Scott Moran dipped deep into the 26 second bracket to head the times after Saturday practice at Gurston today in the family 3.5 Gould GR61X, his third run of 26.29 seconds just over half a second clear of reigning British Hillclimb Champion Trevor Willis in the 3.2 OMS 28 (26.80s). Third was Will Hall in the 3.5 Force Nissan V6 on 27.45s and fourth overall in a tight group was Alex Summers in the 1.3 supercharged DJ Firehawk on 27.61s. Roger Moran was fifth on 27.76, closely followed by John Bradburn (3.5 Gould GR55 HB) on 27.77 and Wallace Menzies (3.2 DJ Firestorm) on 27.79s Alastair Crawford (2.8 Gould GR55) was eighth on 28.35 and the top two 1600cc cars driven by Ed Hollier (1.6 Pilbeam MP62, 29.05s) and Paul Haimes (1.3 turbocharged Gould GR59, 29.27s) rounded out the top ten.

Sunday’s competition should be tremendous. Don’t miss it!

Scott Moran preparing the Gould in practice. Copyright: Simon McBeath / everleyphotography.co.uk

Quiz night at Gurston in aid of The Stars Appeal

There will be a team quiz night featuring general knowledge questions and a bonus motorsport round in the Gurston restaurant on the evening of Saturday May 25th, that is, the Saturday of the BHC event weekend. All the details are on the event poster, just click on the thumbnail image below. The Stars Appeal supports Salisbury District Hospital and does some fantastic fund raising to add to the NHS’s care and make life better for patients and their families. Help us support this worthy cause and have some fun at the same time! You can register your intent on Facebook or at the Gurston Office on the day, and entry fees (only £5 a team, all profits going to The Stars Appeal) will be collected in the evening.

BHC heads for Gurston Down!

Summary info:

Event:              Rounds of the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship and Hillclimb Leaders Championship

Dates:              Saturday May 25^th (practice only) and Sunday May 26^th (competition)

Starts:             Practice from 8:30am both days, competition from approx. 1030 Sunday

Admission:      £6.00 Saturday, £10.00 Sunday, accompanied under 14s free. Free parking.

In brief

The British Hillclimb Championship represent the very pinnacle of the sport of speed hillclimbing in the UK, half a minute or less of total commitment and concentration from Start to Finish as each driver races against the clock, and it all makes for an utterly astonishing spectacle. And that’s what is coming to Gurston Down on May 25^th and 26^th as the Avon Tyres/TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship makes the first of two visits to the glorious Wiltshire venue this season.

2012 champion Trevor Willis fields a new OMS 28 chassis with the same 3.2 litre Powertec V8 as last year, and the Moran’s, Scott (2008/9/11 champion) and father Roger (1997 champion), field the same 3.5 Gould GR61X except for new sparkplugs! Indeed consistent finishing with front running pace has been key in the BHC Run Offs held so far this season, which is why the Moran’s currently hold the top two positions. Willis has made an amazing start to his 2013 campaign considering he is running an all new chassis but he spun away a potential win at Harewood in the second Run Off on May 12^th and lies in third overall. And fourth place man Wallace Menzies (3.2 DJ Firestorm) missed one Run Off at Prescott’s season opener with a fuel leak and might otherwise have been a place higher in the table after some strong results, though no wins as yet in 2013. Meanwhile, Will Hall has scored in every Run Off in the 3.5 Force Nissan to round out the current top five in the BHC.

Trevor Willis, seen here in his OMS 25 in 2012, will run with Number 1 on his car for the first time at Gurston on May 25th/26th. Copyright: Simon McBeath / everleyphotography

As well as the top flight racing cars with their ex-Indycar and Formula 1 engines that battle it out in the British Hillclimb Championship, among the 145-strong entry you’ll also find cars ranging from specially prepared but essentially roadgoing production cars, to highly modified productions cars, through to purpose built sports racing cars and single seater racing cars, the drivers all competing for honours in their respective classes and points in the Hillclimb Leaders Championship.

Spectator access is unrivalled – you really can’t get closer to the action that at Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb. And with new catering and additional food and drink outlets on site there’s everything you need for a fantastic and great value day out, so do not miss this exciting event!

You can download an A5 colour poster and help spread the word about this fantastic event! Just click on the image below. Many thanks!!

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Hillclimb simulator at Gurston

Visitors to the April event at Gurston may well have seen and even tried the hillclimb simulator that Bob Pritchard has created, featuring a number of the UK’s best known hillclimb venues, Gurston Down included. Incredibly difficult to master (unless you are adept at computer based games of course, unlike your scribe who could only reach the top by taking several agricultural ‘shortcuts’…), Bob’s creation will hopefully appear at subsequent events too and will add to the fun to be had on event weekends at Gurston.

Gurston commentator Jerry Sturman tries his hand on the simulator while creator Bob Pritchard looks on. Copyright: Simon McBeath / everleyphotography.co.uk

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