BRITISH HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP WILLIS AND MORAN FIGHT IT OUT

Organiser: Liverpool Motor Club and Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club When: July 2 and 3 Where: Barbon Manor, Cumbria (rounds 15 and 16) and Harewood, Leeds (rounds 17 and 18) Starters: 68 and 114

It was a punishing weekend for the British Hillclimb Championship runners, with four rapidfire rounds taking place over two days at two different venues.

By the end of the four showdowns, series benchmark Scott Moran had consolidated his 18-point lead at the head of the standings after a tense toe-to-toe with title rival Trevor Willis.

In the opening round at Barbon, which had been blighted by rain, Moran topped the run-off times with his traditional pace but he could only manage a fourth position in the second encounter.

Willis, on the other hand, had followed his rival in the timesheets in the opening runoff but headed the second clash as his rival struggled. That meant Willis certainly had the upper hand.

Three bursts of rain swept across the venue at various points, shaking up the lower order. Behind Moran (who had set his time despite a lurid slide) and Willis in the opener had been Wallace Menzies in his Gould, while Will Hall took a decent bunch of points in his Force. However, that was to be a highlight for Hall who went to the start line for the second run, which was taking place on a dry track, with wet weather tyres. He spun.

On those second runs, the weather was to play a factor and the conditions helped Sean Gould take third place in his Gould-suzuki, behind the consistent Menzies.

On to Harewoood on Sunday, and Willis caught the eye immediately with a powerful opening time, which was enough for him to grab another round victory. But in a reverse of the opening round a day before, Moran was in hot pursuit and clocked the second best time.

Richard Spedding, in his 1600cc GWR Raptor, had stopped the clocks for third place ahead of Hall and Menzies.

Willis needed to keep Moran in sight to claim the bragging rights over the four rounds after the final encounter. But it was Moran who pushed the limits once again, with a record-breaking run that left the others breathless.

He topped the impressive Spedding, who had seemed likely to claim his maiden win before Moran’s display, with Willis third, and Menzies fourth from Hall.

DRIVER

Adam Maxwell David Casey Carl Waller-barrett Danny Fiske Rob Mcdonald Shane Bland Jason Kew Damien Mulvey Gary Wilson Colin Smith