172 replies to this topic

[Twin Window]

Apologies to those who've already seen these pics on one of the 'Personal photos...' threads, but it struck me that hillclimbs don't get mentioned here too often. These are pics I took on my visit to Shelsley Walsh in August 1975; the only hillclimb I attended until I visited the same venue again in 1999.

My second visit was enjoyable, but in no way as interesting as much as my first!


The Brabham BT37 F1 of Geoff Rollason, formerly raced by Reutemann, de Adamich, Hill & Watson.



John Cussins had 5.7 litres of Chevy in the back of his unique Chevron B32.



Multiple hillclimb Champion Roy Lane's McRae GM1.



Jonty Williamson's ex-van Lennep, Santo & Woods F5000 Surtees TS11 - here with a 5.7 Chev.



Still in Yardley livery, an F1 BRM P153 V12. Worth the trip on its own...



Rollason warms up his rears.



The BRM P153 blasts off the line.



Followed by the Surtees TS8



Back in those days there were plenty of cars entered with some form of pedigree. Anyone else with interesting photos, or maybe recollections, to share?

[Rob Ryder]

Twinny
Who was driving the P153 at Shelsley?
Rob

[Nordic1]

For 4 years in the late 70's early 80's our family hoilday was always to the channel Islands, this normally was timed to match the RCA hill climb.

N Le Tissier in what the program refers to as a B30 ex Waring a Gillow car maybe the same car in twinnys picture

A Dix in a martini BM16

Th event also used to have the sand racing monsters run up the hill, often powered by Jag V12 or Rover V8's these live axel cars had very little in the way of on road handing but where great fun watch. Sadly they did not appeal to my motor racing eye so escaped being photographed.

[ian senior]

Originally posted by Rob Ryder
Twinny
Who was driving the P153 at Shelsley?
Rob

Got a feeling it was John McCartney.

[dolomite]

A teeny bit OT as it's flat sprinting rather than hillclimbing, but it seemed to be an appropriate place to post these.
I snapped this BRM P160 at Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials in 1980. I have no recollection whatsoever of who it belonged to or who was driving it. Anybody have any idea?

[Gav Astill]

Originally posted by dolomite

I snapped this BRM P160 at Weston-Super-Mare Speed Trials in 1980. I have no recollection whatsoever of who it belonged to or who was driving it. Anybody have any idea?

The only person I can trace racing a P160 in the 1980s was David Andrews, who did a couple of Historic F1 races in 1983/4 in P160/10.

[Twin Window]

Is David the father of Phil, who worked for Lucas? Or is it the bloke who raced an F5000 Surtees in the mid-seventies? Or are they one and the same?!

[Gav Astill]

You've got me there. I assume you mean the ex-F3000/Euroboss/ADA Pantera driving Phil?

[David McKinney]

Wasn't the Surtees driver Colin Andrews?

[Twin Window]

I think that's right, David, which makes David Phil's dad.

I think.

[Gav Astill]

The Surtees TS8 driver was definitely COLIN

[Allen Brown]

McCartney had a P153 and also a P160 and also a P180 ...

[bill moffat]

Stepping back a few more years we had Hillclimb Championship-winning F1 cars in the Ferguson P99 and the BRM P67...courtesy of Peter Westbury in particular.

[petefenelon]

I can think of a few not mentioned yet....

David Render of Warecrete fame managed to get a 76 from Chapman - not that the 76 was the greatest Lotus ever, so Chunky was probably fairly well-disposed to getting rid of one ;)

Of course there's also the March 2-4-0 rear end which was attached to several F1 chassis - Roy Lane had fun with that, IIRC.

The last "real" F1 car up the hills that I can think of was Graeme Hickman's '93 Jordan (which he ran in '94 or '95 with a barn-door rear wing on it and a Ford engine, I think?) - although Graeme hurt himself quite badly with it...

I think the modern F1 car is too low, too wide and too "peaky" for most hills - Goodwood apart, which is straighter and wider than most hills on the RAC series - so I doubt we'll ever see the like again.

[ian senior]

Originally posted by bill moffat
Stepping back a few more years we had Hillclimb Championship-winning F1 cars in the Ferguson P99 and the BRM P67...courtesy of Peter Westbury in particular.

It was Peter Lawson that took the P67 to the 1968 championship, although I think P. Westbury used it in the previous year. Lawson cheated a bit by putting a 2.1 litre engine in the car, but I think I'll let him get away with that - he had to do something to overcome the power losses caused by 4WD.

There also used to be some hefty sports cars on the hills - I remember a blue McLaren M12, but can't recall who drove it. (was it John McCartney again?) And there was also a Lola T70, of all things, but with the normal bodywork consigned to the bin and replaced with a home brewed creation with cycle wings akin to the Lotus 7 and others of that ilk. Think Phil Scragg was the man conducting that beast.

[David Beard]

Originally posted by petefenelon

I think the modern F1 car is too low, too wide and too "peaky" for most hills -

Very true,.....except for "too wide" thanks to the silly regs in place over the last few years....

[bill moffat]

Forgive my ignorance but is 4wd banned in the Racing Car classes these days ? Presumably it was the traction afforded by the BRM and Ferguson 4wd systems that gave them the "edge". Any potential for a nimble 4wd hybrid these days ?

My last visit to a hillclimb must have been 20 years ago or so I'm afraid, Prescott on a summer's day with all sorts of machines entered, I must get back there this year...

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by ian senior

And there was also a Lola T70, of all things, but with the normal bodywork consigned to the bin and replaced with a home brewed creation with cycle wings akin to the Lotus 7 and others of that ilk. Think Phil Scragg was the man conducting that beast.

Yes, you're right there. It was a gruesome looking beastie - at least one pic of it in Chris Mason's excellent Uphill Racers which is a real "must read" and indeed "must look at the pics" for anyone with any interest in hillclimbing. It kind of reminded me of the Zerex Special, if someone had taken tin-snips to that.....;)

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by bill moffat
Forgive my ignorance but is 4wd banned in the Racing Car classes these days ? Presumably it was the traction afforded by the BRM and Ferguson 4wd systems that gave them the "edge". Any potential for a nimble 4wd hybrid these days ?

[/IMG]

I'm not sure if/when 4wd was banned, but the March 2-4-0 certainly ran in the late 70s....;) I know Tom Hammonds' awesome swb Audi Quattro had to run in Sports Libre rather than any of the touring car classes - now that was one of the most terrifying competition cars I've ever seen!

[Ted Walker]

Going back to the photos from Shelsley it is in fact Tony Griffiths warming up the Brabhams tyres. George Tatham pictured in the Mclaren sports car also hillclimbed the unique Brabham BT17 Sportscar.

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by Ted Walker

Going back to the photos from Shelsley it is in fact Tony Griffiths warming up the Brabhams tyres.

Interesting you say that, Ted.

I had it in my mind that it was Griffiths from the time, but we all know how our memories can fail us. So I checked on Allen's site and determined that it must have been Rollason's BT37, despite having this nagging feeling about the Kidderminster Motors sponsorship.

However, I've just looked a little closer at my pics and realised it's not a BT37 at all! In fact it must be a BT33, albeit fitted with some BT37 bodywork. The flanks of the monococque are the giveaway, and Griffiths had one at the meeting in question - chassis 3; ex-Stommelen, Charlton, Schenken, Hill & Fittipaldi W - again, according to Allen's site.

Going back to the Rollason BT37, does anyone know if it was dark blue and white? I swear that was the colour of a BT37 I sat in at Bristol Street Motors in Birmingham a few months later when I went to a Jackie Stewart Q&A evening.

[275 GTB-4]

QUOTE:
Did you know that Jack Daniels died? Alec Issiggonis's right hand man [written up in Times obituaries Dec 4]. He was the designer of the Minor and Mini and Alec Issigonis's ideas man.

I know Alec I 's godson who raced a 5 litre Repco Brabham and won the British Hill Climb Championship-great bloke
UNQUOTE

Godson's name is: [INSERT NAME]

Answers in plain brown brown wrapper please

[Coogar]

Somehow Charles Wardle springs to mind.........But the mind ain't what it used to be !

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by ian senior

There also used to be some hefty sports cars on the hills - I remember a blue McLaren M12, but can't recall who drove it.

In recent times, George Tatham has driven a 7.2 litre M12C at Shelsley.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally posted by Coogar
Somehow Charles Wardle springs to mind.........But the mind ain't what it used to be !

Thanks!! Now that does ring a bell!

Wasn't it Wardle (Snr?) who was Issi's best friend and helped him build the lightweight special?

Might naturally follow that any offsprng might have Issi as a Godparent...

http://forums.atlasf...=Charles Wardle

[Nordic1]

Ted Williams, I think, used a Hesketh 308 in 1980, he narrowed the track but I don't think it was a success.

There was also a 'Cooper V8' being used by a 'P Pipet' to good effect in the channel Islands late 70's - 80's. No info on what type it was.

The John Cussins Chevron B32 was used by Le Tisser in 1978, then used by A Sauvarin still with 5.7 litres of Chevy in the back as 1980.

[RTH]

The Lotus 76 was only loaned to David Render - he did not own it.

Isn't that BRM P153 a beautiful looking racing car - top 5 great looking cars for me.

Sorry to hear about Jack Daniels - he could turn Alec Issigonis' sketches in to metal and featured heavily in the TV film about Issigonis' life story.

[dolomite]

Originally posted by Nordic1
Ted Williams, I think, used a Hesketh 308 in 1980, he narrowed the track but I don't think it was a success.

That's reminded me I have some pictures of that car at Weston-Super-Mare. I'll see if I can dig them out.

[Ted Walker]

GeoffRollasons BT37 was dark blue .It was later sprinted by Simon Riley and was stored for many years in a lock up in the Mancester area before going abroad only to be discovered by Allen Brown.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally posted by 275 GTB-4


Thanks!! Now that does ring a bell!

Wasn't it Wardle (Snr?) who was Issi's best friend and helped him build the lightweight special?

Might naturally follow that any offsprng might have Issi as a Godparent...

http://forums.atlasf...=Charles Wardle

Close but no cigar!!

QUOTE
Chris Dowson [Alec Issogonis's God son] owned the Pilbeam Repco 5 litre and he shared the championship drives with Charles Wardle who pipped him for the Championship just as Hulme did to Sir Jack in 1967.

I advised him to return the car to Repco Brabham status which he did as he kept the original BT 36X[?] chassis but sold everything at Auction including A.I's monocoque alloy hill climb special, to put his daughters through Medicine. The new owner promptly wrote it off [almost anyway] and it remains in pieces in Sweden.

Cheers, Rob.and Happy New Year.
UNQUOTE

Allen Brown please take note!

[dolomite]

Here is the Hesketh 308E of Ted Williams at the Weston Speed Trials in 1980.

[AlesiUK]

I was lucky enough to grow up going to hill climbs so i guess its fair to say that i owe a lot of my love of motorsports to hillclimb racing.

Many a happy weekend were spent at places like Doune and wick or fintray, my dad helped build several cars for hillclimbs,everything from from an ex f3 ralt to a davrian and various hillman imp projects. Some of the nicest people ive ever met still in motoracing were from hillclimbing. My old man helped build ( and rebuild ) several cars shared by a couple of guys called Kenny Allen and Martin Pieracini. Kenny was probably one of the best of his era and won a few titles IIRC, Martin was incredible in that he only had the sight of one eye, he had a glass eye and was still pretty damn quick up a hill!

My dad also had his one and only racing experience in a hillclimb at doune,a brilliant mechanic/fabricator that he was,he was never much of a driver..... He somehow ended up having a go in a custom built car which i think was an MG B(?). He crashed on the last corner and never set a time!/

Anyhow,on the title subject, there was a guy called John Gray used to have what i think was a mid 80's F3000 chassis with a Judd F1 engine bolted to the back of it for use in hillclimbs and sprints. Sounded awesome.

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by petefenelon


David Render of Warecrete fame managed to get a 76 from Chapman - not that the 76 was the greatest Lotus ever, so Chunky was probably fairly well-disposed to getting rid of one ;)

IIRC Chapman also loaned Render a T77 (but I could be wrong). I think we've discussed Render and Chapman before - they seem to have known each other back in Colin's car sales days and kept in touch.

Am I right in thinking Render ran the T76 in basically the very original bi-wing and chisel nose format as opposed to the later bodywork transformations that Lotus tried on the car in 1974?

[RTH]

Originally posted by Ruairidh


IIRC Chapman also loaned Render a T77 (but I could be wrong). I think we've discussed Render and Chapman before - they seem to have known each other back in Colin's car sales days and kept in touch.

Am I right in thinking Render ran the T76 in basically the very original bi-wing and chisel nose format as opposed to the later bodywork transformations that Lotus tried on the car in 1974?

Right on all counts I believe

[Alan Cox]

Harking back to the Phil Scragg reference, apart from the T70 he had so many other current, or near-current racers rebodied for hillcimbing - does anyone else have any pics chronicling his hillclimb career? I seem to recall that he did, early on, actually compete with the T70 in its original all-enveloping guise - am I wrong?

[Ted Walker]

Alan I beleive he started off with an HRG in the early 50s,graduating to an Alta Jaguar, the Monza Lister Jaguar, HWM Jaguar. Chapparral Mk1, Lt Wt E Type, The T70 in both body styles, Lola 212 Buick. and of coure BRM P48.Im sure Ive missed a couple out along the way.

[Ted Walker]

I did !!!! the Chevron B 19 BMW and the Mclaren M12c.

[Pete Stowe]

Originally posted by Ruairidh

IIRC Chapman also loaned Render a T77 (but I could be wrong). I think we've discussed Render and Chapman before - they seem to have known each other back in Colin's car sales days and kept in touch.

Render in the 77 at Weston-super-Mud

[MCS]

Originally posted by Ted Walker
GeoffRollasons BT37 was dark blue .It was later sprinted by Simon Riley...

Interesting. Wonder what state it was in when Allen Brown discovered it?

This must have been the rather lurid orange and black "Monsieur Houbigant" sponsored car then.

I first saw this at a round of the British Sprint Championship at Oulton Park in 1976 (I think).

It was so strangely painted I couldn't work out what it was initially. It was though, to be honest, a bit of a weird day actually. Nothing better to do this Saturday - see there's a round of the British Sprint Championship at Oulton, so I'll go and have a look. (Thinking: what exactly is a "sprint" anyway?)

I arrived at Oulton Park and realised almost immediately that the paddock was empty. Oh brilliant, all this way for nothing because I can't read a calendar properly.

And then, turning the car around to head out again, I saw a single seater approaching Knickerbrook

Utterly bewildered (I was very young) I drove down towards Cascades for a better look and discovered that the Sprint paddock was in fact the old road between the approach to Cascades and Clay Hill - no, not the "Fosters" circuit - and the "course" was from just after Cascades to, basically, just after the crest after Hilltop. And, wow, there were Formula One cars down there (including the Render Lotus 76 in JPS colours). Over the fence then! It was one of those RACMSA "closed" meetings, so officially no spectators were supposed to be present.

It was very interesting, despite the fact that you weren't allowed to venture beyond the paddock - although, in fairness, you could see about half of the circuit from there.

So, why all this nonsense? Well, Mr Riley - for reasons unknown at the time to me (although probably in fairness due to a mechanical problem) managed to spin his F1 Brabham through 360 degrees crossing the finish line at Hilltop which must, surely, have been taken flat out.

But I don't think he hit anything! There was a hushed silence amongst the paddock spectators and the car came back on the end of a tow rope, but that's all I know...

Mark

Note to Twinny: There's a lot of Sprinting references in this thread, maybe it should be retitled?

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by Pete Stowe

Render in the 77 at Weston-super-Mud

Thanks Pete for posting that

[Twin Window]

Originally posted by MCS

I arrived at Oulton Park and realised almost immediately that the paddock was empty. Oh brilliant, all this way for nothing because I can't read a calendar properly.

I did exactly that in 1976 - my mate and I took our girlfriends up for the Gold Cup (I think it was) all the way from Sutton Coldfield, only to discover that it had taken place the day before...

[eldougo]

This is at Shelsley Walsh 1979 ? It's the McRae F5000 of Dave Harris ,he lives in Bristol ,got a Xmas card from him again this year .

Fire it up

That's me

A Dr ....... i think ? in his RaltRT-1 DFV.And the designer Derek Gardner on the left.
he was looking after Ron's RALT.

Good crowd in them there hills.

.
I got to see a few Hillclimbs in the UK .Great fun.when it was sunny!

[Coogar]

Pic 3....Not quite an F1 car inasmuch as it began life as an F3, but it's Mike MacDowel (former Cooper works F2 pilot) in the Coogar-Ralt DFV (Ch No RT1/2) which was originally Larry Perkins' F3 mount in '75 before 'taking to the hills'. Derek Gardner was the 'Gar' in Coogar, the 'Coo' being Coombs of Guildford, Mr MacDowel's company.
In later life it had Rover V8 power and proved pretty effective(and fun) during the 15 years that I had it.

[David McKinney]

Originally posted by eldougo
.And the designer Derek Gardner on the left

...of the car (but on the right of the picture)

[Huw Jadvantich]

I remember seeing McCartney in a three different BRMs, maybe four because the 153 (or the 160 with an old type nose) appeared on the hills in Marboro colours. (Certainly in Yardley colours that BRM would have to be one of the prettiest F1 cars ever.)
David Goode drove a DFV engined Lyncar (with one arm), which I think was the car that John Nicholson drove on the circuits wasn't it?.
I have 'box brownie' piks of each somewhere, also Sir Nick Williamson in a DFV March (721G?)
As well as Roy Lane's McRae, there were Chevron, McLaren and Lola F5000s going up, and a Repco Brabham.
I see what you mean about the side tanks on the BT33/37, but I seem to remember there was a 37 around too with flat flanks.
I think the Render Lotus 76 only did sprints not hillclimbs. A Lotus (70?) F5000 car does hillclimbing these days.
Does any one recall a Weslake V12 doing a hillclimb ? A Cooper F1 car with a Chrysler engine?

[Coogar]

The Cooper Chrysler (a T86 ?) was created/driven by Martin Brain and had a 7.0 litre engine with the biggest-bore exhausts I have ever seen. If memory serves he died in an accident at Silverstone. He also ran other Coopers in period. iirc these included one BRM-powered car, but I may be rambling now.
From an earlier period, Arthur Owen's 2.2 litre Cooper was a genuine F1 car, having contested the 1960 Italian GP.
And did a certain Jack Cordingley not contest northern hills in one of the Brian Naylor JBW Maseratis ?
In Ireland, John Pringle held a succession of hill records in his then-current F1 Cooper with 2.5 litre Climax through 1959-1961.

[Mallory Dan]

Originally posted by Huw Jadvantich
I remember seeing McCartney in a three different BRMs, maybe four because the 153 (or the 160 with an old type nose) appeared on the hills in Marboro colours. (Certainly in Yardley colours that BRM would have to be one of the prettiest F1 cars ever.)
David Goode drove a DFV engined Lyncar (with one arm), which I think was the car that John Nicholson drove on the circuits wasn't it?.
I have 'box brownie' piks of each somewhere, also Sir Nick Williamson in a DFV March (721G?)
As well as Roy Lane's McRae, there were Chevron, McLaren and Lola F5000s going up, and a Repco Brabham.
I see what you mean about the side tanks on the BT33/37, but I seem to remember there was a 37 around too with flat flanks.
I think the Render Lotus 76 only did sprints not hillclimbs. A Lotus (70?) F5000 car does hillclimbing these days.
Does any one recall a Weslake V12 doing a hillclimb ? A Cooper F1 car with a Chrysler engine?

I think the Lyncar DFV was out before the Nicholson F1 car, which appeared in 1974-75. It later went to Emilio de V in 1976-77, then another Spaniard. The Hillclimb car was before 1974 from memory. The Sir Nick W car was a 741 as I recall, ex Stuck I think.

[Macca]

I had an idea I'd seen a pic of Sir Nich?sp? Williamson in the Cooper-Chrysler.

I remember well the Weston Speed Trials in 1977 - it was Weston-super-Sand that day as the tide was out and the wind was north-west, and there were various F1 and F2 cars (which unfortunately I can't remember ) but they didn't run because of the fear of getting sand in their throttle slides.

The FTD went to someone in a McRae GM1, I'll have to look up who, but mainly only carb open-wheelers ran. I think the second quickest time went to a 1000cc racing Kawasaki bike.

The other thing I remember (apart from having to wear my helmet with the visor down to keep the sand out of my eyes while spectating) was that DSJ was there riding his sprint Tribsa, and was quite kind and polite to a total and awkward stranger (me!) when I spoke to him in the paddock.



Paul M

[Stephen W]

If you want to ramble through the History of The British Sprint Championship Results then log onto the BMSA website at www.britishsprint.org

We have had a lot of ex F1 cars taking part plus many F5000 cars some of which never circuit raced!

On the question of FOUR WHEEL DRIVE it is NOT outlawed however with modern tyre technology the advantages 4-w-d gave have been offset by the better grip available. Also the 4-w-d systems additional weight has also seen this form of transmission disappear. There are the odd exception and Nick Mann's Sports Libre is one that springs to mind.

I believe the ex-Hickman Jordan is now hung on a wall in a chop suey joint in Hong Kong - unless it has been taken down and repaired!

David Render did have a couple of Lotus F1 cars 'on loan' from Colin Chapman who was a personal friend.

[Charles Helps]

Originally posted by Stephen W
[....]David Render did have a couple of Lotus F1 cars 'on loan' from Colin Chapman who was a personal friend.

Nice web site, Stephen. I went to Weston in 1977 and 1978 (I've found my old programmes and a couple of slides). Fred Burt was entered there in both years in a BRM P153. I'm sure he was there in 1978 in the red and white painted BRM with the wonderful V12 engine exposed to view.

I think I must have just bought Doug Nye's book Theme Lotus as I've pencilled in JPS 11 and DFV 059 against David Render's Lotus 77. Simon Riley had the Brabham BT33- DFV but broke a driveshaft so didn't take his second top-ten run.

In the 1977 event David Harris had the ex-Roy Lane Mcrae GM1 to answer Macca's point above and I think Ron Hughes is the rider of the Kawasaki - it's down as 1075 cc.