Our July meeting at Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb was a rather damp affair! The rain came and disrupted the meeting a few times. Hollow was awash for a while but the marshalling team and stuaf dug some extra drainage ditches to cope with the additional water. Thank you to them for their efforts. We would like to thank the marshals, officials and spectators who braved the weather too.
The July meeting had a number of championships visiting as well as hosting the fourth round of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Championship and the Cavendish Ships Store Top Ten Challenge. There will be separate reports on the last two later.
We also hosted our second Formula Ford Festival and two Top Twelve Run-Offs of the BMTR Championship.
Jason Mourant and his Gould GR55 won both of the run-offs and Fastest Time of the Day with a 28.08s run in the second run-off. This gave him some very useful practice for the British Hill Climb Championship event on 26th and 27th August.
Here’s the full class review.
The Record-Designs Road Going Series Production up to 2000cc classes.
The B Licence class drivers went first, they had a damp first run and a wet second. Dean Cubitt with his Mazda MX5, won the class with a 39.96s first timed run. But he was chased hard by Robert Brodie and his Renault Clio and Christopher Davies’ Honda Civic who finished on 40.26s and 40.38s respectively.
The A Licence class saw David West and the Peugeot 106 take the class win with a first timed run of 39.07s. Richard Brant and his Clio took second on 39.53s. Tim Forster and his Lotus Elan had a spin on the first timed run which put him out. There is a series of pictures on our Facebook page.
The Turbo Dynamics Over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Classes.
Sarah Fudge was the B Licence class’s only entrant and her class was merged with the A Licence Class.
The A Licence class has been dominated in the recent past by the class record holder and 2016 Gurston Down Champion, Stephen Moore and his Mitsubishi Evo. Stephen had a problem with his transfer box but still managed a 35s dead in the first timed run. Shaun Fudge took second with the Lewis Dean Motorsport Subaru Impreza stopping the clock on 36.69s, a personal best for Shaun.
The Fieldfare Trailer Centre Road Going Specialist Production Classes.
The B Licence class was Clive Skipper and his Caterham 7 HPC class from the very first run. He finished on 36.33s, over five seconds faster than his nearest competition.
The A Licence class was won by Allan Warburton and the Caterham 7. He stopped the clocks on 34.39s in the first timed run. The weather stepped in in the afternoon and there was little chance of bettering these times so first timed runs decided both the A and B Licence classes.
The up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Class was run by the current class record holder, Neil Turner. After the first timed run Derek Mullis, lead the class by just 0.02s. But Neil had an exceptional second run finishing on 39.50s, more than 1.5s faster than the first timed run and over three seconds faster than his nearest competitor in that run. A great performance and some good points in the Meadens Skoda Championship.
The Tipadel 1401cc to 2000cc Modified Series Production Classes.
Scott Hanham and his Ford Fiesta won the B Licence class with a first timed run time of 45.15s beating Laurence Colvin in his MG by just one second. The second timed runs where weather affected and neither improved their times.
Martyn Pike with his Ford Escort Mk1 won the A Licence class. His time of 38.42s on the first timed run, pushed Ralph Pinder and his Peugeot 205 into second. Ralph took a second timed run but couldn’t improve on the 39.52s he set in the first run.
The Meadens Skoda Over 2000cc Modified Series Production Car Classes.
Steve Elliott and Jeremy Bloor and the rear wheel drive BMW 325i were first and second in the B Licence class. They were close, Steve was ahead after the first timed run on 46.31s with Jeremy on 46.67s but Steve’s second timed run was faster, 46.05s.
The very quick Vauxhall VX220 of Mike Turpin won the A Licence class. But the Aston Martin Vantage of Andrew Fraser did not make it easy. They were separated by just 0.34s after the first timed run, 38.23s and 38.57s, respectively. Mike improved his time a little on his second run, finishing on 38.05s.
The Gates of Brokenhurst Over 2000cc Modified Specialist Production Classes.
The B Licence class was Martin Watson and his Westfield after the first timed run. With a four second lead and deteriorating weather, the class was decided by lunch-time. Martin finished on 39.52s.
The A Licence class was a completely different matter. This class is always competitive and July wasn’t an exception. The top four in this class, Ash Mason, Mike Rudge, Simon Jenks and Steve Day were all within 0.50s of each other. They finished on 37.18s, 37.29s, 37.56s and 37.64s respectively. Second timed runs deciding the second to fourth places.
The Kelvin Jouhar Historically Interesting Class brought out those beautiful cars. The victor was the Chevron B19 driven by Amanda George. Her time was 38.97s.
The Lewis Property Services Sports Libre up to 2000cc Class went next. Keith Diggle and his WEV HCS-BDG won this class finishing on 39.26s. Tim Pitfield was second with his first timed run time. Tim couldn’t improve this time after his a spin at Ashes. The Force LM shared by Jonathan Gates and championship sponsor Peter Sexton was a non starting, leaving them struggling in the Top Ten Challenge points as well as the championship.
The Berazzi Wheels Sports Libre over 2000cc Class saw Sue Hayes and Chris Cannell and the SR8 back after it’s seven cylinder issue in May. Chris took the class with the second timed run time of 42.15s.
The Drynham Project Management Limited 601cc to 1100cc Racing Car Classes
The B Licence class had just one entry, William Adams and his OMS 2000M. The weather wasn’t helping anyone at this time and William’s time was 49.85s.
The A Licence class was a very busy class indeed. With thirteen entries, this class was going to be close. It was! Ben Stephenson and his Empire Evo who took the win, pipping Mike Andrews and his Force PC by just 0.45s. Ben finished on 34.33s and Mike on 34.78s. James Moore and his Empire Evo 2 took third.
The SM AeRoTechniques with Brian and Adrian Moody 1101cc to 1600cc Racing Car Class was won by Tina Hawkes. Tina’s recent form continued, she finished on 33.81s. Pete Hammock, practice days fastest time of the day man, came second.
The Formula Ford Class went next. The weather seriously hampered this class, with a long delay due to rain when they came to the line. Just two seconds separated the top nine car / driver combinations. The current class record holder, Simon McBeath and his Swift SC92F took the class with a 39.96s run in the much improved conditions of the second timed run. Andrew Henson, Nev Rollason and Mark Alley were second (40.30s), third (40.51s) and fourth (40.99s) respectively.
The ex-BTCC driver and ITV BTCC commentator, Paul O’Neill put on a great show and finished 8th. Here’s Paul, sideways, at the exit of Ashes on what could only be described as very wet conditions.
The 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car – Normally Aspirated Class
This classes first timed run went in what can only be described as a down-pour. Tim Davies and Jack Cotterill were the top two after the first run. But the weather turned and the track improved. Terry Davis (OMS CF09) had the best time in the second timed run, stopping the clocks on 32.09s. Tim Davis (Pilbeam MP88) and Johnathen Varley (March 772P) came second and third on 32.25 and 32.63s respectively.
Kelvin Broad and his Pilbeam MP101 was the only starter in the 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car – Forced Induction Class. Kelvin finished on 31.52s.
The over 2000cc Racing Car Class went next. It was Graham Wynn’s day. He and the Gould GR55 were second after the first timed runs to Jason Mourant in his Gould GR55. Graham went quicker and Jason had a mini spin on the entry to Karousel in the second timed run but still managed to finish in the top twelve and qualify for the second run-off.
There were two small classes of Sports Racing and Racing Cars up to 1971 and 1985.
The up to 1971 class had just one entry, the Brabham BT29X of Richard Jones. Richard improved his time by some five seconds
The up to 1985 class was won by the Pilbeam MP53-4 of Rodney Eyles. Rodney dominated the class from the outset.
The DoctorMX5 Gurston Down Mazda MX5 Class went next. Mark Crookall, the current leader championship leader, class record holder and the winner of the 2017 Tony Marsh Memorial Trophy took the win. Although that was far from certain after the first timed run. Nick Revels, Gurston Down’s Competition Secretary was just 0.70s behind and John Davey, the MD of our Top Ten Challenge sponsor, Cavendish Ships Stores, who was sharing Mark’s car was third. Mark improved his time by over 1.5s to take the class win. Mark Jones took 3.5s out of his time to finish second on 43.00s and Nick Revels improved slightly, finishing on 44.30s. Here’s John Davey in Mark’s MX5.
Steve Butts, a former Gurston Down Champion, and his Lotus Elise won the Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Cars up to 2000cc Class.
The Over 2000cc Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Car Class saw Simon Purcell and his Lotus Elise take the win. But Simon had to work hard to keep Graham Beale and his Ginetta at bay. The former Gurston Down Champion, ended on 36.49s and Graham on 37.21s. This class really is starting to heat up!
Last class to run was the Dews Motor Club Championship. The Maguire Mini of Derek Kessell had this sown up from the start. He was three seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Marc Morris, in the first timed run. Mark just couldn’t claw back that sort of lead in the Renault Clio. Derek finished the day on 38.91s and Mark on 41.70s.
Then we had the BMTR Midland Championship Run-Offs. The fastest twelve cars registered in the championship went head to head after each timed run.
Jason Mourant and his Gould GR55 took both Run-Offs. His second run-off time was also the Fastest Timed of the Day – 28.08s.
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, Steve Lister for the great photographs and Peter Crutcher from Ringwood PA.
Anthony Record – Press Officer – BARC SW, Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb