Ever since man took to the road in the motorcar, hill climbing has been to the fore in motorsport. The achievement of climbing any hill, a challenge in itself in pioneer days, soon gave way to striving to beat fellow competitors in the race against the clock, thus was hill climbing born.
Thirty-five minutes of sheer, unashamed nostalgia that features excellent archive footage going right back to the early days of the 20th century.
Main action takes place at the famous Shelsey Walsh, the birthplace of competitive hill climbing, and Prescott which celebrated 50 years as Britain’s main hill climb venue in 1988.
A veritable feast of hill climbing memories are contained in this release, from the pre-war saloons and purpose-built specials, with twinned rear wheels for extra grip, through the might Auto Union Grand Prix racers, to the modern hill climb vehicles of the ‘80s – all built with one aim in mind: to climb the hill in the shortest possible time.
Personalities like Ken Wharton, Raymond Mays, Hans Stuck (Sr) and Rudolf Carraciola appear with the famous cars of yesteryear; ERA, Riley, Alfa Romeo, Auto Union et al.
In-car camera footage is nothing new, as Raymond Mays takes us for a run up Shelsey Walsh!
This very collectable video takes the viewer on an enthralling journey through time up until the mid-eighties where it shows triple champion Martin Bolsover in action at a number of courses.