It is only just over a week until the top British Hillclimb drivers will take on the best in Europe at the FIA Hillclimb Masters in Braga, Portugal over the weekend of 8 – 10 October 2021. Previous Masters events have seen some impressive performances from Team GB, with some of the quickest drivers in the British Hillclimb Championship and BHC Cup finishing well inside the top ten, in a field of hugely experienced European drivers.
The inaugural event in 2014 was promoted by the FIA to bring together the top Hillclimbers from around Europe at the end of the season. The response was excellent, with over one hundred & fifty drivers from twenty two countries converging on the small Ardennes town of Eschdorf (Luxembourg), followed by biannual events at Sternberk (Czech Rep.), and Gubbio (Italy). Due to Covid-19 restrictions the 2020 event in Braga was postponed until 2021.
Team GB, led by Team Captain Tim Wilson, is made up of a team of seventeen drivers including the highest placed Under 25 driver Tom Weaver in his Van Diemen RF91 and Top Lady Olivia Cooper in her Force Suzuki. They will compete in this, the fourth edition of the event, alongside the majority of the top ten finishers in the BHC in 2021 as well as some of the fastest drivers from the 2021 BHC Cup. Those competing for Team GB include 2021 BHC & BHC Cup Champion Wallace Menzies (Gould GR59- Cosworth XD), BHC runner-up Alex Summers (D-J Firestorm-Cosworth XD) and current Shelsley Walsh outright record holder Sean Gould (Gould-Judd). They will be joined by a number of top BHC Cup competitors including Damien Bradley in his stunning Subaru Legacy and Simon Jenks in his super-fast Caterham. Four of the seventeen drivers James Kerr (Peugeot 205), Gavin Neate (Peugeot 106), Lee Griffiths (OMS 28-Suzuki) and Olivia Cooper have been nominated as team representatives for the highly prized Nations Cup. Team GB will be cheered on by a traveling contingent of forty+ family and friends.
Team GB is being supported by a number of loyal BHC sponsors and a sprinkling of new ones too. BHC Cup class sponsors Tillicoultry Quarries and Westwood Cylinder Liners headline alongside new sponsor Bakayle Engineering. BHC and BHC Cup title sponsors Avon Tyres and Footman James respectively are supporting the trip too, as well as BHC Cup Class sponsors Raceparts and Resultsman. Their support will be recognised at the event with stickers on competition cars, event support vehicles and team clothing.
The full list of Team GB drivers and their cars is as follows:
Wallace Menzies (3.3 Gould-Cosworth XD GR59)
Alex Summers (2.7 DJ Firestorm-Cosworth XD)
Sean Gould (4.0 Gould-Judd DB4 GR59)
Trevor Willis (3.2 OMS-RPE 28)
David Uren (3.5 Gould-Cosworth GR55B)
Paul Haimes (1.3t Gould-Suzuki GR59)
David Warburton (1.6 Gould-Suzuki GR59)
John Pick (2.0t AMS Murtaya-Subaru)
James Kerr (1.9 Peugeot 205 GTi)
Justin Andrews (2.1 Subaru Impreza)
Gavin Neate (1.4 Peugeot 106)
Simon Jenks (1.6 Caterham S3)
Damien Bradley (2.3t Subaru Legacy)
Lee Griffiths (1.7 OMS-Suzuki 28)
Matthew Ryder (1.6 Empire Suzuki)
Olivia Cooper (1.6 Force-Suzuki TA)
Tom Weaver (1.6 Van Diemen RF91)
More information will be communicated as the event nears, including how to view the weekend’s live coverage.