Prescott Speed Hillclimb
Encyclopedia
Prescott Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb
in Gloucestershire
, England
. The course used for most events (the "Long Course") is 1128 yards (1,031.4 m) in length, and as of late 2007 the hill record was held by Scott Moran
, who set a time of 36.35 seconds on 2 September 2007 for an average speed of 62.42 miles per hour (100.5 km/h). 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
.
and on the Chalfont Heights Estate, Chalfont St Peter
, Buckinghamshire. The club also ran a one-off event at Joel Park, Northwood Hill, Middlesex, on June 22, 1935, which was won by Richard Shuttleworth, on a Bugatti, in a time of 30.16 sec. The Bugatti O.C. planned to develop Dancer's End, near Tring
, Hertfordshire, but an event there scheduled for June 20, 1936 had to be cancelled. Motor Sport
reported in December 1937:
The first event at Prescott was staged in April, 1938, on what is now the Short Course. As announced in Motor Sport: "The Opening Rally on April 10th will comprise an assembly at Cheltenham for lunch, followed by a run to Prescott and possibly timed runs up the hill, followed by tea at the Prescott club-house. Prescott will be ready for the first official meeting on Sunday, May 15th." Unofficial fastest time in April was set by I. Craig in a 4.9-litre supercharged Bugatti in a time of 55.58 seconds. Fastest time of the day at the inaugural meeting in May was set by Arthur Baron in a 2,270 c.c. supercharged Bugatti in a new record time of 50.70 seconds. Sydney Allard
set the sports car record driving Hutchison's V12 Lincoln-engined Allard
Special in a time of 54.35 seconds. On July 3, 1938 George Abecassis
broke the Prescott outright record with a climb of 47.85 seconds in his supercharged 1½ litre Alta. Joe Fry
bettered this unofficially when he climbed in 47.62 seconds in the 1,100 c.c. Freikaiserwagen, on August 27, 1938. Raymond Mays
(2-litre E.R.A.) took the record on July 30, 1939 in a time of 46.14 seconds. Second overall at that meeting was Jean-Pierre Wimille
in a 4.7-litre supercharged Bugatti, in the first international meeting held at Prescott.
There is a part of the course at Prescott named for Sydney Allard and known as Allard's Gap, sometimes shortened to Allard's. This resulted from an incident at the Bugatti Owners' Club meeting on June 15, 1947, when Sydney: "shot through the hedge at the semi-circle and landed well out in the field in the single-seater Allard.
Stirling Moss
's first hillclimb was at Prescott on May 9, 1948, driving a Mk2 Cooper
. He had hoped to enter at Shelsley Walsh
somewhat earlier, but had been thwarted in this ambition as there were no spaces left in the entry list. On his actual debut at Prescott, Moss came fourth out of twelve, in the 500 c.c. class.
On September 9, 1951 at the Bugatti Owners' Club International Event Ken Wharton
broke the track record in a time of 43.81 sec in a Cooper 1,000 c.c. Tony Marsh (Cooper) set a record at 43.32 sec in June 1956.
At the BOC meeting on September 15, 1963, Peter Westbury
clinched the 1963 British Hill Climb Championship
by taking second place to Peter Boshier-Jones (Lotus-Climax 1,220 c.c. supercharged) in the championship run-off. Westbury also took FTD in the class runs in a time of 48.95 secs in the Felday-Daimler.
In 1967 Motor reported: "Driving his V-8 engined Brabham, B. Eccles set up a new record for the hill of 47.31s. at the Bugatti Owners Club Invitation Prescott Hill climb on July 9."
was filmed here, including a race between an Austin-Healey Sprite
and a Peugeot 306
with a number of cosmetic modifications.
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, 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...
. The course used for most events (the "Long Course") is 1128 yards (1,031.4 m) in length, and as of late 2007 the hill record was held by Scott Moran
Scott Moran
Scott Moran is a British hillclimb driver, based in Ludlow, Shropshire,. He is the reigning British Hill Climb Champion. Scott has won the British Hill Climb Championship three times driving the Gould GR61X he shares with his father, 1997 British Champion Roger Moran...
, who set a time of 36.35 seconds on 2 September 2007 for an average speed of 62.42 miles per hour (100.5 km/h). 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
Vintage Sports-Car Club
The Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is a British motor racing club. Established "towards the end of 1934" by Tim Carson and Tom Rolt to promote the pastime of motoring, the VSCC was first started in order to allow the "not so rich" to enjoy historic motoring.. General guidelines made the club...
.
History
The track is owned by the Bugatti Owners' Club (BOC), founded in 1929 , who were looking for a permanent home and bought the land in 1937. The club had previously run events at LewesLewes Speed Trials
The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in Lewes, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."-History:The first meeting took place on July 27, 1924, on "a private road near Lewes", location unidentified. The event was organised by the Brighton & Hove Motor Cycle...
and on the Chalfont Heights Estate, Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe and Rickmansworth. Chalfont St Peter is...
, Buckinghamshire. The club also ran a one-off event at Joel Park, Northwood Hill, Middlesex, on June 22, 1935, which was won by Richard Shuttleworth, on a Bugatti, in a time of 30.16 sec. The Bugatti O.C. planned to develop Dancer's End, near Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
, Hertfordshire, but an event there scheduled for June 20, 1936 had to be cancelled. Motor Sport
Motor Sport (magazine)
Motor Sport was founded in the UK in 1924 as the Brooklands Gazette, the first edition appearing in July of that year. In August 1925 the title was changed to the all-encompassing "Motor Sport". For most of its history , the editor of the magazine was Bill Boddy.The monthly magazine underwent a...
reported in December 1937:
"It will be recalled that about two years ago the Club planned to make Dancer's End a first-class hill-climb venue, and obtained approval from the landowner, Alan P. Good. Unfortunately, the noise nuisance, which is a disease not unknown to motor-race course promoters, broke out and the project was reluctantly abandoned,..."
The first event at Prescott was staged in April, 1938, on what is now the Short Course. As announced in Motor Sport: "The Opening Rally on April 10th will comprise an assembly at Cheltenham for lunch, followed by a run to Prescott and possibly timed runs up the hill, followed by tea at the Prescott club-house. Prescott will be ready for the first official meeting on Sunday, May 15th." Unofficial fastest time in April was set by I. Craig in a 4.9-litre supercharged Bugatti in a time of 55.58 seconds. Fastest time of the day at the inaugural meeting in May was set by Arthur Baron in a 2,270 c.c. supercharged Bugatti in a new record time of 50.70 seconds. Sydney Allard
Sydney Allard
Sydney Herbert Allard was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful racing motorist. He was remarkable in that he achieved sporting success in cars of his own manufacture....
set the sports car record driving Hutchison's V12 Lincoln-engined Allard
Allard
The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. The company, based in Putney, London. until 1945 and then in Clapham, London, produced approximately 1900 cars until its closure in 1966....
Special in a time of 54.35 seconds. On July 3, 1938 George Abecassis
George Abecassis
George Edgar Abecassis DFC was an English racing driver, and co-founder of the HWM Formula One team.-Pre-1946 career:...
broke the Prescott outright record with a climb of 47.85 seconds in his supercharged 1½ litre Alta. Joe Fry
Joe Fry
Joe Fry was a British racing driver and distant member of the Fry's Chocolate family....
bettered this unofficially when he climbed in 47.62 seconds in the 1,100 c.c. Freikaiserwagen, on August 27, 1938. Raymond Mays
Raymond Mays
Thomas Raymond Mays CBE was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in the Grenadier Guards in France, he attended Christ's College, Cambridge...
(2-litre E.R.A.) took the record on July 30, 1939 in a time of 46.14 seconds. Second overall at that meeting was Jean-Pierre Wimille
Jean-Pierre Wimille
Jean-Pierre Wimille was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II.-Biography:...
in a 4.7-litre supercharged Bugatti, in the first international meeting held at Prescott.
There is a part of the course at Prescott named for Sydney Allard and known as Allard's Gap, sometimes shortened to Allard's. This resulted from an incident at the Bugatti Owners' Club meeting on June 15, 1947, when Sydney: "shot through the hedge at the semi-circle and landed well out in the field in the single-seater Allard.
Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
's first hillclimb was at Prescott on May 9, 1948, driving a Mk2 Cooper
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
. He had hoped to enter at Shelsley Walsh
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club . It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is in fact the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905...
somewhat earlier, but had been thwarted in this ambition as there were no spaces left in the entry list. On his actual debut at Prescott, Moss came fourth out of twelve, in the 500 c.c. class.
On September 9, 1951 at the Bugatti Owners' Club International Event Ken Wharton
Ken Wharton
Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points...
broke the track record in a time of 43.81 sec in a Cooper 1,000 c.c. Tony Marsh (Cooper) set a record at 43.32 sec in June 1956.
At the BOC meeting on September 15, 1963, Peter Westbury
Peter Westbury
Peter Westbury is a British former 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...
clinched the 1963 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...
by taking second place to Peter Boshier-Jones (Lotus-Climax 1,220 c.c. supercharged) in the championship run-off. Westbury also took FTD in the class runs in a time of 48.95 secs in the Felday-Daimler.
In 1967 Motor reported: "Driving his V-8 engined Brabham, B. Eccles set up a new record for the hill of 47.31s. at the Bugatti Owners Club Invitation Prescott Hill climb on July 9."
Trivia
An episode of Top GearTop Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
was filmed here, including a race between an Austin-Healey Sprite
Austin-Healey Sprite
The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, just before that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to...
and a Peugeot 306
Peugeot 306
The Peugeot 306 is a small family car built by the French car manufacturer Peugeot from 1993 to 2002 replacing the 309. Peugeot gave the 306 many updates and aesthetic changes to keep up the competition but it was replaced by the 307 in 2001. Cabriolet and estate versions continued until 2002...
with a number of cosmetic modifications.