Nostalgic day at Shelsley Walsh

James revisits his childhood with a trip to the historic venue.

The wonderful view back down from Bottom Ess. The fastest cars arrive here at more than 130mph.

There are few motorsport arenas more atmospheric than Shelsley Walsh. I was lucky enough to spend a large chunk of my childhood there thanks to following Dad around his various hillclimbs, but visits these days are a bit more few and far between.

The last time I was there was in 2005 for the hillclimb’s centenary celebrations, and a great meeting it was too. The real eye-opener was seeing how much quicker the modern single-seaters were than in the late 1980s and early 1990s. When I stopped going regularly, the hill record was just under 26 seconds; the quickest guys these days are more than two seconds under that.

So Dad and I thought it was about time we made the short trip up the M5 for the August meeting. The car park was rammed with classics, including dozens of Alfas – there as part of the owners club’s national day. More of that part of the day in the next issue of the magazine.

Eynon Price gets a bit out of shape coming out of Top Ess.

Hillclimbing is a throwback to an earlier era of motorsport. Entrance was £15, including paddock access, and at Shelsley the views on the hill are outstanding. We took the time to wander up the entire hill (which seems to be getting steeper as the years go by) and wherever we stopped we were right next to the action. The track’s only 12 feet wide in places, and for one section it’s bordered on one side by a large bank, and a steep drop on the other. The sensation of speed is unbelievable – if a driver drops it on the first half of the hill, it won’t be a small accident.

The hill’s only 1000 yards long, but the only straight worth the name is the run to the finish line from the Esses. The rest of the hill comprises quick kinks and curves. Even so, Martin Groves’ hill record of 22.58 seconds translates to an average speed of 90mph. On Sunday, Ash Mason was timed going over the finish line at 150mph…

Tornado Talisman at Shelsey Walsh August 2010

Bryn Ives' super-rare Tornado Talisman on the hill.

Derek Bell once described top-level hillclimbing as being like “Formula One up a garden path”, and he’s absolutely right. Shelsley’s worth a visit for any meeting, but if you get the chance to see the British Hillclimb Championship there, take it – you’ll be blown away.

Hillclimb & Sprint Association: www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk

Shelsley Walsh: www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 5:08 pm and is filed under Our Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.