The Shelsley Record Time
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Martin Groves, 22.81 Seconds, 7th October 2007
Martin Groves clinched the outright Shelsley record during the final meeting of the 2007 British Hill Climb Championship season when in cool conditions he beat the previous mark of Scott Moran by 0.02 seconds to re-establish himslef as the fastest person to ever ascent Shelsley Walsh.
It was a mark of Groves’ determination to take his third British title at the front of the pack rather than playing safe for a second or a third.
1st 64 feet 1.94 seconds
Kennel 5.57
Ess Approach 140
Bottom S time 14.47
Top S exit speed 86 mph
Finish speed 147 mph
Time 22.81
Stunning numbers... -
22.83. Moran takes Outright Shelsley Walsh Record
Scott Moran is the new outright lowered the outright Shelsley record on June 3rd 2007 to an incredible 22.83 seconds. The day saw the record tumble by an incredible 0.92 of a second as previous mark holder Martin Groves and Moran battled non stop through the class runs and then both run offs. 
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23.75. Groves takes his third Outright Shelsley Walsh Record
20th August 2006 and Martin Groves sped to the new outright record for Shelsley Walsh in 23.75 seconds taking 0.02 off his previous mark set at the same meeting in 2005.Groves was running as the last runner in the first Top 12 Run Off of the day for British Championship points.
“I wanted to go last as I wanted to see what Scott Moran’s time was. Once I saw that he was pushing hard, I knew I had to go for the win to keep my lead in the championship. I also knew that I had a 4th gear in that was not ideally to my liking as the best one was damaged. That is the gear used between Kennel and Crossing. My split was 15.09 seconds to the Bottom S, 0.09 slower than I went in June 2006, but the Top S had more grip today than in June, so I got the time back up to the line.”
“I am so happy to have taken the record for a third time, and more importantly, retain it for over a year now.”
Photos John Charters & Eddie Walder
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23.77 - Martin Groves Takes Shelsley Walsh Record
Martin Groves lowered his Shelsley Walsh record during the August meeting 2005 from 23.86 to a stunning 23.77 seconds. Groves had already wrapped up the 2005 Speed hill climb title two weeks before, but still drove like the wind, winning the run off by 0.99 seconds.
In front of a packed house, Groves had made some modifications to the car since his June record, but even so found out that it was 'about as fast as it'll go!'
Photos John Charters.
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23.86 - Martin Groves Takes Shelsley Walsh Record
The
Shelsley record was taken in June 2005 by Martin Groves in his 3.5 litre
V8 Gould. He is the fastest man ever to ascend the 100 year old hill,
beating the previous record set by Adam Fleetwood of 23.87 from August
2004.For Groves it was his first drive at Shelsley in, for him, a new car for the 2005 season, but that did not stop him winning the morning run off by over one second. It was a historic day for the hill and for Groves who took his first outright record on hill in the British Hill Climb Championship.
Groves got people's attention in the Clubman's class driving with enormous bravado and car control that cleared the bars whenever he went up the hill. That immediately transferred over to the 2 litre single seater class in Alan Warburton's Dallara, and then into the big unlimited class with the ATOL and then the 'Gulf' Gould of 2004.
Sharing the car with Paul Ranson, Groves continues to dominate this year's British Hill Climb Championship throughout the UK. Something that he is sure to do when the championship returns to Shelsley Walsh on August 20th. Another record? You'd better believe it. View Report for 4th/5th June 2005
Photos by John Charters
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23.87 Seconds
Once
again Adam Fleetwood lowered the Shelsley Walsh benchmark giving us the
first sub 24 sec run in the hills history.He showed his intent in Saturday practice by going under his existing record and in the class runs on Sunday morning he came good with 23.87 secs. Half an hour later he delivered another sub 24 in the class runs winning with a time of 23.92 to take the first of the days two British Hillclimb Championship run off. A wet and slippery track in the afternoon put paid to the further lowering of the record for the day. View Report for 14th/15th August 2004
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24.08 Seconds
Adam
Fleetwood is the outright Shelsley Walsh record holder after setting a
time of 24.08 seconds on June 6th 2004. View
Report for June 6th 2004 -
24.56 Seconds
Graeme
Wight Jnr holds the outright record at Shelsley Walsh with the fastest
ever ascent of the 1000 yard hill. He did this on June 8th 2003 with his
Gould GR55 2.5 litre V6. Here is a record from the very day he did it.When will the next record go? June 2004 looks to be hot favourite with Adam Fleetwood in his similar 3.3 V8 car knocking on the door to go into the record books.
Photos: John Charters
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An historic day at Shelsley Walsh - Wight Jnr Lowers Record
Graeme Wight Junior sped to the first ever sub 25 second run of Shelsley Walsh on Sunday 2nd June 2002 with a 24.85 second run in the first Top 12 run off of the day.
However, as we can see here in this sequence, in his first class run he attacked the S approach speed trap at 129 mph only to find out he arrived a little too fast! Indeed so fast that he caught out our photographer John Charters who was expecting him a bit tighter into Bottom S. Derek Hibbert then caught him but from Top S.
Anyway, for Junior it mattered little as he still broke the class record and then prepared for the run off down in the paddock.
In the car with Father holding the umbrella, David Gould and Mark Budgett close by he thought and thought. Eventually they left Junior to his own devices before taking his crash helmet and going to the line.
Up the hill he struck sparks at the Kink but it was a little slower through there than earlier....
The display the said it all. 24.85 seconds. The first time that anybody had ever broken 25 seconds...
Returning down the hill he was jubilant, punching the air and waving to the throng of spectators (photos Tim Robbins)
The car took no further part in the meeting after it broke it's differential in the afternoon, but at the end of the meeting Wight Junior was presented with the cheque from Reg Phillips for £1000 from Stirling Moss for the first driver to do a 24 second run.
A perfect day at the best hill climb in the world. A gentleman of a driver, and a Motor Racing hero to witness it.
