BHC Tin Top Challenge 2024 - Shelsley Walsh - Rounds 5 & 6

Defending champion Damien Bradley had a successful weekend at Shelsley Walsh in his Subaru Legacy 2,350cc Turbo.  He won the first Tin Top run Off and came second in the other.

 For the second year, the British Hillclimb Championship is holding a Tin Top Challenge this year.  I caught up with this in August at Shelsley Walsh, the previous rounds having been held at Harewood and Wiscombe.  A real mixture of cars take part including road going saloons or sports cars, more modified cars, rally and rallycross cars and out and out specials.  They bring some variety to the British hillclimb scene and support certain British Hill Climb Championship rounds.  A run off takes place at each meeting between the top ten fastest tin tops after the class runs.  The Tin Top Challenge is sponsored by AET Turbos.

This year the championship is close between four competitors including Roger Moran, Simon Bainbridge, Stephen Moore and Damien Bradley all of whom feature in this blogpost.

For the record the fastest Tin Top Run Off time was 27.77 seconds for the 1,000 yard run compared to 22.43 for the fastest single seater racing car.  This looks, sounds and is fast!

All the pictures were taken Saturday during the practice runs.

 More blogposts on the August Shelsley Walsh meeting coming shortly.

Simon Bainbridge in his crowd pleasing Audi engined SBR Crono mirrored the success of Damien Bradley at Shelsley Walsh and won the second Tin Top Run Off and came second in the other.

Leading the Tin Top Challenge after Shelsley Walsh is former British Hillclimb Champion (1997) Roger Moran.  In his Skoda R5 2,000 Turbo he finished third in both of the Run Offs at Shelsley Walsh.

Stephen Moore in this Mitsubishi Evo 6 GSR  2300cc.Turbo finished fourth in both Tin Top Run Offs at Shelsley Walsh.

Paul Howells finished fifth and sixth in the two Tin Top Run-Offs at Shelsley Walsh in this Porsche 911 RSR 3.8.

Robbie Birrell scored a fifth in the first of the Tin Top Run Offs at Shelsley Walsh in this Porsche Cayman GTS 2,500cc Turbo.

Stuart Reid scored a sixth and a seventh position in the Tin Top Run Offs at Shelsley Walsh in this Peugeot 205 1,927cc.

Duncan Andrews scored a seventh position in the second Tin Top Run off at Shelsley Walsh in his Porsche Cayman GT4 3,800cc.

Richard Snow was eighth in the first Tin Top Run Off at Shelsley Walsh in this Porsche Cayman GT4 3,800cc.

Robert Lancaster-Gaye finished ninth in the first Tin Top Run Off at Shelsley Walsh in this Porsche Cayman GT4 3,800cc.

Stephen Darley qualified for the first Run Off but didn't start in this Subaru Impreza 2,350cc Turbo.

Mark Lawrence qualified for the second Run Off but didn't start in this Porsche Cayman 2,500cc Turbo.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web à condition de créditer le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com, et de fournir un lien vers cette page.

Jock Ramsey was at Shelsley Walsh in this Opel Manta 1,998cc.  He had been in the Run Off at Harewood.

Other interesting Tin Tops competing at Shelsley Walsh included :

Steve Mundy in his Ford Fiesta 4x4 2,000cc Turbo (a rallycross car!)

Stuart Gilbert in his 5,300cc MGB GT V8.

Nigel Elliot in his Triumph TR7 V8 4,600cc Turbo.

The SBR Crono in the paddock.

The MGB's V8 engine.

2020 Course de Côte du Mont Dore - VHC Monoplaces

Marc-André Schyrr in his lovely late sixties Crosslé 12F F3 near the top of the Mont Dore hill.

This year the Vehicule Historique Compétition class at the Course de Côte de Mont Dore was not a round of the French Championship but nevertheless still attracted a nice field of cars.  Lovely to see so many single seaters as this was the sixtieth running of the hillclimb at Mont Dore and they are part of its history.  My first post on the VHC cars will feature just the single seaters.  These were primarily old Martinis but a number of other marques also featured.  Martinis were a dominant force in French hillclimbing from the late seventies to the late nineties and thus no surprise to see so many.  Lots of these cars are regulars in VHC Course de Côte but I had not seen this Crosslé before and it helped make my day enjoyable.

The Van Diemen RF82 of Jean-Marc Debeaune.  

Sébastien Brissard in his Martini Mk25.  He has the fastest time on Saturday.

The Martini Mk15 of Michel Ritzenthaler. 

Gilles Cursoux in his Martini Mk30.

The Martini Mk57 of Bernard Pernilla passes by the beautiful scenery of Le Col de la Croix de Saint Robert

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page

A marshal gets  a close up view of Roger Serge Toupence in his Martini Mk32

Another Martini.

Prescott Speed Hill Climb - 40 years ago

A Bugatti makes the climb at Prescott 40 years ago.

Today I would have been at Prescott for the opening round of the 2020 British Hillclimb championship.  Of course with the current Covid19 crisis, neither the event or my travel will happen.  By a curious coincidence, yesterday I picked up a long forgotten photo album and found some black and white photos I took about 40 years ago in 1980 at Prescott.

They were taken on a Minolta 430E 110 format camera.  At the time a very compact camera for basic snap shots.  Strangely it makes the photos of a classic car meeting look even more distant and nostalgic!  The format and black and white plus the cars themselves takes you back a further 50 years to the 1930s.   I decided to leave them all in the original 4x3 format.

Another pre-war car makes the climb.

An MG makes the climb

The lower part of the course can be clearly seen.

An Alfa Romeo unless I am mistaken.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.

Another driver in the same MG as before.

From the Archives - Newton Classic Hill Climb, Prescott, 1st June 1980

500cc racer att speed in the Newton Classic Hill Climb, Prescott, 1st June 1980

My first visit to the Prescott Hill Climb was on June 1st 1980 for the Newton Oils Classic Hill Climb organised by the Bugatti Owners Club.  Rarely for that time, I took along my camera.  At that time it was an Olympus OM10 equipped with 24mm, 50mm and 100mm lens.  The Prescott Speed Hill Climb is situated in Gloucestershire, England not far from Cheltenham and is just over 1 kilometre in length.  Prescott has been the home of the Bugatti Owners Club for many years and they had their first meeting at Prescott as long ago as 1938.

The June 1980 meeting attracted many nice cars and the marques represented included Bugatti, Alfa Romeo and many other as you can see below.  Apologies for any mis-identification of the cars.

The start line at Prescott.

1956 Tojeiro-Aston Martin DB3S attacks the hill.

Frazer Nash le Mans Replica at the hairpin.

Porsche 365 tackles one of the Prescott hairpins.

Am MG climbs the hill.

A Bugatti?

Pre-war Alfa Romeo at speed.

Smoking Frazer Nash Le Mans Reoplica

Another vintage car climbs the hill.

A Triumph near the top of the hill.

The finish line at Prescott.

IN THE PADDOCK

The paddock was as exciting as the hill;.

Beautiful vintage Bugattis.

Rileys in the paddiock at prescott.in cluding Riley 16/4 Blue Streak on the right and Riley 12/4 Special on the left.

A trio of beautiful pre-war Alfa Romeos.

Ferrari 308GTB in the paddock.

More Bugattis.

Austin  Healey 3000.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.

HWM?