Stewart Robb Jr finally broke Roy Lane’s long standing 25.72 hill record at Grampian MC’s short, 725 yard hill at Fintray, near Aberdeen, last Saturday. Lane’s old hill standard was set at 1989’s British Championship meeting in his Pilbeam-DFL MP58. Robb’s father, Stewart Sr, was first inside the record – by a mere hundredth – aboard their 4-litre Pilbeam-Judd MP88. But on a day when nine class records were reset, his son applied the coupe de gras on the very last run of the day with a 25.28.

            The traditional large sign at Ruin, which displays the current hill record and its holder, was updated and in place by the start of practice for Sunday’s event!

Chasing Roger Moran home each time, two fourth place finishes marked Tom New’s best result of the year. His co-driver Chris Merrick spun out of the opening qualifying runs – which with just 13 potential runners let in Peter Herbert for his first British run-off appearance in the Westfield-BDH – but recovered to finish sixth in the second stanza behind the flying Will Hall. And after two mid-field placings as he swapped run-off honours with sparring partner Eynon Price, Hall eased the absent Paul Haimes off the number ten spot on the championship table.

Championship standings after Craigantlet: 1 Scott Moran 205pts; 2 Martin Groves 184; 3 Trevor Willis 168; 4 Roger Moran 152; 5 Chris Merrick 134; 6 Paul Ranson 113; 7 Tom New 81; 8 Eynon Price 62; 9 Deryk Young 49; 10 Will Hall 47; etc.

            Two days later, at Le Val des Terres on Guernsey, the weather was even more unpredictable and top qualifier Chris Guille scored a brilliant first ever British win in the 2-litre OMS-Vauxhall, with even Scott Moran unable to challenge the Guernsey-born driver and Eynon Price and Will Hall proudly flying the 1600 flag in third and fourth. Groves, who had missed the opening cut after a failed run, made up for it later on to take the second run-off win from Trevor Willis and the on-form Guille, thus matching Roy Lane’s all-time best total of 90 British run-off wins.

            Full report in Speedscene 155.

Championship positions after Le Val des Terres: 1= Martin Groves and Scott Moran 177pts; 3 Trevor Willis 139; 4 Chris Merrick 123; 5 Roger Moran 118; 6 Paul Ranson 101; 7 Tom New 59; 8 Deryk Young 49; 9 Paul Haimes 41; 10 Eynon Price 40; etc.

            Robert Capper set the pace among a strong Richard Egger/HSA contingent, finishing third in the 600cc racing class in his Nemesis. After a head gasket had blown on his Elise, Steve Filkin shared RE championship third place man Simon Andrews’ X-Power Cup MG TF, chasing his benefactor home behind a strong contingent of 2-litre ModProd British championship regulars. In the HSA ‘B’ Licence class, Eric Morrey followed up his Prescott win with another in the turbocharged Clan, keeping the Peugeot 205 of Emerson Kent and Chris Flavell at bay. Championship leader John Gallagher headed a quartet of Mazda MX5s to finish fourth.

            Full report in Speedscene 155.

            Chased hard by Will Hall, Scottish hillclimb champion Jonathan Rarity was one of several drivers on record-breaking form at Doune as he took the 1600 racing class win in his minimalist MH Ghost. Both drivers made the cut for the opening run-off but in the heat of battle during qualifying for the second shoot-out, both spun away a further chance for points at the notorious, blind brow East Brae!

            A full report will follow in Speedscene.

Championship standings after Doune: 1 Scott Moran 137pts; 2 Martin Groves 132; 3 Trevor Willis 100; 4 Chris Merrick 92; 5 Roger Moran 80; 6 Paul Ranson 79; 7 Tom New 50; 8 Deryk Young 44; 9 Paul Haimes 24; 10 Jos Goodyear 21; etc.

Backed up by his father Roger (pictured) in the supercharged DJ Firehawk, ‘occasional driver’ Todd Fleetwood mirrored his brother Adam’s Easter class win over 2-litre ace Paul Haimes and would also have made second cut, had he been registered for the championship. Despite warm, dry weather, the only other class record of the day fell at the hands of Midland Man of the Meeting Andrew Griffiths, who lowered his previous record in the Caterham-Hayabusa by half a second.

Full report in Speedscene 154.

Championship positions after Loton Park: 1 Scott Moran 117pts; 2 Martin Groves 112; 3= Chris Merrick and Trevor Willis 84; 5 Paul Ranson 67; 6 Roger Moran 66; etc.

            Full report in Speedscene 154.

Championship positions after Shelsley Walsh: 1 Scott Moran 97pts; 2 Martin Groves 94; 3 Chris Merrick 71; 4 Trevor Willis 68; 5 Paul Ranson 59; 6 Roger Moran 53; etc.

            Full report in Speedscene 154.

British Hillclimb Championship positions after Gurston: 1 Martin Groves 85pts; 2 Scott Moran 77; 3 Chris Merrick 59; 4 Trevor Willis 55; 5 Roger Moran 43; 6 Paul Ranson 42; etc.

Anyone wishing to send flowers or to donate to a charity of their choice in Tony’s name should contact the undertakers, Michael Miller & Partners, Buriton House, 27A High Street, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3JR (01730 233244).

Alternatively, The Marsh family have decided that Tony would have liked to do something for the marshals at Gurston Down hillclimb, with which he was so much involved since its inception in 1967. If anyone wishes to donate towards this, cheques should be made payable to the undertakers and posted to their address (above) with a covering note stating Tony Marsh Motor Racing Marshals Fund. Any queries regarding this fund should be made to Graham Masters, who has kindly offered initially to arrange this on behalf of the family. Graham can be contacted on 02392 828430 (w) or 736217 (h).

The weather did its best to disrupt a hectic two days for MCL Motorhomes British Hillclimb competitors travelling north for rounds at Barbon Manor and Harewood last weekend. After torrential rain shortly after the start of Barbon’s event on Saturday and a long delay to clear standing water, most of the top championship runners qualified, and then ran for points, in sunshine on a steadily drying track. With second runs abandoned due to time constraints, Championship leader Martin Groves set FTD in the single run-off, chased hard by Trevor Willis and an on-form Chris Merrick, who eased out defending champion Scott Moran by a hundredth. An early class run in the dry had paid off for Mike Fitzsimons. Just two weeks short of his 71st birthday, he made history in Tim Wilson’s OMS-Hayabusa as the oldest driver ever to qualify top for a British Hillclimb run-off – the single point he scored on the day’s final run being the icing on the cake!

More rain, though only showery by comparison with Barbon, turned the two run-offs at the following day’s Harewood event into something of a lottery on a slippery track. Groves' co-driver Paul Ranson made the most of the worsening conditions to take second place each time and bag the best combined result of his career while Roger Moran, also running early in the opening shoot-out, took his first win of the year. Running last, a superb shot from Groves demonstrated the former champion’s skill as he bagged third place on what was by then a treacherous track.

 Outqualified by his father Roger (pictured), who topped the Q-sheets with a time that would remain as the best of the day, Scott Moran ran early to bag the second run-off win in similar conditions, making it a family clean sweep on the day. Once again, Groves secured third place despite running almost last. He still heads the championship table, but Scott Moran is closing the gap and after a consistently good weekend, Chris Merrick holds third place.

            Full report in Speedscene 154.

Championship positions after Harewood: 1 Martin Groves 66pts; 2 Scott Moran 58; 3 Chris Merrick 45; 4 Trevor Willis 42; 5 Roger Moran 33; 6 Paul Ranson 27; etc.

            In-depth tributes to HSA members Tony Marsh and Allan Staniforth will follow in Speedscene 154

            Full Prescott report in Speedscene 153.

Championship positions after rounds 3 & 4: 1 Martin Groves 40pts; 2 Scott Moran 38; 3 Deryk Young 24; 4 Chris Merrick 23; 5 Trevor Willis 22; 6 Jos Goodyear 21; etc.

Bruce Fullerton has had a March 78B and Lola T460 Atlantic, which are campaigned in the HSCC Championship, stolen from a garage last week.  He is trying to spread the word around the motor racing community to both get the cars back as well as avoiding someone buying car/spares which are stolen.

A full report of both days’ motorsport will appear in Speedscene 153.

            Full report and pictures in Speedscene 153.

Championship positions after rounds 1 and 2: 1= Scott Moran and Martin Groves 20pts; 3= Deryk Young and Jos Goodyear 15; 5 Chris Merrick 9; 6 Roger Moran 8; etc.

With his Rover V6 powered Pilbeam appearing at Loton in the hands of its new owner, Cornishman Mike Tregoning, former 2-litre ace Tom New gets his first taste of V8 power alongside Chris Merrick. His successor to the number 10 spot in the Championship, Paul Haimes in the Dallara, heads a strong 2-litre class which also sees the return of another former champion, Adam Fleetwood. The former hill record-holder will partner father Roger in the ex.Wallace Menzies supercharged DJ Firehawk-Suzuki.

Expect more fireworks as Will Hall, now with a bigger Hayabusa in his Force, takes on rapid Welshman Eynon Price and the rest in a competitive 1600 class. Driving his awesome 700bhp Puma-Gould, Endean himself will join the new Mallock-BDG of Chris and Ashley Ward among the sports libres. A good entry of classic racers is headed by defending UK Changes Midland Hillclimb Champion Peter Cox’s beefy Chevron-Rover, while Paul Matty Classic champ Richard Jones in his Brabham-BDA will come under fire from Simon Durling’s Brabham-Buick and HSA stalwart Alan Goodwin’s Aldon AL3 sportsracer in the pre-‘72 class.

With practice on Easter Sunday, April 12, the competitive action gets under way the following day after a final practice session starting at 9.00am.

As broadcast on the Motors TV channel in November, these two hour-long seasonal reviews are now both available from Brayspeed on DVD in widescreen format. They cover the Nicholson McLaren British Hillclimb Championship and the Gates of Brockenhurst Gurston Down Championship. These specially produced programmes include all the top action and many of Tony Wiltshire’s penetrating interviews as featured on the regular programmes, each with an all-new commentary by Jerry Sturman. For full details and selected video excerpts, visit: www.brayspeed.co.uk

In autumnal Curborough sunshine, John Palmer secured his fifth HSA Speed Championship title in style with a new class record at Curborough on Sunday. ‘Conditions were ideal this afternoon,’ said Palmer. ‘I was determined to break my old record that’s stood for over five years. ‘I’d beaten it before by two hundredths during a run-off, which didn’t count, but it’s good to have taken four hundredths off officially.’ His Westfield Zetec S left Curborough’s 1700 Roadgoing Specialist Production Car mark at 33.49 sec.

            Rival Steve Filkin in his Elise, who Palmer had beaten to the Paul Matty Midland Sprint title only the previous weekend at Curborough, had to settle for second place in the Richard Egger Insurance backed HSA Championship. However long time series sponsor Alan Goodwin had a field day each weekend, with both cars powered by engines from his Aldon Automotive stable.

            After pipping equally hard trying Mini driver Hugh Whitcombe to the class win on his second run, the spectacular Matt Clarke found another half second to win the coveted Alan Payne Memorial Trophy for victory in the 16-strong class winners’ run-off. FTD went to Jeremy Wilson after not only he but his closest challengers, Curborough expert Glyn Sketchley in his 1100 Megapin-Yamaha and Simon Marsh in the Gould-Opel V6 went a little agricultural on their second runs!

            Full Championship results are now available elsewhere on the HSA website, and a full report of the meeting will appear in issue 151 of Speedscene.

A delighted Graeme Wight Jr scored the first British Hillclimb Championship victory for his awesome V10 Predator on home turf at Doune, edging out Martin Groves by two hundredths of a second to win the opening run-off. Trailing smoke from a blown gearbox towards the end of the second shoot-out, he all but matched his earlier pace but had to settle for settle for second place after a superb closing effort by Groves. With traces of Wight’s gearbox oil still on the track on the final bend, the outgoing British champion took the win a mere hundredth of a second outside his outright hill record.

            Despite clipping the notorious Doune barriers during the first run-off, Trevor Willis chased the leaders hard for third place each time in the OMS-Powertec. Another fine drive by Paul Haimes, who also had to contend with the oily track during the final run-off of the season, saw the 2-litre Dallara driver survive intense pressure from Wight Jr to hang on to his coveted tenth place on the Championship table by a single point from the Scot. But earlier, in a last round duel, Haimes’ bid to take the PowerMec Leaders Championship crown failed when a class win for Pilbeam-Millington sportscar driver Simon Fidoe secured the class-based title.

Final British Hillclimb Championship positions: 1 Scott Moran 265pts; 2 Martin Groves 247; 3 Trevor Willis 209; 4 Roger Moran 178; 5 Chris Merrick 170; 6 Jos Goodyear 133; 7 Paul Ranson 123; 8 Basil Pitt 96; 9 Deryk Young 76; 10 Paul Haimes 63; etc.

A full set of 1-hour Brayspeed DVDs covering Nicholson McLaren British Hillclimb rounds at Gurston, Shelsley, Loton Park, Doune, Bouley Bay, Le Val des Terres, Wiscombe and Prescott, plus all four rounds of the Gates of Brockenhurst Gurston Down Championship, is now available. For full details and selected video excerpts, visit: www.brayspeed.co.uk

Despite having already lost this year’s British Hillclimb Championship to Scott Moran, Martin Groves showed he’d lost none of his fighting spirit as he stormed to the double run-off win and FTD at Loton Park, resetting Moran’s hill record by three hundredths of a second on his final run with a 44.53. At the end of another typically all-out performance by the outgoing champion, he’d exceeded Moran’s total of wins this year and equalled the new champion’s number of 2008 records.

            Scott didn’t get the chance to retaliate as his Gould was sidelined for the day after a steering rack ball-joint broke – at 120mph on Cedar Straight – during his father Roger’s first qualifying run of the day. Roger escaped unscathed after a happily minor off-course excursion, but with nothing more to prove this year they took the decision to withdraw the car.

            With still an outside chance of catching Groves on the Championship table, Trevor Willis ran him close in the opening run-off before qualifying top for the second shoot-out, but then spun the OMS-Powertec out of the points at Fletchers. With two spectacular runs in the Predator V10, Graeme Wight Jr gave notice of his intention to return with a vengeance next year with third and second places respectively. The Scot is closing in to threaten Paul Haimes’ tenth place on the series table, and with Haimes also set to challenge fellow class winner Simon Fidoe in a PowerMec Leaders Championship showdown in the remaining round, there will still be plenty to play for at Doune’s Championship finale in a fortnight.

British Championship standings after Loton Park: 1 Scott Moran 265pts; 2 Martin Groves 228; 3 Trevor Willis 201; 4 Roger Moran 178; 5 Chris Merrick 170; 6 Jos Goodyear 133; etc.

Trevor Willis took the fourth British Hillclimb win of his career and clinched the Midlands based 2008 Avon/BMTR Top Ten Challenge title as he sped to FTD at Prescott on Sunday. With his British title already relinquished to Scott Moran at Gurston a fortnight earlier, Martin Groves won the opening Nicholson McLaren run-off from the howling Predator V10 of Graeme Wight Jr after Willis slipped to ninth after a mistake on the wet track and Moran failed even to qualify. But in the drier second run-off, Willis hit top form with the only sub 40sec run of the day to deny Moran the win.

            With the non-appearance of closest rival Robert Kenrick, Peter Cox clinched the UK Changes Midland Hillclimb title in the big Chevron-Rover B42, giving a huge boost to the increasingly popular pre-86 single seater class on the Midland hills. With two rounds to go, at Loton Park and Doune, the PowerMec Leaders Hillclimb Championship is reaching a climax as a class win for Paul Haimes at Prescott put the 2-litre Dallara driver at the head of the series table, level with Simon Fidoe’s Pilbeam-Millington sportscar.

British Championship standings after Prescott: 1 Scott Moran 265pts; 2 Martin Groves 207; 3 Trevor Willis 194; 4 Roger Moran 178; 5 Chris Merrick 170; 6 Jos Goodyear 118; etc.

Mike Endean, MD of Nicholson McLaren who has sponsored the MSA British Hillclimb Championship for the last five years, announced his continued backing for the Championship at Gurston Down’s BHC event in August. In 2009 the series will be supported by Endean’s company MCL Motorhomes, based in North Wales. For more information visit www.mcl-motorhomes.com

After another weekend of misfortune for the Groves/Ranson team, Scott Moran finally secured his first British Hillclimb title at Gurston Down with six rounds in hand.

            Early runner Paul Ranson slid wide over the Karousel rumble strip in the opening run-off, punctured a tyre with a piece of the Gould’s carbonfibre aero diffuser broken in the incident and spun the car at Ashes. Moran stammered up in fifth place with an electrical problem and with a new wheel and tyre in place, penultimate runner Martin Groves set the outright pace, salvaging a reprieve from what was by now his almost inevitable championship fate and handed the win when top qualifier Jos Goodyear slid the Pilbeam-Judd into the Ashes barrier.

            But when Ranson stormed the Gould down into Hollow early in the second shoot-out, the car coasted to a halt with a broken third gear. With no time for repairs, Groves was unable to take his run. Goodyear made amends for his earlier mistake by taking the second British run-off win of his career and FTD in the process. But this fine achievement was a little overshadowed as with just a second place finish and Groves non-starting, a delighted Scott Moran had easily done enough to secure his first British Hillclimb title.

            Scott’s victory also drew a parallel with Graham and Damon Hill in F1 – together with father Roger’s 1997 title, it marked the first father and son championship winning pairing in British hillclimbing.

Championship standings after Gurston Down: 1 Scott Moran, 262pts; 2 Martin Groves 189; 3 Trevor Willis 186; 4 Roger Moran 171; 5 Chris Merrick, 157; 6 Jos Goodyear, 114; etc.

The event also drew a healthy 33 cars and drivers vying for Richard Egger HSA Speed Championship points. With the entry split into two sections for awards purposes, Chris Jones headed the saloon and sports car section with an enterprising couple of runs in the Westfield – rather too enterprising second time up as he spun off into the Karousel infield in an attempt to get on terms with Simonn Braithwaite’s class record, although the win was secure from defending champion John Bradshaw, who took just one run in the Striker. That could have proved Bradshaw's undoing as Neil Duncanson, no stranger to the venue in the big Quattro, closed to within eight hundredths for a strong third place ahead of championship second place man Steve Filkin in the Elise. Wil Ker howled the Mini Turbo home in fifth, while a fine second run by Richard Colwill hauled the Impreza up through the field to complete the top six.

            John Burton and John Opie ruled the racing section in their Steve Owen built Ralt-Vauxhall RT3, Fyrth Crosse finding a massive second run improvement in the historic Ensign to almost get on terms with Opie as he drew clear of Brian Ball’s tiny Force-Yamaha. A fine scrap between Tony Jarvis and Martin Webb in their shared Van Diemen ‘Pterodactyl’ RF 84 was only settled on aggregate in Jarvis’s favour, after both set identical second run times.

            Full report will follow in Speedscene 150.

The weather gods stepped in to move Scott Moran one step further towards a 2008 British Hillclimb title on the very last run of the day at Shelsley Walsh on Sunday.

            After qualifying top with a new class record, Martin Groves went on to set yet another outright Shelsley record, at 22.58s, and win the morning run-off from Moran. He topped the Q-sheets in the afternoon, too, ahead of his rival. But after Moran had edged in front of Groves’ co-driver Paul Ranson, Groves took his final run just as rain started to fall at the top of the hill. Clocking 135mph on the approach, he was a quarter of a second up on Moran to the Esses before he hit the now slippery tarmac. He controlled the slide, but the time was gone and he had to settle for eighth place, leaving Ranson to score a season-best second place – just three hundredths of a second away from his first ever British run-off win.

            Moran’s series lead is now 68 points and although it’s still mathematically possible for Groves to win a fourth successive British title, he will need a string of record-supported wins over the remaining eight rounds with Moran returning a series of mediocre scores, which seems unlikely given the championship leader’s current form.

            Full report in Speedscene 150.

Championship positions after Shelsley Walsh: 1 Scott Moran 247pts; 2 Martin Groves 179; 3 Trevor Willis 172; 4 Roger Moran 155; 5 Chris Merrick 144; 6 Jos Goodyear 104; etc.

All Coast mufflers feature all stainless steel TIG welded construction and can be repacked.

Two straight run-off wins and a new hill record at Craigantlet boosted Scott Moran’s already healthy lead in the Nicholson McLaren British Hillclimb Championship. Rival Martin Groves’ Gould didn’t even turn a wheel in anger, a gearbox output shaft breaking as co-driver Paul Ranson brought the car to the line for its very first practice run on the high speed Belfast road course. With no spare available, the car was sidelined for the day and Groves could only watch from the sidelines as Moran stretched his series lead to 63 points.

Having equalled former champion Adam Fleetwood’s outright record at last year’s event, Scott carved a whole quarter of a second off the mark on the very last run of the day and with ten rounds of this year’s championship remaining, must now be a strong favourite for the 2008 title.

A relatively small group of British contenders made the trip across the Irish Sea and with qualification certain – provided they completed the course and got a time – several drivers scored their first ever British points. Among them was Andrew Platt who, with two fifth place finishes in his 2-litre Dallara, moved straight up to 14^th place on the championship table. Tom New, however, desperate to gain ground on 2-litre rival Paul Haimes in his absence, crashed out of the opening run-off. Sustaining rear wing and gearbox damage, he failed to add to his score.

            Full report in Speedscene 150.

Championship standings after Craigantlet: 1 Scott Moran 228pts; 2 Martin Groves 165; 3 Trevor Willis 157; 4 Roger Moran 144; 5 Chris Merrick 138; 6 Jos Goodyear 95; etc.

Wiscombe Park celebrated its 50^th Anniversary year in style at July’s British Championship meeting. A cavalcade of hillclimb cars and drivers associated with the Devon hillclimb’s history took place at lunchtime, many of which took part in a special class to commemorate the event. Tony Freeman’s picture shows a small cross-section with British champions Chris Cramer, Roger Moran, Tony Marsh and his famous 4WD Marsh Special, together with Martin Groves and Roy Lane, who between them have taken no less than sixteen British titles.

            Groves and Scott Moran took up the cudgels once again in their duel for the 2008 title, with Groves taking his tenth win of the year in the opening run-off to level with Moran’s total. But in the final shoot-out the ever present Trevor Willis, despite bouncing nudging the bank at Sawbench with his OMS-Powertec, split the battling duo as Moran took the win.

            Full report in Speedscene 150 – or check the Woolbridge MC website: www.woolbridge.co.uk

British Championship standings: 1 Scott Moran 207pts; 2 Martin Groves 165; 3 Trevor Willis 143; 4 Roger Moran 127; 5 Chris Merrick 121; 6 Jos Goodyear 95; etc.

            A full review will appear in Speedscene 149.

On a weekend in which conditions alternated between torrential rain and bright sunshine, a limited choice of tyres confined British Hillclimb Championship leader Scott Moran to fifth place in the wet opening run-off at Harewood. Martin Groves continued his championship fightback to take the win, almost a second clear of the hot favourite in the conditions, Trevor Willis.  But when sunshine and a dry track greeted competitors in the afternoon shoot-out Moran approached hill record pace, storming to victory over Groves with the only sub-50sec run of the weekend and maintaining a healthy 40-point series lead over the defending champion.

            Amid a strong contingent of Richard Egger HSA Championship contenders, John Palmer boosted his score with a good run for fourth place in the 2-litre ModProd class and Fyrth Crosse enjoyed his first visit to Harewood as he took on the bike-engined hordes in the 1600 racing class with the Ensign-BDA. The dedicated HSA class enjoyed the best weather towards the end of the meeting, Eric Morrey setting the top pace of the day in the Clan to take the win from Wil Ker (bouncing back after a transmission failure on the Mini turbo in practice) and battling Peugeot duo Chris Flavell and Emerson Kent.

Full report in Speedscene 149.

Championship standings after round 16, Harewood: 1 Scott Moran, 150pts; 2 Martin Groves, 110; 3 Trevor Willis, 103; 4 Roger Moran, 91; 5, Chris Merrick, 84; 6 Paul Ranson, 68; etc.

Trevor Willis boosted his lead in the Avon/BMTR Challenge series with both run-off wins and a 37.71 FTD at Prescott last weekend. Behind the dominant OMS-Powertec driver, this UK Changes Midland Hillclimb Championship event staged a day-long battle between Chris Merrick and Deryk Young that began with a tie for second spot in the opening run-off, before moving up ahead of the absent Scott Moran to take second and third on the Championship table.

            A strong turnout of Richard Egger HSA Speed contenders supported the event, both throughout the classes and in two dedicated classes for B Licence competitors. They figured strongly in the overall results with Gary Hill the outright pacemaker in his OMS-Yamaha, his 43.43 taking outright victory in the 1100cc single-seater class. John Burton and John Opie took on the pre-85 racing cars in their 2-litre Ralt-Vauxhall RT3, with Burton shadowing new Midland Championship leader Peter Cox’s massive Chevron-Rover for second in class, while Opie was eased out of third place by a last run charge from Barrie Lines’ similarly powered Argo JM8. Stuart Cairney took the top Paul Matty Classic Saloon class handicap award in the Imp while in the ultra-competitive 2-litre ModProd sports car class, Chris Jones returned in his Westfield-Vauxhall to take on regular pacemakers Tim Cross and Dave Wilson and finish third in a sixteen-strong class.

            In the equally well supported HSA B Licence road car division, winner Eric Morrey and the Clan outran Championship leader Lyn Padfield’s Lotus Seven by just over half a second, Emerson Kent running a close third in his Peugeot 205 GTi.

            Full report in the next issue of Speedscene.

I am devastated to report that long standing member 1914 and past HSA committee member Malcolm Eaves was fatally injured in a motor accident last night, returning home from Prescott.

Malcolm regularly competed for 52 years and at the highest level. At Prescott on Saturday he spoke with his customary enthusiasm about how much he was relishing competing with his Lotus Elan twincam after a delayed start to his season.

The HSA Committee wish to extend their deepest condolences to Malcolm’s family and friends. Malcolm was the perfect example of those who make hill climbing the sport we love – his thoughtful and courteous presence brightening any paddock with his enthusiasm, understanding, charm, and quiet support. A true gentleman who we all will miss.

Scott Moran set the outright pace at a miserably wet Doune hillclimb, scaling the daunting heights of the Carse of Cambus with a 41.14s FTD to win the second of the day’s two run-offs and extend his lead on the Nicholson McLaren British Hillclimb Championship table. Top challenger Martin Groves, who had denied Moran the win in the first run-off, had to settle for third place behind Trevor Willis, the OMS-Powertec driver recovering well from a barrier-swiping incident in the opening shoot-out that had left him with a puncture, a damaged wheel and an eleventh place finish out of the points. But the mistake proved costly for Willis, who lost his second place on the series table to Groves as the defending champion continued his long haul back into 2008 contention.

            After a stunning practice run in the awesome Predator V10 on Saturday, just over half a second outside Groves’ 36.00s outright hill record, Graeme Wight Jr qualified in second place for the opening run-off. Then gearbox problems struck yet again and he finished only ninth before retiring the car. Former Scottish Hillclimb Champion Jonathan Rarity made a fine debut British run-off appearance in his Mark Hutcheson built Ghost-Hayabusa, bringing the diminutive machine, minus bodywork, well into the points each time.

            Full report in Speedscene 149.

Championship standings after round 14, Doune: 1 Scott Moran 134pts; 2 Martin Groves 91; 3 Trevor Willis 89; 4 Chris Merrick 84; 5 Roger Moran 81; 6 Paul Ranson 56; etc.

1995 British Hillclimb Champion and now triple FIA Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in recognition of his outstanding motor racing career. ‘I was very surprised and honoured to receive an envelope with the royal logo on,’ said a delighted Priaulx, whose autobiography will be launched at at the Brands Hatch World Touring Car event on July 26-27. ‘I love my racing and I’m proud to carry the flags of both Guernsey and the UK on my car and overalls, so recognition of this sort is something really special.’

            A full report will follow in Speedscene.

Championship standings after round 12, Loton Park: 1 Scott Moran, 115pts; 2 Trevor Willis, 80; 3= Martin Groves and Roger Moran, 73; 5 Chris Merrick, 72; 6 Jos Goodyear, 54; etc

Hillclimb Supersports (Clubmans to the regulars!) stalwarts Chris and Ashley Ward will be out in the sports libre class this year aboard the ex.Paul Haimes Mallock Mk20, with a new 2-litre BDG/Connaught unit, although they still have the Mk20X Clubmans spec car to run in the Supersports class until the new car's rebuild is completed. The ever-competitive Clubmans ranks will be swelled in 2008 by John Waggitt and Peter Needham, who will be running the ex. Colin Pook/Piers Thynne Mallock.

All programmes will go out at 9.00pm except for the Shelsley event, which will be aired at 7.30pm.

TOYO TIRES have announced the introduction of the new PROXES R888 SG Soft compound racing tyre.

This new tyre has been specifically designed for use at Sprint/Hill climb or Short Tarmac speed events. Built on the immensely successful R888 casing design, this new tyre features a super soft compound mix for extra grip, short heat build up and super responsive steering.