Jersey and Guernsey wins for Willis and Warwick
BOULEY BAY AND VAL DES TERRES HILLCLIMB BRITISH HILLCLIMB CHAMPIONSHIP JULY 19, 21
Reigning British Hillclimb champion Trevor Willis maintains a healthy lead in this year’s standings after a busy four rounds in the sunny climes of the Channel Islands last week.
Worcestershire driver Willis, driving a V8-powered OMS 28, took first place in both Top-12 run-offs at Bouley Bay in Jersey on Thursday, beating local man Jason Mourant, driving a Gould GR55, into second place on both occasions.
Second-placed championship contender Will Hall, driving a Force WH, set the fastest time during practice, but he subsequently suffered gearbox issues and did not compete in either run. Scottish driver Wallace Menzies, who is currently lying third, took a fourth and third finish to maintain his position in the standings.
The BHCC ‘circus’ then moved wholesale across to Val des Terres in Guernsey, and it was local driver Darren Warwick who stole the limelight by winning the first run-off in in the morning with a time of 27.87 seconds in his 1999 Dallara F3 car. He beat 2014 British champion Alex Summers – at the wheel of his new DJ Firestorm – into second place and a resurgent Hall into third.
A smiling Warwick said: “This is the first time I have driven here this year and to beat such stiff opposition from the mainland in a heavy car like mine, with its two-litre Vauxhall engine, only four-speed gearbox and absolutely no electronics at all, is simply fantastic. I am absolutely delighted with the result.”
Having overcome his transmission issues, Hall went on a charge and took the afternoon run off with a time of 27.78s.
That put Richard Spedding into second place with a time of 27.87s in his diminutive GWR Raptor. Summers pipped Menzies by one hundredth of a second to secure third place.
“It was very disappointing not to get any points at all in Jersey and I’ve now lost all of my dropped scores, so I may struggle when all of the scores are evened out,” said Hall after his troubles. “But the car went really well here and I will continue to keep trying and pushing hard for the rest of the season.”
Local woman Jackie Le Cheminant was in fine form and was absolutely thrilled having secured her first British championship point with a 10th place finish in her Rubis OMS single-seater in the morning run off.
After the four Channel Island rounds Willis is leading the championship with 190 points, Hall is second on 164 and Menzies is third with 149.
Guernsey driver Martin Dorey celebrated the first birthday of his Fisher Fury 1600 Zetec SE by being the only record breaker of the meeting, setting a class record time of 35.99s.
Dorey broke the standing record of 36.15s he himself set this time last year, in what was then a brand-new car.