Ryder & Summers star in the sunshine at Shelsley Walsh

Matt Ryder tips the big Gould into the Esses at Shelsley Walsh on his way to winning the first run-off’– Photo Credit; Stuart Wing @captureyourcarphotography

Rounds 23 and 24 of the British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport delivered another enthralling day of action at the spectacular Shelsley Walsh venue.

This was a day of two halves with Matthew Ryder and Alex Summers each taking a run-off victory against fierce opposition from Will Hall and Wallace Menzies in particular, as the sun shone down on the historic venue and the crowds lined the 1000-yard hill.

Alex Summers blasts away from the Shelsley Walsh start line on his way to winning the second run-off  – Photo Credit: Paul Lawrence

It was Ryder who took control of the opening run-off with a stunning 22.84s climb to run within half a second of the outright hill record. Ryder was the only driver to break the 23-second barrier, although Will Hall had reason to be disappointed with his final position of fifth. Hall had qualified fastest by just dipping under the 23-second mark and was last to run. But as he came to the line a glitch on the timing system was quickly followed by a medical issue for a member of the crowd and Hall's run was delayed by around 15 minutes. Inevitably, that took its toll on his preparation for the run and his chance of matching Ryder’s pace.

Instead, Hall was a close fifth as just two tenths of a second covered second to sixth places. With a strong 23.10s climb, Menzies took runner-up spot to his championship rival from Sean Gould with Alex Summers fourth, who knew that there was more pace to come in the DJ Firestorm.

The second run off was notable for the absence of Gould, Ryder and David Warburton as a result of incidents in the class runs. Gould admitted that he had not reset the traction control for his run and that caused a spin into the bank at Bottom S, which meant the end of the day for Ryder as well. Shortly afterwards, Warburton had a brake issue which pitched his 1600cc Gould off backwards at the same location.

This time around, Summers stitched it all together and his 22.93s climb was enough for his second Shelsley win of the season. Hall led the chase at 23.07s, just over a tenth ahead of Menzies as David Uren and Trevor Willis round out the top five.

The result leaves Ryder with a six-point lead over Menzies but with dropped scores soon to come into play the title race remains wide open heading for the next event at Prescott in early September.

Simon Bainbridge at full speed through the kink on Ess Approach on his way to securing the 2025 BHC Tin Top – Top ten Challenge – Photo Credit: Stuart Wing @captureyourcarphotography

The BHC Tin Top – Top Ten Challenge presented by AET Turbos also made a welcome appearance, with a double point round at Shelsley. Simon Bainbridge continued his stunning form of the 2025 season to win the run-off and secure the 2025 Tin Top crown. Simon has only been beaten once all season, at Wiscombe and still recovered to win the second run-off there! Will he continue his superb form with more victories at Prescott in a few week’s time? I am sure that Damien Bradley and Steven Darley in their monstrous Subarus will be trying all they can to end the Tin Top season on a high.

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Written by Paul Lawrence and published in partnership with Autosport