RYDER TAKES TWO RUN-OFF WINS AND STRETCHES HIS BHC LEAD IN WILTSHIRE

Ryder won twice at Gurston Down - Photo by Stephen Lister

Just as they had at Harewood two weeks earlier, Wallace Menzies and Matt Ryder shared the victories at Gurston Down as the British Hillclimb Championship (BHC) returned with a double header weekend at the high speed Wiltshire venue.

With two rounds each day this was a big weekend for the championship battle and it was Ryder who emerged with the best overall score to extend his championship lead to six points after ten of the season’s thirty rounds.

On Saturday, it was Menzies who took control of the action at the short sharp and very fast venue, as he edged Ryder in both run offs by 17 hundredths and then 11 hundredths of a second, in a typically close and competitive contest. Right in the mix too, on one of his best weekends of recent times was Sean Gould, who shares the Gould GR59 with Ryder, taking third place in both run-offs, finishing very close to his team-mate on both occasions and even outqualifying him and putting Matt on tyre warming duties for the first run-off!

Jack Cottrill had one of his best BHC weekends to date – Photo by Matt Willis

Will Hall made it an all GR59 top four by taking two fourth places on Saturday, while another star of the day was a hard charging Jack Cottrill, who took his DJ Dallara to fifth and sixth places on a hill where he can stretch the legs and take advantage of the superb handing of the Cosworth-engined car.

Meanwhile, bouncing back from diff problems at Harewood came Paul Haimes to take sixth and seventh as best of the smaller-engined cars. Two typically attacking performances from Alex Coles got his 1300cc turbo Force into seventh and eighth. Dave Uren struggled to get his Gould GR55 off the line on most runs but fought back to fifth place in the second run-off on Saturday but Trevor Willis was out of luck and failed to qualify for either run-off after struggling for grip in the opening class run and then suffering a big lock up and grassy moment on the second class run.

Overnight, the decision was taken to strip and rebuild the gearbox of Ryder/Gould GR59 Judd. As a result second gear was replaced, which had been the source of sporadic gear selection issues, particularly off the start line. That work was rewarded by a double victory for Ryder on Sunday with two striking runs in the mid-25s bracket. It was a pace that none of his rivals could match as the reigning champion made it six wins from the first ten rounds.

Gurston Down Panoramic – Photo by Matt Willis

Hall responded well to lead the chase but was crucially half a second and then two tenths of a second adrift of Ryder as Gould had another strong day. Importantly, he edged Menzies back to fourth in the final run-off after they had shared third place earlier in the day.

Cottrill, Haimes and Coles all starred once more but across the weekend it was Ryder who made the big move with two wins and two seconds, resulting in him stretching his lead over Menzies from three points to six, in what is starting to look like it could be a two-way championship contest. Will Hall might have something to say about that though!

The BHC now moves onto its first visit of the season to Shelsley Walsh, which takes place over the weekend of 7th & 8th June. This is always a spectacular weekend where you can witness ‘Formula One up the garden path’ from close quarters. With an unrivalled atmosphere and an open paddock, giving access to both the drivers and their cars, it really is one to watch. Advance tickets can be purchased below.

Best of British - Shelsley Walsh

Written by Paul Lawrence and published in partnership with Autosport.