Loton Park Hill Climb

Last updated

Loton Park
Location Loton Park, Shropshire, England
Time zone GMT
Major Events British Hill Climb Championship
Hill Length1,475 yards (1,349 m)
Hill Record41.76 (Wallace Menzies, 2021, British Hill Climb Championship)

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 [1] 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.

Contents

The course is 1475 yards (1349 metres) in length, making it the third longest course used in the British Hill Climb Championship. It contains an unusual downhill section fairly early in its layout. The hill record of 41.76 seconds was set by Wallace Menzies on 26 September 2021. [2]

Loton Park Hill Climb past winners

YearDriverVehicleTimeNotes
1960Sept 3.
1961M. HattonCooper 1,100 c.c.35.68 sec [3]
M. HattonCooper33.95 sec R [4] July 22.
1963 Round 1  : Tony Marsh Marsh-Climax 1½-litre S/C [5] 37.03 sec [6] April 27, lengthened 900-yard course.
1964 Round 1  : Peter Westbury Ferguson-Climax P99 2½-litre35.56 sec [7] April 25/26.
1965 Round 1  : Tony MarshMarsh-Special Oldsmobile [8]
1967 Round 1  : Bryan EcclesBrabham BT18-Oldsmobile V8 [9]
1968Sept 1.
1969 Round 1  : David HepworthHepworth FF [10]
1973 Round 1  : Sir Nicholas WilliamsonMarlyn 712-DFV [11]
Roy LaneMcLaren M14D54.72 sec R [12]
1979Martyn GriffithsPilbeam MP40 2.2-litre50.81 sec R [13] July 1.
2006 Round 1  : Scott Moran Gould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre46.54 sec [14] April 7.
Round 2  : Roger MoranGould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre46.34 sec
Round 13  : Scott Moran Gould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre45.94 sec [15] June 11.
Round 14  : Martin Groves Gould-NME GR5545.45 sec
2009 Round 13  : Scott MoranGould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre44.72 sec [16] June 13–14.
Round 14  : Scott MoranGould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre44.78 sec
2010 Round 9  : Roger MoranGould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre45.36 sec [17] June 13.
Round 10  : Trevor WillisOMS-Powertec 2.8-litre58.72 sec
Round 33  : Scott MoranGould-NME GR61X 3.5-litre44.62 sec FTD [18] Sept 26.
Round 34  : Martin GrovesGould-NME GR55B 3.5-litre44.73 sec

Key: R = Course Record; FTD = Fastest Time of the Day; S/C = Supercharged.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillclimbing</span> Type of competitive motorsport

Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France, took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Westbury</span> British racing driver

Peter Westbury was a British racing driver from England. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, scoring no championship points. In 1969 he raced a Formula 2 Brabham-Cosworth, driving in his first Grand Prix in the 1969 German Grand Prix. He finished ninth on the road, fifth in the F2 class. The following year he failed to qualify for the 1970 United States Grand Prix driving a works BRM, after an engine failure.

<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.

The Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Broad Chalke, Wiltshire, England, organised by the South Western Centre of the British Automobile Racing Club. The first practice meeting was held on 25 June 1967, when Patsy Burt, driving a McLaren-Oldsmobile set a time of 39.90 sec. The first competition event was held on 23 July 1967.

<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.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillclimbing in the British Isles</span>

Hillclimbing in Great Britain differs from the style of hillclimb motorsport events staged in many other parts of the world, in that courses are generally short — mostly under one mile (1.6 km) in length — and this means that cars and drivers do not generally cross between British events and the longer hillclimbs found in many other parts of Europe.

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.

Harewood speed Hillclimb is a hillclimb near the village of Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. The track can be found on the A659 between Harewood village and Collingham, north of Leeds. In addition to national events, it hosts rounds of the British Hill Climb Championship, a Classic & Historic Hillclimb and an event that includes bikes. Around 11 meetings are organised between April and September each year by the British Automobile Racing Club Yorkshire Centre.

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. The course is 890 yards in length, making it the shortest of the British Hill Climb Championship tracks outside the Channel Islands. From 2013, the car events are being promoted by Liverpool Motor Club in addition to their popular Sprints at Aintree. Motorcycle events were run at Barbon by the Westmorland Motor Club until 2011, and resumed in 2019.

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, Argyll, 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.

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. In 1932 and 1933 events were organised, for motorbikes only, by the West Lothian Motor Cycle Club. The first meeting open to both cars and bikes was organised jointly by WLMCC, Scottish Sporting Car Club and Bo'ness Town Council. There were plans to build a racing circuit on the same land, effectively turning Kinneil into a motorsport complex, but they never came to anything.

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, May 24, 1969, Page 68.
  2. 2021 British Hillclimb Championship Round 27 results
  3. Autosport, May 19, 1961, Page 659; C.A.N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 166.
  4. C.A.N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 176.
  5. For a description of the Marsh-Climax see Autosport, March 29, 1963, Page 423.
  6. Autosport, May 3, 1963, Page 617; Motor Sport, June 1963, Page 397.
  7. Autosport, May 1, 1964, Page 619; Motor Sport, June 1964, Page 476.
  8. Motor Sport, September 1965, Page 745.
  9. Motor Sport, August 1967, Page 702.
  10. Motor, May 10, 1969.
  11. Motor, August 18, 1973, Pages 24-25.
  12. Autosport, Aug 16, 1973, Page 54.
  13. Autosport, July 12, 1979, Page 42.
  14. Autosport, April 20, 2006, Page 101.
  15. Autosport, June 15, 2006, Page 105.
  16. Autosport, June 18, 2009, Page 117.
  17. Autosport, June 17, 2010, Page 81.
  18. Speedscene, Issue 161, December 2010, Pages 17-19.

Coordinates: 52°43′23.71″N2°57′0.11″W / 52.7232528°N 2.9500306°W / 52.7232528; -2.9500306