Life in the class ranks: the British Hillclimb Cup
For those not competing in the main British Hillclimb Championship, which is aimed at the fastest singleseaters, the Motorsport UK BHC Cup is the logical place to compete on the hills.
Formerly known for many years, right up to 2019, as the Leaders Championship, the BHC Cup is a class-based contest within British
Hillclimb Championship events. It runs at all of the mainland meetings but does not require competitors to travel to Craigantlet in Northern Ireland or to the Channel Islands, thus helping to contain costs.
A driver will take their best 16 scores from 24 rounds towards the final championship positions and points are scored on the basis of 9-6-4-3-2-1 for the top six in each class at each event, subject to a minimum number of starters per class. If the existing class record is beaten, that will earn the driver a further bonus point. This year, Alex Coles made the long haul north to
Doune very worthwhile by grabbing a maximum 40 points in two days.
In 2022, almost 100 drivers contested the BHC Cup and it was a close-run thing as Johnathen Varley and Richard Spedding finished within eight points of
Coles in their rapid singleseaters. BHC runner-up Alex Summers took fourth but was only one place ahead of the road-going Alfa Romeo 4C of Rodney Eyles. Dylan Flesher hurled his Caterham up every available hill in style to finish in the top 10, as did Allan McDonald in his remarkable Subaru underpinned Mini Special. Robbie Birrell rounded out the top 10 in his potent
V6 Lotus Exige.