Down Under
Bugatti Owners' Club hosted an Australian themed weekend of motorsport at Prescott Hill Climb on 29 & 30th June. Centred around the Rob Roy 'Challenge' the event brought together two famous motorsport venues from opposite sides of the world: Prescott Hill Climb in Gloucestershire, UK and Rob Roy Hill Climb, home of the MG Car Club of Victoria situated on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. Both clubs came together in 2008 to promote the interests of hill climbing between Australia & the UK.
Team OMS made their contribution to the flavour of the weekend; Australian Malcolm Oastler was a share drive in the 600cc OMS Hornet (AKA 'The Pool Car') with Steve Owen. Although no stranger to motorsport or hill climbing; Malcolm is a competitor in the Australian hill climb scene, this was his first event in the UK. Both drivers had a good weekend, each wringing every last ounce of performance from this forgiving little car.
Malcolm in the Hornet with its previos owner David Oldridge looking on
Other OMS drivers were also enjoying their weekend, assisted by the welcome summer weather. Saturday was practice day for TTC Midland Hill Climb Championship competitors, whilst running alongside was a 'B' Licence holders meeting, with timed runs during the afternoon for these drivers. Chris & Keith Green driving the ex-Tim Wilson OMS 2000M powered by a 1200cc Honda Blackbird engine were on form in the SBD - HSA Speed Challenge. Chris comfortably took the class win on a 42.13 from dad Keith on 44.09 seconds.
The Greens' OMS 2000M
Sunday's Midland Championship meeting saw Charles Williams & co-driver Tim Cross in the beautifully presented 1200cc OMS SC1 sports car. Tim had the upper hand this weekend, taking a fine 2nd in the under 2.0 ltr sports libre class on a 45.26 whilst Charles finished in 3rd on 46.58 seconds.
Regular competitor in the 1100cc racing car class Bernard Kevill was unable to compete this weekend and his co-driver Simon Andrews was joined by occasional OMS driver Chris Aspinall. Despite some strong class competition the OMS 2000M managed to snatch a 4th in class on 40.88 seconds in the hands of Chris and 5th place went to Simon with his best time of 41.31 an excellent result for a car of this age against the more modern cars running in class. Steve Owen's time of 43.01 took 9th in class with the 600cc Hornet and Malcolm Oastler finished 11th on 45.95 seconds; having been merged into the class of fourteen 1100cc cars.
Five OMS drivers challenged for class honours in the 1600cc racing car class, with Lee Griffiths in the OMS 25 coming out top of the bunch. Lee had a very successful meeting, not only did his best class time of 39.56 secure him 2nd in class just adrift of the winning time of 39.11 set by Dave Uren, both Lee's class runs also qualified him for the two Avon/BMTR Top Ten Challenge run offs, finishing 6th and 9th respectively. Mark Goodyear took 4th in class in his 1300cc Hornet with a personal best on the day of 40.67 finishing 1/100th ahead of Mike Lee in his OMS 2000M on 40.68 seconds. John Stockley had a difficult weekend with an electrical problem followed by an excursion into the 'kitty litter' during practice, thankfully John's competition runs were trouble free. Lynn Owen shared the Hornet with Mark Goodyear, following an eight week layoff from driving. Her best time of 43.89 seconds left her 7th, just outside a points scoring class position.
In the up to 2.0 litre racing car class Andy Mcbeath finished a fine 2nd in class with a time of 40.67 seconds in the supercharged OMS 25. Ian Fidoe and Tim Elmer have had their engine repaired following its demise earlier in the season and this was their first meeting following the rebuild. All went well with both drivers in points scoring class positions, Tim in 5th on 41.30 and Ian 6th with a time of 42.18 seconds.
The final OMS runner of the day was Trevor Willis. He repeated his form from the previous weekend at Doune Hill Climb in Scotland, taking the class win on 37.39 seconds. Trevor was top qualifier in each of the run offs, taking both wins and setting fastest Time of Day at 36.71 in the second run off; only adrift of his own hill record by half a second. Speaking with Trevor in the paddock at the end of the meeting, he commented that he hadn't switched to his good tyres all weekend as he was saving them for the British Championship rounds at Harewood Hill Climb in Yorkshire next weekend. Which leaves the question had he used the good tyres would the record have fallen in such perfect weather conditions? We'll never know, but still a great result for Trevor & all team OMS drivers.
Detailed results and run off times can be found here.
Date: 1/07/2013 | Author: L.Owen