Firle Hill Climb, continued
Firstly...where was it?
Some people erroneously believe it to be the Firle Beacon Climb but it is actually the Bopeep hill which certain Multimarquers do every January 1st.
This comes from the Firle Hill Climb programme for May 27, 1962...
“The event will consist of a timed climb of the metalled road known as Bo-Peep Hill, situated near the village of Selmeston, on a turning off the A27. Map reference No. 183/498053. Each competitor will be permitted two timed runs in addition to practice.”
Secondly...when was it held?
It was first held in 1949 when it was won by a Lagonda 4.5 litre and last held in 1967 when the FTD was by a BRM P67 4wd
Thirdly...why was it stopped?
Here is a quote from Jim Tiller on the ten-tenths website…"Racing stopped at Firle when a Lotus went out of control, as you say. Some walkers/ramblers ignored the motor racing warning signs and found, what they thought was a good spot on the bank side of the road from which they could view the hill climb. There were no other
people there. The Lotus lost control and mounted the left hand bank, spun and then went up the right hand bank injuring the walkers. We are not aware of any injuries to the driver. The organisers realised that the hill was unmanageable as it could not be sufficiently marshalled."
http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125129
There is a lot more to be found on these websites but I can’t resist including one more photo of the car transporter used by Mike Anthony, a class winner in 1960 driving a Lister-Corvette.
He claimed that it would do 100mph, fully loaded.
Happy Days indeed!
I am indebted to the resources of Wikipedia, The Autosport Bulletin Board, Ten-Tenths Motorsport, Rupert Lloyd Thomas (‘Rupertit1’), Mike Anthony and of course Jim Tiller as well as many other contributors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG_HjUd09Hk
Hide Content