Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb

Great Auclum National Speed Hill Climb was a motorcar course close to Burghfield Common in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

county of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

It was based in the grounds of a large country house, formerly owned by a family connected to Huntley and Palmer - the famous biscuit manufacturers at nearby Reading, Berkshire

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

. The hill climb was organised by the Hants and Berks Motor Club as a National Speed Hill Climb. This was part of the RAC British Hill Climb Championship

British Hill Climb Championship

The British Hill Climb Championship is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history and this event has been held every year since 1947.All British Champions have been British...

, and at 440 yards (402.3 m) long it was the shortest of events in the Championship. The course travelled nearly as far downhill as it did up, with a finish almost level with the start. Motor Sport

Motor Sport (magazine)

Motor Sport was founded in the UK in 1924 as the Brooklands Gazette, the first edition appearing in July of that year. In August 1925 the title was changed to the all-encompassing "Motor Sport". For most of its history , the editor of the magazine was Bill Boddy.The monthly magazine underwent a...

reported : "The ¼-mile course embraces two sharp corners, one banked, and a twisty section, so that a premium is set on initial acceleration and low-speed cornering."

Early days

Prior to World War Two at least one event took place at Burghfield, as the event was then known. In 1939 Motor Sport listed a forthcoming event: May 27, 1939, Sporting O.D.C. Speed event, Burghfield , which was cancelled. An event took place in June organised by the Frazer-Nash and Frazer-Nash B.M.W. C.C. and Sporting O.D.C. "The postponed speed hill-climb up the private drive of Neil Gardner's (sic ) house at Burghfield Common happened on June 24th, complete with adjacent fun-fair and Lord Nuffield

William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield

William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...

to present the prizes." P.W. Neale set fastest time of the day in 27.0 secs "winning the 2-litre class from Fane's B.M.W."

Racing resumed in 1947 when: "Salvadori's

Roy Salvadori

Roy Francesco Salvadori is a former motor racing driver and manager from England. He participated in 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 12 July 1952, and achieved two podiums, scoring a total of 19 Championship points.During a varied career he also won the 24 Hours of Le...

monoposto Alfa-Romeo won its class in 25.2 sec., but couldn't be extended, and it was L.J.D. Bartlett's home-brewed Mercury Special which made f.t.d. in 23.5 sec." The following year Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton

Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points...

's Wharton Special "beautifully crisp and fearlessly handled, made f.t.d. in 23.34 sec., beating Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...

(23.46 sec.), who drove absolutely superbly getting into third gear in his Cooper 500,..."

The end

The last event was held in 1974 and the site has now been re-developed for housing. However the course itself is still there as it was the rear drive to Great Auclum house, which has now been redeveloped. The track is in a poor state of repair and very overgrown.

Great Auclum Hill Climb past winners

Year	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Notes
1939	P.W. Neale	A.C.N. Special 1,991 c.c.	27.0 sec	June 24.
1947	L.J.D. Bartlett	Mercury Special	23.5 sec	July 26.
1948	Ken Wharton Ken Wharton Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points...	Wharton-Special	23.34 sec	July 25.
1949	Eric Brandon Eric Brandon Eric Brandon was a motor racing driver and businessman. He was closely associated with the Cooper Car Company, and was instrumental in the early development of the company....	Cooper-J.A.P. 994 c.c.	22.20 sec	Aug 14.
1950	A.J. Butterworth Archie Butterworth Archibald James Butterworth, born 19th June 1912, County Waterford, Ireland-died 12th February 2005. He was an inventor and racing motorist who, in 1948, designed and constructed the A.J.B. Special, a four-wheel-drive 'formula one' racing car. He was a two-time winner of the Brighton Speed Trials...	A.J.B.	23.50 sec	July 23.
1951	D.N. Brake	Cooper 996 c.c.	22.39 sec	July 28.
1952	Cancelled due to cattle "foot and mouth" disease.
1953	Stuart Lewis-Evans Stuart Lewis-Evans Stuart Nigel Lewis-Evans was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 14 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 May 1957. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 16 championship points...	Cooper 1,100 c.c. s/c	21.47 sec R	Aug 8.
1954	Michael Burn	Frazer-Nash	24.54 sec	Aug 7; Wet & dry.
1955	Tony Marsh Tony Marsh (racing driver) Anthony Ernest "Tony" Marsh was a British racing driver from England. His Formula One career was short and unsuccessful, but he enjoyed great success in hillclimbing, winning the British Hill Climb Championship on a record six occasions.Having begun his hillclimbing career in 1953 with a...	Cooper 1,100 c.c.	R	Aug 6.
1956	Tony Marsh Tony Marsh (racing driver) Anthony Ernest "Tony" Marsh was a British racing driver from England. His Formula One career was short and unsuccessful, but he enjoyed great success in hillclimbing, winning the British Hill Climb Championship on a record six occasions.Having begun his hillclimbing career in 1953 with a...	Cooper 1,100 c.c.	20.6 sec	Aug 4.
1957	Tommy Sopwith	Cooper-Climax 1,500 c.c. sports	21.76 sec
1958	R.B. James	Cooper-Norton 500 c.c.	22.19 sec
1959	D. Boshier-Jones David Boshier-Jones David Boshier-Jones is a British racing driver, whose career ran from 1952 until his retirement in 1961. He competed both in circuit racing and in hillclimbs, achieving success in both disciplines but particularly on the hills, where he claimed three successive British Hill Climb Championships, in...	Cooper 1,100 c.c.	20.56 sec R	Aug 8.
1960	D. Boshier-Jones	Cooper 1,100 c.c. V-twin	20.49 sec R	Aug 6.
1961	Peter Boshier-Jones	Lola-Climax	21.57 sec	Aug 12.
1962	Tico Martini Martini (cars) Martini Cars is a constructor of Formula racing cars from France, founded by Renato "Tico" Martini in 1965, when Martini and partner Bill Knight founded the Winfield Racing School at the Magny-Cours circuit...	Martini-Special Triumph 650 c.c.	20.14 sec R	Aug 11.
1963	Peter Boshier-Jones	Lotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c	19.75 sec R	Aug 10.
1964	Peter Boshier-Jones	Lotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c		Aug 8.
1965	Peter Boshier-Jones	Lotus 22-Climax 1.3-litre s/c	19.099 sec R	Aug 7.
1966	Peter Meldrum	Lotus-Allard 1,650 c.c.	22.14 sec	Aug 6. Rain led to abandonment.
1967	Mike Hawley	Brabham BT23B-Climax 2.0-litre	19.38 sec	Aug 5.
1968
1969	Roy Lane Roy Lane Roy Lane was a British racing driver. He is best known for his great success in hillclimbing, having won the British Hillclimb Championship on four occasions in a career spanning more than three decades...	Tech-Craft Buick 3.5-litre	18.58 sec	Aug 2.
1970	David Good David Good David Good is a former British Hill Climb Champion. In 1961 he won the qualifying rounds at Westbrook Hay and Wiscombe Park, driving a Cooper-JAP Mk 8, and clinched the title with a third place at Prescott in September...	McLaren M10B		Aug 1.
1971	Sir Nick Williamson	Brabham F2 FVC	18.36 sec R	July 31.
1972	Tony Griffiths
1973	Chris Cramer	March-Hart BDA 2-litre	17.65 sec R
1974

Key: R = Course Record.

Early days

The end

Great Auclum Hill Climb past winners

Course

External links

See also