Wiscombe Park turned the clock back when it hosted the 500 Owners Association and the Vintage Sports-Car Club.
The sport of speed hillclimbing is the very earliest form of motorsport – invented in France, the first event was held in the UK in 1899 at Richmond-on-Thames. Then, in 1905 at Shelsley Walsh in the Midlands, a permanent venue was established.
The 500 Owners Association was actually formed at a Wiscombe Park meeting in 1968 and the Midlands-based VSCC have been holding events at Wiscombe Park since the late 1970s.
Although some of the cars are nearly 100 years old, they were designed with the sole purpose of going fast and, despite their age, they can still perform.
The 500 Owners Association also hosted a small selection of more contemporary cars, and the members of the National Hill Climb Association on their bikes and sidecars. There were Classes for Rileys, Austin 7s, Frazer Nash and Allard – all great British manufacturers of the past.
The Fastest Time of the Day award on Saturday went to Andrew Forsyth in his OMS CF04 single-seater race car with a time of 37.26s for the 1000-yard course. The fastest man on two wheels was Jamie Mitchell – BRC - recording a best time of 42.44s. And on three wheels, the honours went to Simon and Jayne Foster on their Honda F2 sidecar.
On Sunday, the event was only open to Vintage Sports-Car Club members. The Club was founded in 1934 and is arguably the most famous and highly respected car club in the world.
The majority of the 100 cars competing dated from the 1930s. The oldest car, built in 1911, was the Austin/Hall-Scott EB4 of Edward Way. The newest car, being the Cooper T56 of Alan Harrison, built in 1960. This meeting is a rare opportunity to see cars that would now be considered ‘museum pieces’ still being used for the purpose that they were created for – to win races and set speed records.
The Fastest Time of the Day award on Sunday went to Ian Baxter in his 1937 Alta 61 I.S. single-seater race car with a time of 46.91.
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