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HealeySport
is the motor sport centre of the Austin Healey Club UK and coordinates the
classic racing, sprinting and hill climbing activities in the UK and
Internationally. This website holds race reports, events calendars,
results pages, regulations and picture galleries in support of these
activities.
Revcounter Shield 2009 At the December 2009 Austin Healey Club AGM, Chairman - Colin Stokes, presented the award for the most outstanding contribution to Revcounter the club's magazine. The winner this year was LS Diff for his Sprint and Hill Climb reports. Unfortunately, Mr Diff was unwell with a severe dose of writers' cramp and unable to attend so the award was collected on his behalf by top hill-racer Pat Cooper (pictured right). A well deserved award as recognition for the sheer amount of work, thought and effort that goes into his extremely interesting and amusing accounts of the exploits of the Sprint and Hill Climb boys and girls.
2009 Dinner Dance and Prize Giving - 28th November 2009
The weekend of 28/29th
November saw the annual gathering of the Austin Healey Club competition
members
at the Hilton
Hotel Swindon
for the annual dinner dance and distribution of the championship, class and
discretionary awards for the 2009 race and
sprint and hill climb season. Over 114 drivers and their partners enjoyed a
fabulous evening i This year Joe Cox went first and presented the Race Series awards (sponsored by Robin Lackford Engineering), ably assisted by Emma Streeter (Robin's daughter) and the Austin Healey Club President, Colin Stokes. The Race Series prize winners are seen pictured right gathered around Pat Harris' class winning Frogeye Sprite. Allan Cameron then presented the awards to the Sprint and Hill Climbers ably assisted by Jayne Foster from the Frogeye Spares Company who sponsor the Sprite Class and by John Chatham for the Big Healey Class, which is sponsored by Denis Welch Motorsport. The Phil Meek 'A' Series cup was presented by Mike Cockayne and the Overall Sprint and Hill Climb Champion award, sponsored by Cape International was also presented by Jayne Foster. The Sprint and Hill Climber award winners are pictured left in a group shot. Click here to view the official pictures from the 2009 Dinner Dance and Award Ceremony taken. For a selection of unofficial 'outtake' pictures - click here. If you would like copies of any of the pictures contact Paul Baker on the email address at the foot of the page. For a full list of the prize winners, click on the links - Race Series or Sprint and Hill Climb Series (In PDF Format)
If you want to download the latest Adobe
Acrobat PDF reader click on the following link
Looking for a present for someone keen on Racing Healeys - Phil Broster (Official HealeySport Race Series Photographer) has produced an outstanding calendar for 2010 featuring full colour action images from the 2009 Austin Healey Club (HealeySport) Challenge race series. The spiral bound calendar consists of 12 single sided, A4, month to view pages, with front cover. They are available for £12 each, plus postage and packing for UK customers. Overseas orders are very welcome with postage and packing at cost. To buy your copy of this unique calendar email Phil Broster at: phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk. Payment can be made by cheque, Postal order or Pay Pal.
John Gott Memorial Trophy Race -
Silverstone 11th July 2009 Words and Pictures by : Phil (Scoop) Broster: phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk phone : +44 (0)7912 537640 The John Gott Memorial Trophy race at Silverstone was to be the highlight of the Healey 50 celebrations as far as the race fraternity was concerned and with an entry of 32 ‘Big’ Healeys was the biggest gathering of racers ever seen. Under the auspices of Healey Driver International it was just that, with entries from Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands together with just about every available track car from the UK adding a truly international flavour. The race was to run for the best part of an hour, with driver changes for some and compulsory pit stops for those without a nominated co-driver. It would mean around 30 laps of the 2.25 mile International circuit was on the cards, plenty of room for the big cars to stretch their legs! Click here to read the rest of the report, results and pictures from this fantastic event.
John Gott Memorial Trophy Race Souvenir Poster Phil Broster has produced a souvenir poster featuring all 32 cars and drivers who competed together with Peter and Ann Riley and Jack Sears with DD300 and UJB143 in full colour. Measuring approx 500mm x 330mm it would be ideal for your workshop or office wall. This lovely item costs £9.00 including tubed postage to any UK address. A limited number (20) are available signed by Jack Sears for £20.00 To secure your copy of this excellent reminder of a special day, contact Phil Broster on +44 (0) 7912 537640 or email him on phil_scoop@hotmail.co.uk
New Championship format for 2009
- HealeySport are pleased to announce
that they are the first one
**Stop Press**
THE JEREMY WELCH BIG
HEALEY NOVICE SPONSORSHIP
Jeremy
Welch of Denis Welch MotorSport has generously agreed to sponsor the
entrance fee to the first race for any novice driver coming out in a Big
Healey in the Championship in 2009 up to a maximum of £250.
The cars must comply with the standing AHC Regulations for this year and drivers must meet all MSA requirements to race but they must be novices to Big Healey circuit racing. "I really want to encourage new drivers to this championship in its revised format" said Jeremy (pictured right at Thruxton). "it is a big step to start one's racing career in a Big Healey but it is a very competitive classic sports car that is welcome across the racing calendar. The Race Championship is a very good proving ground and is an inexpensive way to get started. I hope my offer will tip the balance for those drivers on the brink of motorsport but hesitating about the commitment to a championship". "This generous offer applies throughout the year and at all the meetings in the Championship calendar. Eligible drivers may enter in our Invitation Class in the first instance but will need to commit to full registration if they wish to do more than one race" said Joe Cox, Austin Healey Club Competition Secretary. "For full details as to how this offer applies, drivers should contact me in the first instance to establish their eligibility and I will help them to get on board" Jeremy has registered for the championship after an absence of some years while he concentrated on European Historic endurance and long distance events. " I am pleased to see that the Austin Healey Championship is one of the first to take the significant step into longer 40 minute races. They offer such good value and in times of economic strictures this is what we want. The days of the 15 minute sprint race are numbered even at club level, in my opinion" he said. "I am pleased to have Jeremy on board again" said Joe. "He is a significant and accomplished World Class Big Healey driver at the top of his game. This gesture to new drivers is typical of the spirit of our championship and I am grateful to Jeremy for taking this initiative"
Joe Cox can be
contacted at
www.healeysport.org
or
joe.cox2@btinternet.com
or on 07710 028163
2009 Race
Championship
We are also pleased to announce that
the new headline sponsor for the 2009 series is Robin Lackford Motor
Engineering. Robin Lackford is a keen competitor in the series
with his eye-catching, red, Class E Frogeye and runs his Classic Car
restoration and Race Preparation business from Cowfold in West Sussex (check
out his company website
www.robinlackford.co.uk). Class sponsors will be Fraser Macnamara
(The Classic Car Solicitors) for classes A, B, C & E. Class D sponsors
will be Harris Coaches. The 2009 championship will include 7 rounds between April and October competed at the top UK motor sport venues of Brands Hatch, Mallory Park, Oulton Park, Silverstone, Snetterton and Cadwell Park. This one make series is open to any Healey driver who wants to take part in full circuit racing, be it with a road standard or modified Big Healey or Sprite. Cars can be entered into one of five classes, two for Big Healeys and three for Sprites, catering for the level of modification applied to each car from standard road going spec to fully modified. Points are awarded for practicing, achieving fastest lap times in qualifying and during the race and for the drivers finishing position in class. At the end of the season the driver with the most points in each class is the winner of the class and the driver with the most points across all classes becomes the Overall Series Champion. 2008 Overall Champion was Paul Campfield (pictured left in his Class E Sprite). Class B (Modified Big Healey) winner - David Smithies is pictured above. This website holds the racing calendar, results, rules/regulations and picture gallery for the UK Race Series. For more information about the UK Race Championship click here (or click on 'UK Racing' on the starting grid above).
The Sprint and Hill Climb Challenge
The 2009 challenge is a fourteen round series with a Big Healey class
sponsored by
The 2009 series begins with a return to Gurston Down and is followed by hill climbs at Shelsley Walsh, Prescott, Loton Park, Harewood and Wiscombe Park. In addition there will be sprints at Goodwood, Curborough, MIRA, Three Sisters, Anglesey and Llandow. Each venue provides a different set of challenges to test the Healey driver's skills and abilities to the full. This series is open to any Healey driver with some or no motor sport experience and a car that can be either road standard or modified; half the races are handicapped to take into account the different abilities of the driver and their cars, so everyone has an opportunity to win a race. Although competitive, there is a strong sense of camaraderie amongst the thirty or so drivers who regularly compete. New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing - If you are interested in taking part and want to find out more, click on the link to check out the 'New Beginners Guide to Sprinting and Hill Climbing' alternatively, you can email Allan Cameron on allanclancam@hotmail.com
To see the Sprint and Hill Climb events calendar, results and photo gallery click here (or click on 'Sprint and Hill Climb' on the starting grid above). Check out the latest race reports by clicking on RACE for the UK circuit race reports or SPRINT for the sprint and hill climb reports.
The Le Mans 24 Hour Classic - 2008
The Le Mans Classic Eleven Austin Healeys took part in the 2008 Le Mans Classic, with five cars classified by age in Grid 2 (1949-1956) and six in Grid 3 (1957-1961). The top Healey in Grid 2 was the 100S (RWD132) of the British trio Peter Thornton, Jeremy Welch and David Garrett who finished an excellent 8th overall which unfortunately became 30th once adjusted. They just beat the 100M driven by Mike Thorne and John Todd by 40 seconds after racing for nearly two and a half hours. However, once the times had been adjusted the Thorne/Todd car moved up to an excellent sixth place overall, out of a total grid of 69 cars. In Grid 3, the Dutch trio of Rinus Sinke, Jaap Sinke and Hans Van de Kerkhof yet again brought their yellow 3000 home first amongst the Healeys in a very creditable 7th place on scratch (up from 13th place in 2006) and 21st once compensated. The Perou/Duval/de Stoppani 3000 was 9th overall which was a great improvement on their 2006 placing.
To find out more - click here to see the full Healey results on our International page or click here to go to the Healey Meets Le Mans 2008 website. Also, check out the report and results of the 2006 event by going to our International Race homepage on this site.
The Syd Segal Memorial Trophy Race - Thruxton - 23/24 March 2008
To read the report and see the pictures from the event click here
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2010 HealeySport
Race Series Calendar 
marque race championship to break the
mould of club racing in the UK and move away from the 15 minute per race
format to offer improved value for money to their drivers.
The new 2009 Championship will comprise 7 rounds over 6 weekends of 30 or 40
minutes races including one double header event of two 20 minute races.
Compared to the previous years' Championships which have consisted of 9
rounds held over 8 weekends with 15 minutes racing at each event.
The benefits are clear in that the drivers will get more time on track with
less travel and weekends away. So, if you have a competition prepared
Big Healey or Sprite and are interested in taking part, download the
regulations and BARC/AMOC registration forms from the 
Denis Welch Motorsport and a Sprite class sponsored by Frogeye
Spares Ltd. In addition to the class awards, Cape
International sponsor the award
for the overall Sprint and Hill Climb champion. Last year's overall
Championship winner was Paul Baker (pictured right at Gurston Down) in his
Sebring GT Sprite.
You may well have seen the BBC
Top Gear show's view of hill climbing with a challenge between a 1961 yellow Frogeye and a
fully modified Peugeot at the prestigious Prescott hill climb track. If you haven't - check out this clip -
is held every two years with the last event held on 11-12-13 July 2008 at
the world famous 24-hours circuit of Le Mans, where 5,000 classics and
50,000 people came together. 
To
celebrate forty years of motor car racing at the Thruxton Aerodrome and Race
Circuit, Healey Driver International was invited by the BARC to produce a
grid of racing Healeys (100/4, 100S, 100/6, 3000 and Silverstones) for this
most important and spectacular two day meeting. Our race was The Syd Segal Memorial Trophy Race and comprised a 45
minute scratch race on Monday 24 March (Easter Monday) in the headline slot
during the mid-afternoon session, with qualifying practice on Sunday 23
March. Twenty drivers came from overseas and around the UK to take
part in this spectacular event.