Prescott classic hill climb 6 - 7 October '12

[Manky Monkey]

Prescott Autumn Classic.

"Spills, Chills and Hotrod Thrills"

Sat 6 & Sun 7 October  2012  
9am start
£18 per person.
Camping £5 per person

"Prescott Hill Climb, based just outside Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, is home to one of the world's most prestigious motor racing venues. Set in 60 acres of glorious Cotswold countryside, the estate not only provides a beautiful setting for a range of classic car and bike weekends, but also hosts major motor racing championships.
The 1127 yard course rises over 200 feet via short straights, fast and slow corners and a breathtaking hairpin, with the fastest modern racing cars completing the course in an exciting 36 seconds.
The action can be viewed from strategic points along the course as well as from the restaurant terrace. Visitors and competitors alike can enjoy an exhilarating days racing plus vintage cavalcades up the Hill".





http://www.prescott-hillclimb.com/events/october2011.aspx

[BikerGran]

Used to go regularly to Prescott as a youngster with my dad - a keen car enthusiast. - we lived near Worcester at the time.

[Manky Monkey]

I'm starting to get into classic events now -not rows & rows of finely waxed & buffed roadsters, but the nutters wrestling lorry sized behemoths around on skinny little cross ply tyres with no brakes. I've only recently realised they're crazier than the rest of us lot put together. Great! 

[BikerGran]

You know one os the things that worries me......

I used to go to the Purbeck Rally (just up the road from here) and look at the old cars and say 'oh look, my dad had one of those - and one of those - and one of those...."


Now I say oh look, one of those was my first car, and then I had one of those, and we used to rally one of those and there's the tractor I learned my tractoring on, why have they painted it that colour...........

 

[Manky Monkey]

  Me too Bobbi.

[Tony oily bike]

I'm starting to get into classic events now -not rows & rows of finely waxed & buffed roadsters, but the nutters wrestling lorry sized behemoths around on skinny little cross ply tyres with no brakes. I've only recently realised they're crazier than the rest of us lot put together. Great! 

Sounds to me like you're becoming a fan of the VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club).

I used to compete at Prescott on an (oily) old two-wheeler with the NHCA (National Hillclimb Association), and we were lucky to have some of these nut-cases competing at the same (2 day) event. Fantastic stuff!

Look up "GN Thunderbug" (a type of car) on your search engine and see what you get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2sxCxjvgs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwgkmZuDvF8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-ii3D3fgIA&feature=related

[Manky Monkey]

Them's crazy people!

[Tony oily bike]

Here's a GN leaving black rubber on opposite lock - kinda typical really!

V-Twin air-cooled with each cylinder around 2000cc  

[Manky Monkey]

I wanna be like that when I grow up!
Is that Prescott Tony? Is it a tarmac circuit or a muddy hillside or what?

[Tony oily bike]

I wanna be like that when I grow up!
Is that Prescott Tony? Is it a tarmac circuit or a muddy hillside or what?

That be Prescott.

The hill is owned by the Bugatti Club ( http://www.prescott-hillclimb.com/ ) and opened in 1938, tarmac all the way, a lovely hill in the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside. Sometimes you can even hear the steam train.........

Have a look at the following and you'll see the track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNK2fYTltsw


This one has some rods running the hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wLIIUph0rY

[Manky Monkey]

Those damn kids in their hopped up jalopies!
Tony, which meet is this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7F6nNLdfHU&NR=1&feature=endscreen

& have you got dates for the next one? More interested in the classic/vintage racing than the rods to be honest.
In this vid' there's an old guy on the start line who ambles out & puts a shovel under the back wheel of each car as it reaches the line. Is that just to stop them rolling back on the hill start?

[BikerGran]

I think it's something to do with the timing.

Somewhere round the middle of that vid, where there's all the armco and tyres, used to be our favourite spot for watching - there was just a bit of chestnut fencing back then!

[Tony oily bike]

Andy - Me thinks the vid you posted is the annual VSCC do, and you've just missed it (4th & 5th August)
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/events/event.jsp?id=730

The VSCC have a hillclimb at Loton Park in Shropshire on 15th & 16th Sept. (personally wouldn't rate as highly as Prescott for viewing)
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/events/event.jsp?id=735


VSCC also have their Sprint meeting at Goodwood on 27 October
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/events/event.jsp?id=740

January sees the VSCC brigade having their Driving Test competition at Brooklands, a sort of autotest for the oldies. Usually a good day out, though this year it was on the same day as the Talmag pre '65 bike trial.

In Sprints and hillclimbs its usual for the startline marshalls to chock the vehicle with (guess what?) a chock, to prevent the vehicle rolling back (same as being 'out of stage' at a drag race).
This means you can't gain advantage by having a rolling start of any amount (kinetic energy and all that), and it means you don't have to hold the machine on the clutch.
You'll see similar at the Goodwood Festival hillclimb.
The timing only starts when the vehicle breaks the timing beam (unlike the drags), so when the light goes green, you can snick 1st gear, get your revs right and then launch, then its 60 secs of embarrassment/glory