Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb

Last updated

Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb was a motorcar course close to Burghfield Common in the English county of Berkshire.

Contents

It was based in the grounds of a large country house, formerly owned by a family connected to Huntley and Palmer – the famous biscuit manufacturers at nearby Reading, Berkshire. The hill climb was organised by the Hants and Berks Motor Club as a National Speed Hill Climb. This was part of the RAC British Hill Climb Championship, and at 440 yards (400 m) long it was the shortest of events in the Championship. The course travelled nearly as far downhill as it did up, with a finish almost level with the start. Motor Sport reported : "The ¼-mile course embraces two sharp corners, one banked, and a twisty section, so that a premium is set on initial acceleration and low-speed cornering." [1]

Early days

Prior to World War Two at least one event took place at Burghfield, as the event was then known. In 1939 Motor Sport listed a forthcoming event: 27 May 1939, Sporting O.D.C. Speed event, Burghfield, [2] which was cancelled. [3] An event took place in June organised by the Frazer-Nash and Frazer-Nash B.M.W. C.C. and Sporting O.D.C. "The postponed speed hill-climb up the private drive of Neil Gardner's (sic [4] ) house at Burghfield Common happened on 24 June, complete with adjacent funfair and Lord Nuffield to present the prizes." P.W. Neale set fastest time of the day in 27.0 secs "winning the 2-litre class from Fane's B.M.W." [5]

Racing resumed in 1947 when: "Salvadori's monoposto Alfa-Romeo won its class in 25.2 sec., but couldn't be extended, and it was L.J.D. Bartlett's home-brewed Mercury Special which made f.t.d. in 23.5 sec." The following year Ken Wharton's Wharton Special "beautifully crisp and fearlessly handled, made f.t.d. in 23.34 sec., beating Stirling Moss (23.46 sec.), who drove absolutely superbly getting into third gear in his Cooper 500,..."

The end

The last event was held in 1974 and the site has now been re-developed for housing. However the course itself is still there as it was the rear drive to Great Auclum house, which has now been redeveloped. The track is in a poor state of repair and very overgrown.

Great Auclum Hill Climb past winners

YearDriverVehicleTimeNotes
1939P.W. NealeA.C.N. Special 1,991 c.c.27.0 sec24 June.
1947L.J.D. BartlettMercury Special23.5 sec [6] 26 July.
1948 Ken Wharton Wharton-Special23.34 sec [7] 25 July.
1949 Eric Brandon Cooper-J.A.P. 994 c.c.22.20 sec [8] 14 Aug.
1950 A.J. Butterworth A.J.B.23.50 sec [9] 23 July.
1951D.N. BrakeCooper 996 c.c.22.39 sec [10] 28 July.
1952 [11] Cancelled due to cattle "foot and mouth" disease.
1953 Stuart Lewis-Evans Cooper 1,100 c.c. s/c21.47 sec R [12] 8 Aug.
1954Michael BurnFrazer-Nash24.54 sec [13] 7 Aug; Wet & dry.
1955 Tony Marsh Cooper 1,100 c.c.R [14] 6 Aug.
1956 Tony Marsh Cooper 1,100 c.c.20.6 sec [15] 4 Aug.
1957Tommy SopwithCooper-Climax 1,500 c.c. sports21.76 sec [16]
1958R.B. JamesCooper-Norton 500 c.c.22.19 sec [17]
1959 D. Boshier-Jones Cooper 1,100 c.c.20.56 sec R [18] 8 Aug.
1960D. Boshier-JonesCooper 1,100 c.c. V-twin20.49 sec R [19] 6 Aug.
1961Peter Boshier-JonesLola-Climax21.57 sec [20] 12 Aug.
1962 Tico Martini Martini-Special Triumph 650 c.c.20.14 sec R [21] 11 Aug.
1963Peter Boshier-JonesLotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c19.75 sec R [22] 10 Aug.
1964Peter Boshier-JonesLotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c [23] 8 Aug.
1965Peter Boshier-JonesLotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c19.099 sec R [24] 7 Aug.
1966Peter MeldrumLotus-Allard 1,650 c.c.22.14 sec [25] 6 Aug. Rain led to abandonment.
1967Mike HawleyBrabham BT23B-Climax 2.0-litre19.38 sec [26] 5 Aug.
1968
1969 Roy Lane Tech-Craft Buick 3.5-litre18.58 sec [27] 2 Aug.
1970 David Good McLaren M10B [28] 1 Aug.
1971Sir Nick WilliamsonBrabham F2 FVC18.36 sec R [29] 31 July.
1972Tony Griffiths
1973Chris CramerMarch-Hart BDA 2-litre17.65 sec R [30]
1974Roy LaneMcRae F500017.9710.08.1974

Key: R = Course Record.

Course

Map this section's coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Point Coordinates
(Links to map resources)		 OS Grid Ref Notes
Start 51°23′55″N1°03′06″W / 51.398724°N 1.051641°W / 51.398724; -1.051641 (Start) SU66076705
Turn 1 51°23′51″N1°03′06″W / 51.397512°N 1.051694°W / 51.397512; -1.051694 (Turn 1) SU66066692
Turn 2 51°23′49″N1°03′11″W / 51.396957°N 1.053046°W / 51.396957; -1.053046 (Turn 2) SU65976686
Turn 3 51°23′49″N1°03′12″W / 51.396809°N 1.053389°W / 51.396809; -1.053389 (Turn 3) SU65956684
Turn 4 51°23′47″N1°03′13″W / 51.396454°N 1.053518°W / 51.396454; -1.053518 (Turn 4) SU65946680
Finish 1 440 yds 51°23′47″N1°03′14″W / 51.396401°N 1.053947°W / 51.396401; -1.053947 (Finish 1 440 yds) SU65916679
Finish 2 500 yds 51°23′47″N1°03′17″W / 51.396388°N 1.054677°W / 51.396388; -1.054677 (Finish 2 500 yds) SU65866679

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Cars</span> Manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars

Bristol Cars was a British manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Bristol, England. It was formed from the car division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company after the Second World War and later became independent as Bristol Cars Limited. After being placed in receivership and being taken over in 2011, it entered liquidation in February 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Wharton</span> British racing driver (1916–1957)

Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, and later acquired a Cooper. His World Championship Grand Prix debut was at the 1952 Swiss event, run to Formula 2 regulations, where he started from 13th position on the grid and finished 4th. He participated in a total of 15 World Championship Grands Prix, from which he scored three championship points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb</span>

The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club (MAC). It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905. On that first occasion, the course was 992 yards in length, but in 1907 it was standardised at 1000 yards, the length it remains today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prescott Speed Hill Climb</span>

Prescott Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Gloucestershire, England. The course used for most events is 1,128 yards (1,031 m) in length, and the hill record is held by Wallace Menzies who took the outright hill record in a Gould GR59M single seater with a time of 34.65 seconds on Sunday 5 September 2021. The track was extended in 1960 to form the present Long Course. There is also a "Short Course" of 880 yards (804.7 m), now used only by meetings organised by the Vintage Sports-Car Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loton Park Hill Climb</span>

Loton Park Hill Climb is a hillclimb held in part of the Loton Park deer park just outside the village of Alberbury in Shropshire, England. The track was originally constructed by the members of The Severn Valley Motor Club based in Shrewsbury, in the mid-1950s. The first ever winner was Peter Foulkes in a Cooper Climax. The track was threatened with closure in 1969 and since then events have been organised by the Hagley & District Light Car Club, who obtained the lease on the land from owner Sir Michael Leighton in 1970, in which year the first National A hillclimb was staged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodwood Festival of Speed</span> British annual motorsport event

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hill climb and other events, held in Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in late June or early July. The event is scheduled to avoid clashing with the Formula One season, enabling fans to see F1 machines as well as cars and motorbikes from motor racing history climb the hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Allard</span> British founder of the Allard car company & rally driver (1910-1966)

Sydney Herbert Allard was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful rally driver and hillclimb driver in cars of his own manufacture.

Doune Hillclimb, Carse of Cambus, near Doune in the district of Stirling, Scotland, is the home of the only round of the British Hill Climb Championship currently to be held in Scotland. The course has been 1476 yards (1350m) in length since 1977. However, from the first meeting in 1968 until 1973 the start line was around 33 yards (30m) further back, and from 1974 until 1976 it was located beyond what is currently the first corner.

Barbon Hillclimb is a hillclimb held near Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, north-west England. The event is held on the Barbon Manor estate with the course ordinarily being used as a driveway to Barbon Manor, a Victorian shooting lodge.. The course is 738 yards in length, making it the shortest of the British Hill Climb Championship tracks outside the Channel Islands. Since 2013, the car events have been promoted by Liverpool Motor Club in addition to their popular Sprints at Aintree.

Wiscombe Park Hillclimb is a British hillclimb, situated in Colyton, Devon. The course, which is 1000 yards in length — the same as Shelsley Walsh — was opened in 1958. The course was extended in 1961 when the record was held by Addicott in a Lotus at 49.3 secs. Wiscombe has been hosting rounds of the British Hill Climb Championship since the May meeting in 1962.

Craigantlet Hillclimb, a speed event organised by the Ulster Automobile Club, was first held in 1913. It is the only such venue in Northern Ireland to host a round of the British Hill Climb Championship, which started in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Speed Trials</span>

The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace Pier and Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and the event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936 Motor Sport described the event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rest and Be Thankful Speed Hill Climb</span>

Rest and Be Thankful Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course in Glen Croe, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. The first known use of the road for a hillclimb was in 1906. The event used to count towards the British Hill Climb Championship. It is named for the Rest and be thankful, a steep incline, on a section of the old military road in Glen Croe, leading to the pass into Glen Kinglas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ERA R4D</span>

The ERA R4D, built by English Racing Automobiles, is the last development of this classic voiturette racing car, the only D-Type ever built. Originating as R4B in 1935, the car was rebuilt as a C-Type by modifying the front end of the chassis frame to accommodate independent Porsche-type torsion bar front suspension. Over the winter of 1937-38 the car was given a completely new fully boxed frame, and was designated R4D.

Bouley Bay Hill Climb is a hillclimbing event held in Trinity, Jersey, and organised by The Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. The course on Les Charrières du Boulay was "first used for competition in 1921" and since 1947 has hosted a round of the British Hill Climb Championship. Bouley Bay and Val des Terres hill climb in Guernsey are normally held in July and provide a two-stop tour for UK drivers contesting the series.

Bo'ness Hill Climb is a hillclimbing course on the Kinneil Estate (site of the historic Kinneil House near Bo'ness, Scotland. It is sometimes referred to as Kinneil Hill Climb. Opening in 1932, it was Scotland's first purpose-built motorsport venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewes Speed Trials</span>

The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in Lewes, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."

Firle Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course near Lewes, East Sussex, England, sometimes referred to as Bo Peep Hill Climb. The event was celebrated on 20 September 2015 by the Bo Peep Drivers Club.

The event will consist of a timed climb of the metalled road known as Bo-Peep Hill, situated near the village of Selmeston, on a turning off the A27. Map reference No. 183/498053. Each competitor will be permitted two timed runs in addition to practice."

David Good is a former British Hill Climb Champion. In 1961 he won the qualifying rounds at Westbrook Hay and Wiscombe Park, driving a Cooper-JAP Mk 8, and clinched the title with a third place at Prescott in September. He finished third in the Championship in 1957 and 1958, being runner-up in 1959, winning the final round at Stapleford.

The Westbrook Hay Hill Climb was an annual motorsports event near Hemel Hempstead in England, where drivers competed on an uphill course. The Herts County Automobile & Aero Club held the first Westbrook Hay speed hillclimb in 1953, and organised all events there until the course closed in 1962. Between 1959 and 1962 the track hosted four rounds of the British Hill Climb Championship.

References

  1. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1949, Page 373.
  2. ↑ Motor Sport, February 1939, Page 50.
  3. ↑ The Autocar, 26 May 1939, Page 917.
  4. ↑ Neil W. Gardiner.
  5. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1939, Page 239. See also: The Autocar, 30 June 1939, Page 1128 (Photographs), Page 1132 (Report); Light Car, 30 June 1939. For a description of the winning A.C.N. Special see Motor Sport, April 1943, Pages 86–87, which refers to the "Burghfield Common Speed Trials." See also: John Bolster, Specials, Pages 29–30, G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd, Reprinted 1971.
  6. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1947, Page 233; Motor Sport, September 1947, Page 258.
  7. ↑ Motor Sport, August 1948, Page 260.
  8. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1949, Pages 373–374.
  9. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1950, Page 428.
  10. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1951, Page 433.
  11. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1953, Page 476.
  12. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1953, Page 476.
  13. ↑ The Autocar, 13 August 1954, Page 229.
  14. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1955, Page 520.
  15. ↑ The Motor Year Book 1957, Temple Press, Page 204.
  16. ↑ Motor, 31 July 1957, Page 902; Motor Sport, September 1957, Page 528.
  17. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1958, Page 594.
  18. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1959, Page 686.
  19. ↑ Motor, 10 August 1960, Page 45; Motor Sport, September 1960, Page 730.
  20. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1961, Page 736.
  21. ↑ Motor, 15 August 1962, Page 80; Motor Sport, September 1962, Page 680. For an article on the Martini Special see Motor, 12 September 1962.
  22. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1963, Pages 678, 680.
  23. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1964, Page 712.
  24. ↑ Motor Sport, September 1965, Page 745.
  25. ↑ Motor, 13 August 1966, Page 54.
  26. ↑ Motor, 19 August 1967, Page 52.
  27. ↑ Motoring News, 7 August 1969, Page 24.
  28. ↑ Motor, 15 August 1970, Page 45.
  29. ↑ Motor, 14 August 1971, Page 52.
  30. ↑ Autosport, 9 August 1973, Page 44.

51°23′47″N1°03′15″W / 51.39639°N 1.05415°W / 51.39639; -1.05415

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.