Wiscombe vintage

The speed hill-climb meeting of the VSCC in the country-house atmosphere of Wiscombe Park in Devon is justifiably popular, as an informal day at a demanding course well suited to vintage machinery. On May 9 FTD was made there by Past-President Bruce Spollon, whose 1936 ERA R8C has been going well this season. At Wiscombe he clocked 48.50s. Martin Morris driving ERA R11B was second fastest (49.88s) and quickest vintage car was Dave Caroline’s Morgan 3-wheeler (51.97s). It was not a day for fresh records, the only one to fall being in the Edwardian class. Mark Walker in his effective Curtiss aero-engined Monarch recording 57.49s which bettered the former Th Schneider time by as much as 2.94s. Rides’ Riley 9 took the 1100cc sports-car class (57.60s) from Irwin’s vintage Riley 9 (61.49s). Here Wynn Owen’s son in his Morris-Jap vee-twin was second fastest vintage performer (62.45s), which gave him the handicap award. Of the up-to1500cc sports cars Mowatt’s odd-looking but very effective Riley Morgan 4/4 Special led a large field to first place (52.94s), so all credit to Roberts’ 1927 Frazer Nash for taking second place, in 56.71s. He beat Tony Jones’ older Nash by as much as 4.64s. Vintage cars showed up less well in the 1500cc-3000cc sportscar category, in which G Spollon’s 2-1/2 litre Riley Special was best (52.94s), winning from Merriott’s 2.8-litre Alvis Special (54.69s) and Stops’ 2443cc Riley Special (54.92s). Not only close stuff, but with notably consistent runs… In fact, the Vintage class was won by Bullett’s Frazer Nash (60.53s).

The big sports-car class saw Mrs Pilkinton’s s/c 2.6 Alfa Romeo beat David Roscoe’s big Alvis Hybrid (51.96s to 53.84s), the lady only .01s slower on her first run, and you can hardly be more consistent than that! Third best here was by the Bentley-Royce, the non-s/c one, (53.90s), and best vintage car Stacey-Marks’ 1930 4-1/2-litre Bentley (55.65s on its only ascent), beating Pollack’s 4-1/2-litre Invicta (58.63s).

Lake’s Amilcar-Riley, going great guns these days, took both the vintage and general 1100cc racing car class (53.47s), from Gunn’s Q-type MG (56.28s), third place going to Way’s blown A7 (56.70s) and second vintage placing to Robin Richmond’s Morgan-GN (57.08s). The 1-1/2-litre racing cars were headed by Walker’s 1934 MG (51.47s), with Caroline fastest in the vintage Moggy. The next three classes were combined, because Threlfall’s McDowell-Ford was the only runner in the 1-1/2 to 3-litre vintage section, the Vauxhall-Villiers yet again being chalked up a non-starter, and only a lone Cooper-Bristol represented the post-war cars (54.16s). So Spollon and Martin scored and Threlfall couldn’t help winning the vintage class (62.03s). If you missed it, the next VSCC hill-climbs are at Shelsley Walsh on July 3 and Prescott on August 8. W B