Marshals Training finally took place on the weekend of 24th & 25th March after a postponement due to bad weather earlier in the month. Over 120 marshals from all over the Midlands turned up learn latest techniques, MSA guidelines, safety and fire tackling. There were also hands-on demonstrations of how to extricate a driver following an accident and talks from our own Chief Medical officer Chris Perks and 365 paramedics. The weather was kind with glorious sunshine on Sunday and Trefors’ lunches were particularly well received. Shelsley Walsh hosts this event every three years and it was a real pleasure to see so many ‘under 21’s’ joining the ranks.
Timing is everything as Shelsley Walsh is proud to have Matthew Humphries Design Watches as timing partner for the world’s oldest motorsport venue still on it’s original course. With the very basis of speed hill climbing about timing and the design of MHD Watches being centred around futuristic automotive forms, it continues the ‘Speed History; Future Records’ embodiment to Shelsley and its heritage. MHD Watches will award a watch for the Best Time of Day at three Shelsley meetings in 2018; the first being on June 2nd/3rd when the British Hill Climb Championship cars visit for the first time this season, then at Classic Nostalgia on July 28/29 where the theme will be 'F1 through the ages’ an
On Saturday 10th March, Rob Hubbard, David Nursey and several others decided to throw a surprise 70th birthday party for VSCC and MAC favourite Hicky Hickling, who was accompanied by his partner and they were both confronted by a tumultuous round of applause as he rounded the corner into the Courtyard area. The bar was open (no surprise there then!) and a hog roast had been laid on for the 100+ guests who had taken the trouble to turn out on a damp and overcast day. That dampened nobody’s spirits and the party continued on for several hours. And, having turned up with his partner Sandra, by the end of the day she had become his fiancée following a surprise proposal. We wish them both well.
Sadly, after an inspection by the Clerk of the Course on Saturday, the club had to make a late cancellation of the event on the grounds of safety. Rain on Friday night had caused the already tricky conditions to rise to severely waterlogged and running the trial would have been impossible. The previous 2 years had been bathed in Spring sunshine but it was not to be for 2018. The event has not been rescheduled so the next chance to see these cars at Shelsley will be same time 2019.
Eight drivers turned up for a ‘taste’ of sporting trials thanks to the efforts of Julian Fack and a few friends who loaned their cars in spite of the state of the ground. We had 8 “newbies” plus one car owner, and they all said they greatly enjoyed it. One couple are preparing an old Cannon for Historic Sporting Trials and another couple are seriously considering buying a Trials car. It was obvious that the ground would not support a full trial on Sunday and we had to move our little training sections regularly after a few cars had passed over the ground, as the underlying water squished out from the soil. Let’s hope that the grass recovers quickly with the sections being laid out at the ver
