Prescott Hillclimb, the Long and the Short of it!
Prescott Hillclimb is one of those memorable venues, one that once driven remains logged as a box ticked, a true historic venue with little room for error and all set in glorious Gloucestershire countryside.
We knew before arriving this year that things were going to be a bit different. Not only would we be at a date we don’t usually drive at and with cars sharing the event that we rarely see, but the way the event was to be run was truly a change from the norm.
This year, the normal hill layout would be used in the morning (called the Long Course) with one single practice run and two scoring runs and then after lunch the shorter version of the course (yes, the Short Course!) would be used also with a single practice and two scoring runs.
The result at the end of the day was to be based on the total of the best scoring runs for each layout and crucially both practice runs had to be fully completed before anyone would appear in those end of day results.
The other slightly different aspect to this event was that it formed our annual 'social' where drivers and guests could sit and munch their way through a buffet lunch laid on by the championship.
After a nice supper in the Prescott restaurant, a glass of beer from a famous TV presenter (you know who that is) which went down very well on a warm evening, I hit the sack in my camper parked in the pretty paddock.
I was woken by what appeared to be a whole troop of lovesick Pigeons in the trees near my camper. They seemed to be repeating their whoo-hoo call a thousand times and hour, I guess try and you might succeed is the active phrase there!
Morning Practice
Our impressive 21 car group were all parked at the part of the paddock facing the public entrance and very purposeful they looked as they rolled out onto the start line for the single morning practice.
Of the four P1 class runners Nigel Watkins and his GT3, recently moved up into the class, was second quickest with a 52.40 second run but Wayne Helme with his 718 GT4 found another second to lead the class.
In P2 Andy Fagan was in great form in his Boxster 3.4 and completed the run a little under a second slower than David Dyson who was out with his 991.2t and with a 49.07 second time was clearly going to make winning the class a challenge.
In the again very busy P3 class there was a group of cars all around a 52 and 53 second practice time but Jon Baldock was a clear leader with his 50.87 effort in his modified Boxster. Ian Wadsworth, fresh from a suspension upgrade, was second quickest and with more time behind the wheel later would be aiming to eat into Jon's lead.
Given this was a Hillclimb the very quick 911E of Martin Leach was always going to be difficult to beat. In practice he recorded a 50.09 time while Stephen Jory in the 944 wasn't too far behind with his 51.19 run.
Morning Long Course Timed Runs
It’s important to remember that the "result" for each session isn't the final one!
It does add a bit of spice as a loss in the morning might just be reversible by a great time in the afternoon.
It was another hot day when the scoring runs started and grip off the line was at first limited. Jake Cartwright in his P4 Boxster produced a 51.91 second scoring run to end the morning course third in class. Thomas Robinson was driving his classic 911 Carrera and managed a decent 54.9 second best. Martin Leach carried on his great form from practice and was around a second quicker than Stephen Jory at the end of the two morning runs.
In P3 Stephen Jennings went well in his 911 to a best time of 53.65 seconds. Stephen hasn't been able to get out more than a couple of times this year but clearly his times show he can hustle! The majority of the ultra-competitive P3 class runners recorded a morning best of around 52 to 53 seconds, a close group in a total of eleven cars.
However, one driver stood clear and predictably that was Jon Baldock again who despite an irksome damper issue was super quick with a class leading time of 49.94 seconds. That said Ian Wadsworth and the 911SCRS were getting to grips with the new suspension setup and ended the morning second in class with a great 50.75 time.
Russell Lloyd found around a second and a half improvement in is road going Boxster S but the two main P2 contenders were a little way ahead with Andy Fagan and David Dyson both improving their times into the 47/48 second bracket. Andy put together a marvellous run (we have all seen the in car video which is quite the watch!) to end the morning leading P2 with a 47.70 time.
Danny Jones, another of our GT3 drivers (they really do go well on hills as well as sprints!) cut more than three seconds off his time, great for a driver new to the hill and Justin Dooling ,who has a 2% penalty added to his times for the use of the excellent PDK system, was another driver finding a big slice of time, around four seconds to a corrected 54.01 best.
The battle in the class was to be between two experienced drivers, Wayne Helme and Nigel Watkins. Both got into the 48 second region but Nigel in his GT3 took the lead in P1 by just under three tenths with his 48.61 run.
At this point the buffet lunch had arrived and we all gathered to sample the various tasty offerings, cold drinks plus sweet treats....sorry, are you reading this before a meal? :) Seriously though it was a great spread organised by the Prescott team.
Afternoon Practice (Short Course)
Soon after the afternoon runs started on the "short" course. This drops several fast left and right bends and instead diverts straight to a tight uphill corner. The effect of this change is to make the approach speed, the braking points and the handling characteristics of cars for drivers now accustomed to the longer layout feel very different.
One practice run was allowed with the added pressure that cars did have to complete it if the efforts of the morning were to count.
In P1 the top two carried on with their sparring. Both Wayne and Nigel adapted to record 41 second times but with Nigel just a little ahead at that point.
David Dyson obviously felt confident in the changed layout and his car as he recorded a P2 practice of just 40.61 seconds, five or so ahead of Andy who was clearly being careful not to have an off that might hurt his end of day chances.
It was a similar picture in P3 where Jon Baldock ended the afternoon practice a couple of seconds ahead of the rest of the field with a swift 41.99 time. Closest runners to Jon were Ian Wadsworth again and Stephen Jennings, in his road car.
Jake Cartwright took his modified P4 Boxster to a practice 43.11, a time that was well into the P3 times. The lead pair however were still some way ahead. They were also as close as we all expect with half a second separating Martin and Stephen. Martin had the lead as the cars looked forward to the afternoon scoring runs.
Afternoon (Short Course) Scoring Runs
Temperatures seemed to be rising ever higher as the final runs began. Martin Leach took the P4 class lead with his final run, an excellent 40.82 second time to go into the end of day combined times 1st in the class with 89.79 total. Stephen Jory's total of 91.16 seconds secured second in P4 with Jake not far behind with a 93.97 to end the day third.
All the P3 drivers seemed to embrace the changed layout with improved times across the board in the two scoring runs. Justin Mather ended the day fourth in the class with a total of 94.62 seconds, the supercharged car screaming its arrival all the way up the hill!
Chris Milne was there after he had an off the year before and the varied layout was just another thing to think about as he lined up for afternoon runs. After a first tentative run he went for broke on the second in his road legal Boxster and that second time secured him a great 94.43 total to end the day third in P3.
After being consistently quick in the 911 Ian Wadsworth was second in P3 with his total of 93.67 seconds, all the better for knowing that more familiarity with his new suspension setup will likely yield even more in the events ahead. As good as Ian's total was it wasn't to trouble Jon Baldock's 91.31 second total for day, another P3 class win and placing him in a great position going into the remaining championship rounds.
While David Dyson had been well ahead in afternoon practice, and despite improving across both of his afternoon scoring runs, it was Andy Fagan who with a safe 'banker' of a practice run in place truly attacked the short course to achieve a stunning 39.80 second best adding up to a day total of 87.50 seconds and the P2 class win.
Nigel Watkins and Wayne Helme seemd to be joined at the hip most of the day and throughout the two afternoon runs they were never more than a few tenths apart. Wayne managed a very quick 41.09 time in his 718GT4 but with a time just 0.06 seconds quicker Nigel and the Gt3 took the afternoon lead and with a P1 total of 89.64 seconds he took the class win from Wayne with his 89.99 result, yes that close!
So a tad more of a complicated day at the great Prescott venue, but all seemed to enjoy the challenge and the driving was top drawer as usual.
With just three rounds remaining the championship is rapidly coming to a close and calculators will be working hard across the country as drivers try to work out who needs to what and where to get that best possible championship result!
Next round is at the super quick Goodwood circuit, see you there?
Simon Wilson
Championship Coordinator
Porsche Club GB
simonwilson@porscheclubgb.com