Three hill-climbs

Bouley Bay

The jersey M.C. and L.C.C.’s Hill-Climb event on July 27th enticed a large number of competitors from the mainland. The main event, which counted towards the National Championship, saw a local competitor, Mac Daghorn with the ex-Boshier-Jones Cooper, beat such well-known exponents as Tony Marsh (F.1 Lotus), Arthur Owen (Cooper) and George Keylock (Cooper). Notable absentees were David Good, the current leader in the Championship, and Mike Hatton, both Cooper-J.A.P. drivers. Tony Marsh, who came so near to winning the event, was troubled by oil on the course and this ultimately resulted in the final runs being curtailed.—E. W.

Great Auclum

The next Championship event following Bouley Bay was the Hants and Berks M.C.’s climb on the Great Auclum course near Reading, which took place on August 12th. Peter Boshier-Jones driving a Lola-Climax gained F.T.D. with a time of 21.57 sec., beating David Good and Mike Hatton, the present Championship leaders, at his first ascent. In the preceding classes Arthur Owen driving his new blown 2.5-litre Cooper-Climax swerved over the abutment of the concrete banking and crashed into some woodland, the driver receiving back injuries. David Good with the 1100 Cooper-J.A.P. took second place and R. Fielding’s Emeryson-Climax third. The oldest original car in the event, Jim Berry’s Syracuse Connaught, which, although taking last place, was well handled throughout. In all the programme catered for ten classes and an optional class for gas-turbine cars which, not surprisingly, was not required.—E. W.

Wiscombe Park

Set in the delightful setting of the West Country, the Wiscombe Hill-Climb, on August 13th, produced the largest variety of vintage racing machinery to be gathered in the Park since its adoption by the West of England motoring clubs as a recognised hill. The customary opening run was performed by Col. R. J. Hoare in his ex-Equipe National Beige Ferrari V12 Testa Rossa, still with its high gear ratios and long-range fuel tanks and bearing the Scuderia Ferrari motifs. Among the more interesting machinery were the two E.R.A.s of Allan Cottam and George Chapman, the former being an R1B model and the latter an R2A model. Two Frazer Nashes were entered, one a 1935 Blackburn-engined 1,660-c.c. model driven by Richard Bickerton of Bristol and a 1,971-c.c. Le Mans Replica in the hands of Martin Morris. The over-500-c.c. racing-car class, which went to David Good’s Cooper-J.A.P., who set up a new record for the hill at 46.98 sec., saw Morin Scott in the Scuderia Rossa 1.5-litre supercharged Maserati ascend the hill as far as Motor Sport Bridge, where the old F.2 1936 engine rebelled to the tune of two burnt pistons, eventually struggling to the top of the 1,000-yard climb. Majors Charles Lambton and O. R. H. Chichester brought back many memories with the exhaust fumes of their supercharged 1.5-litre Alta, and completing the vintage entry was C. Midlen’s Type 37 Bugatti, still in an excellent state of preservation.—E. W.