HSA SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT ARCHIVE

Webber takes his fifth HSA title at a busy Curborough weekend

Event 32 at Curborough on 05/10/2025
The final two rounds of the HSA Speed Championship were held at Curborough on the weekend of 4^th and 5^th October. On Saturday, the two-lap configuration was used, while on Sunday it was the figure-of-8 course.

With Steve Broughton — the only competitor able to overhaul Andrew Webber’s points tally — absent at the BSC round in Anglesey, Andrew began the weekend knowing that he had won his fourth consecutive championship — and fifth in total.  Only John Palmer has won more HSA Speed titles with his total of six.

The biggest class at the event, both in terms of absolute numbers and the number of HSA registered competitors, was the Formula Ford class which had an astonishing 31 then 32 drivers  competing in the last four rounds of the pre-‘94 Formula  Ford challenge, although only seven were registered for HSA Championship points.

Saturday’s weather was generally damp, although the track had dried considerably by the end of the afternoon, but  no HSA records were broken, the highest scorer on the day with 11 points being Glen Shaw in his Nissan,  who was seeking to get ahead of the absent Julian Rinaldi to finish third in the standings. Other high scorers were Martin Prescott, Chris Guy and Sam Trundell. The highest Formula Ford scorers were Simon Andrews and Russell Haynes who finished with identical times.

Andrew Webber survived a spin in the wet practice session and then failed to add to his overall score.

Unfortunately, owing to delays caused by the weather and a few incidents, there was no time to hold the Alan Payne Memorial run-off.

The weather was much better on the Sunday for the figure-of-8 event and two HSA records were set, the first by Glen Shaw who thus achieved his aim of finishing third overall in the Championship, and the second by Russell Haynes who beat his own Formula Ford class record. In addition, Martin Prescott in the same class (A3) as Glen Shaw was also under the old record for that class.

Other high scorers were Rob Thomson, David Whiteley, Chris Hancox and Sam Trundell in their shared Clio, John Caldicott, Chris Guy and Simon Andrews. Andrew Webber again failed to add to his score but of course finished the season as champion on 150 points, ahead of Steve Broughton on 149 and Glen Shaw on 140.

Fastest time overall on both days was Alex Summers in his AFS, in spite of having completed no practice runs on Sunday owing to a spin at the crossover followed by a driveshaft failure on the start line. On Saturday, he was followed by Ed Hollier in his 1-litre Force and by Ian Carvell in his Radical PR6, while on Sunday Wil Hamer and his son Jensen Kerr (who were not there on Saturday) occupied the rest of the podium in their shared OMS 28 with BMW engine. This was Jensen’s first outing in the car and he managed that position on just his second timed run, having carried too much speed into Molehill and grass tracked halfway to Fradley on his first run.

The Formula Ford class overall was dominated by Jimmy Harris who won all four rounds, with three of his times being below, and one equalling the respective existing HSA class record, although he was not registered for the Championship. With his four wins from Loton Park added to his four wins at Curborough, he was a dominant champion of the pre-‘94 Formula Ford Challenge, a title he also won in 2023.

Having now taken his fifth HSA Speed Championship — the last four consecutively — Andrew Webber is fast approaching John Palmer’s six titles, although John only ever won three in a row (2002 to 2004). Andrew’s titles have been won in two different cars — the first three in a Lotus Elan +2, which he still has, and the two most recent in his unique Lotus 47D/62 R.

Andrew, who is a Vehicle Type Approval inspector from Kent, has competed in speed events for 35 years with some success, the last seven years with the HSA. He has built this car as a homage to the Lotus 47D which was built in the 1970s at the request of GKN to be used as a show car, fitted with a Rover V8 engine in an enlarged chassis and body.

Andrew’s car has a turbocharged Rover V8, an Audi transaxle and Esprit rear uprights. It also has wheel arch extensions as per the Lotus 62, two of which were built in 1969 powered by the new 2-litre Lotus 907 engine which was being developed for the new Elite / Eclat / Esprit. The 62s were spaceframe cars with F1 suspension and John Miles and Brian Muir won the 2-litre class in one of them at the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch, its first race.

Much of his success in the HSA Championship is built on the large number of rounds in which he competes, giving him more chances to get the high scores that make up his best nine at the end of the season. This year, he scored points at 21 of the 32 rounds with six maximum 18-point scores at venues as diverse and as geographically spread as Anglesey, Goodwood, Werrington, Mallory Park and Aintree.
 

Rounds 9 to 12 of the Formula Ford Challenge at Curborough

Event 31 at Curborough on 04/10/2025
The third weekend (rounds 9 to 12) of the 2025 Formula Ford Challenge, supported by the HSA Speed Championship and sponsored by Souley Spares, took place at Curborough over the weekend of 4 and 5 October. Each of the two competition runs on each day constituted the four rounds. Rounds 9 and 10 ran on the Saturday on the double lap course and 11 and 12 used the Figure 8 course on the Sunday. The overall Challenge competition is based on the best 8 out of a possible 12 scores per competitor.

 20 Pre 1994 Formula Ford cars were entered on the Saturday, with 12 double drivers, giving a class of 32 altogether, although of these, only 21 had registered for the Challenge. Tony Kiss and David Owen made their first appearance this year in the Challenge competition. Class numbers reduced to 31 on the Sunday as Tony Kiss and David Cranage departed the scene, but Max Hawkes joined in the fun.

Points per competition round are based on the winner’s time – he or she gets 100 points and then all the remaining competitors receive the inverse percentage off the winner’s time.  The fastest three times on Saturday on either run were set by Jimmy Harris (60.90), Sam Wilson (62.16) and Richard Summers (63.03), while the top six points scorers, based on the combination of their two competition runs, were Jimmy Harris, Richard Summers, Trevor Willis, Sarah Bosworth, David Owen and Simon Andrews, all mounted in Van Diemens except for David who drove his venerable 1968 Merlyn Mk 11.

On Sunday, Storm Amy had just about faded away and the conditions were dry, less windy and few degrees warmer than the previous day. The best three times on Sunday were set by Jimmy Harris (60.84), Sam Wilson (61.29) and Tom Weaver (61.17) while the top six points scorers over rounds 11 and 12 combined were Jimmy Harris, Russell Haynes, Stu Lugger, David Owen, Sarah Bosworth, and Simon Andrews. Trevor Willis and Richard Summers were unable to score on Round 12 due to a suspension breakage.

The full points positions from Curborough are shown in the attached table, and the second table shows the cumulative results from all 12 rounds. Jimmy Harris had the perfect 800 score from his 8 rounds, and he wins the overall Challenge Cup for 2025. Bernie Kevill has also generously donated two further cups for second and third positions overall, which this year were won by Richard Summers (774.75) and Stu Lugger (774.25) points respectively. Just 0.50 points split second and third places!

 

Rain dampens sprits and play at Shelsley

Event 30 at Shelsley Walsh on 14/09/2025
With rain arriving during T1 only the early runners were able to set times approaching their targets but nevertheless Pekka Tulokas (MX5) and Matthew Parr (Fiesta ST) took a fine second and third in the over 2000cc Production class.

Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) won the Formula Ford class from Mike Gallery (Van Diemen RF86) and Simon Andrews (Van Fiemen RF90) while Luke Trotman was back with his Mallock MK20B.

With conditions deteriorating many competitors passed on their T2 runs and began their journies home. 

A rather academic FTD went to Paul Jones (Force TA) with a 28s run.

High scroes at Hethel

Event 29 at Hethel on 07/09/2025
Although only six Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors made the trip to Lotus Cars renowned test facility in Norfolk they were rewarded with good conditions and fast times for Borough 19's sprint.

Championship leader, Andrew Webber (Lotus 47/62) just beat the existing HSA record, only managing a single timed run before withdrawing. With dropped scores coming into play this didn't change his overall total.

Mike Edwards (Mini) won his class on the day while Rob Pallett (Ginetta G20) broke the HSA class record and took an excellent second in class. Chris Guy (600cc Jedi MK4) also set a hew HSA record but it was left to Charlie Reilly (Van Diemen RF92) to be the top HSA scorer of the day as he consistently improved his times across all four runs.

Mark Chaplin (Mygale M14) took FTD with a 74.99s run.

Webber goes for five at Aintree

Event 28 at Aintree on 06/09/2025
With a maximum points score at Liverpool Motor Club's Aintree sprint, Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa 47/62) put one hand on the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship trophy and strenghten his claim for a fifth title.

Rafe Trundell and Chris Hancox had a close battle in the Standard Car class in their shared Clio with Rafe coming out 0.05s in front. John Caldicott and David Whitely were half a second apart in the 'Elise' class finishing second and third respectively. Geoff Ward (Swift SC93) comfortably won the Formula Ford class but was half a second short  of his own HSA class record.

Glyn Sketchley (Force PT) took another FTD with a 42.94s run ahead of Ian Rowlence's big Gould GR55.

Barnes again at Snetterton

Event 27 at Snetterton on 24/08/2025
Day 2 of the Snetterton 100 Sprint saw Duncan Barnes (Norma M20FC) take another couple of seconds off the record he had set the day before to be the top scorer for the day.

Neal Bateman, Rafe Trudell and Chris Hancox made it an all Clio podium in the up to 2000cc Roadgoing class while Stephen Laing (Caterham R500) again took second in the over 1700cc Specialist Production class. 

Barnes & Broughton score well as Webber maintains lead

Event 26 at Snetterton on 23/08/2025
On Day 1 of the Snetterton 100 Sprint, Duncan Barnes (Norma M20FC) and Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) were high scorers, setting new HSA Class records by large margins while Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa 47/62) also scored well to keep ahead of Broughton in the overall championship standings. They were all a little overshadowed by Chris Guy and Peter Hawkey in their shared 600cc Jedi MK4 who both broke the old (wet?) HSA class record by a country mile to take maximum scores.

The well supported 2000cc Roadgoing class saw Neal Bateman take a good win in his Clio with Rafe Trundell in third. Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) was second in the over 2000cc Roadgoing class and set a new HSA class record.

Stephen Laing (Caterham R500) set his best time on T1 which was good enough for second in the over 1700cc Specialist Production class.
 

Rinaldi scores at Llandow

Event 25 at Llandow on 16/08/2025
Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta) was the big winner at the Llandow sprint on August 16th and by scoring well with a new HSA class record maintained his position near the top of the leaderboard for the 2025 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship. He was joined as a class winner on the day by John Caldicott (Elise) and Matthew Parr (Fiesta).

Philip Montgomery-Smith (OMS2000M) took FTD with the only sub 70s run of the day with a time of 69.06s.

Webber inches ahead at Gurston

Event 24 at Gurston Down on 03/08/2025
Day 2 of Gurston's August double header dawned cloudy and dry but the rain came at lunchtime which put the dampeners (!) on any chance of high scores for the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors.

It was close battles in Fiestas and Clios again as Chris Hancox turned the tables of Rafe Trundell in their shared Clio to win the Standard class by a couple of tenths. William Haimes was a couple of tenths ahead of James Wills to win the 2000cc Series Production class in their shared Clio while Matthew Parr edged out Martin Prescott by less than half a second in their Fiestas in the over 2000cc Series Production class.

Reigning HSA champion and current series leader, Andrew Webber (Lotus 47/62) was unable to make much of an impression in the conditions and, now dropping scores, his week-end only netted a small improvement to his position on the leader board.

Trevor Willis (Van Diemen RF80) again won the huge Formula Ford class from Simon Andrews (Van Diemen RF90) with Andrew Mathis (Van Diemen RF89) to top scoring HSA Speed championship runner. Fyrth Crosse (Ensign LNF3) and Mike Broome (Alexis MK17) again finished first and second in the 'Historically interesting' class.

Rounds 5 to 8 of the Pre-1994 Formula Ford Challenge

The second weekend (rounds 5 to 8) of the 2025 Formula Ford Challenge, supported by the HSA Speed Championship and sponsored by Souley Spares, took place at Gurston Down over the weekend of 2 and 3 August, coinciding with Gurston’s 400^th and 401^st meetings. Each of the two competition runs on each day constituted the four rounds. The remaining four rounds will take place at  Curborough on 4 and 5 October. Ultimately the best 8 out of a possible 12 scores per competitor will count for awards, fame and fortune.

 13 Pre 1994 Formula Ford cars were entered on the Saturday, with 5 double drivers, giving a class of 18 altogether. Trevor Willis, Sarah Bosworth, Lindsay Summers and Charlie Reilly made their first appearance in the 2025 Challenge, all Van Diemen mounted. Class numbers reduced to 17 on the Sunday as Ben Pitfield retired his Van Diemen with car problems, although he had not entered the Challenge as such.

Points per competition round are based on the winner’s time – he or she gets 100 points and then all the remaining competitors receive the inverse percentage off the winner’s time.  The fastest three times on Saturday on either run were set by a very tightly bunched Trevor Willis (36.62), Stu Lugger (36.67) and Sarah Bosworth(36.67) while the top six points scorers, based on the combination of their two competition runs, were Stu Lugger, Trevor Willis, Sarah Bosworth, Simon Andrews, Richard Summers and Bernard Kevill, all mounted in Van Diemens except for Stu who drove his Swift SC93F.

On Sunday, the practice runs were held in dry conditions but it rained heavily prior to the first competition runs and although the track was drying prior to and during the second competition runs, the results became a little more mixed.  The best three times on Sunday were set by Trevor Willis (37.78), Sarah Bosworth (38.22) and Andrew Mathis (39.19) while the top six points scorers over rounds 7 and 8 combined were Trevor Willis, Sarah Bosworth, Andrew Mathis, Richard Summers, Bernard Kevill, and Stu Lugger.

The full points positions are shown in the attached table, which shows the cumulative results from the first 8 rounds. This will probably reshuffle considerably after Curborough when most of the contestants will have had the chance to score in 8 rounds while others will be able to select their best 8 results from as many as 12.

Finally, long time competitor, Speedscene editor and columnist and Gurston commentator, Jerry Sturman, first competed at Gurston in October 1972 in his Elan S3 so BARC (SW) chairman, Simon Purcell, suggested a demonstration  run  in his own  Elan, driven by Graham Masters, to mark the occasion.

'Parr for the course' at Gurston

Event 23 at Gurston Down on 02/08/2025
At a very well attended (25 HSA Speed competitors) Gurston Down August hillclimb meeting, on Day 1 only Matthew Parr (Fiesta) was able to set a new HSA class record after a close battle with similarly mounted Martin Prescott (just 0.35s behind). Close battles were the order for the day with Rafe Trundell and Chris Hancox a tenth apart in their shared 'Standard Class' Clio. 

Vincent Dubois made his HSA championship debut in the interesting Sabre T2 sports racer while Fyrth Crosse (Ensign LNF3) and Mike Broome (Alexis MK17) in their twin cam engined F3 cars from yesteryear finished first and second in the 'Historically interesting' class.

Despite the warm and dry conditions most competitors struggled to approach their respective HSA class records - a fact underlined by Trevor Willis (Van Diemen RF80) who won the 18 strong Formula Ford class with a time ony a hundredth faster than Russell Haynes' HSA record. Stuart Lugger (Swift SC93F) was runner up from Sarah Bosworth (Van Diemen RF85) and Simon Andrews (Van Diemen RF90) was the fastest HSA Championship competitor - a full report of the HSA Formula Ford challenge competition (run alongside the usual HSA championship) appears in the Day 2 report.

It was good to see Luke Trotman make a welcome re-appearance with his Mallock MK20b after experiencing mysterious engine cutting out problems for the first half of the season.



 

Rinaldi closes gap at Loton as Harris dominates the FF Challenge

Event 22 at Loton Park on 13/07/2025

Rounds 1 to 4 of the Pre 1994 Formula Ford Challenge

The first four rounds of the 2025 Formula Ford Challenge, which are supported by the HSA Speed Championship and sponsored by Souley Spares, took place at Loton Park over the weekend of 12 and 13 July.
Each of the two competition runs on each day constituted the four rounds. The remaining eight rounds will take place at Gurston Down on 2 and 3 August and at Curborough on 4 and 5 October.

The Loton events coincided with the third heatwave of the year, with temperatures reaching 31 degrees on the Saturday and 29 on the Sunday. 15 Pre 1994 Formula Ford cars were entered on the Saturday, with 7 double drivers, giving a class of 22 altogether. There were some welcome new additions including Terry and Tricia Davis with their recently acquired Van Diemen RF85, and Francis Sykes sharing Tim Cowlam’s Swift FB91. In addition, Stu Lugger and Andrew Mathis were making their first visits to Loton in their Van Diemens.

Numbers reduced to 18 on the Sunday as Max and Archie Hawkes and the Davis duo had not entered. Russell Haynes sadly blew his engine over the finish line on Saturday and was forced to retire, but Gigi Cameron brought her 1974 Ray along for day two.

The sun was so strong that the organisers decided to limit practice for most classes on Saturday and all classes on Sunday to one run – in order to reduce the amount of time that the marshals would need to stand out in the heat. Usually FF competitors want their tyres to be as warm as possible and deliberately leave them out in the sun to help with traction, but on this weekend, many were draping their tyres with wet towels to try to keep them a bit cooler.

Points per competition round are based on the winner’s time – he or she gets 100 points and then all the remaining competitors receive the inverse percentage off the winner’s time.  The fastest three times on Saturday on either run were set by Jimmy Harris (57.03), Max Hawkes (58.33) and Andrew Henson (58.54) while the top six points scorers, based on the combination of their two competition runs, were Jimmy Harris, Max Hawkes, Andrew Henson, Bernard Kevill, Richard Summers and Simon Andrews, all mounted in Van Diemens.

The best three times on Sunday were set by Jimmy Harris (56.49), Andrew Henson ( 58.15) and Richard Summers ( 58.54) while the top six points scorers after all 4 rounds were Jimmy Harris, Andrew Henson, Richard Summers, Bernard Kevill, Simon Andrews and Stu Lugger. The full points positions are shown in the attached table.

HSA Speed Championship

In the main Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship event Pekka Tulokas (MX5) was the big winner with a storming first run to obliterate the new record he had set the day before and take a strong third in class on the day.
Nigel Fox (Caterham) won his Kit Car class again while Simon Clemow (Radical SR1) improved to take second in the Libre class.

With another good result, Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta) closed the gap at the top of the championship table to a struggling Andrew Wenner (Lotus Europa 47/62) to just five points.

Records in short supply at Loton

Event 21 at Loton Park on 12/07/2025
Twenty competitors in the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship arrived at Loton Park on July 12th for day one of HDLCC's summer hillclimb week-end but only a handful were able to set new HSA class records. One of the championship front runners, Julian Rinaldi in his Fiesta, was a high scorer with Martin Prescott, also in a Fiesta, and the always quick, Pekka Tulokas (MX5) also setting new HSA marks.

Nigel Fox (Caterham) came up a little short of the HSA class record but still managed to win the competitive kit car class while John Caldicott took a fine second in the well supported 2litre Roadgoing Series Production class.. Michael Bartlett (Radical Prosport), Mike Lee (Force LM) and Simon Clemow (Radical SR1) all had a good battle in the Libre class but were all beaten by Dave Greenslade in the Radical he shares with Clemow.

The 22 strong Formula Ford class was won by Jimmy Harris (Van Diemen RF85) with Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) being the best placed HSA competitor despite only managing a single run.

Championship leader, Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa 47/62) was a little off the pace and unable to get near Geoff Stallard's TVR Vixen record.

Scorching Lydden

Event 20 at Lydden Hill on 12/07/2025
A heatwave greeted competitors for Borough 19's annual visit to Lydden circuit which may have had something to do with the slower times and lower scores recorded by most of the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship contingent.

But this didn't prevent some excellent competition taking place, starting with the 2 litre Standard class which saw Chris Hancox and Rafe Trundell equally matched (again!) in their shared Clio 172 with Chris coming out on top by three tenths and winning the class with Alex Andrews just behind in third with his MX5. 

Mike Edwards (Austin Mini) had a close battle in the 1600cc Roadgoing Series production class to take a fine win.

A couple of new HSA class records were set by Duncan Barnes (Norma M20C) and Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk).

Records galore at Mallory

Event 19 at Mallory Park on 22/06/2025
Day 2 of Sheffield & Hallamshire's Mallory sprint week-end ran a lot more smoothly than the day before and, with fewer incidents, the organisers were able to squeze in six timed runs. With perfect conditions this allowed many competitors to keep improving thier times and set new HSA class records and in, no fewer than five cases, score maximum points. These included Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) who moved up to second place overall in the championship, Elen Worthington (Elise), Dave Mockford (MG Maestro), Andrew Webber (Lotus 47/62) who only needed a couple of runs to secure his points before starting the long trek home and Grahame Harden (Radical PR6).

Russell Haynes (Zeus) again came out on top in the Formula Ford class while Neal Bateman (Clio) won his Standard Car class. Roy Newton was having fun in his completely standard Porsche Carrera 2 but wondering if some List 1B tyres might improve his times.

Mike Smith (Striker), Chris Bennett and Dave Rayner (both in Carterhams) continued their week-end long close battle in the smaller Kit Car class with Mike taking the win with a cracking third run. Glen Shaw was a Sunday only runner with his Nissan 350Z and scored well with a new HSA class record to keep him in the top 5 overall in the championship.

Difficult day at Mallory

Event 18 at Mallory Park on 21/06/2025
A good entry turned up for Sheffield & Hallamshire's British Sprint Championship week-end at Mallory Park. Day one was warm and sunny but with a threat of rain which turned up from time to time but quickly dried. A number of incidents delayed proceeedings until a nasty off befell Angharad Williams' Radical early in T2 which necessited the ambulance leaving the track for an extended period which led to the meeting coming to an early close.

So, with only T1 times to count, regining champion Andrew Webber (Lotus 47/62) did enough to take a maximum points score and keep ahead of the chasing pack at the top of the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship table. Championship sponsor, Woodford Trailers, were represented in the paddock by dealer, Startruck Trailers Ltd who had a trailer and a range of accessories on display and for sale.

Also going well were Steve Brown (Empire EVO) and Neil Bateman (Clio) who set new HSA class reocrds and posted high scores. 

Russell Haynes in the rare Zeus Formual Ford was pleased to not only win the Formula Ford class but also finish ahead of Geoff Ward's Swift for the first time and Charlie Reilly who had a newly rebuilt engine in his Van Diemen and was 'running it in'. Dave Mockford put in a class winning time in the MG Maestro (not to mention the VW Golf front end) but lost it due to a track limit violation.

Mike Smith (SylvaStriker) and Elen Worthington (Elise) were parked next to each other in the paddock and both suffered from 'bonnet malfunctions' on their timed runs.

Steve Miles (Van Diemen RF96) and Grahame Harden (Radical PR6) both set PBs and new HSA class records by small margins. Chris Guy and Peter Hawkey were out in their shared Jedi MK4 with Chris winning their class.

Whitely scores at Curborough

Event 17 at Curborough on 15/06/2025
Only three Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors took part in the traditonal Owen Motoring Club Graham Hill trophy Sprint at Curborough with David Whitely (Elise) putting in an outstanding performance to set a new HSA class record.

Lee Whitmore (Ginetta G40) and Geoff Kershaw (Focus) were the other HSA runners.

Michael White took FTD in his OMS CF with a 54.06s run.

Rinaldi on the charge at Prescott

Event 16 at Prescott on 08/06/2025
On day two of the Bugatti Owners Club motorsport festival at Prescott the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship front runner, Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta) put in a cracking performance to smash the existing HSA class record, take maximum points and move to the top of the leader board.

No other competitors were able to set new marks but John Caldicott (Elise) and Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) got close. In the HSA championship class Simon Clemow and Dave Greenslade enjoyed a close battle in their shared Radical SR1 with Clemow emerging the winner by 5 hundredths! Mike Bartlett was third in his Radical Prosport.

Chris Green took FTD in his OMS 28 with a 40.34s run.

Records tumble at Pembrey

Event 15 at Pembrey on 08/06/2025
Day two of BARC Wales Summer Sprint week-end was held on Pembrey's Clubman layout and saw five Woodford Trailers HSA Speed Championship competitors set new HSA class records.  These included Neal Bateman (Clio), Elen Worthington (Elise), Dave Mockford (MG Maestro), Duncan Barnes (Norma) and Steve Miles (Van Diemen).

Bateman again won his class on the day as did Mike Smith (Sylva Striker) and Chris Jones (Force TA).
 

Difficult day at Prescott

Event 14 at Prescott on 07/06/2025
Day one of the Bugatti Owners Club motorpsort festival at Prescott proved a difficult one for the Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors struggling to approach their respective class records. They weren't helped by the very wet conditions which discouraged many competitors from taking their second timed run.

Series front runner, Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta) and Russell Haynes (Zeus ZR163) got closest to their class records on a day which saw the HSA Class closely fought with Mike Lee (Force LM) taking the win by a tenth from Simon Clemow (Radical SR1).

Steve Potter's Empire EVO took FTD with a 42.61s run.

Bateman and Broughton score at Pembrey

Event 13 at Pembrey on 07/06/2025
Day one of BARC Wales' Summer Sprint week-end was held on the traditional Pembrey track as saw Neal Bateman (Clio) and Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) as the only two Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors to set new HSA class records.

Other competitors managed to get close to their respective class records including Ethan Faulkner (Force PT) and Pete Goulding (Mygale) while Mike Smith (Sylva Striker) won the small Specialist Production class.

Shaw closes in at Blyton

Event 12 at Blyton Park on 18/05/2025
Day two of Longton's Blyton Sprint week-end was held on the faster Outer circuit and Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) almost matched his maximum score from the day before and moved to within four points of the overall lead of the Woodford Trailers HSA speed championship.

The only competitors to score maximum points were Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) and Etha Faulkner (Force PT) both running in the 1600cc Racing Car class.

Nigel Fox emulated fellow Cateram driver, Anthony Earl, from the day before by running a close second to the rapid Stuart Gilks in the larger Specialist Production class.

Elsewhere Grahame Harden (Radical PR6) was overjoyed to set a PB while in the Formula Ford class, the winner from Saturday, Geoff Ward (Swift SC93) was pipped for the win by Oldham race car dealer, Andrew Henson (Van Diemen RF92) by two hundredths of a second on the fifthe and final run.

Shaw on the pace at Blyton

Event 11 at Blyton Park on 17/05/2025
Day one of Longton's Blyton Sprint week-end was held on the tricky Eastern circuit but this din't stop many Woodford Trailers HSA Speed competitors from setting new championship class records. Maximum points scorers included Glen Shaw, a championship contender running in new brakes on the Nissan 350Z and taking it easy in the early runs, and taking the class win on the day. He was joined by Geoff Ward in his Swift SC93 Formula Ford (his classic Macon Formula Ford is still for sale) and the 1600cc Racing car pair of Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) and the rapid Irishman, Ethan Faulkner (Force PT).

Dave Mockford (Mod Prod MG Maestro) arrived with new drive shafts fitted after the last event to try and eliminate some of the aggressive torque steer and set a new HSA record and won his class despite gearchange issues. The clutch fluid was replaced in the paddock but the problem was later diagnosed as a faulty master cylinder and he was unfortunately out for the rest of the week-end. Andrew Earl, going well this year in his Caterham, was only present on the Saturday, setting a new HSA record but having to give second best in class to Stuart Gilks very rapid Westfield.

Webber's day at Werrington

Event 10 at Werrington on 04/05/2025
Day two at Plymouth Motor Club's Werrington spring hillclimb meeting saw three time Woodford Trailers HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, keep his 2025 championship defence on track with a maximum score with his mighty, V8 powered, Lotus Europa 47/62.

Other competitors experiences largely mirrored their performances from the day before with Julian Rinaldi and Martin Prescott able to improve upon the records they had set 24 hours earlier in their Fiestas and win their respective classes while Paul Reynolds (Caterham) and Mike Lee (Force LM) fell a little short. Other HSA competitors including Roy Newton (Porsche 911), John Simpson (Westfield) and Carole Nicholls (Nike MK4) all truggled against demanding HSA class records.

Phil Montgomery-Smith (OMS 2000M) again took FTD by less than half a second from Ed Hollier's Force HC with a 32.33s run.

 

Mixed fortunes at Werrington

Event 9 at Werrington on 03/05/2025
A good cross section of Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors assembled at the picturesque Werrington hillclimb venue for Plymouth Motor Club's traditional spring meeting. However, they experienced quite mixed fortunes with Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta), Martin Prescott (Fiesta), Paul Reynolds (Caterham) and Mike Lee (Force LM) all comprehensively smashing the exisitng HSA class records for maximum scores. Rinaldi won his class as did Lee and Reynolds but, in latter's case, by less than a tenth.

John Simpson (Westfield) and Andrew Webber weren't far behind but for Webber, aiming for four championship titles on the bounce, his sights are set a bit higher and the Sunday was to be a different story. The remaining HSA competitors including Speedscene columnist, Andrew Dinner in his Pilbeam, were finding their respective class records to be a real challenge.

Phil Montgomery-Smith (OMS 2000M) took FTD after a tense battle with local man, Ed Hollier's, Force HC with a 33.13s final run.



 

Lee sets another new HSA record at Wiscombe

Event 8 at Wiscombe Park on 27/04/2025
Day two of Woolbridge's Wiscombe spring double header saw Mike Lee (Force LM) improve on the HSA class record he set the day before by over a second to score impressively.

Elsewhere James Wills (Clio), Matthew Parr (Fiesta ST), Martin Prescott (Fiesta) and Pekka Tulokas (MX5) all broke the existing HSA records and scored well. In fact the last three all run in the same HSA class A3 and their best times were 44.03s, 44.08s and 44.36 respectively! Paul Reynolds in his Mod Prod Caterham set another new HSA class record getting under 40s in an impressive performance.

Meanwhile, reigning champion and current championship leader, Andrew Webber, only managed a single timed run in his Lotus Europa 47/62 and was off the pace but still retained his championship lead. Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta) couldn't match his times from the day before but still scored well enough to move up to fourth in the championship table.

Ed Hollier (Force HC) again took FTD with a 35.16s run.
 

Rinaldi, Lees and Parr score at Wiscombe

Event 7 at Wiscombe Park on 26/04/2025
Top Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors on day one of Woolbridge's Wiscombe spring double header were Julian Rinaldi (Fiesta), Mike Lee (Force LM) and Matthew Parr (Fiesta ST) - all three setting new HSA class records by comfortable margins. Rinaldi comfortable won the well supported up to 1400cc Production class while in the even larger up to 2600cc class Parr tied for the class win with a storming first run.

Luke Trotman and Simon Mayo were sharing the former's very tidy Mallock MK20B but after both drivers having three practice runs (at least one red flag) neither appeared for the timed runs. Andrew Mathis was just a tenth away from the HSA class record in his smart Van Diemen RF89

Ed Hollier took FTD with his Force HC with a 37.30s run.
 

Records fall at Goodwood

Event 6 at Goodwood on 26/04/2025
The fine Spring weather saw many HSA Class records tumble at the Bognor Regis MC Regis Sprint.

Reigning three time HSA Speed champion, Andrew Webber, had his Lotus Europa making full use of its V8 power on Goodwood's long straights and took a maximum score (and championship lead) by breaking the exisitng HSA class record by a wide margin. His performance was matched by Rafe Trundell (Renault Clio) who was closely followed by shared driver, Chris Hancox. Alex Gilchrist-Jones (EVO 9) and Dave Mockford (MG Maestro) also scored maximum points  with Paul Kendall (Golf), Martin Prescott (Fiesta) and Anthony Earl (Caterham) all acheiving high scores.

Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) was the pre event favourite for FTD but had to withdraw after practice with technical problems. So it was left to Malcolm Boorman, in his familiar smart blue OMS 2000M, to take FTD with a 79.74s run.

Quiet day at Shelsley

Event 5 at Shelsley Walsh on 13/04/2025
There was a good turn out of Woodford Trailes HSA Speed championship competitors at Shelsley on April 13th but conditions were such that few competitors were able to trouble their respective HSA class records with only Julian Rinaldi (Ford Fiesta) able to set a new, improved mark.

Ben Bowdidge (Golf R) won the series production 4WD class on the day while Anthony Earl (Caterham) had a good battle with a similar car to take the Specialist Production class.

Alex Summers (DJ Firestorm) took FTD with a 24.20s run.

 

Shaw extends championship lead at Harewood

Event 4 at Harewood on 13/04/2025
With hillclimbs taking place on the same day at two of the UK's top venues, Harewood and Shelsley, it was always going to be difficult attracting Woodford Trailers HSA Speed championship competitors in large numbers. So it was that only three HSA Speed competitors made their way to the challenging Yorkshire venue on April 13th.

Nevertheless, it worked out well for Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) who broke the existing HSA class record by the narrowest of margins and extended his lead in the championship from 1 to 13 points. Another championship contender, John Caldicott (Elise), just missed out on setting a new HSA record but moved up to fifth in the table.

FTD went to Wallace Menzies (Gould GR59) with a 49.83s run.

Broughton scores at Anglesey

Event 3 at Anglesey on 06/04/2025
For the second day of Longton & District's April Anglesey double header the longer, International track was used and despite excellent conditions competitors had to fight hard for points. Only Steve Broughton (DJ Firehawk) and Ethan Faulkner (in the ex Clemow/Greenslade Force PT) were able to score top points while reigning Champion, Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa) was again finding it hard to exceed the existing HSA Class records and just about managed it with a strong final run but by not as large a margin as he had hoped.

In the battle of the Elises David Whitely came out ahead of John Caldicott with David setting a new HSA class record and in the Mod Prods Dave Mockford (MG Maestro) edged out Elen Worthington (Elise) by the slim margin of two tenths.

Pekka Tulokas (MX5) only managed a single, practice run before deciding to withdraw with continuing cam sensor problems. In the same class, Glen Shaw scored well with his Nissan 350Z and won the class while Nigel Fox won his class in the Caterham but was up against a tough HSA class record which kept his score down. Geoff Kershaw in his immaculately turned out Ford Focus was in a similar position which saw the Turbo Technics man winning against some interesting competition including a Chevette and an Integrale.



 

Webber back on form at Anglesey

Event 2 at Anglesey on 05/04/2025
After a modest start to his campaign at Cadwell a week earlier, three time Champion, Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa) was back on form at Anglesey's National Circuit to take a maximum points score. But, by his own admission, it wasn't easy and he had to work hard for it needing his fifth and final timed run to secure the points.

After a good showing at Cadwell, Neal Bateman (Clio), was again on the pace at Anglesey and looks like being a Championship contender again this year. John Caldicott (Elise S1) was going well and easily broke the existing HSA class record while Glen Shaw (Nissan 350Z) and Pekka Tulokas (MX5) would have fought hard in their class but Pekka only managed a single timed run (can sensor problems) but they still finnished one two with Glen posting a good score.

Mike Smith (Striker) was back after a six month lay off and broke the HSA class record but John Bradshaw (Westfield SEiW) was taking time to relearn a track he hadn't visited for a while. Andrew Earl (Caterham) has moved up a class this year with a 'new' 1880cc K Series motor and set a good new record in Class B2 and a took the class win on the day.

Dave Mockford was slowly working up to speed in his new 'lighweight' MG Maestro but was happy with progress.

 

Bateman & Shaw make strong starts as Webber struggles

Event 1 at Cadwell Park on 29/03/2025
The 2025 Woodford Trailers HSA Speed Championship began it's new season on a bright but cold Spring day at Cadwell Park, one of Britain's finest tracks. Three competitors who finished in the top 5 overall in the 2024 series, Neal Bateman (Renault Clio), Glen Shaw (Missan 350Z) and Andrew Webber (Lotus Europa) were in attendance with Neal and Glen posting maximum scores to start their campaigns strongly. Andrew managed to break the HSA class record but only by a small amount which kept his score down.

Standout newcomers from 2024, Rafe Trundell and Chris Hancox also posted maximum scores in their shared Clio 172 Cup and, running in the same class as Neal, it will be interesting to see if they can build on their first season's experience and make it a three way battle throughout the year.

Simon Bainbridge (SBR Crono) and Steve Brown (Empire Evo 2) both have very powerful cars which, when running reliably, can score very well which they both did at Cadwell.

Adding some welcome variety to the entry was Steve Hepworth's delighful MK1 Lotus Cortina.