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Last  on
Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, July 2nd 2005
Track Map
Another early departure, this time 05:30am from home, and 90 minutes later I was unloading the car and tools in to garage #94 at Shelsley. Only my second visit, I wanted to walk the course in the morning, and following overnight rain the bottom and top S bends were exceptionally slippery. I opted to run in practice batches 4 and 8, and following scrutineering it wasn't long before I was lining up, desperately trying to warm the engine up before my first ascent. It went well, I'm just pleased I walked the course, as it was very slippery indeed.
Second practice came and went, and I started to relax a little and concentrate on my lines. The beauty of selecting which practice run you want to go out on, is that you get to watch some of the competitors from your class, (the ones who normally queue with you and you dont get to see their launch techniques etc). I had been chatting to Nick Mann earlier, and luckily I had the chance to watch his home made four wheel drive single seater perform two practice runs. The car features a Ford BDA Turbo engine, only 1700cc, but it punches out between 400 and 500 BHP. The Turbo isn't spun by the exhaust gasses though. Its spun by a Helicopter gas turbine engine which is started by his helper after he's coaxed the BDA in to life. Nick went on to set FTD in his Mannic/Beattie car, which I wasn't surprised about. That car is sooo quick. Unfortunately for me he was also in Sports Libre. Never mind. Nice to see Bernard Armitage out too, in his Protosport EVO. Bernard managed to get in the 32's so he was having a great day.
Both competitive runs proved I could still take great chunks out of my times, I just needed more confidence at Kennel and Crossing. I managed to beat my PB from last year by 0.99s on my last run, meaning I was also the 2nd fastest front wheel drive car on the day, which was so rewarding.
I'd moved the in car camera for Shelsley, so the camera is now mounted on the front of the car between the headlights. So the footage is very exciting to watch. And it shows I still lifted at Crossing on my final and fastest run.
I also have footage of Martin Groves hill record set in June 2005. He went up in under 24 seconds. I managed a 36.61s run on my last run, and I know if I could keep my pedal to the floor I could definitely get in to the 35's. No doubt about it. Still, theres always next year.
My times were as follows:
39.28s 1st practice
38.62s 2nd practice
37.18s 1st timed New PB
36.61s 2nd timed New PB
Result: 6th in class 4B
Weather: Dry and cloudy, approx 20° C
Tyre pressures: 20 psi [F] 20 [R]
Tyres: Michelin A00 190/570R15 all round
Fuel: Shell Optimax Super Unleaded
Onboard video from the event
 Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, July 2nd 2005, 2nd timed run, New PB, 36.61 (6.0MB)
 Martin Groves Shelsley Walsh hill record in June 2005, 23.82s (1.1MB)
Pictures from the event
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