Fast ladies in motorsport

Speed events, hillclimbing and sprints, see quite a few female competitor's - probably more than any other branch of motorsport. In this article, I shine a spotlight on some of them that compete at Wiscombe Park - one of the most demanding hillclimb courses in the UK.

The current holder of the Wiscombe ladies record is Olivia Cooper / Force TA at 37.03s set in 2019 (pictured above at the 2019 National meeting).

South West competitors include Laura Wardle who for 36 years has shared Jonathan Williamson’s Porsche 911 / Hannah Stapley-Bealing – Datsun 240Z which she shares with Steph Colvin / Debbie Blake – Mini Cooper S / Naomi Poole – Ford Escort; Helen Pitt – Ford Escort which she shares with Gary.

Competitors from further afield include Amanda George – Chevron B19 which she shares with her father Richard / Carole Nicholls – Nike Mk 4 FF – a car designed and built by her father, Ken Nicholls.

It is not just in cars either – Sara Dewell and Jayne Foster partnering their other halves Kevin and Simon compete in their side cars.

Others that deserve a mention include South West based Hayley Thorne who sometimes shares father Rod’s 5 litre Rover V8 powered Pilbeam MP43 and a Westfield Sei; Jenny Howells having “Impish Adventures” with Alex in their Hillman.

Competing nationally, Lindsay Summers, mother of 2015 British Hillclimb Champion, Alex Summers – they often share the family DJ Firestorm – a very rapid car; and Nicola Menzies, wife of 2019 British Hillclimb Champion, Wallace Menzies, shares the ex. Martin Groves Gould GR55 NME with Dave Uren. Nicola was crowned 2018 FIA Ladies Hillclimb Champion; Heather Calder was crowned British Sprint Champion in 2017 and ’18 in her 3.5 Gould-NME XB GR55-01 (ex Adam Fleetwood) following in the footsteps of Patsy Burt’s 1970 Championship in her 4.5 McLaren-Oldsmobile/Traco M3A/2.

This article appears on the Wiscombe Park FB page together with a selection of photo's.

https://www.facebook.com/WiscombeParkHillclimb/posts/1924271454391763