Spectacular Midlands hotel Chateau Impney held its first competitive event since 1968 at the weekend (11-12 July) and was a huge success with a packed field of 200 classics competing in 19 classes. The action on the fiddly Droitwich course – which was especially challenging to the bigger pre-war cars – was thrilling, especially during the deluges that dogged Sunday’s timed runs.
Despite a wealth of experience piloting everything from Shelsley specials to Grand Prix cars, fastest time of the day was set by 25-year-old Jack Woodhouse who was actually taking part in his first ill climb. The Banbury lad completed the 1000-yard course in just 42.42 secs in his Lotus 20/22 and said: “It feels pretty special to be the first ever winner of the Chateau Impney Hill Climb. Having grown up just a few miles away from the Chateau, it’s a bit of a home event for me. It’s been great to be part of something new and even more so as my dad has also competed and my family has been here watching. I aim to be back next year, as long as the invite comes, and have a crack at defending my title!”
Class winners included Jack’s father Mark in his Elva 100, Winston Teague in the GN Wasp, Ivan Dutton in a TVR Grantura and Richard Parsons in a Mini Cooper ’S’.
Almost 10,000 people flocked to Chateau Impney for the rebirth of its hill climb, that ran for a decade from 1958 and hosted the biggest names in British hill climbing such as Phil Scragg, David Good and Tony Marsh. There was plenty of activity away from the hill, too with a trade village, concours – won by a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM GT after votes were cast by spectators via social media – and food stalls, but most took the opportunity to explore the open paddock. Drawing most attention were the early behemoths such as Duncan Pittaway’s stunning Fiat S76 Beast of Turin and aero-engined specials such as Chris Williams’ Napier Bentley.
Rod Spollon, chairman of the Chateau Impney Hill Climb Club, spent years planning the event and preparing the hotel and grounds to host it. He said: “What a fantastic weekend! When we decided to bring motorsport back to Chateau Impney, we knew the event had great potential, but we have been taken aback by the support and enthusiasm of competitors and the people who came through the gates over the weekend.
“From the outset we wanted to create an event and course to bring something different to the calendar, complementing existing venues, but giving competitors and spectators something different to get excited about. The feedback we received across the weekend directly from drivers and via social media shows we have done just that and we now have an excellent foundation to be able to look at bringing the event back bigger and better next year.”
