Baxter makes hay as ERAs stay away

VSCC | Harewood | Aug 21

From an entry of over 140 cars James Baxter scored a commanding victory in the VSCC’s Harewood hillclimb. Marking the conclusion of a week of events celebrating the club’s 70th anniversary, the VSCC’s second visit at the challenging Yorkshire hill was a great success.

Baxter’s pace in the 3.5-litre Frazer Nash single-seater left him well clear of the rest, and either of his timed runs would have secured FTD. His first salvo was a 67.74 sec. but on the second run he pared a further half-second from that to stop the clocks at 67.25sec over a second faster than he had recorded a year earlier.

With no ERAs in the entry. Baxter’s task was certainly easier, but his pace suggested that had Mac Hulbert not withdrawn R4D there would have been a mighty contest. Baxter’s FTD was a full second faster than the time Hulbert had set in 2003.

Tom Walker’s GN Special was closest to Baxter as he won the over-3-litre Special Sportscar class. Walker’s best was a 70.08sec on his second run to give him a class win over the ‘Piglet’ GN/Ford of Dougal Cawley.

On a day when most class wins were taken in convincing style, only eight tenths decided the 3-litre Standard and Modified Sports category in favour of Chris Podger’s Alvis Silver Eagle over the Delage of John Warden. A similar margin split Dudley Sterry (HRS) from Robert Ellis (Frazer Nash Super Sports) in the 3-litre Special Sports.

Tim Whellock stormed the hill in the Hardy Special to win the 1100cc Racing Car class, pulling a mighty second run of 73.03sec to shake off Michael Fitzmaurice’s supercharged Austin.

Other notable class winners were Mike Sythes (BMW 328), William Mahany (HRG Le Mans) and Jerome Flack (Brough Superior).

In the Automobile-engined Edwardian class Andrew Kirby (Chalmers Model 10 Raceabout) saw off John Bentley’s 1914 GP Opel, while the Non-automobile-engined class fell to Nicholas Hildyard’s Th. Schneider.