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Motorbikes June Meetings Review

Jun 23, 2016

The Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend was just for cars. We saw a maximum entry of motorbikes and combinations (sidecars) at Gurston Down on both days!

The motorbikes are divided into classes just like the cars and at Sunday’s meeting there was a Top Ten Run-off.

Saturday:

Saturday’s weather was great day for Gurston Down. The weather wasn’t too warm but the course soon warmed up producing some spectacular performances.

The solo motorbikes were up first:

In the 100cc to 250cc class there were three riders competing for the glory. Alex Warren on his Yamaha (250cc), took the lead in the first timed run but couldn’t improve his first run time of 42.31s. But that was good enough to take the win. Issac Warren’s 125cc Suzuki was on good form and posted a 45.75cc.

The 351cc to 500cc class had seven riders on Saturday. Chris Keates and his Honda took the honours with a 36.29s. Mike Tilley on another Honda took second but was only 0.48s behind, Chris. It could so easily have gone the other way.

The eleven riders in the 501cc to 750cc class had five of the top ten riders from last year’s championship. Tommy Hodges switched classes and took the win and posted the second fastest time of the day with a 34.05s run. Tom. Peter and Mark Short had to settle for second (34.51s), third (35.07s) and forth (35.53s) respectively. There was just one second between the top three!

Paul Jeffery on his gorgeous KTM took the 751cc to 1300cc class with a 33.94s and Fastest Time of the Day. Stuart Mills (Aprilia) was second with a 34.75s run but he couldn’t match Paul’s pace.

The Sidecar Class was fantastic to watch! Pat and Paul Keates and their Baker F1 won with a 36.80s second run after lying third after the first run, behind the DDS Aprillia and the Suzuki Hayabusa Trike!

Fastest Time of the Day went to Paul Jeffery with his class winning 33.94s.

Sunday:

Sunday’s weather wasn’t as the weather men had predicted earlier in the week. The motorbikes had their first runs on a damp course. It had drizzled for sometime before they took their runs.

The solo motorbikes went first:

It was all change in the 100cc to 250cc class. None of Saturday’s riders were competing. Glyn Poole and his Honda are the class record holders on 34.08s took the win with a very respectable 36.21s.

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The 351cc to 500cc class had just five riders on Sunday. Mike Tilley overcame Saturday’s winner on his Honda, posting a 36.47s. Just one hundredth of a second behind was Chris Keates and his Honda!

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The eleven riders in the 501cc to 750cc class was another close battle! Tom Short in his Husaberg edging Saturday’s winner, Tommy Hodges in to second. Tom time was 34.14s and Tommy’s 34.24s. Tommy was 0.30 ahead after the first run. Less than three quarters of a second separated the top three!

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Paul Jeffery couldn’t make it two wins in a row on his KTM. Stuart Mills took the 751cc to 1300cc class with a 34.46s. Paul managed to pull sometime back after the first timed run but he couldn’t match Stuart’s time.

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It was all change in the Sidecar Class on Sunday. Sam Matthewman and Mark Christian’s 37.23s on the Suzuki Hayabusa, pushed the Alex and Issac Warran trike and Saturday’s winners, Pat and Paul Keates into second and third respectively.

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Check the Video Gallery – On-Board Section for one of Sam and Mark’s runs on the Trike!

The Top Ten Run-off was next up. With championship points at stake, the racing was close. Tommy Hodges took the win with a Fastest Time of the Day run 34.02s. The next three were less than a second behind him!

There will be more on-board video posted in the Video Gallery soon!

Anthony Record – Gurston Down Press Officer – BARC SW

The Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend – 18th June

Jun 22, 2016

The Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend bought a fabulous array of cars and motorbikes to Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb last weekend.

Friday’s weather hadn’t exactly made the weekend look like it could be a record breaker.

The Tom Marsh Memorial Trophy is awarded this weekend to the BARC SW member who is nearest to or breaks their class record. If more than one record is broken, the largest improvement wins the trophy. We were honoured by a visit Peter and Simon’s mother as well as their brother Paul.

Saturday turned out to be a great day for racing. The cars and motorbikes were on exceptional and record breaking form. Many drivers and riders surpassed their personal bests this weekend!

Saturday’s Invited Classes:

The ACSMC ‘Road Legal’ Class had a couple of cars transferred from other classes so there ended up being four in the class. Andy Deeley and his Nissan 200SX took the first place with a very tidy second run, pushing Andrew Bisping’s Renault Clio back to second. Andy Deeley’s second run was a 40.55s.

The ASWMC ‘Road Legal’ Class went against the expected. Richard Trevail and his BMW Mini John Cooper Works managed to edge out the Lotus Elise of Jon Longmead. Richard’s time was 38.21s.

The Porsche Club Class were the next out. Fifteen cars fought for the honours. Tim Barber and David Hilton shared 911 GT3 RS took the first two places, Tim (35.47s) beating David by just 0.90s. Graham Rose’s 924S, came in third and Geraint Evans’ 911 took fourth. This class is properly competitive.

The Service Hydraulics Speed Championship Class ran next. Dave Reed and his Westfield had a good win with a 38.81s run. Richard Jenkinson’s Clio couldn’t stay with the Westfield after Dave put in a sparkling second run.

The Road Going MX5 Class was won by Mark Crookall in his gorgeous Eunos Roadster RS. Nick Revels’ new Mk2 MX5 just could not match his pace. Nick ran on List 1A tyres which didn’t help his time. Mark Jones and John Wells had a great battle for the third and fourth places.

The Up to 2000cc Road Going Series Production Car Class went to Adam Greenen, (37.61s) pushing his brother Andy to second. Andy was just 0.15s off his brother’s time in their super quick Honda Civic Type R. Paul Webster and Tim Forster just couldn’t match the pace of the Civic.

Stephen Moore, last year’s Gurston Down Champion, was dominant in the Over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Car Class. Clive and Jennie Stangle’s Audi TT took them to second and third respectively.

Clive Skipper with his 2.0 Caterham HPC won the Road Going Specialist Production Car Class beating Adrian Lewis in his 1.4 Westfield Megabusa and Ian Ingleheart in his Westfield SE. Clive’s 34.60s first run was enough.

The Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Cars up to 2000cc Class didn’t go Graham Beale’s (Ginetta G20) way. Mike Tooth with his Lotus Elise came in just over half a second ahead with a 38.74s second run.

The 2014 Gurston Champion Simon Purcell in his Lotus Exige really pulled out all the stops in the Over 2000cc Modified Production Marque Sports Car Class. His 33.76s run beat one of Gurston Down’s longest standing records set by Pete Tyler’s Triumph TR8 in July 1997. We understand Pete recently sold the car and had previous said if the record was beaten he would be back!

The up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Car Class had classic Minis everywhere. None of which were ordinary Minis! Neil Turner’s beautifully presented Mini Cooper S took the class by a good margin with a 36.55s second run. Derek Mullis and David Bean just weren’t on the pace.

Richard Wood’s Yamaha Mini had a good day, turning in a greatly improved second run, 40.26s in the Modified Series Mini Class.

The 1400 to 2000cc Modified Series Production Class saw Kevin Plummer and Ian Plummer go head to head in their Opel Corsa. Kevin came out on top with a 36.75s run.

Mark Walker won the Over 2000cc Modified Series Production Sports Car Class in his 3.4 Porsche Cayman S (35.43s), beating the gorgeous Aston Martin Vantage of Tim Painter and Andrew Fraser. Tim taking second.

The huge entry in the Modified Specialist Production Car Class, saw Mike Rudge (31.49s), the current record holder in his 2.3 Westfield SEi, win a tough class. Anthony Orchard came second just 0.48s adrift.

The Historically Interesting Class was won by Fyrth Crosse’s Dempster Ensign LNF3 with a 34.52s run.

Peter Sexton, the Gurston Down Championship Sponsor, and Jonathan Gates in their shared 1.3 supercharged Force LM fought very hard in the up to 2000cc Sports Libre Class. Jonathan was ahead after the first timed run but Pete didn’t give up and produced a stunning second run, pipping Jonathan by just two hundredths. Pete finished on 29.79s and Jonathan on 29.81s!

The Over 2000cc Sports Libre Class saw Chris Cannell (Force SR8) win the class from Keith Diggle’s WEV HCS. Chris’ winning time was 30.78s.

David Cuff with his Jedi was alone in the up to 600cc Racing Car Class, ending the meeting with a 35.54s run.

The 601cc to 1100cc Racing Car class was James Moore’s (Empire 00) after the first run. He was very much the man of the moment putting together a 30.91s first timed run Murray Wakeham (OMS CF96) came in second, almost two and a half seconds adrift!

Simon McBeath and his Swift SC92F won the Formula Ford Class. His 37.49s second timed run consolidated his first timed run lead.

Peter D Smith, with his form and local knowledge, took the 1101cc to 1600cc Racing Car Class with the only sub 30s run in the class. His second timed run came in at 29.38s. Pete Hammock had a good weekend beating his personal best.

Simon and Peter Marsh with their DJ Firehawk fought hard in the 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car – Forced Induction class. Simon beat his brother, Peter, by just 0.11s. Simon finishing on 28.58s and earning him the Fastest Time of the Day!

Anthony Record – Gurston Down Press Officer – BARC SW

The Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend – Review

Jun 20, 2016

The Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend got under-way on Saturday. Friday’s weather hadn’t exactly made the weekend look like it could be record breaking! But Saturday turned out to be a great day for racing. The cars and bikes we on exceptional and record breaking form. Many drivers and riders surpassed their personal bests this weekend!

On Saturday we were honoured by a visit from Tony’s widow and Peter and Simon’s brother Paul.

Saturday’s Fastest Time of the Day for the cars went to Simon Marsh in the family DJ Firehawk with a 28.58s.

The motorbikes FTD went to Paul Jeffery with a 33.94s run.

On Sunday, the morning’s weather looked like it could be another promising days racing. The afternoon’s timed runs were mostly run with a damp and drying track.

Sunday’s Fastest Time of the Day went to Jonathan Gates in the Force LM he shares with the championship sponsor, Peter Sexton. Jonathan’s time was 29.97s.

Tommy Hodges took FTD in the motorbikes with a 34.02s run, in the Top Ten Run-off!

Mark Crookall was awarded The Tony Marsh Memorial Trophy. He had the best improvement in a class record by a BARC SW member. The new class record for the Mazda MX5 Class is now 41.86, a 0.32s improvement. Well done Mark!

Full Report to Follow..

Anthony Record – Gurston Down Press Officer – BARC SW

Mid-Summer Speed – Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend

Jun 6, 2016

Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb hosts the Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend with two days of speed! June 18th and 19th promises to be another great weekend’s motorsport!

Over 130 cars and drivers and 35 motorbikes will compete each day in specially prepared hill climb cars, spectacular sport and racing cars as well as standard road cars. They will all face the challenge of the legendary 12 feet wide fast and twisty course at Wiltshire’s famous Speed Hill Climb Venue, Gurston Down.

With unrivalled access to the hill, paddock, cars, drivers and facilities available to our spectators, the weekend promises to be a veritable spectacle of sound, smell, skill and speed. We have excellent catering and refreshments on site too!

You really can’t get closer to the action!

In Brief:

Saturday’s meeting has a round of the ACSMC, ASWMC, Porsche Club’s and the Service Hydraulics Speed Championships and the second round of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship and the Cavendish Ships Stores Top Ten Challenge as well as the motorbikes in the National Hill Climb Association (NHCA).

Sunday’s meeting has a round of the Morgan Cars, Bugatti Owners Club and the Service Hydraulics Speed Championships and the third round of the Meadens Skoda Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship and the Cavendish Ships Stores Top Ten Challenge as well as the motorbikes in the National Hill Climb Association (NHCA).

Jason Mourant brings his gleaming white Judd powered Gould GR55 back to the hill after a great May meeting. He should take Fastest Time of the Day for both days with the ex F1 engined car. Others will have an uphill struggle, although we should never discount Simon and Peter Marsh or Peter D Smith.

Jason

Saturday’s Invited Classes Preview:

The invited classes get the meeting under-way. The ACSMC ‘Road Legal’ class has two entries. Will David Brown’s Renault Clio or Rob Choules’ Citroen Saxo VTS take the honours? The nimble Saxo could just snatch this one.

The ACWMC ‘Road Legal’ class also has two entries, the Lotus Elise of Jon Longmead should be able to overcome the John Cooper Works Mini of Richard Trevail.

Next up is the second visit to Gurston of The Porsche Club. With 15 drivers in 14 cars, this class will be hard fought. Form says that Graham Rose’s 924S, Geraint Evans’ 911, David Hilton’s GT3RS or Ian Wadsworth’s Carrera 3 will all be in with a shout of victory. But don’t be fooled by the form. This class is properly competitive.

The Service Hydraulics Speed Championship class runs next. Ian Perry in his Rover 25 is probably the favourite but with the Westfield of Dave Reed and the Clio 172 of Richard Jenkinson, he’ll really need to work for the win.

Sunday’s Invited Classes Preview:

The Morgan Car Class will be first up on Sunday. Alan Foster in the 3.9 litre +8 should be able to beat smaller engined field. Alan is also competing on Saturday in the Road Going Specialist Class.

The Bugatti Owners Club class is a very wide variety of cars, everything from a Brabham BT21c (Martin Jones) to a Dodge Coronet (John Harrison). Nick Stephens’ Lotus 51b starts favourite but this could be anyone’s class.

Sunday’s Service Hydraulics Speed Championship class has just two entered. Ian Perry in his Rover 25 and Dave Reed in his Westfield go today. Will there be a repeat of Saturday’s result?

Classes Running Both Days:

This season new sub-class the Road Going MX5 class runs next. Mark Crockall (Mk1 Eunos Roadster) has a previous victory under his belt. However Nick Revels’ latest Mk2 MX5 will see Mark under pressure. It will be close, as ever, so will we see a new class record or will there be someone new taking the win?

There are thirteen drivers in the Upto 2000cc Road Going Series Production Car class. The Honda Civic Type R driven by Adam and Andy Greenan, should take the win on Saturday but Tim Forster and his delightful Lotus Elan or Steve Harris’ Corsa could challenge. On Sunday Paul Webster and his super quick Mazda MX5 will be back so that will stir things up.

In the Over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Car class sees Stephen Moore, last year’s Gurston Champion, in his 2.0t Mitsubishi Evo 6 run against the 2.3t Evo of Simon Neve and Jennie and Clive Strangle’s Audi TT. They all go both days but there are some new car and driver combinations appearing for the first time so it should be an interesting class to watch.

The Road Going Specialist Production Car class always produces some great action. Clive Skipper with his 2.0 Caterham HPC and Adrian Lewis in his 1.4 Westfield Megabusa will probably be one / two but which driver / car combination will it be? And we should never discount any of the others entered here to cause a surprise.

In the Modified Limited Production Marque Sports Cars up to 2000cc class Graham Beale is back in his Ginetta G20. Nick Morgan in 1.8 Lotus Elise really will struggle to catch the Ginetta G20.

The 2014 Gurston Champion Simon Purcell in his Lotus Exige and Bob Mortimer in his 2.7 Porsche 911 will battle to the line in the Over 2000cc Modified Production Marque Sports Car class. Steve Holley and his TVR Griffith won’t let them walk away with the victory.

The up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Car class is full of classic Minis but not ordinary Minis. The class record holder, Jim White’s highly developed 1.4 Mini Clubman, won’t be given any quarter by David Bean, Neil Turner or Derek Mullis who will all be looking to steal a win.

Richard Wood runs in his Yamaha Mini both days in the Modified Series Mini Class.

The 1400 to 2000cc Modified Series Production class sees Ian and Kevin Plummer go head to head in their Opel Corsa.

The Over 2000cc Modified Series Production Sports Car class sets the beautifully presented Aston Martin Vantage of Tim Painter Andrew Fraser against Mark Walker’s 3.4 Porsche Cayman S with Tracy Marshall in an Audi TT running both days and Mike Butler (BMW M3) and Brendon Jones (Ford Escort) competing Sunday.

There’s a huge entry in the Modified Specialist Production Car. Mike Rudge, the current record holder in his 2.3 Westfield SEi, looks good for the win here but with an interesting number of quick car / driver combinations both days, it’s not going to be easy!

The Historically Interesting class always brings out some stunning machinery. Anthony Norton’s Alvis 12/50 TJ, Hugh Kemp’s Palliser WDF3, Geoff Hunt’s Lotus 22 and Fyrth Crosse’s Dempster Ensign LNF3. Fyrth is the man in form at the moment but it’s doubtful he’ll have it all his own way.

Saturday sees just one entry in the Hill Climb Super Sports Class with Derek Harris and his Mallock Mk17b. However, Sunday sees another car, a Mallock Mk20b, shared by John and Jonathon Weeden. With cars this evenly matched, it’s going to be close.

The pace really hots up as we reach the combined sports libre classes.

The up to 2000cc Sports Libre Class has Peter Sexton, the Gurston Down Championship Sponsor, and Jonathan Gates and their 1.3 supercharged Force LM top seeds. Tim Pitfield’s DJ Firehawk and the other entrants will make sure they have to get everything right to take the win.

The Over 2000cc Sports Libre Class sees the fabulously sounding Chevrolet Camero of Jeffery Way, the Metro 6R4 Replica of Paul Punnett, Keith Diggle’s WEV HCS and Chris Cannell and Sue Hayes (Force SR8) will have Saturday to themselves.

However, Sunday sees Nic Mann’s mental Manic Beattie back at Gurston. Sunday should be Nic Mann’s day but Saturday in pretty open.

David Cuff and his Jedi has the up to 600cc Racing Car class to himself.

The 601cc to 1100cc Racing Car class has seven entries on Saturday and eight on Sunday. There are a wide range of cars and engine combinations. The front runners here should be Murray Wakeham and Alan Joy in their OMS CF96, Gregory Barton and James Moore in their respective Empire 00s.

The Formula Ford class has six cars entered both days. All these cars should be within a few seconds of each other but it’s going to be the driver who does best on the fast and twisty course.

With six entries on Saturday and four on Sunday, the 1101cc to 1600cc Racing Car class will be another highly competitive class. Although Peter D Smith, with his form and local knowledge, should take the win.

Simon and Peter Marsh and their DJ Firehawk are having a good season so far in the 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car – Forced Induction class. Simon finished 10th in the second Top Twelve Run at Shelsley Walsh last weekend. Andy McBeath’s OMS will have to be on top form to snatch this class.

Jason Mourant brings his 4.0 litre ex F1 Judd engined Gould GR55 to Gurston in the over 2000cc Racing Car class. He’s having a great season after moving from an OMS to the GR55. Fastest Time of the Day should be Jason’s on both days.

Jason

The N.H.C.A.’s motorbikes run both days.

They are an amazing spectacle in their own right. Competing on a bike or combination at Gurston Down isn’t anything like driving a car. Gurston is fast, very fast. The course records range from 35.39s for a rider / side car combination to the 31.85s on a solo motorbike.

The solo motorbike 100cc to 250cc class sees three riders, Issac Warren (Suzuki RM), Pauline Douglass (Honda CBF) and Alex Warren on his Yamaha, on Saturday and Sunday see two in the class, Glyn Poole (Honda) and Simon Wilson (Yamaha). Glyn holds the course record at 34.08s so a win for Glyn on Sunday is on the cards.

The 351cc to 500cc class has seven riders on Saturday and eight on Sunday. Tommy Hodges goes both day on his Honda was second in the 2015 championship so we should expect a great performance from him. Pete Ford on his KTM will make sure Tommy doesn’t have it all his own way. All the other riders will make sure they both have their work cut out for the win.

The 501cc to 750cc has four top ten riders from last year’s championship, Peter Short on his KTM, Tom Short on his Husaberg, Mark Short on his Aprilia and Keith Haines on his Aprilia will all be looking to take the win. The other riders won’t be letting those four just take the win without a fight.

The 750cc to 1300cc bikes has ten entrants on Saturday and nine on Sunday. There are two top ten riders in this class, Pete Loxston (Suzuki) and Stuart Mills (Aprilia). There are all four of the top class riders in last year champions. This class will be won on the day!

The Sidecar Class has a great entry, five on Saturday and seven on Sunday. This is a class to watch and we aren’t talking about just the speed! Pat and Paul Keates, the current record holders in the amazing Baker F1, have some of last years championship front runners to compete against. The best view of the sidecars is at Karousel or Ashes.

With this variety of cars and motorbikes, June 18th and June 19th will be provide two action packed days of motorsport at Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb.

Don’t miss it!

Key info
Location: 1 mile west of Broad Chalke, 9 miles SW of Salisbury, Wiltshire. Turn off the A354 at Coombe Bissett on the unclassified road to Broad Chalke, follow AA signs.
Dates: Saturday June 18th and Sunday June 19th
Times: Competition runs from approx. 1300, practice runs from 0830 both days.
Admission: Only £10 for adults each day, accompanied under 15s free, free paddock entry, free parking.

Anthony Record – Gurston Down Press Officer – BARC SW

WOW! It Really was an Awesome weekend!

May 31, 2016

The sun shone on Gurston Down and the crowds came!

Saturday morning was a little damp with some over-night rain but it didn’t stop some great times being posted in practice.

Sunday’s timed runs produced some spectacular performances.

The two top twelve runs-offs were close. Run-off one, Round 7 of the BHC Championship, was won by Trevor Willis (26.12s) with the top five being separated by just 0.50s… Scott Moran just 0.07s off Trevor’s pace, Wallace Menzies and David Uren just 0.38s and 0.42s slower respectively.

Run-off two, Round 8 of the BHC Championship, was Scott Moran’s after a 26.10s run with Trevor Willis (26.25s) and Wallace Menzies (26.73s) second and third respectively.

The Fastest Time of the Day went to Scott Moran with his second run-off time of 26.10s.

Scott still leads the Avon Tyres / TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship with 79 points, Trevor Willis second with 62, Dave Uren is third with 39 and Wallace Menzies forth with 33 points.

What will the positions be when they return at the end of August?

Class Results in Detail:

The BARC South West B Licence Class got the event under way. The class had a wide range of different cars, all BARC SW members who don’t hold National A licences. James Gibson (31.75s) in his OMS Hornet took the lead in the first timed run and produced a better time in the second run, fending off Marin Watson’s Westfield (32.35s) and Steve Holland’s Caterham (32.69s). Dean Cubitt and his Mazda MX5 (41.89s) has improved since his first event in April and would have set a new record in the MX5 class had that class been running. Gordon Weston’s engine work has improved his performance in his lovely red Porsche 924.

Next up were the Porsche Club’s National Championship Class. Peter Turnbull and his 911 GT3 (34.42s) had an interesting battle with Paul Howells in his 911 RSR, finishing on 34.79s. Robert Lancaster-Gaye’s 911 Turbo fighting off Andy Norris (911 Carrera S) to take third..

The Road Going Series Production Car Class up to 2000cc saw Paul Webster, Gurston’s competition secretary in his Mazda MX5 take the win with a 38.21s, Steve Harris couldn’t get his previous form back to challenge Paul.

The over 2000cc Road Going Series Production Car Class, saw Simon Neve and his Mitsubishi Evo 2.3t secure the win with a 34.84s run. Both Jamie Powell in his Mitsubishi Evo and Neil Duncanson in his Audi Quattro couldn’t match his pace, and were second and third respectively.

History was made by David Finlay in the Chairman’s Invitation Class, no Production Hydrogen Fuel Cell car had every competed in a hill climb anywhere else in the world before. The electric Toyota Mirai in a stunning chrome wrap managed a 44.44s run. That’s a record for an electric car at Gurston! The car, part of Toyota’s press fleet was being driven by David Finlay, journalist and racing driver, as part of the Multi-Car Hill Climb Challenge.

The Road Going Specialist Production Car Class saw the Warburton’s, David and Allan’s Caterham take first and second. David beat his father by just 0.61s. Adrian Lewis just couldn’t match the pace of the Warburton’s Caterham.

Andrew Russell in his Gineta G15 won the up to 1400cc Modified Series Production Car Class.

Colin Satchell’s dominance of the 1400cc to 2000cc Modified Series Production Car Class continues (33.36s). He and his rapid (that’s an understatement!) Peugeot 205 saw off Ralph Pinder and his 205. Another two class wins for Colin won’t hurt his Avon Tyres / TTC Group MSA Hill Climb Leaders Championship challenge.

Simon Purcell and his Lotus Exige (34.07s) had to work hard for his win in the Over 2000cc Modified Series Production Car Class. The former Gurston champion needed some great runs to beat Geoff Tremlow’s Subaru Impreza (34.67s). Tim Painter and Andrew Fraser in the Aston Martin Vantage were split by Mark Walker and his Porsche Cayman S.

The Modified Specialist Production Cars Class saw Mike Rudge and the Westfield Sei (31.32s) kept Simon Jenks and Antony Orchard at bay to take the win.

Jonathan Gates took the up to 2000cc Sports Libre Car Class from Peter Sexton, the Gurston Down Championship sponsor, in their shared supercharged Force LM by just one hundredth of a second. Jonathan Gates finishing on 29.86s and Peter Sexton on 29.87s!

The amazing Manic Beattie of Nic Mann won the over 2000cc Sports Libre Car Class with a stunning (28.32s). Which would have been a qualifing time for the run-off had he been a registered contender! The mental Mini Evo of Allan McDonald (30.95s), with a new personal best, finished third just behind Gurston regular Chris Cannell in his Force SR8 (30.39s).

Les Buck won the up to 600cc Racing Car Class in his OMS Hornet.

As expected the huge over 601 to 1100cc Racing Car Class produced a fabulous run by Simon Fidoe in his Empire Wraith after a failed first run. His time of 30.46s pipped Thomas Poole by just 0.06s… Darren Gumbley took forth in the Fidoe / Gumbley Empire Wraith. The top nine in this class were separated by just 1.5s!

Simon McBeath (Swift SC92F) won the Formula Ford Class with a 37.07s, dispite having starter motor problems earlier in the weekend. We look forward to the Formula Ford Fest, later in the year.

The 1100cc to 1600cc Racing Car Class saw Ed Hollier’s Empire Evo, Sean Gould and Eynon Price’s Gould GR59 fight it out for the win. All three being separated by just 0.4s, Ed Hollier winning with a 28.47s.

Tim Davies’ Pilbeam MP88 (29.55s) won the 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car Class – Normally Aspirated Car Class beating Tim Elmer’s Dallara.

An outstanding performance by Dave Uren 1601cc to 2000cc Racing Car Class – Forced Induction Class in the Force PC he shares with Nicola Menzies, gave him the class by almost 2 seconds. He finished on a 26.80s. Paul Haimes finished second on 28.60s with the Marsh brothers, Simon and Peter finishing third and fourth. Although they were non starters for the second timed run.

Trevor Willis (OMS 28) won the Over 2000cc Racing Car Class with a great performance. Both Scott Moran (Gould GR61X) and Wallace Menzies were all very close. Will Hall (Force WH-XTEC) didn’t have a great day, a small incident at Ashes meant a failed run in the second timed runs.

The Lotus 7 Club Championship had five classes this weekend. They were all very entertaining, particularly in Karousel and Ashes!

The Lotus 7 Club Championship Class 1 – Cars Up to 125 bhp – Robert Jacobs’s, 38.49s run is in winning form. He beat Paul Boston by just 0.09s.

The Lotus 7 Club Championship Class 2 – Cars up to 150 bhp – List 1A Tyres – Mike Cocker, the current championship leader was pipped by David Nelson who won the class with a 37.50s run, only 0.08s ahead of Mike.

The Lotus 7 Club Championship Class 3 – Cars up to 150 bhp – List 1B Tyres – Just one hundreth of a second decided this! The lead swapping between the first and second runs. Daniel Malkin (36.19s) beating Richard Price (36.20s). The top five in this class were separated by just one second.

The Lotus 7 Club Championship – Class 4 – Car up to 210 bhp – Jeremy Davis’ first run of 35.16s couldn’t be matched by Michael Sankey’s. Michael’s first run was also his best at 35.33s.

The Lotus 7 Club Championship – Class 6/7 – Simon Rogers first timed run of 32.40s saw off Robert Margel’s 32.50s first run time. Neither of them could improve in their second runs.

We would like to thank everyone who made the day possible, the Toyota Press Team, Steve in particular for being the technical representative, the office staff, the marshalls, 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

WOW! An Awesome weekend!

May 30, 2016

The sun shone on Gurston Down and the crowds came!

Saturday morning was a little damp with some over-night rain but it didn’t stop some great times being posted.

Sunday’s timed runs produced some spectacular performances.

Run-off two, Round 8 of the BHC Championship, was Scott Moran’s after a 26.10s run with Trevor Willis (26.25s) and Wallace Menzies (26.73s) second and third respectively.

The Fastest Time of the Day went to Scott Moran with his second run-off time of 26.10s.

Scott maintains his lead in the BHC Championship but it’s been cut by one pint to 16 points.

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Toyota Mirai arrived on Friday for some promotional filming. It was a little brighter than expected!

David Finlay managed a 44.44s, a world record for a Production Hydrogen Fuel Cell car in a speed event! (then again it was the first time one had competed!)

Full Meeting Report to follow

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

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