For my second visit to Prescott in a week, my better half and I made the short countryside drive for a very different type of event at this famous old venue. This time, it was to see the hill being tackled in anger, as competitors in the Prescott Historique event manhandled their historic and not-quite-so-historic hill-climb specials up the venue’s twisty 1,127 yard track.
This was a brand new even intended to celebrate what the organisers called the “golden age of hill climbing” from the Edwardian era to the 1980’s, involving both cars and bikes, and was also the third round of this year’s Fassi Classic Speed Championship.
Possibly Britain’s most famous motor-racing son, despite never having won a World Championship at Grand Prix level, Sir Stirling Moss started his hill climbing career at Prescott in May 1948, and tribute was paid to him at the event with the presence of a pair of the minute F3 500 Kiefts, similar to the car he originally tackled the Prescott hill with way back then. Also part of the Stirling Moss-related display were two fabulous Maserati sports racers from the 1950’s – a beautiful 300S in which he won the Nürburgring 1,000km in 1956 and an equally gorgeous 450S with which he had competed in the Mille Miglia the following year with Denis Jenkinson alongside – spectacular cars, both.
With such a wide variety of cars tackling the hill, there was obviously a considerable disparity in the speeds and times, but it was always fun to watch. Hill runs were by category, with practice runs in the morning and timed runs in the afternoon, and it’s fair to say that there were some impressive turns of speed shown by many of the drivers, although there were also some off-track excursions and a couple of the older cars succumbed to mechanical problems, and removing cars – and in one case, a bike – caused some delays.
One of those competing was my next-door neighbour, Tom Richardson, tackling the hill in his 1925 GN Gypsy special, powered by a 1929 De Havilland Gypsy Aero 6-litre engine of the type that used to be fitted to Tiger Moth aircraft. I’ve seen – and heard – Tom working on this beast (and it is a beast) but not previously seen him at the wheel. He has practically rebuilt this car with his own hands over the years with a little help from some friends. Unfortunately, we were unable to stay for his timed runs in the afternoon, but I was able to find out that his best run came in at 60.08 seconds – if my arithmetic is correct, that’s an average speed of just under 40mph in what was the second oldest car taking part that day, despite some transmission issues – he believes 57 seconds is possible once he gets those problems sorted out.
As usual at Prescott, as at many historic racing events, the informality of the day is one of its joys, with cars arrayed around the site on grass banks and verges and spectators able to examine the cars as closely as they wished, and chat to the drivers, and is one of the things that makes our hobby so accessible and enjoyable.
Of course, as Prescott is the home of the Bugatti Owners’ Club, there were a few examples of the renowned French marque taking part, including the oldest competing car on the day, a 1924 Type 13 – I love that owners of extremely valuable cars are prepared to risk them in competition. While I’m on the subject of Bugatti, I just have to mention the astonishing 1936 Type 57 Atlantic again – sometimes you can’t have to much of a good thing and in case you missed it last week, here it is again.
Some of the most entertaining cars to take on the hill were those in the Classic Marques Speed Challenge; basically, road-going classics adapted for hill-climbing. Some of the TVR Vixens made dramatic getaways even during practice, as did the JW-Gulf liveried 1972 Porsche 911 with a 3.0RS engine dropped into the back.
Similarly the competitors in the Healeysport Championship were giving it a good go, the 3000’s in particular making a lovely throaty sound as they accelerated up the hill, while the open cars, such as the tiny 500cc class, gave spectators a glimpse of just how hard the drivers have to work to get around the course. Prescott offers several excellent vantage points to see the action, from the start line almost right up to the finish, and not just of the track, but also of the surrounding Cotswold hills, a wonderful sight at any time of year, but especially in late Spring and early Summer.
For those of us who arrived in classic cars – we were in the 280CE again as the 911 isn’t due to be ready until later this week, and parked between a Mini and a Healey 3000 – there was a classic parking zone that contained a good selection of both the usual culprits such as MGB’s and Triumph TR’s and a few lesser-spotted classics, four of which bore the name Salmson.
French engineering company Salmson started making cars in 1919, and although they stopped doing so in 1957, the company continues as a pump manufacturer to this day. Three of their cars were present at Prescott – a 1926 Grand Sport and an AL3 from the following year, both in blue, as well as a 1928 open four-seater. The company also established a branch in the UK in 1929 in Raynes Park, south west London, next to Wimbledon, to make aero engines but it was quickly taken over by local management, and began making cars in 1934. However, this venture ended just five years later after building 330 cars, one of which was at Prescott, a very pretty red 1934 S4C roadster.
A grand 1960 Jaguar Mk IX in black over white caught the eye as did one of its smaller, more sporting contemporary siblings, a stunning cornflower blue 1961 XK150 DHC, such a handsome car. And staying in Coventry, another name lost in the mists of motoring time, Lea Francis built cars in that city from 1895 until 1962, and although there have been sporadic attempts to revive the name, nothing has come of them. It was a treat to see a very smart electric blue 1949 14 Sports parked next to yet another elegant product of the Detroit of the UK, a black 1950 Riley RMC.
Wales has never really had much of a motor industry and the only manufacturer of any note to come out of the Land of Song has been Gilbern, who made a total of 1080 cars between 1959 and 1973. Their first model was the Gilbern GT 2+2 coupé – 280 were built, and there was a very smart red one parked up at Prescott. Other standouts included a superb red 1974 Citroën DS convertible and an immaculate 1972 BMW E9 in Fjord Blue – the E9 remains one of BMW’s most beautiful designs.
Time pressure meant we had to leave shortly after lunch, and while it was slightly disappointing that the management still haven’t been able to sort out their draft beer supplies since re-opening, this is a (very) minor gripe – Prescott has become one of my favourite venues to visit, and I hope to make it at least one more time during this classic season.
