Dramatic Weather and a Champion Crowned - We had it all this weekend at Prescott
- Dom Bessell
- Sep 9
- 7 min read
Once again the Hill at Prescott was subject to immense competition from both the national and local regional championships with all eyes on Matthew Ryder to see if he could retain his championship title.
The Saturday Recap
Saturday played host to wonderful weather, sunny but not hot temperatures sat right in the operating window for many cars and competitors, with plenty of personal PB's being set, even some after first practice! Unfortunately we were unable to receive our Flyover, firstly the Dakota was replaced with a Spitfire, however the morning of the event we were informed that there was a hydraulic issue with the aircraft and we had been stood down. We would like to thank the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Royal Air Force for their support this year with the Lancaster at the Historique and the Spitfire at our International.
Back on the ground, we had a wonderful turnout of university students on the Bugatti Terrace showcasing their designs. With support from The Bugatti Trust who hosted the morning briefing for all in attendance the running cars were checked by the scrutineers and an award was given to University College London for its technical innovation. Congratulations to them!
The Competition Day
A beautiful sunrise on Sunday morning gave a lot of people hope for a dry day of competition, hopes were dashed and worry set when first drops of rain started to appear at the end of final practice in the morning, Just a passing shower we all though, a heavy shower that did pass nonetheless both Edmund Burgess and Jack Cottrill had to complete their runs on slick tyres with the rain bouncing around them. The rain continued throughout most of the first competition runs with drivers just looking to put a scoring time on the board. Moving through the single seater classes and echoes of thunder were heard in the paddock, as quickly as it was heard the rain came back with a vengeance. The conditions proving tricky with two near identical spins for Harry Pick and Edmund Burgess, the track just too wet to find any grip in the tyres.
After a short pause to let the rain pass on and an inspection of the track later, we were back underway. Still plenty wet on the track and the cars were slithering up the hill trying to use what little heat they generated in the warm up area before the start line to good use. Lunch came and so did the rain, the clouds breaking enough to let the sun peek through, the track progressively becoming dryer saw the times tumble and now with everyone's first competition run redundant, extra importance was placed on the dry run to better a drivers scoring position. Securing a spot in both sets of final run offs was proving tricky and allowed some unusual faces in. Come the conclusion of the competition runs it was Number Seven, Sean Gould who set the fastest time on the normal competition, recovering well from a crash a few weeks prior at Shelsley Walsh.
Battle of the Tin-Tops
The Tin-Top Top-Ten challenge title was sealed by Simon Bainbridge and his SBR Chrono at their last round at Shesley Walsh, however the battle for the remaining spots on the podium places could still change coming into the final round for the Tin-Top Challenge.
A late withdrawal from Steven Darley meant that Damien Bradley had second place secured, that though did not stop the fun. On a drying track the times tumbled through each run, in the end an outstanding run from Bainbridge saw him take the win by 1.8 seconds over Darley, followed by McCaskill in third. An impressive run in the timed runs by Tony Hawkins enabled him to qualify for his first ever Tin Top run off and he back up his competition performance in the first run off to secure 6th place and 5 points, an impressive run from the little Toyota GR Yaris!
It would be a roles reversed situation in the second run off with Damien Bradley taking the win over Simon Bainbridge, a smaller margin of just 1.02 separated the two drivers both at the top of their game. Congratulations to our two Tin-Top Top-Ten run off winners!
British Top 12 Run Offs
Twelve cars fight for ten points paying positions in every run off, with the rain falling in the competition qualifying runs, it opens up the possibility of change, that came with an unfortunate off for Jack Cottrill at Pardon, with a no timed run for Jack a rare space was suddenly available, this was snapped up by Stephen Owen who qualified for his first run off of the year, no points scored in the run off but congratulations nonetheless!
All eyes were on Matthew Ryder and he shown through, taking the win in the first run off, his closest rival Wallace Menzies finishing in fourth place. Sean Gould taking second with Will Hall in third.
Drawing to the close of the day we had just twelve cars left to run. It was Matthew Ryder first on the Hill, owing to the shared nature of his car with Sean Gould who set the faster time in the second qualifying run. Ryder set the pace, a 35.91. A time that would not be beaten until the final car that was the man that beat him in the qualifying run. Sean Gould took the second run off win with the Fastest Time of Day with a 35.75. Title rival Wallace Menzies could only muster fourth once again and with that the title was sealed to Ryder. Celebrations had to be put on a slight hold while Gould took his victory lap for taking the FTD. Congratulations shared all around the paddock to Ryder and the celebrations continued into the prize giving concluding with Ryder's speech be interrupted with buckets of water poured over him. We had enough of him talking anyway!
A special mention to Wil Hamer, who not only qualified for a run off for the first time but also scored his first point! A brief heart ache when the car failed coming to the line but a quick fix and he was away! Issues for other drivers enabled Wil to take his first ever BHC point, congratulations to Wil!
The Classic Section
Bugatti Owners' Club Championship for classic cars, sponsored by FASSI, was in town for their eighth round of the championship. Five classes for saloon, sports and racing cars and based on handicap the second timed runs in the dry were ever important. The overall win went to Paul Hogan a class 2 competitor, beating his handicap by 0.47 of a second. Joint second Tim Stokes of the same class and Richard Morris from class 5, both beating their respective handicaps by 0.43 seconds. FASSI moves to their final away day this weekend for the single sprint on the calendar at Curborough before returning back to Prescott on October the 4th for the championship finale.
A Thank You to Chris Drewett
Those who have been coming to Prescott, or any hill climb in the UK will know of Chris, perhaps not by face or even by name, but certainly by voice. For the last two decades Chris has been considered "the voice of Prescott" but before his time on the mic Chris has been under the Prescott banner since becoming a member of the Club in 1963. A foray into competition with a variety of cars but his highest success came in his March 782 with a single run off win, which after scraping into the run off and subsequentially running first in the run off, he thanks "the weather" that played a part in securing his first and only BHC run off win. Chris was presented an award from the Bugatti Owners' Club surrounded by many of the competitors who had at all at some point in their racing careers had been commentated on by Chris himself. We thank Chris for all his years dedication to both the Bugatti Owners' Club, Prescott Speed Hill Climb, and the wider motorsport and hillclimbing community.
Applause to our Marshals and Officials
A big thank you to all the marshals and officials who signed on over the weekend, battling through tricky weather and delays from incidents our loved volunteers stood on their feet for an incredible amount of time. Thank you from us, the competitors and the spectators.
For the full set of results, please see the button below:
Award Winners
Congratulations to our class winners! The full list of award winners can be found in the Results above
Class A (i) - Robert Wilson, Lotus Elise
Class A (ii) - Jon Maycock, Mazda MX5
Class A (iii) - Rodney Eyles, Porsche 911
Class B - Richard Price, Caterham 7
Class C (i) - Phil Tucker, Vauxhall Nova
Class C (ii) - Johnny Hulme, Renault 5 GT
Class C (iii) - Paul Howells, Porsche 911 RSR
Class C (iv) - Damien Bradley, Subaru Legacy
Class D - Steven Garner, Westfield SEiW
Class E - George Harding, Ford Escort 2000
Class F - Matthew Price, Radical SR3
Class G - Simon Bainbridge, SBR Crono
Class H - Morgan Hamer, OMS Hornet
Class I - Wil Hamer, OMS 28
Class J (i) - Tom Weaver, Van Diemen RF91
Class J (ii) - David Warburton, Gould GR59
Class K (i) - Johnathen Varley, GWR Preadator
Class K (ii) - Paul Haimes, Gould GR59
Class L - Sean Gould, Gould GR59
Class M - Andy Tippett, Brabham BT30X-1
FASSI Class 1 - Andrew Clarke, Austin Mini
FASSI Class 2 - Paul Hogan, Triumph TR3S
FASSI Class 3 - Simon Braithwaite, BMW M3
FASSI Class 4 - James Stott, MG B Roadster
FASSI Class 5 - Richard Morris, Lotus 51A
Bugatti Cars - Yushan Ng, Bugatti Type 35 GP
Fastest Time of Day: Sean Gould, Gould GR59, 35.75 (BHC Run off 2)
2026
Traditionally the British Hill Climb Championship announces the following years calendar during the September Prescott event, this year is no exception and the calendar is now out. Breaking tradition though is Prescott itself, a slight change in the calendar will now give Prescott the honor of not only hosting the first round of the season, but also the last. Starting and finishing in the best place! Tickets are available on a "super early bird" deal for both the opener on the 24th and 25th April as well as the closing event on the 19th and 20th September. We hope to see you at both these historic dates.
Tickets for April
Tickets for September
Upcoming Events
Moving into the final chapters of the season, we are joined once again by the VSCC for their adventure onto the Long Course on the 20th September followed the day after by a non-competitive day on the 21st. Open to all! Just the single event in October for the Championship Finale on the 4th and then we will close out the year with the now annual tradition of Rallye Prescott! Tickets for all can be found via the link below.
Thumbnail photo by Joy Batchelor
