Hillclimb: Moran off to a flyer

Scott Moran made a flying start to the 2010 British Hillclimb Championship with a double win in the season opener at Prescott at the weekend.

The reigning champion powered to victory in both rounds at the 1127-yard course in Cheltenham, which is the home of the Bugatti Owners Club.

Moran’s best time of 37.30 seconds in his Gould GR61x was good enough to clinch the win from Trevor Willis by three tenths in round 1, and although Willis beat that time with a 37.23 in round 2, he again found himself in second place as Moran went faster again with a 37.08.

It was an ecnouraging start to the year for Willis however as he hasn’t had time to fit his new engine in his OMS chassis during the off season but is expecting a significant performance boost when he does later in the season.

Three times champion Martin Groves came away with two third places despite a troubled weekend at the Gloucestershire venue. The engine in his car was down on power throughout the meeting and was removed on Sunday night to be sent to specialists NME for diagnosis ahead of round 2 at Barbon in two weeks time.

Other notable performances saw Eynon Price score a fine fifth place in round 1 in his first ever hillclimb event and Richard Spedding make his first ever top 12 run off in the afternoon. Things didn’t go as well for fellow Force PC driver Will Hall however, as he suffered an engine failure in the morning run.

British Hillclimb Championship results – Rounds 1 & 2, Prescott

Round 1 Top 12 run off

1 Scott Moran, 37.30
2 Trevor Willis, 37.62
3 Martin Groves, 37.62
4 Roger Moran, 37.77
5 Eynon Price, 38.22
6 Chris Merrick, 38.30
7 Rob Turnbull, 39.08
8 Paul Haimes, 39.15
9 Tom New, 39.41
10 Steve Owen, 39.49
11 Ash Mason, Fail
12 Will Hall, Fail

Round 2 Top 12 run off

1 Scott Moran, 37.08
2 Trevor Willis, 37.23
3 Martin Groves, 37.60
4 Roger Moran, 37.91
5 Paul Ranson, 38.25
6 Tom New, 398.41
7 John Bradburn, 38.48
8 Chris Merrick, 38.62
9 Rob Turnbull, 38.65
10 Richard Spedding, 39.22
11 Steve Owen, 39.30
12 Paul Haimes, 39.41

Championship Standings (after 2 rounds)

1 Scott Moran – 20pts
2 Trevor Willis – 18
3 Martin Groves – 16
4 Roger Moran – 14
5 Chris Merrick – 8
6 Tom New – 7
7 Eynon Price – 6
= Paul Ranson – 6
= Rob Turnbull – 6
10 John Bradburn – 4

Next round: 8 May, Barbon Manor, Cumbria

Watch British Hillclimb Championship highlights on Motors TV in 2010.


Andy Wilkinson

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