2007 Pictures

Doune - Groves, Groves - Scott got two third places. Junior did 2 second's, gears that is. The Predator was well on song on Saturday and this bodes well for it's performance at the final at Shelsley Walsh. Doune September 2007 Gallery It was to be the final, but Shelsley had a landside and it's round is now in October. Doune could have been the championship decider, but now it's the October Shelsey.
Martin Groves, Scott Moran, were separated by some 5 points after dropped scores before Doune. They now go to Shelsley to finalise who's champion. Paul Ranson gave an excellent view from the inside in last years Ranson Times for Doune. Scott gave his final view of the year here. Nick Kemp gave a summary here and his predictions for this year. The reports make excellent reading and background from a position a year ago.

Santa Pod - European finals. Dragracing. We had not been to a drag race for about 8 years, the crowds are bigger, some of the dragsters are faster, but the Brian Johnson type of bikes are still at 6.3 (and he was 6.1). The fuel cars HURT. Awesome. 4.6 was the fastest we saw, but the side by side 4.8 in the finals left our guts stewed. It still hurt with both fingers firmly jammed in ears, hurt in as body and chest rattled by 16,000 bhp at 100ft. Go there once in your life and FEEL Top Fuel. Anyway, Richard found Magners in the bar, so here's the pictures... Santa Pod Gallery 2007

Prescott Sept - British Hillclimb Championship


Deserves a photo	Karl Davidson - Durling Car	In the run off	Kitty litter	20

Tom New	Will Mason	Slightly sedate driving from Ed.	Smokin'	21

Prescott Gallery

Prescott - Moran, Groves. (Old Hill record of Adam Fleetwood was 36.53 seconds set in 2004). Martin Groves walked away with 21 points and 20 for Scott Moran. That's a lot of points when you get 10 for a win, so how did they do it? Well Scott won the first run off with a new outright hill record of 36.35, therefore 10 points and 1 extra for the record. Martin with a 36.43 also went under the existing record at the start of the day for, so 9 points for second and 1 extra for being under the record. In the second run off Martin won with a time of 36.50 still under the existing record at the start of that day, so that's 10 + 1, Scott with a 36.57 came second for 9 points but no extra point ! That is close racing.
Nice things happen, Nicholson McLaren Aviation announced at Prescott that they will be sponsoring the championship for another year, as did Ian Fidoe with his Power-Mec concern sponsoring the leaders championship again. It was also great to see Martin Groves and Scott Moran standing together in the crowd at the prize giving, surrounded by the Grove's children, totally relaxed, laughing and smiling, mutually respectful of each others abilities. This is the spirit of hillclimbing at it's best and maybe Bernie should should take note! Wonderful weekends racing, thanks all, thanks Prescott. GALLERY

Gurston - British Hillclimb Championship


Worthwhile excuse	18	Edward Holier	Grass blower, Mann	Turn off the TC..

What excuse?	22	I mean't to do this in the next corner		We're down on power,.... whatever you do don't use the brakes..

Gurston Gallery

Gurston Down - Groves, Groves.
As predicted Groves took 22 points. 18 for Scott. It was fairly easy to see as the reigning champion raised the bar once again. There was nothing wrong with Scott's determination, he gave a fantastic drive, sliding, sideways, and thrashed, but he just couldn't get near an ever confident Groves. Groves now leads the championship by 4 points. Prescott, Doune, and Shelsley and to go. 66 points possible. We got good onboard footage of the Ranson Groves car including the class record of Martin Groves. We met Martin Ogilvie at Gurston to give him a Predator DVD, a set of onboard and offboard clips put together to help the PCD electric hillclimb project. Send a £5 and you can see the DVD version as well.. GALLERY

Fintray - Scottish hillclimb championship rounds


Merchant Banker ?	Purposeful	Strimming	This line ?	Heather Calder

Very quick up Fintray	Great turnout by the girls	Having pure fun	or this one ?	Heather's Dad preparing the tires

Fintray Gallery The pictures above are just a small sample.

Fintray - Scottish hillclimb championship rounds
Heather Calder
We took a weekend off from the British Hillclimb Championship, to fly to a hillclimb 400 miles away! We did a few bits of onboard with Stewart Robb Jnr, Jonathon Rarity, Graeme Wight Junior and Les Mutch in the Dax and also Mike Jolly in the same car. Opinion, great venue, great organisation, rated 8.5/10. It was great to see the ex Moose Gr37 in the hands of Heather Calder and her dad. Great to see the 17 year old at the wheel of a real boys car. The Robb's found the combination of damp to drizzle, new tarmac and the furious Judd engined Pilbeam a little too much and once again Pilbeam shares went up. Don't give in, they are just teething troubles. Wallace Menzies looked awesome in the DJ Firehawk, the motor onsong and powerful throughout. GALLERY


1 or 2 ?	Fist full of dollars? or Tarantino... Green, Black, Yellow and Blue	The Robbs new car	Nimble Trevor	3,2

Vintage	Classic	New	Pensioner.. !:-)	1

Craigantlet, Ireland. No swan (checked the garden) , no moose (swan discoverer), and Scottie got the golden goose eggs.
Fist full of dollars? or Tarantino...Green, Black, Yellow and Blue GALLERY
Martin Groves couldn't match Scott Moran in the first run off as in cool conditions Scott equalled Adam Fleetwood's outright record, with Martin coming in second. In the second run off Martin showed his skill and determination as a champion but, unfortunately, assistance from the marshals after he had spun it lost any hope of a top placing as the rules state that outside assistance means a failed run and he missed the two points he would have got for being the last of the only 9 registered contenders running. 90 seconds up Craigantlet is not normal for Martin, Scott doing a record equalling run also re-demonstrates his ability. We put an onboard camera in Steve Wilkinson's Elan and this is the only time Steve will ever beat Martin up a hillclimb, or even a sprint! I feel the GR55 of Groves/Ranson would get a lot more run time if they entered the sprint championship as well. Anyway the round at Fintray next weekend we hope the record recording camera kits we use will bag another one on the newly laid re-laid surface.
Well this has become almost a report so lets say a bit more, Trevor Willis also did the Craigantlet round and in the photos you can see him with alternate wheels in the air through the chicane.
Motor sport is dangerous ! Ear protection is required ! I stood on the straight at Kirkistown on Friday to take a photograph of the ex John Leinster Pilbeam now in the hands of Stewart Rob. I physically jumped in the air as it changed gear about 6 foot away from me whilst going very quickly down the straight. The Stewart's had a great day at the Craigantlet hillclimbing the following day and it was great to bump into John Leinster himself, I was rushing up the hill and only had time for a single greeting. However his eyes lit up when he saw Georgia behind me, unfortunately, she was under orders ( as usual ) and also had to rush away, but it was great to see him. Thank you to Paul Ranson and Martin Groves for once again a fantastically interesting weekend and the experiences we get from being invited to travel with them.
We wish Scott and Debbie Moran a fabulous life together.
We hope this championship continues to be one of the closest hardest fought British hill climb championships ever. May the best man win.

Harewood - Scottie two pots of gold. Grove's golden Gould (with a metallic hint) had a quick fit quick change of second gear at lunchtime and he bagged 2 second places. Simon Durling crossed the golden line before the finish line and got no time. Scott leads the championship, Martin second, and Roger third. Rob Turnbull was back in the V8. Junior was there with the Predator on Saturday in a static display with his new 2T4T sponsors. Paul Ranson had a poor weekend, a little under the weather, but very popular after dragging several motorhomes off the grass (marsh) with his Discovery. Dave Kimberley has now got an onboard camera setup so his footage through Orchard should be great. Ed Hollier, Robert Kendrick, and James Blackmore also had outstanding results. Harewood Picture gallery

Doune June - Groves new record, Grover, Grover, and out. Two wins for Martin Groves and a new outright record of 36.00 seconds. Scott Moran did not crack under the immense pressure laid on by Martin, he was 7/100ths slower than Martin Groves new 36.00 record after coming on top in the qualifying. On Saturday Junior in the Predator V10 was within half a second of Groves previous record in an impressive return with the Predator. And we love the Predators new stickers !

We finally did get onboard in the Predator, 36.99 seconds up Doune this is the first edit. Junior 36.99 Doune. We now have a Chevron Bar sticker on our car, so here's a little bit of onboard in the Keith Harris's Chevron B29 up Doune. Harris Doune

Loton June - Roger, Roger, Grover and out. Roger Moran did the double and almost got the record at a very warm Loton Park. Paul Ranson and Martin Groves had a mysteriously unsettled car this weekend. The engine was fine, but tyres, suspension or something else was just not playing ball. A clue to this was Paul not qualifying in the first run off and Martin having a spin in the second as he tried to extract some performance from the Gould to beat Scott's earlier time. Roger ran last in the second run off for a 'comfortable' double win. Scott now leads the championship with Roger second and Martin 3rd. Lets hope the Groves/Ranson car is back on form at Doune, where Martin currently holds the record.
    A superb event, very well run, if a little too hot for my liking. Sunday saw 5 records by 10:05 ! The early finish let me get home in time to see another great historic moment as Lewis Hamilton won his first Grand Prix. It would have been ever better if I had realised the MotoGp was on Eurosport at the same time. Instead as I turned over the bikes were just arriving in parc ferme and Toby and Julian were going on about it being the best race for years, forget the Schwantz and Merkel battles !
    In a timely moment Willem phoned this morning. He said the team were rather subdued, the 2nd place being somewhat overshadowed by Kubica's crash. Sprained ankle ! A very lucky man. Willem send his regards and says not to worry as he is still getting plenty of practice to maintain his style, by crashing his mountain bike ! His engine and car are still up for sale. Maybe this would suit Junior rather than the KV4 Judd that was mentioned on the Tannoy at Loton. !
    Rubber layer of the weekend prize must go to Oliver Tomlin, who made Loton much longer with his sideways action. Chris Pickering did a good job. sideways, 2 wheels on the grass and still breaking the record. Dave Kimberley was also hanging it out allot and Paul Haimes tried just a little too hard and hung all four wheels out to graze as he approached Museum.

Oh and the pig roast was excellent. Well done HDLCC. Loton Park Picture gallery

Shelsley - Groves 1 - Scottie 1 - What a meeting. Martin took the outright record down to 22.86 in the first run off, Scott then went under that with a 22.83 and walks away as the outright record holder. The three fastest people ever up Shelsley are now Scott Moran, Martin Groves and Paul Ranson (well done Paul). So many records were broken, that the record of records got broken as well! A mysterious Kermit the frog sticker was upside down before it reached the finish. The Marshals, rescue, the organisers, bar staff and catering, et al, were all great also. It doesn't come any better. There is a picture gallery from the following link. It is quite large (and the exposures suffered this weekend ?), but some drivers want to see the picture sequences. Shelsley June picture gallery Nick was also at Shelsley with new motors here's his report Electric chair Shelsley

Click here for the gallery from Prescott The pictures above open in another window.

Almanac - Gurston -Luck - Prescott Veyron. Well we didn't go to Gurston and no one won. It was the first top 12 run offs we were not to attend in 3 years. Georgia was working on the weekend and the promise of a Veyron at Prescott and being asked to film it was too much of a temptation. It turned out to be the correct choice. Prescott also got cancelled after lunch on Sunday, but on Saturday the Groves Velcro stuck a treat inside the Veyron. la vie en BLEU was a fantastic event. A miniature Goodwood festival of speed. I only wish next year that it does not clash with a British round and that the weather holds. p.s. A Veyron is AWESOME. Small picture gallery of the Veyron here
Nick did go to Gurston, so here's his view Electric chair Gurston

Harewood Scott Moran won the first run off, Martin Groves the second run off. Roger and Scott Moran jointly lead the championship. Martin Groves closed the points gap. Pictures from Harewood Nick's View from the Electric Chair for Barbon & Harewood

Barbon Martin Groves won the first run off, Scott Moran the second run off. Pictures from Barbon

Prescott Martin Groves wins both rounds with championship contender Scott Moran spinning off in the first qualifying but bagging a second place in the second run off. The weekend was not without problems however for the Groves and Ranson team as Saturday saw problems with the flat shift that required repair and then recalibration by Sean Gould. Rob Turnbull make a very welcome return and scored points with a 6th place in the first run off. Sandra Tomlin had a big off at Ettories, but apart from bruised thumbs and a hefty repair bill was A okay. The marshals, rescue, and the response to the incident deserves a word or two of praise, well done.
Rounds 3 & 4 pictures uploaded here or go to the 2007 pictures button.
Nick Kemps latest view from the electric chair Prescott 3 & 4

Loton Park. Rounds 1 & 2 of the Nicholson McLaren British Hill Climb Championship

Loton Scott Moran wins both rounds at Loton Park in the season opener. Martin Groves and Paul Ranson were once again sidelined at the first meeting of the year in a semi repeat of last years competition. This time water in the engine oil caused by a heat exchanger problem put them out. Not for one round, but for both. The pain for them was clear to see. Roger and Scott ran absolute blinders at Loton, Roger was first to run in the second run off after some light drizzle and onto an unknown track. The experience of the Loton expert would get him 3rd place for this, just behind Simon Durling and Scott taking the win. By this time it was neutral density +1 on the camera the conditions had improved so much. The onboard footage of Scott's second run off is smooth and awesome. At only .17 of a second of the track record, he is the current Loton master. We only got footage from one camera this weekend, another set is currently up in Scotland at the Predator farm, Willem Toet and Tony Hunt were going to carry a camera and then at the last minute Tony crashed, saving Willem a job. Martin and Paul's car had expired (and the camera was in Newbury anyway). The spare kit had the wrong connections for the camera. So overall a fantastic weekend. It was a great weekend, thanks to Jan the Marshal for the suntan cream, and even Georgia enjoyed it :-)