Name: Tony Hunt
Home Town: Tirley, Nr Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Competition Car: Gould DJ55 – Cosworth XD
Tony’s goal to qualify on a regular basis for British Hillclimb Championship presented by Avon Tyres top twelve run-offs has been a long, tortuous and at times a frustrating one too. Back in 2015 when Tony first stepped up to a top line Gould GR55 single seater fitted with an ex Formula 1 HB engine, most thought he would quickly become a regular points scorer. How wrong this has proven to be. Some seven seasons later are we now on the cusp of seeing the dream become reality?
Hillclimbing history:
Tony was inspired to start competing back in 1995 by a Sunday afternoon trip with a mate to his local venue, Prescott Hillclimb. Tony was firmly bitten by the bug and he soon bought a Jedi single seater for the 1996 season. Success followed with class records being set at both Prescott and Shelsley Walsh. Having “cut his teeth” in the sport with the Jedi, Tony moved onto a Force with a 1600cc motorcycle derived engine for the 2003 season. More success followed, including a point scoring run off appearance in a Midland Championship Shelsley Walsh. The desire for more prompted a 1300cc motorcycle based engine with a supercharger being transplanted into the car, the first to go down that particular route. Tony’s speed now really started to show.
BHC Experience:
The quest for more speed and power tempted Tony to join the fastest cars in British hillclimbing. His first top twelve BHC run-off qualification was achieved at Harewood in 2016. His first BHC point, scored at Shelsley Walsh in 2017 was quickly followed a few weeks later by a ninth place finish and two points at Gurston Down. A second FTD at the 2017 Midland Championship Shelsley was a great result too. All looked very encouraging.
Since 2019 however, times have been very challenging. Engine related dramas first reared their ugly head at Shelsley Walsh resulting in an early end to the season. The pandemic in 2020 forced the complete cancelation of the season and was followed by a recurrence of engine related issues early in 2021. This has seriously limited Tony’s time in the car in recent seasons.
A less determined person may have called it a day at this point. This is not in Tony’s character though. Over the Winter the Gould GR55 that Tony shares with Terry Graves has been re-engineered by Derbyshire based race car manufacturer and engineering company DJ Racecars to accept a Cosworth XD IndyCar engine. The hope is that the car, now re-born as the Gould DJ55, will change Tony’s fortunes for the better and regular qualification and point scoring will become the norm.
Tony’s goal remains to qualify regularly for top twelve run-offs and ultimately to secure a permanent top ten number. Will 2022 be the year that this becomes reality? Time will tell. The opening round of the Championship may give us some clues. Visit Prescott on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th April to see how Tony gets on against the cream of British Hillclimb talent. Advance tickets can be purchased by clicking on the button below.
Non-motorsport fact:
Tony speaks Spanish. His son Lincoln is a promising football talent and is currently signed-up and playing for Swindon Town Academy. He has ambitions to one day play for Real Madrid and therefore both he and his Mum Sarah speak Spanish too!
Prescott Fact:
Prescott is both Tony’s local and favourite venue. The track is known to be one of the most challenging and technical venues on the BHC calendar. Its beautiful Cotswold location and natural amphitheatre make for excellent viewing. Come and see if Tony can get his season off to a flying start.
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