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My third event was at the famous Shelsley Walsh hill climb near Worcestershire. The hill climb is the is the oldest Motorsport venue in the World that is still held on it's original course. More details can be found www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk

Shelsley Walsh Track Map (from www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk )

Shelsley Walsh is 180 miles from my home so an early start was required to get to the venue for 0800. The previous day I had been at Harewood so I gave the car a quick check over in the evening ready for Sunday morning. Fortunately the weather was superb so I set off at 0500 with the roof down enjoying the cool clear air. Good progress was made on the empty roads and I arrived at Shelsley for 0730. As I drive to each event I have to plan my fuel stops so I have enough fuel for the whole days competition.

At Shelsley each competitor is allocated a small covered area in the tarmac paddock. Only the competition car is allowed in the paddock (no trailers or tow cars) but that does not effect me as I drive to each event (and hopefully home!). I unloaded the car and got it ready for scrutineering then went to walk the course. I had watched an in car video of the course but I was not prepared for how steep the track was. It started on a slope and went up hill all the way, at quite a gradient.

This is a view of the paddock. Each car has a small covered area.

This is looking towards the start line.

We were called forward and had to wait in line for our run.

Leaving the paddock for the start line. Notice the race number on the headlight,
this is so the start line marshals can identify the car.

Here I am in the tyre warming area, just before the start.

On the start line. The yellow Escort is an ex Thunder Saloon race car. It has a
very expensive (£15K ?) Ford based 4 cylinder engine.

The following pictures were taken by Derek Hibbert ( www.digitalderek.co.uk )
Most of these pictures shown below were taken from thumbnails so the quality is not very high.
I purchased a couple of large prints and the quality is very good.

Entering the Bottom S. The S`s are the tightest corners on the track but very steep.

I was happy to see how close I was top the curb.

Further around the Bottom S.

This picture captures a bit of the Shelsley atmosphere, grass banks under the trees.
The whole course has steep grass banks on either side.

Entering the Top S. This was scanned from one of the large prints.

This is exiting the Top S. The corner is off camber and tends to throw the car to the outside
of the bend towards a grass bank. This picture was also scanned from a large print.

Car Set Up

As Harewood:-
Springs: As before (Front 170 lb/inch, Rear 200 LB/inch)
ARB: As per end of Harewood, drop link on the outer hole on the rocker and drop link on the softest setting on the bar.
Dampers: Front Bump 4, Rebound 3. Rear Bump 2, Rebound 3.

1st practice:
64ft.......2.62 secs
Split speed......73 mph
Split............26.04 secs
Time .........39.46 secs
Speed........81 mph

2nd practice:
64ft.........2.78 secs
Split speed.......75mph
Split.............25.94 secs
Time..........39.26 secs
Speed.........82mph

Notes: Off the line I let the clutch out then powered away, obviously not a quick way to get off the line. Oversteer in the left kink in the lower part of the course. I just held 3rd gear over the line.

1st Timed Run:
64ft.....2.69 secs
Split speed..........76mph
Split time ............25.43 secs
Time..................38.75 secs
Speed...............81mph.

Notes: Front anti roll bar stiffened for this run, oversteer cured. I hit the rev limiter a few times so reduce the revs the shift light comes on at. I am going over the line in 3rd gear with the shift light just flickering (6,600rpm).

2nd Timed Run:
64ft...........2.72 secs
Split speed..........73 mph
Split Time............25.27 secs
Time................38.46 secs
Speed.............38.46 secs

Summary: A very enjoyable day at Shelsley Walsh. I did not push as hard as I know the car could go. The secret of going fast at Shelsley is carrying lots of speed through the lower part of the course. This takes lots of commitment and the penalties are high if you get it wrong due to the steep banks on each side of the road. I decided to enjoy the day rather than really going for it and risking the car.
My class was won by Calvin Kneebone in a 1700cc Mallock Mk24 in a time of 33.98 secs, second was a Ford Escort space framed ex circuit racer in 34.33 secs.