Hall takes a top haul at Shelsley Walsh

After surviving a scare in second qualifying, Will Hall managed to clinch both rounds 25 and 26 of the British Hillclimb Championship at Shelsley Walsh on Sunday in his Force WH XTEC racing car.

In mixed conditions, Hall topped the morning round with a time of 25.13 seconds, but suffered a fractured air pipe in the afternoon qualifying class run which restricted gear changes.

He said: “I was stuck on the rev limiter in third gear and really didn’t think I would qualify for the Top 12 run-off, but just managed to squeeze in and, by posting the only 25-second run, eventually took the honours.”

With oil having been spilt the whole length of the track, together with changeable wet and greasy conditions, fourth and fifth championship position drivers Jason Mourant and Dave Uren (both Gould GR55), managed to come to grief at exactly the same place, eliminating them from the run-offs.

This prompted the remaining top three drivers to take to the course car alongside the clerk of the course, to inspect the area on safety grounds, before all deciding to continue.

With a fifth and third finish, local man and reigning British champion Trevor Willis still heads the points table in his OMS 28 with a score of 223 points, followed by Hall on 191 and Scottish driver Wallace Menzies driving a Gould GR59M on 174 points, while Mourant and Uren have 157 and 141 respectively.

Six-times British champion Scott Moran made his first competitive appearance of the year with a new engine fitted to his Gould GR61X but didn’t manage to qualify for the morning run-off.

He said: “I was far too cautious this morning but was delighted to be able to mix it with the top runners later and take fifth place this afternoon.”