Title fight intensifies after Wiscombe visit

Photo Credit: Wiscombe Park

The British Hillclimb Championship, presented by Nova Motorsport, is reaching fever pitch as Britain's fastest series descended on Devon for two days of action at Wiscombe Park.

The tight, narrow hill in the South West is always a real challenge for the drivers and provides the springboard into the latter part of the season. Held over two days, there were two opportunities to score big points during the final weekend of July.

After his explosive campaign in the Channel Islands, Wallace Menzies was full of optimism, having seemingly found the missing ingredient from the early stages of the season. The Scotsman was quickest out of the blocks in the Run-Off with a 32.10, enough to secure his fifth consecutive victory. Title rival Will Hall was keeping a watching brief in second, while Alex Summers gave his home-built P8T its best-ever British Hillclimb Championship result with third overall.

Matthew Ryder broke a driveshaft in qualifying before the first Top 12 and had to watch from the sidelines, knowing this would become one of his dropped scores. The hill record holder would return on Sunday to give things another go.

Another driver sadly unable to feature was local star Alex Coles, who went off heavily at Gate. His event was cut short, denying spectators the chance to see the local favourite challenge for the podium.

The ever-present Trevor Willis continues to search for an improvement in the order, and another fourth-place finish in the Run-Off will go a long way towards cementing the same position in the championship. Rival Dave Uren was right behind him – just four hundredths of a second separated the pair in the fight for fourth. Paul Haimes, after a tricky spell in the Channel Islands, managed sixth ahead of another impressive run from David Warburton, who is targeting a top-10 championship number for 2026. Jonathan Varley and Harry Pick also snatched a handful of points, while local driver Ed Hollier claimed the final point on offer.

On Sunday, another glorious day in the South West provided perfect conditions for record-breaking. In total, Wiscombe saw 12 records fall over the course of the weekend.

Matt Ryder was in damage-limitation mode after his mechanical failure 24 hours earlier. He grabbed his Gould by the scruff of the neck and carved his way through the 1,000-yard course. His run was on another level, showing exactly why he is the reigning champion as he extracted every ounce of power from the four-litre V8 and every bit of grip from the Avon tyres. He lowered his own record by five hundredths of a second to claim the 10 points, along with the bonus point, which could prove crucial come Prescott in September.

Menzies' incredible winning run had to end at some point, but second place will still please the Flying Scotsman as he finished ahead of Will Hall in third. Watch out for Hall at Shelsley Walsh next time out – he loves the faster, more open hills and could well be the man to beat in Worcestershire.

Alex Summers would have bitten your hand off for a third-place finish on Saturday and fourth on Sunday. His strong second half of the season now sees him inside the championship top 10 as he continues to climb the standings.

Paul Haimes was on a mission throughout the weekend, and fifth place, ahead of local driver Alex Coles, was a sweet result. Coles left his home hill wondering what might have been had it not been for Saturday's accident, but sixth place keeps his top-10 aspirations alive.

David Warburton, Harry Pick, Jonathan Varley and Ed Hollier also repeated their points haul from the previous day, with Pick this time getting the better of Varley.

Disaster struck Trevor Willis, who failed to qualify for the Top 12, while Dave Uren failed to set a time on his final run of the weekend. Fortunately for Willis, the points deficit was minimised as neither driver scored.

The Tin Top Challenge returned after its short summer break, having missed this year's Channel Islands rounds. Series leader Damian Bradley threw down the gauntlet, guiding his 800bhp Subaru Legacy up the tricky climb in 38.21 seconds to set the fastest time on Saturday. Steven Darley and Roger Moran chased him hard in second and third respectively.

On Sunday it was Steven Darley's turn to set the pace in his Subaru Impreza, with returning driver Simon Bainbridge finishing second and the ever-present Roger Moran taking third. Moran’s constant run of podiums has put him in a five point lead heading to the next round.

The next round of the British Hillclimb Championship takes place on 8/9 August with a return visit to Shelsley Walsh. Will the record fall once again? We only have two weeks to wait!

By Ben Buesnel