

The Side-Car class was won by last April’s winners and hill record holders, Patrick and Paul Keates in the Baker F1. They finished on 37.14s. The Guy / Pilmoor-Brady combination were second with a 37.33s

The bike meeting closed with a Top Ten Run-off. It was the Fastest Time of the Day man Stuart Mills who came across the line stopping the clocks on 34.02s just ahead of Paul Jeffery, last years winner, on 34.15s.

If you want to see more of the bikes at Gurston Down, they are back later in the year at our 50th Anniversary Meeting on Saturday 17th and 18th June!

Anthony Record – Press Officer – BARC SW, Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb

April 22nd Meeting Report

The 2017 Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb season got underway on Saturday 22nd April with the first meeting of the 50th Anniversary Season.

The weather wasn’t perfect for racing but it was dry and the forecast was good.

It wasn’t long before the sounds of cars competing on the 12 feet wide, narrow and twisty tarmac began.

With a large number of events on over the weekend, there was a small shortage of marshals, without whom we could not run the event. So a number of drivers stepped forward to help out the hard working marshals.More about this experience later.

Conditions were much improved in the afternoon for the timed runs.

First up were the Pre-War Austin 7’s. The “Road” Class was as competitive as usual. The win went to the Austin 7 Special of Daniel Cowley. Daniel did not have it all his own way, he was second by almost one second after the first timed run but managed a fantastic run and finished on 48.67s almost a second ahead of Ian Bennett.

The quicker “Race” Class went next. Terry Griffin and his Austin 7 Special just pipped Paul Geering to the win. Terry finished on 45.91s and Paul on 45.99.

The TVR Class saw some gorgeous cars on the hill. The TVR 2500 of Mark Hankins wasn’t amongst the top runs but it was a beautifully prepared car. James Howell’s incident in practice put him out for the day. The eventual winner was Mark Everett in his Chimaera with a 38.55s second timed run. Second place was close too. Richard Bream and Alan Davies had been running within a tenth of a second in the first timed runs. Richard managed a 39.17s run, edging Alan out by just 0.05s.

The Westfield Class saw Martin Watson score a convincing win. Martin and his Westfield SeiW finished on 33.07s almost two seconds ahead of the rest.

The ‘Classic Marques Speed Championship’ Class attracted entries from all over the country, in a variety of cars. It also saw some very close competition. The silver Ginetta G4 of Matthew Eady, 37.41s, was quickest followed by Steve Cox and his TVR V8S, 37.58s and Steven Lyle and his Porsche Boxster S, 37.66s, making the top three.

The Gurston Down Mazda MX5 Class, supported by DoctorMX5 came next. Mark Crookall, the class record holder and the 2016 class champion took the win by a very strong margin. He finished on 41.41s just 0.40s off the class record. The next two were separated by just 0.06s with Mark Jones pipping Mark Coleman to second.

The Road Going Series Production Class up to 2000cc, supported by Record-Designs was next. Tim Foster and his lovely Lotus Elan, 38.88s, beat Dean Cubitt’s MX5 by just over half a second.

The over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Class, supported by Turbo Dynamics was close too. Shaun and Sarah Fudge and the revised Subaru Impreza managed a first and third on 37.03s and 38.88s, respectively. They were separated by Jon Maycook’s turbocharged MX5 who ended on 37.21s. A very close class indeed.

The Road Going Specialist Production Class, supported by Fieldfare Trailer Centre went next. This class was another close fought battle between Clive Skipper in his 2.0 Caterham HPC and Adrian Lewis in his 1.4 Westfield Megabusa. Clive took the win with a 35.62s with Adrian just 0.07s behind on 35.69s.

The Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Cars up to 2000cc Class had only one entry, the current class record holder, Steve Butts in his Lotus Elise. Steve stopped the clocks on 34.73s.

The over 2000cc Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Car Class saw Simon Purcell and his beautifully prepared Lotus Elise over-come both Paul Slade (Jagaur E Type) and Steve Holley (TVR Griffith). Simon’s time was 35.15s.

The up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Class, supported by Cock and Sons (Builders) had the two very fast Minis of David Bean and Derek Mullis entered. Derek’s gearbox failure in practice left David the class to himself. David finished on 42.86s.

Darren Balster and his Peugoet 205 in the 1401cc to 2000cc Modified Series Production Class, supported by Tipadel managed a very keen 35.47s run.

The over 2000cc Modified Series Production Class, supported by Meadens Skoda saw Tim Painter and Andrew Fraser, go head to head in that gorgeous Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Tim was the man on form and finished on 35.34s.

The over 2000cc Modified Specialist Production Class, supported by Gates of Brokenhurst had four highly developed Westfields. This class is always entertaining and Mike Rudge took the win with a 31.76s.

Those lovely cars in the Historically Interesting Class, supported by Kalvin Jouhar came next. Geoff Hunt was on form with the black and white Lotus 22 pulling out a 36.66s second timed run after Mike Broome (Alexis Mk17 F3) lead after the first timed runs.

Derek Harris in his Mallock17b was the only entry in the Hill Climb Super Sports Class. Derek finished on a 35.43s.

Peter Sexton and Jonathan Gates went head to head in their shared Force LM in the Sports Libre up to 2000cc Class, supported by Lewis Property Services. They are both very competitive and candidates for Fastest Time of the Day. Saturday was Peter’s day, he finished on 29.95s just ahead of Jonathan on 30.15s. Peter’s time also gave him the Fastest Time of the Day!

The Sports Libre over 2000cc Class, supported by Berazzi Wheels saw the Force SR8 of Chris Cannell and Sue Hayes take on the hill. Chris managed to secure the win with a 30.45s.

The 601cc to 1100cc Racing Car Class, supported by Drynham Project Management Limited went next. James Moore in the Empire ran a very quick 32.09s second timed run to fend off the rest of the pack. Second and third were close, Murray Wakeham was beaten by just 0.28s by Calum Kemp.

The 1101cc to 1600cc Racing Car Class, supported by SM AeRoTechniques with Brian and Adrian Moody, had Peter D Smith and Richard Gaylard in their shared Force PC starting favorites. It was Richard’s day, he beat Peter by just 0.09s and finished on 30.48s!

Mark Alley took the Formula Ford Class, supported by Basil and Lorraine Pitt. He and his Swift FB91 managed a 38.16s run. But he had to overcome George Haynes after George lead by just 0.01s after the first timed run. We are looking forward to out Formula Ford Festival later in the year.

The 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car (Normally Aspirated) Class, supported by New Techniques with Gould Engineering Class had two runners. David Lord and his Quest had to fight hard to beat Malcolm Cole. David ended the day on 34.30s.

The SBD HSA Speed Championship – Saloons and Sports Cars rounded off Saturday’s racing. The two Subaru Imprezzas of Chris Berrisford and Justin Andrews were pretty much in control after the first timed runs. Justin got the better of Chris, finishing on 34.63s.

Thank you to Steve Lister for the great pictures!

We would like to thank everyone who made the day possible, the office staff, the marshals, timekeepers, scrutineers and officials without whom we couldn’t run the meeting. Thanks to Ashley Wood Recovery, TSL Timing, Insight Medical Services, Insight Security and Peter Crutcher from Ringwood PA.

Anthony Record – Press Officer – BARC SW, Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb

Brief April Meeting Reports

Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb’s first two meetings of the year were two great days of motorsport.

Saturday was overcast but still managed to produce some great performances.

Fastest Time of the Day went to Peter Sexton in the Force LM he shares with Jonathan Gates. His time of 29.95s was just 0.20s ahead of Jonathan Gates. The top five were separated by just over 0.50s! A remarkable performance by everyone.

Sunday’s meeting was the first round of the Meaden’s Skoda Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb Championship and the Cavendish Ship Stores Top Ten Challenge. We were also joined by the motorbikes of the ACU’s Hill Climb Championship.

The sun came out on Sunday and down came the times!

One of the best performances of the day came from Mark Crookall in the DoctorMX5 sponsored MX5 Class breaking the class record by 0.03s. It now stands at 40.98s.

Fastest Time of the Day, 29.45s, went to the Force LM for the second time but this time to Jonathan Gates who pipped Peter D Smith who finished on 29.72s. Jonathan scoring maximum points in the Top Ten Challenge.

The bikes had a fantastic day.

Fastest Time of the Day and the Top Ten Run-off win went to Stuart Miles on his outstanding quick Aprilia with a 34.02s run. Stuart pipped Paul Geffrey by just 0.13s.

Full Review of the weekend coming soon!

We would like to thank everyone who made the day possible, the office staff, the marshals, timekeepers, scrutineers and officials without whom we couldn’t run the meeting. Thanks to Ashley Wood Recovery, TSL Timing, Insight Medical Services, Insight Security and Peter Crutcher from Ringwood PA.

Anthony Record – Press Officer Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb – BARC SW