Wiscombe Park – Five Clubs
- NMC
- Sep 8, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 18, 2021
Wiscombe Park hosted the Five Clubs meeting over the weekend of the 4th and 5th September. The event attracted 114 competitors in cars and 28 riders on bikes all battling to be the quickest up the half mile course that winds its way through the Wiscombe Park estate. The spectators were treated to two days of fast, record breaking action in glorious sunshine.
There was a lot of close competition throughout all the classes with the drivers having one practice run and then three timed runs, with special classes for the Gilbern Owners Club and the Triumph Register.
The current Wiscombe Tillicoultry Quarries Championship leader, Rod Eyles – Alfa Romeo 4C – won Class A3 on both days. In the single seater racing car, Class E1, Ben Bonfield – Jedi Mk4 – did the double too. Unusually for Ben, he had quite a moment in practice with a big spin at Bunny’s Leap on Saturday, but fortunately, did not damage the car. Ben, from Taunton, is currently leading the Association of South West Motor Clubs Hillclimb Championship.
In Class E2 there was the usual close competition between Ottery St Mary driver Ed Hollier – Pilbeam MP62 and Andrew Forsyth – OMS CF04. It was Ed who took the Fastest Time of the Day honour’s on both days.
The meeting attracted a record number of Gilbern cars from all over the UK – the cars, produced in Wales between 1959 and 1973, have a long association with Wiscombe – the first Gilbern competing there in 1962. The marque is kept alive today by a very enthusiastic Gilbern Owners Club and ten drivers competed for the Wiscombe Cup which was won by Mark Jones in his 1968 Genie.
A video of the Gilbern's in action can be viewed on YouTube
Sunday’s action was record breaking - three new ASWMC records were set. In Class E1 Ben Bonfield – Jedi Mk4 – broke his existing record. In Class E2 Ed Hollier – Pilbeam MP62 and Class E3 Newton Abbot’s Tony Wiltshire - Ralt RT34 – also set new record’s. A number of other drivers set Personal Best times helped by the warm, dry conditions.
The members of the National Hill Climb Association on their bikes also had a great weekend and Paul Jeffrey – KTM – was the quickest rider on both day’s.
There are just two weekend’s of action at Wiscombe remaining before the end of the season. Check out the web site www.wiscombepark.co.uk and Facebook page for all the latest news. For those interested in competing, Wiscombe Park has produced an excellent guide on how to get started in the sport. This can be downloaded from the web site. The Wiscombe Park Team are also always happy to give guidance and are available for a chat on race weekend’s.
Top Ten Times – Saturday 4th September
1 Ed Hollier – Pilbeam MP62 36.19
2 Andrew Forsyth – OMS CF04 36.70
3 Ben Bonfield – Jedi Mk4 37.77
4 Dave Greenslade – Radical SR 38.20
5 Simon Clemow – Radical SR1 38.44
6 Rod Thorne -Pilbeam MP43 38.67
7 Tom Williams – MWR Storm 39.40
8 Luke Trotman – Force HC 39.97
9 Kevin Frost - KMD 004 41.78
10 Jack Ellis - Subaru Impreza 41.81
Top Ten Times – Sunday 5th September
1 Ed Hollier – Pilbeam MP62 35.61
2 Andrew Forsyth – OMS CF04 36.39
3 Tony Wiltshire – Ralt RT34 36.47
4 Ben Bonfield – Jedi Mk4 37.25
5 Rod Thorne – Pilbeam MP43 37.86
6 Simon Clemow – Radical SR1 38.62
7 Tom Williams – MWR Storm 38.76
8 Dave Greenslade – Radical SR1 38.90
9 Luke Trotman – Force HC 39.39
10 TimPitfield – DJ Firecat 40.58
A selection of my photo's from this event are available to view on the Wiscombe Park Facebook page:
A selection of my photo's of the bikes of the National Hill Climb Association (NHCA) members in action are available to view on the Wiscombe Park Facebook page:
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