December
1999
The Editor’s
Part
Well, I hope that 1999 has been a good year for
you. Looking back it certainly was a
busy one, with a full calendar of NHCA-organised and invited events, as well as
any others you may have entered as members of other clubs. From a personal standpoint, I was well
pleased not to have suffered any mechanical disasters, although next year’s
resolution is to get the sparks department functioning more efficiently and
reliably. Highlight of the year for
Cathy & myself was the experience of climbing Shelsley Walsh. I understand that Portkerris was a good ‘do’,
particularly as it was very much touch and go as to whether the event would
take place at all. Well done to those
who made it possible.
In this issue we have a short report on Saltburn, a
non-NHCA hillclimb, by Ernie Crust. It
has been copied to us by Dick Pilgrim of the Middlesborough & District
Motor Club. I hope you don’t mind its
inclusion, but I have made vain pleas for reports of events at Baitings Dam and
Barbon, so I thought that you might like to read about a Northern event.
The 19th September was a fairly busy day
for hillclimbing – as well as Saltburn, there was our very own all-bike
Wiscombe. Also, the VMCC Sprint section
held a climb at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, all on the same day! The Middlesborough club is running a vintage
sprint at Ormsby Hall on 11 June 2000; the Saltburn vintage hill climb is
scheduled for 17 September. They
classify ‘Vintage’ for these events as being up to 1972. Entries are restricted to 85 per event and
Dick Pilgrim tells me that they are always over-subscribed. Not wishing to woo you away from NHCA
events, of course, but if you want regs, apply early to Dick at
20 Woodley Grove,
Ormsby,
Middlesborough,
Cleveland, TS7 9HY
or ring 01624 281367.
We’ve also got a technical article! Many thanks to Mike Shorter. Perhaps this will be an example to the rest
of you.
Finally, can you please give some thought as to the
format and frequency of The Hillclimber and let me know what you would like in
the forthcoming year. Either have a
word at the AGM in January, drop me a line anytime or give me a ring. I will be pleased to continue as editor for
another year should that bee your desire, but I will not stand in the way of
any keen volunteer rushing forward to take on the job!
All the best for 2000,
Tony
Late photo
credit
The photos in the last issue were taken by Geoff Sims
at Curborough. Many thanks, Geoff.
Tony
‘OOPS!’
department
Sorry, the email address in the last issue was
wrong. It should have had the suffix
‘.co.uk’, not ‘.com’. My fault
entirely. It’s corrected now. Many thanks to Robin Sims and Jim Rolt who
rang me too say they were experiencing difficulties.
Tony
Ian Mitchell
As one of the older riders mentioned by David Childs
in his excellent tribute to Ian Mitchell, I certainly have many memories and
stories of ‘Mitch’, not that I ever knew him by that name – he was always Ian
to me. Two of my memories also
illustrate Ian’s incredibly quick reactions and his amazing ability to
extracate himself from seemingly impossible situations with consummate ease.
At one of the last hill climbs held at Pontypool Park,
Ian was bump starting his JAP-engined ‘K Special’ near the start line in
traditional side-saddle fashion.
Instead of starting, the bike stopped as abruptly as if it had hit a
brick wall and immediately toppled to its right hand side with Ian still on
board. With anyone else, bike and rider
would surely have crashed to the ground, but not so with Ian. He instantly threw all his weight as far out
to the left as he could and jerked the bike back into a vertical position.
Somme years later at Hartland Quay’s start line, Ian
must have dropped the clutch just a bit too quickly because the bike shot
sideways from between his legs and its back end executed a complete
anti-clockwise circle with Ian still hanging on to the twist grip. As soon as the bike was pointing in the
right direction again, Ian was aboard in a flash and on his way up the hill as
if nothing had happened.. I doubt if
much more than a second was lost, and his time for that run was well up with
the best for the day.
Wendy told me that Ian had been a scrum-half in his
younger days, and a very good one at that.
For me, that last statement went without saying. With his lightning reactions, strength and
boundless energy he would have been a star player in any side and I would have
loved to have seen him in action.
Better still, as an ex- outside half myself, I would have enjoyed
playing outside him. We will certainly
not see his like again – he was a one-off, and quite unforgettable.
Alan Morgan
A Good Day at Shelsley –
recollections of the May event
Shelsley on Sunday was an unexpected treat. Andy had failed to get a decent entry by the
closing date, possibly because the more experienced riders were encouraged to
hold back on their entries to allow those who do not normally get a ride at the
World’s oldest motor sport venue to have a crack at the hallowed hill. Robin Sims happened to ring me and told me
they were short of entries, and a quick phone call to Andy had me in! Shelsley has not been one of my favourite
hills, having crashed on my first visit (own fault, due to stupidity), the
track has seen countless powerful 4 wheelers, so is, shall we say, polished.
On Sunday morning it was in a hilarious state. It was hardly possible to stand up at the
esses – the braver young blades were
taking a few steps and sliding down the hill 20 yards, not exactly inspiring.
Andy called a riders’ meeting and pointed out that it
was only a little run in the countryside and we should all go nice and steady
and give the St John people an easy time.
Glazed expressions from the competitors. First run, it took over 3 seconds to reach the 64 foot mark. It was the first time I have ever had more
power than I could use on the 350. (23 brake horsepower, 400 pounds in
weight) Each time I opened the throttle
the rear wheel spun. In any gear. At any speed. Honestly. It was quite
fun to be able to “dial” the back wheel as far out of line as I wished, if only
I could do it in the dry!
The smiles were short lived, however, when on return
to the bottom of the hill I found I was being beaten by Brian Wills! The Young Upstart! How dare he! I found his
mum telling him off for going so fast, only trouble was, he didn’t seem to be
paying much attention¼.. Second
practice, drying out now, times down a bit, back wheel not so much under the
control of the throttle, The Y U STILL in front of me! Mrs Wills evidently on my side however. Spent lunch break pacing up and down the
track, wringing hands, cursing, psyching self up, note that track is almost
dry, resolve to keep this information to myself¼
First timed run, start area now reasonable, good 64
foot time, manage to get my head down a bit on the way up to the esses, and
feel OK about the run. The timing
repeater at the top of the hill is not working. Some, er, driver, took out the cabling yesterday, so have to wait
till we return to see the times. At
last have just crept in front of the Y U.
The track continues to dry, although a few dark clouds menace us from
above, and it is balls out for all on the last run of the day. Could have gone quicker, but am confident
that this was my best time of the day.
We rush downhill and jostle round the timing hut. Brian has managed to exactly equal my first
run, but I have improved by 2 tenths of a second! What a triumph for four strokes over two! 18 horsepower and a 600 pound bike can still
thrash Oriental techno.
Other highlights:-
Glyn Poole stuffing Terry
Ian Southerton’s lip well out when he was unable
to beat Ian Fry
Charming sidecar passengers
By the way, was disappointed to be refused membership
of the Age Concern Works Team of Dave Carter, Roy Venard, and Co. They said I was too young! What cheek!
I even offered to get a Velocette sticker for my tank¼
Jim Rolt
Curborough – 25 July 1999
Time was, it used to rain at Curborough. And the track was the most lethal in the
land, consisting of shiny polished marbles set in some kind of compo. It used to take all day to get 2 runs in,
the riders seething with frustration, leading to widescale boycotting, and
eventually, withdrawal from the championship.
It was during those days of unpopularity that us Midlanders used to go
there and feel we were quick! I won
quite a few trophies for a while¼..
But one day they resurfaced the slippery bit. The running of the event perked up, the sun
shone, the word got out that we were having fun¼. Of course calamity was bound to follow in
the form of renewed interest from the NHCA.
Our days of being big(ish) fish in a small pond drew to an end when
Herman took over the day, championship status returned, the sun shone, fast
riders arrived.
So, to this year’s meeting. Was roped in to help with scrutineering, made myself thoroughly
unpopular with one of the sidecar teams, and just had time to trot round the
course before practice began. The
surface is really quite confidence inspiring now, and I set off quite rapid for
my first practice run. Went well till I
was approaching the hairpin. Changed
down a couple of gears, let go the brakes and realised I had found a false
neutral! The word that went through my
mind was: “Bother”. Anyway, I thought,
just pop it in gear and carry on.
Unfortunately it didn’t turn out quite like that and treading on the
gear pedal resulted in the back wheel momentarily locking up - engine had
slowed down, 4 stroke, plenty of inertia.
Normally, no problem, but when the bike’s banked over a fair way, can
result in the back wheel getting a bit out of line. Well, more than a bit, actually, in fact it just kept going until
I was looking back up the track the way I had come and the left handlebar was
baking delicate tracery on the track.
Even more unfortunately, this mistake had been noticed, and I was
elected to write the report. Damn. So
here it is.
The quick people went quickly, the rest of us went a
bit slower. Glyn Poole rode a stormer
at his “home” track, where he wanted to do well, and by golly, he did,
thrashing everyone quite convincingly.
Is he 500 champ this year? He
will be next, you mark my words¼¼
Actually the event was such a long time ago that I
cant remember much more about it, except that it went smoothly, stayed dry,
nobody hurt, I missed the top 10.
Jim Rolt
Loton Park – 25 September 1999
It is my fault.
Because I am the secretary of the meeting and have not delegated the
responsibility of writing the report in the absence of anyone crashing, I must
do it myself. You will be getting fed
up of hearing from me if Hon Ed. sees fit to publish all I have sent him this
time¼..
The day dawned bright and early as it does in
September with the weather looking promising.
Walking the hill revealed it to be in superb condition as usual. It is definitely one of the best hills there
is, plenty of content, and a surface that was applied about 5 years ago which
is truly in its prime. If you are going
to have confidence in a track surface, this is the one!
A few riders didn’t bother to turn up on the day. Seems strange to me to put in an entry for
£34, have it accepted, and then simply not bother to turn up or notify the
secretary – I had a fair few reserves who had missed the entry deadline and
could have competed had I known. So
please let me know if you cannot fulfil your entry as I can then offer it round
and probably save you your entry fee.
It was one of those rare Lotons where it all happens
in one day, instead of over two. I like
this as it gives us a bit more riding and a bit less sitting around. I enjoyed most of the day as I was beating
my arch enemy Robin Sims all morning.
(He had suffered an unfortunate and confidence rattling “off” at the top
of Baitings Dam a week or two before).
His strategy, however, is to moan like hell about it all and then pull
an absolute scorcher out of the bag at the last minute, all the while keeping a
long face and playing it down. The
results, as you will see, bear this out as usual. How I HATE the man¼.
As the afternoon went on, the meeting slowed. The cars were going off all over the place
in a bit of light rain¼. Eventually
the clerk of the course called a meeting and announced he was going to abandon
the event. I immediately put in an
urgent request to run our top 6. This
was finally agreed to as the last task of the day and the happy 6 went to the
line while the rest of us fell over our bottom lips and went to watch. It was wet by now, and thunder. The lightning has an unfortunate effect on
the timing equipment. When there is a
strike, it turns off the timing clock.
Ha ha! Most of the 6 had
multiple runs at the hill, I think Jamie had 5 goes before he got to the top
without the clock dying. Those that
only got one run were disgruntled, but I have never seen it take so long to run
6 bikes up the hill! Obviously
abandonment of the meeting was the correct solution, we’ll just have to pray a
bit harder, or refrain from doing quite such enthusiastic rain dances¼.. It wasn’t my
fault, honest!
Results
250
1 Peter
Robson 60.07
2 Tim
Clarke 67.29
3 Emma
Parnell 77.78
350
1 Paul
Jeffery 58.30
2 Robin
Sims 61.94
3 Jim
Rolt 62.80
500
1 Glyn
Poole 57.34
(New
500 record & FTD)
2 Jamie
Mitchell 58.13
3 Ian
Fry 60.60
750
1 Jon
Staden 60.72
2 Ian
Southerton 62.76
3 Dave
Wills 63.93
1300
1 Doug
Parnell 62.22
2 Pip
Moseley 71.98
3 Phil
Steele 82.89
3-wheelers (2-wheel drive)
Jason Reeve
& James Day
58.23
Short &
Vicki Weight
59.05
3-wheelers (1-wheeeel drive)
Harry &
Carol Foster
66.85
2 Stu Stobbart &
Roger Andrews 69.23
3 Dick & Vera
Buckland
71.01
Top Six
Peter Short
& Vicki Weight
64.05
Jim Rolt
Superb Saltburn – 19 September 1999
Middlesborough and District Motor Clubs 7th annual Vintage
and Classic sprint hill climb was once again blessed with good weather. The paddock was bulging at the seams with a
wide range of solos, sidecars and Morgan three-wheelers. I don’t think we have seen such a wonderful
turn-out of real vintage machines before.
Arthur Summerscales’ ex-Le Vack 1922 350cc Zenith attracted a lot of
admiring spectators along with Ken Barker’s 1929 498cc Scott. Eric Whiteoak’s 1951 Douglas 80 Plus was a
welcome newcomer to the event, enjoying himself immensely through the day and
vowing to be back again next year.
The current course record holder, John Woods, 920cc Weslake took the FTD
award overall, but was unable to improve on his 1996 time of 18.78 seconds over
the ¼ mile hill.
Finally, sorry to hear about the VMCC sprint section’s disaster with the
new timing equipment and hope that something can be salvaged from the wreckage.
E J
Crust
Fairoak Farm –
3 October 1999
Or ‘Flying
at Fairoak’
1999 has been an interesting year.
It started off with a session at Three Sisters to run in a new piston
and ring. That was going well until,
dropping from 5th to 4th gear at the bottom of the
Mountain, I was suddenly tasting damp tarmac.
‘Well, that wasn’t too bad for such a high speed crash’ I started
thinking. But my optimism was cut short
by a realisation that I was now travelling head first directly towards a tyre
barrier at about 50mph and there was NO WAY that I was going to stop in time.
I was very lucky and even more astonished to be able to get up and walk
away without any damage to myself or the bike.
I even had a few more laps later to run in that piston.
Now fast forward to the end of my ’99 hillclimb year at Fairoak. After the new upstart Southerton had shown
me the way to go at numerous events this year, I was looking forward to getting
down to Devon to return the complement as his lack of experience down there
would hand me an advantage which I seemed to be needing to settle our personal
battles.
I enjoyed the practice at Fairoak; it was very greasy and slippery from
the start to the yump in front of the pits, but it was good fun powersliding
around and pulling wheelies. Also my
CR500 which had no steering damper was handling the bumps OK with minimal
shimmies from the bars.
In the timed runs I was enjoying myself and was happy with 4th
in the 250 class especially as someone had admitted Jamie and he was doing
rather well. 21.55 secs really was
astonishing in those conditions. Well done.
The 500cc class for a change was not that fast with Glyn not competing,
instead basing in the fame, fortune and glamour of a deserved new 500cc
champion. He could be seen occasionally
nobbing about on Pete Robinson’s CR250, thus leaving it up to Jon Staden and
that hero Jamie to lead the 500s. Al
Jolly was going well on the KX, managing a good third place and enjoying
himself to boot. I managed 4th
place, but most importantly left Ian Southerton with his lip out.
Unfortunately I did not get the chance to wind Ian up all night as at
Wiscombe at the Hare & Hounds.
My top ten run was going OK, I was about to wheelie over the yump to
show off when the throttle momentarily stuck wide open. I know that pulling the clutch in and
hitting the kill switch is so easy, but when the heat is on and the bars (I
think) started to slap I was heading towards a big hedge before I realised what
I had to do.
Still on the bike I tried to ride it through the hedge, not realising
that the stone wall was about to suddenly stop my progress. I remember going over the bars and seeing
grey clouds, ground, then coming to a soft landing in 3 foot of mud in the
field. I was face down in the mud and I
remember wondering when I would see Sian and Gina. Anyway, nothing hurt so I wiggled my left foot¼. OK. Right foot¼. OK. Hands¼ both OK. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.
I had obviously broken my left femur as I tried to turn to the recovery
position my left knee and lower leg had other ideas. My right wrist felt a bit sore, but that was it really.
The first voice was Reg’s. The
laid back accent but ever so slightly concerned tone reminded me that other
people were probably more shaken up than me.
I had a conversation with Reg and the St Johns, pointing out what I
thought my injuries were and noticed that Jon’s wife, Sandra Staden, was
helping out in a very cool, business like, way.
In the ambulance I felt OK, but still asked for my leathers to be cut
off because I felt some big pain would be heading my way. I enjoyed seeing everyone who popped across
to see me – the look on some of your faces said a lot! Please accept my apologies for shitting you
up so much.
I spoke to Gina whilst in the ambulance and managed to arrange some
stuff with Ian and Herman all the time I was getting relaxed by Colyton St John
Ambulance crew to whom I owe a big thank you to. How often do us lot spare a couple of
minutes to have a chat with, and thank, those people? Not enough.
My ride to hospital in the air ambulance was a laugh. “We’ll pop a headset on so that we can
talk”, they said. After our initial
chat and formalities it went quiet.
Then, across the headset I head a report of a man bleeding from his
penis. I just cracked up into fits of
laughter. They quickly said in a dead
calm voice, “Ian, we’ll have to disconnect the headphones now”. Does anyone know if this is part of the trauma
assessment?
Once into Exeter Womford Hospital I was X-rayed, drugged up and visited
by Ian and Sarah. The results were a
fractured left femur and right wrist.
No other damage.
My op on Monday morning went well.
Luckily this is one of the best orthopaedic hospitals in Britain. Now I have a titanium nail about 24 inches
long in my left femur and a series of thin metal skewers, about six I think,
and a plaster cast holding my right wrist together. I hope Tony can understand this!
Finally, another thank you to everyone who has visited me. I hope you hot date / shagging session was
OK, Mr F. Special thanks to the Wills
family for taking time to bring things in for me and for the regular visits. Lastly, I am planning next year’s
return. I will hopefully be accompanying
Ian to as many events as I can and marshalling where necessary. Look forward to seeing you all again.
Ian Fry
Weightwatcher’s
Corner
I removed my ‘modern’ mag alloy wheel, cast iron
disc and cast iron brake calliper from the front of my Triumph and replaced it
with an ‘old fashioned’ drum and steel rim in preparation for the Classic
class. I found that
the brakes still work, and
according to my
bathroom scales, I have saved 9lb in weight.
Anyway, to get to the point, as Dave Baker pointed out I am an “old
git”, so probably don’t need my YZ490 (Jamie’s) anymore and might sell it for
£500 or it might have changed my mind.
Mike Shorter
Hartland Quay – 10 October 1999
The forecast looked promising, but it didn’t seem that good putting up
the tents in the failing light on Saturday night. Nice to be back again, though, I always find that panoramic
seascape with its huge sky, impressive rock formations, thundering waves and
the sweeping blips of light through the mist an inspiring sight.
Later, down in the bar, the air is charged with re-told stories of “the
time when¼..”, “nailed it
in third¼.” etc,
etc. The 1999 Miss Hartland was dodgily
won by someone succoured on ale and fry-ups, whose only knowledge of a close
shave is more to do with late braking, and had been set upon by a demonic
tattooist¼.. yeah, my
kinda gal!
Sunday morning started and stayed damp and grey with sea mist rolling in
– quite different to this bright and sunny Monday morning, where I sit writing
this report with a well bandaged throbbing right foot pointing skyward. I wonder with a sigh why the heck I didn’t
roll the throttle back just a bit more on that wet, bumpy left hander at
‘Gate’? And why didn’t I invest in some
new tyres?
Martin P and I had brought along two lasses from where I work who wanted
to see a hill climb. Yes, my own
personal nurse and physio. On Sunday,
two more friends, another nurse and a vet came to see the action. All were enjoying the event until my
‘off’. Now where were my ‘team’ when I
need them? The first on the scene is
the vet who pronounces that I ought to be shot, but better get some ice on that
fetlock! Anyone wanting a drink ‘on the
rocks’ at the pub will be unlucky as they handed over their entire stock of ice
– thanks and cheers.
Thanks also to all those who came around to enquire / take the piss /
chat up the nurses¼.
And finally, bloody well done all you bravehearts who stormed up in some
pretty impressive times considering the conditions. Season’s greetings, see you next season.
Terry Martin
Tea with Peter
Isaac
My first recollection of Peter Isaac is listening to him extol the
pleasures of hillclimbing at a Velocette Owners’ Club-night at the Nova Scotia
at Cumberland Basin, Bristol in 1973 or thereabouts. An acquaintance owned a Velo Venom and told me about Peter’s
guest appearance, so I came along.
But how did Peter become involved in motorcycles and in particular the
NHCA? I visited him at his home in
Burnham-on-Sea recently to find out.
Peter’s father had a keen interest in motorcycle sport in the late
1940s/early ’50s, taking his son to the Kickham Trial, and to races at
Blandford Camp and Castle Coombe where he saw Artie Bell and machines such as
the first Featherbed Nortons. He also
recalls a short ride as a boy perched on the tank of a 1937 KSS Velo belonging
to his father’s friend.
Around 1960/61 Peter was apprenticed to Lister’s at Dursley,
Gloucestershire, and it became necessary to have some sort of transport for
getting to work and for returning home at weekends. The paternal influence came into play; it had to be either a
Norton or a Velocette. A visit to Kings
of Oxford resulted in the purchase of a Velo 350 MAC springer.
At Lister’s Peter came to know fellow apprentices Arnold Gimblett and
Chris Thomkinson. Chris’s father was
Mike Thomkinson of Mead & Thomkinson who was well known for racing
production Velocettes. By this time
Peter’s interest in sport was increasing and he felt perhaps he should have a
go. Hillclimbing seemed an easy way
into the sport and when Chris mentioned that his father might have two Velos
for sale, Arnold and Peter visited him at his place up near Gloucester. Mike Thomkinson sold one of the Velos, a
500cc Venom ex-Barcelona class winner to Arnold who then sold it on to Peter
when he went to join the Merchant Navy.
As Peter says, it went really well, having been properly screwed
together in the first place. It was a
well-known bike, engine VM1044, registered SOX 631.
By today’s standards there were relatively fewer opportunities available
for hillclimbers. Individual clubs ran
some events for their members; otherwise hillclimbers were catered for as part
of the National Sprint Association, which mainly organised the straight-line
stuff. Peter recalls his first event at
Dyrham Park about 10 miles north of Bath, which was run by the Bristol Motor
Cycle Club. By this time Arnold
Gimblett had built himself a Triton and competed with Peter at Wiscombe Park in
1967. Peter busied himself by stripping
the Velo, removing all the unnecessary items and entering every event in
sight. This included some road racing
as well; apparently the road race at St Eval was dubbed “the Cornish Grand
Prix”! He also ran at Prescott, but
unfortunately the then organisers at this lovely Gloucestershire hill seemed to
have a preference for sidecars and three-wheelers, so it was several years
before the solos were able to get back in there. I was surprised to hear that in his early competitive days, Peter
passengered in outfits in both road racing and hillclimbing.
Events in the late ’60s took Peter such venues as Packington Park on the
east side of Birmingham and Barbon in Northumberland. A faithful Ford Thames van provided the transport with the luxury
of a bed along one side and room for the bike along the other. Peter still remembers the Thames with a lot
of affection. It was large enough to
get the bike and all the kit in, but a more handy size than the Transits that
later became fashionable race transport.
A fall at a practice day started an unlikely sequence of events that
ended up with Peter, and Arnold and Christine Gimblett becoming heavily
involved in the organisational side of things.
In 1969 the first all-bike Wiscombe took place, Peter having spent some
time negotiating with Majors Chichester and Lambton, the owners of the house
and grounds. The annual event at this
lovely Devon venue has become the premier event for motorcycle hillclimbers
over the years. Peter recalls that, at
about this time Denis Jenkinson became involved, entering on his Triumph
twin. As the calendar expanded the
Hillclimb section of the NSA grew from strength to strength; soon there was a
proper championship with awards and an annual social to mark the occasion.
Over the years since then Peter has been pleased that there has been
steady continual growth of interest. Of
course, people have dropped out as family demands have increased or as their
interests have changed, but the trend has been steadily upwards. He reflects that, in the late ’60s he would
never have thought that motorcycle hillclimbing would have such a large number
of participants and followers as it has today.
He is pleased that the sport has never become commercialised. Hillclimb events organised by the club
always have what Peter calls “a proper motorcycling atmosphere”. Without the club or its members being stuck
in the past, it is almost as if the world of ever-increasing professionalism
has passed it by. He sees this as a
benefit of the NHCA having a relatively low profile. Peter thinks that there is a careful balance to be struck between
generating sufficient interest in the sport to attract a steady flow of new
competitors without the club growing too fast to be able to accommodate
them. He derives a great deal of
satisfaction from seeing a second generation of hillclimbers – the Sims,
Chapmans, Mitchells, Wills and Lumleys and others.
As the 70s and 80s rolled by there was a steady increase in venues. This meant that, although some events were
restricted, it was always possible for a newcomer to get a fair number of rides
through the season. With a little bit
of common sense being exercised by secretaries and entrants alike, it was rare
for anyone to be turned away.
The turning point, Peter believes, was the formation of the NHCA as an
independent entity. Operating as the
Hillclimb Section of the NSA worked surprisingly well. There was no friction; several NSA stalwarts
such as Ernie Woods were also great hillclimb enthusiasts and past
competitors. Nevertheless by the
mid-80s the Hillclimb Section became as large as the nucleus of straight line
sprinters. It made little sense for
subscriptions to be passed across from hillclimbers to the central NSA only to
be withdrawn again to fund hillclimb events.
Also, there were fewer riders interested in doing both types of
events. Fortunately there was excellent
support from the NSA, which graciously agreed a severance. This amicable separation formally occurred at
the end of the 1986 season.
Peter realised that one of the first things the newly formed National
Hill Climb Association needed was a sound financial base. By this time Jenks had become closely
interested in the well-being of motorcycle hillclimbing and gave the club a
£1,000 contribution by way of a loan with no strings attached which later
became a gift. This meant that there
were no money worries and the club has always been able to manage its financial
affairs with confidence and prudence.
As we know, when Jenks passed away relatively recently, the NHCA was one
of the beneficiaries, along with the Midland Auto Club, the Vintage Sports Car
Club and the British Racing Drivers’ Club – so we are in very good company!
Peter is pleased that the Hillclimb Section and now the NHCA have always
enjoyed the support of ex-hillclimbers such as George Buck, Neville Higgins,
Ernie Woods and others. Over the years
Peter has spent, and continues to spend, a great deal of time liasing with
venue owners, agents and secretaries of other clubs to ensure that the
motorcycle point of view is put across in the most positive manner and to
maintain our high reputation in the car hill climbing world. One gets the impression that a lot of work
is done behind the scenes by Peter and a number of others – work that pays
dividends for the ordinary competing member in terms of new venues and repeat
invitations. Reputation is all. Many years ago bikes were dropped from
Shelsley events and it took a great deal of work getting us back into that
uniquely historic hill in the 1970s.
The invitation to twelve bikes has slowly risen to fifteen. Last May it was great to be given a second
invitation to Shelsley by the MAC for thirty or so bikes and
three-wheelers. Peter believes that reputation
of the NHCA is extremely high, particularly with the car clubs upon whom we
rely for many of our invitations, and that it is very important that we
maintain this.
I ask if he has noticed any changes for the worse. He reflects quietly for a moment. A small smile appears and he says with
disarming honestly, “Nothing, really”.
He sees the NHCA today at its highest level of activity that there has
ever been, but wonders, “Can we maintain this steady expansion whilst retaining
the same family atmosphere? Now that
Herman is dropping out of the organisational side, can we carry on in the same
way? ” On reflection he feels we can
continue from strength to strength because the NHCA is a club where there is
support of one sort or another from almost every member.
The NHCA’s relatively low profile has assisted our not having to make
too many re-adjustments as requirements change. However, it is important to remain alive to environmental issues
such as noise and other forms of pollution.
Safety is the one area that causes Peter most concern. The NHCA has an excellent record in this
area and strives for the highest standards of safety towards its competitors,
marshals and others, but motor sport is dangerous and accidents do happen. Peter is not unreasonably cautious, but is
alert to the unfortunate consequences that might occur if an unforeseen
incident occurred which was seen by the powers-that-be, with the benefit of
hindsight, as avoidable.
Peter has been involved in motorcycling and the sport for so long that I
expected him to have a ‘stable’ rivalling the National Motorcycle Museum. It turns out that his ex-Barcelona 500cc
Venom is virtually his only bike. There
is a 200cc Ducati Elite in the garage, but it’s a project at present. To what extent does he carry out his own
maintenance and/or rebuilding? The
general mechanical work he does himself; fabricating items he farms out. When he used to compete more often he used
to take the Velo apart every year, but it’s been together now for five years or
so. He thinks that either he’s got it
dead right, or maybe he’s not trying so hard any more!
So, what about some advice?
“Leave the throttle open a bit longer” he says, which has got to be
right when you recall how much momentum is lost closing off too early for the
first esse at Shelsley. He recalls a
sage comment made by car hill climb champion David Grace at last year’s NHCA
dinner – “Carry your speed through the corners.” Peter is rather shy about demon tweeks, but he learned in his
early days that gearing could be critical.
His methodical nature is evidenced by the fact that he used to have a
notebook in which he wrote everything down.
Clearly, careful preparation has been very important. He hates working on the bike at meetings,
believing that the time between runs is better spent thinking about how to go
quicker on the next run. The greatest
difference he has noticed over the years is in the quality of the tyres that
have become available. He thinks that
this has helped his times to remain respectable – as he slows down, the tyres
perform better and the results are still the same!
When I asked him to recall his greatest cock-up, he could only remember
leaving the line with the fuel turned off and puttering to a halt some yards
further up the track – no big deal in the scheme of things. Maybe this is why his hillclimbing career
includes five 500cc championships.
Finally, what is Peter’s favourite hill? Silly question really – after all he named his house “Wiscombe” –
but he also likes Loton, Prescott and Gurston for different reasons. He thinks that Hartland is in many respects
a favourite venue, not that the hill itself is particularly special, but its
setting is both dramatic and beautiful.
Most of all, he loves the people involved and derives a genuine
satisfaction from seeing them riding and enjoying the hills. As to the future he believes that, if we
continue to maintain our good reputation, motorcycle hill climbing can only go
from strength to strength.
Tony
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For Sale Would still consider selling 350cc Armstrong
hillclimber. Well sorted. Guaranteed to be the fastest 4 stroke 350. Must
correct error in last Hillclimber where David Childs claimed 350 class last
won by 4 stroke by Mitch in 72. Actually it was this very Armstrong in the
hands of Pat Sefton in 95 (or was it 96?) Offer me £1,000 and I will be
tempted. Ready to race, good tyres, etc. Jim Rolt –
01527 579735
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Wanted JAP V-twin racing engine or
any parts whatsoever. Tony Quinn –
01275 854789 (see header for details)
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Wanted Pre-war supercharger – vane or
Roots type considered, preferably with swept volume of 1,000 to 1400 cc. Tony Quinn –
01275 854789 (see header for details)
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Wanted Adverts – don’t forget that private ads are
free in ‘The Hillclimber’ Please send,
phone or email your ads to Tony
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Next issue
Unless I get deluged with articles – which would be very nice – I
expect the next Hillclimber will be in April or May, just after the start of
the 2000 season.
Tony