Gould Racing
is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 motorsport

Motorsport

Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

 company, specialising in racing car manufacture and engineering. The company is run by David Gould, and is based in Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

, England.

Although involved in several branches of motorsport, including manufacturing components for Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 cars, the company's greatest success has come in the manufacture of specialised cars for hillclimbing

Hillclimbing

Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....

: every British Hill Climb Championship

British Hill Climb Championship

The British Hill Climb Championship is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history and this event has been held every year since 1947.All British Champions have been British...

 from 1998 to 2010 was won by a driver in a Gould car. The company also built the one-off Gould Ford Puma for Mike Endean, featuring Xtrac

Xtrac Limited

Xtrac Limited, also known as Xtrac Transmission Technology, is a British engineering company founded in 1984 by the former Hewland engineer Mike Endean to make 4WD systems and gearboxes for rallycross and later rally and racing cars...

 four-wheel-drive, which won the Brighton Speed Trials

Brighton Speed Trials

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 July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace...

 four times in 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

British Hillclimb Championship

Gould Racing has enjoyed massive and sustained success in the British Hillclimb Championship having won 14 titles in total, the first of which was when Chris Cramer took the 1985 at the wheel of a Gould/Hart 84/2 and the remaining 13 titles being taken in succession from 1998 to 2010, equaling Cooper's record of 13 successive title wins from 1951 to 1963 (though Peter Westbury only raced part of his 1963 championship winning season in a Cooper). Over the last 13 championship winning seasons Gould have gradually evoloved their cars, with the GR37, GR51, GR55, GR55B and GR61 chassis all winning the championship on at least 2 occasions.

GR37

The Gould GR37 was ground-breaking in terms of hillclimb technology. Built around a Ralt F3 carbon-fibre tub, this car was raced to 3 consecutive titles by David Grace

David Grace

David Grace is a British racing driver and businessman. He was the CEO at Rockingham Motor Speedway between 2000 and 2002, and oversaw the opening of the track and the return, after many years, of CART racing to Britain.As a driver his greatest successes came in hillclimbing, where he was five...

 from 1998 to 2000, breaking Pilbeam's domination of the championship that had seen it win 17 of the previous 21 championships. It has typically utilised Cosworth

Cosworth

Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

 or Judd

Judd

Judd or Judds may refer to:* Judd , a racing engine built by Engine Developments Ltd.* Judd Records* The Judd School, a school in Tonbridge, Kent, England* The Judds, an American country music duo- Surname :...

V8 power ranging from the 3.3 litre Cosworth XB derived V8 to the 4 litre Judd and Cosworth F1 3.5 litre formula derived V8 engines. The Gould GR37 is still competing in the championship as of 2010. It was also the first carbon fibre chassis to win the championship.

GR51

The Gould GR51 refined the concept of the GR37. The chassis, whilst based on a Ralt carbon fibre tub, was further customised for its application in hill climbing. The chassis was mated to a DTM-derived Opel-Cosworth V8 engine enlarged to 2.8 litres from the original 2.5 litres and mated to an Arrows F1 gearbox. Whilst down on absolute power compared to the 4-litre V8 monsters of its competitors, the compactness and light weight of the car, engine and gearbox gave the GR51 a greater power-to-weight ratio, which resulted in a car perfectly suited to the tortuously twisty hillclimbs of the British Championship. With Scottish father-and-son duo of Graeme Wight and Graeme Wight Jr. campaigning the car, Wight Jr. sealed two consecutive championships at the wheel of the GR51 in 2001 and 2002.

GR55 & GR55B

The Gould GR55 marked a departure from using Ralt F3 chassis and all major components were designed and manufactuered "in house". However in terms of aerodynamics and general chassis philosophy it was very much an evolution of the GR51. The GR55 was originally fitted with a Nicholson-McLaren 3.3 Litre V8 derived from a Ford Cosworth XB 2.65 Litre Champcar unit but enlarged and naturally aspirated rather than turbo-charged. The GR55 was originally campaigned by Adam Fleetwood and he duly took back to back titles in 2003 and 2004 before graduating from the British Hillclimb Championship to go circuit racing.

In 2005 Gould introduced the GR55B, externally the GR55 and GR55B are near identical, however the GR55B was the result of extensive finite element analysis work (FEA) which resulted in every part of the car being scrutinised to reduce weight and refine the GR55. The result was a car that was 25 kg lighter than its predecessor now fitted with a 3.5 litre version of the Nicholson-McLaren engine. The GR55B went on to dominate the championship in the hands of Martin Groves, winning the title 3 times in succession (2005, 2006 & 2007) and then he came back to claim a 4th title in 2010 using the same car after being defeated in 2008 & 2009, an achievement unique in hillclimbing.

Both the GR55 and GR55B have become very popular with competitors in the British Championship with a variety of engines being installed in GR55 chassis, including f1 derived Cosworth HB 3.5 litre and Judd 4 litre V8 engines. Also more recent modifications have included F1 style paddle shift sequential gears and traction control.

GR61X

The Gould GR61X is a further evolution of the Gould line of hillclimb cars. It was produced around the same time as the GR55B as a one-off design produced for father and son duo Roger and Scott Moran. It sees further refinements to the aerodynamics as well as offering enhanced lateral head protection from its higher cockpit sides and padded cockpit surround. It utilises the same 3.5 litre Nicholson-McLaren V8 engine as Martin Groves' GR55B. The car was instantly competitive when it hit the hills in 2005 and ultimately culminated in Scott Moran clinching back to back titles in 2008 and 2009 which make Roger and Scott Moran the first father and son title winners in British Hillclimbing as Roger claimed Pilbeam's final British title in 1997. The GR61X was the first Gould chassis to be fitted with F1 style paddle shift sequential gears and traction control, which have since been fitted to GR55 chassis and well as the Pilbeam M97.