I recently picked up a copy of Simon Taylor’s The History Of Shelsley Walsh, written for the famous hillclimb’s centenary in 2005. I’d flicked through it before, noting that Taylor had included an appendix listing all the drivers who’d set Fastest Time Of The Day over the 1000-yard course. It was a source of great pride that the entry for July 6 1991 read 'John Page – Reynard VW90'.
Dad used to be a regular competitor at Shelsley and, as a result, I spent an awful lot of my childhood there. The section of Taylor’s book that covered the late 1980s and early '90s was therefore full of nostalgia. On one spread, there were just two pictures: Richard Brown bursting out of Top Ess in his Pilbeam on his way to a new hill record, and Tom Hammonds in his Pikes Peak replica Audi quattro.
Dad and I watched Brown set that 1992 record of 25.34 secs from the fearsome left-hander at Crossing. We'd packed up Dad's car and decided to stay and watch the Top 10 Run-Off. Brown’s commitment as he threaded the Pilbeam between the steep grass banks was absolute, and he rightly received a thunderous ovation when he stopped the clocks.
The late Tom Hammonds, meanwhile, was a personal favourite. I loved the drama of his be-winged Audi, and the wondrous noise it made – all five-cylinder thrum and turbo chatter. I also loved the fact that he towed the car with a roadgoing Sport quattro. Hammonds eventually set a best time of 28.58 secs, a closed-car record that stood for 13 years.
During the period that Dad was running in single-seaters there, and before the hill was resurfaced in 1992, anything under 30 seconds was seriously quick, and in time he did manage to break the barrier with the Reynard (above). On that run, he was clocked at more than 100mph through both speed traps – one positioned before Bottom Ess, the other at the finish line.