Fantastic Finale at Shelsley Walsh

Alex Summers, British champion in 2015, produced the second fastest run ever up Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb on Sunday to complete an amazing weekend of motor sport action in the Autumn Speed Finale staged at the historic venue.

Summers had already set the Best Time of Day on Saturday, but on the final run on Sunday produced a blistering time of 22.71 seconds in his DJ Firestorm racing car, only just short of the outright hill record of 22.58 set in 2008 by Martin Groves.

The two one-day events hosted a wide variety of machines and invited guest clubs from the 500 Owners Club and Dews Mini Speed Championship, through the Paul Matty Sports Cars Lotus Championship and Porsche Speed Championship, to the Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship.

For only the second time in its 29-year existence a lady was crowned champion of the Paul Matty event which is run on handicap basis for Lotus sports and racing cars and proved to be popular local winner Sarah Thorne, of nearby Shelsley Kings.

Many competitors posted their personal ‘best ever’ times in the perfect conditions, including Shifnal driver Becky Manton who made it ‘third time lucky’ on her third visit to Shelsley Walsh by taking the family honours, beating her father Graeme for the first time, by a close six 1/100ths of a second, in their Fisher Fury Sports car.

Other personal PB’s came for John Bradshaw who won the Modified Special Production Class on both days in his Westfield SEi and Paul Jones of Worcester with a time of 34.11 in a Lotus Elise in the Road Going Class.

Former Lotus awards winner Sarah Bosworth competed in a Formula Ford and commented: “The organisation under such serious restrictions this weekend has been exceptional and I am delighted to see a revival in the Formula Ford class from seasoned campaigner Charles Williams through to 17-year-old Max Hawkes who has been making his debut with great success."

Class winners over the weekend included Dave West in a Peugeot 106, Chris Bennett in a Caterham, Andrew Norris in a Porsche 911, Steve Small in a Triumph TR7-V8, Clive Wooster in a Radical SR4, Robert Kenrick in a GWR Raptor, David Warburton in a Gould GR59, Briony Serrell in an Elva, Trevor Willis in an OMS 28 and Ted Elwes in an MGA.