The Gurston Down Motorsport Hillclimb is a hillclimb

Hillclimbing

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

 in Broad Chalke

Broad Chalke

Broad Chalke, sometimes spelled Broadchalke , Broad Chalk or Broadchalk, is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles west of the city of Salisbury. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 652 but this has now risen to around 850...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, organised by the South Western Centre of the British Automobile Racing Club

British Automobile Racing Club

The British Automobile Racing Club is one of biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom.-History:The Cyclecar Club was formed in 1912, running races for the small and light motorbike powered vehicles at Brooklands as well as rallies and sporting trials. Among the founder...

. The first practice meeting was held on June 25, 1967, when Patsy Burt

Patsy Burt

Patricia Mary "Patsy" Burt was a British motor racing driver.During a long and varied career, Patsy Burt won many British national-level competitions, and was the first female driver ever to win both the Brighton Speed Trials and the RAC National Sprint Championship...

, driving a McLaren-Oldsmobile set a time of 39.90 sec. The first competition event was held on July 23, 1967.

The track hosts two rounds a year of the 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...

. The farmland the course traverses is also used for pheasant shoots and the course itself has found a dual use as a gravity racing venue. The course measures 1058 yards (967 metres), and rises a total of 140 feet (43 metres), although the first section of the track is downhill, a feature unique in British hillclimbing, but not unknown elsewhere in Europe.

The course was designed in 1965 by Tony Marsh

Tony Marsh (racing driver)

Anthony Ernest "Tony" Marsh was a British racing driver from England. His Formula One career was short and unsuccessful, but he enjoyed great success in hillclimbing, winning the British Hill Climb Championship on a record six occasions.Having begun his hillclimbing career in 1953 with a...

, who was still competing the course in the premier over 2000cc racing car class in 2007. In July 2009, the third round of the Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb Championships was dedicated to Marsh's memory following his death in May.

The outright hill record is held by Martin Groves

Martin Groves

Martin Groves is a British hillclimb driver, who won the British Hill Climb Championship in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. With older cars he had won five rounds of the BHCC between 2001 and 2004 , but in 2005 he was exceptionally quick in his new Gould GR55, clinching the championship at Craigantlet...

, who completed the course in 25.42 seconds on August 26, 2007.

Gurston Down Hill Climb past winners

Year	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Notes
1971	D. Hepworth David Hepworth (racing driver) David Hepworth was a British racing driver, who won the British Hill Climb Championship twice, in 1969 and 1971.In the early-mid 1960s Hepworth drove an Austin-Healey 3000 fitted with a Chevrolet engine in both rallies and circuit racing, but by 1968 he was driving a Hepworth-Oldsmobile; in this he...	Hepworth FF	35.06 sec	Aug 30.
1972	Richard Thwaites	McLaren M10B 5.0-litre	32.85 sec
1973	Mike MacDowel	Brabham BT36X-Repco 5-litre	30.50 sec R
1991	Round 5 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...  : Martyn Griffiths Martyn Griffiths Martyn Griffiths is a British racing driver, whose greatest success has been in hillclimbing. He has won the British Hill Climb Championship on five occasions .-References:...	Pilbeam DFR	27.64 sec R
2005	Round 9 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...  : Martin Groves	Gould-NME GR55B 3.5-litre	26.57 sec	May 29.
	Round 10 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...  : Martin Groves	Gould-NME GR55B 3.5-litre	26.27 sec
2008 2008 British Hill Climb Championship season The 2008 Nicholson McLaren Engines British Hill Climb Championship season was the 62nd British Hill Climb Championship season. It was the last year in which Nicholson McLaren sponsored the championship, as MCL Motorhomes took over the championship sponsorship for 2009. The series was contested...	Round 7 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...  : Trevor Willis		31.05 sec	May 25.
	Round 8 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...  : Martin Groves Martin Groves Martin Groves is a British hillclimb driver, who won the British Hill Climb Championship in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. With older cars he had won five rounds of the BHCC between 2001 and 2004 , but in 2005 he was exceptionally quick in his new Gould GR55, clinching the championship at Craigantlet...	Gould	26.50 sec
	Round 27 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...  : Martin Groves	Gould Gould Racing Gould Racing is a British motorsport company, specialising in racing car manufacture and engineering. The company is run by David Gould, and is based in Newbury, Berkshire, England....	27.41 sec	Aug 24.
	Round 28 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... : Jos Goodyear		26.47 sec

Key: R = Course Record.

External links

• Official website