2026 Speed Race Reports
Championship sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars and Peter May Engineering
The 2026 championship comprises 15 rounds with 10 hill climbs and 5 sprints. Scroll on down to see the race reports shown in latest first order:
Round 4 Goodwood 2 May 2026 - "A 99 Please!!"
(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)
It's the beginning of May and this year we are heading for the Brighton & Hove Motor Club's Figaty sprint at the world famous Goodwood circuit near Chichester in West Sussex. The weather was forecast to be dry to start with then heavy rain from mid afternoon. We also had the frequent sight and sound of a Spitfire taking off on the runway inside the track - so evocative given the history of this airfield.
Fourteen drivers were entered in the Healeysport class with the usual mix of Healeys - big and small. We had the 6 Sprites of Garrow Shand, Monty Hinton (now out in the ex Lawrence Maudsley Sprite - so good to see it out again), Brett Dillon, Steve Casson, Rob Owen and Paul Baker. We had the sole Healey 100 of Michael Berry (John Ducker had entered but due to problems with his newer 100 he had to withdraw), the two Jensen Healeys of David Lane and Gerry Wilby and the 2 x 3000's of Ian Thomas and Peter Walton (pictured right) and the 100/6 of Simon Warburton (this being Simon's first time at Goodwood). Tony and Ethan Morgan were booked in with their Libre classed Sprite, but unfortunately the car was not running well and needed more work, so they decided to withdraw their entry.
With all the sign-on work now done on-line, all that was left was
to get through noise control (very important at Goodwood but
surprisingly low decibel numbers given this year!), then scrutineering and finally the
drivers meeting with the Clerk of the Course. On the dot of
9am the first cars were heading out on track for their first
practice run. As we were nearly three quarters of the way
through the total entry, we had to wait about an hour for the
Healeysport class to be hitting the track.
As with most circuit based sprints in the UK, the usual format is for one practice run followed by three timed runs. As a championship, we traditionally operate the format of two practice runs and two timed runs - however, as heavy rain was likely to seriously affect our last run, the drivers decided to go with one practice and two timed runs for the championship - if the rain holds off then all are free to take the final run, but it would not count towards the championship.
This event was also classified by our championship as a target time event where the drivers who beat their target by the largest margin win. Target times are issued to all Healeysport drivers before the event, but they are reviewed after the practice run.
As the circuit is so long, at 2.31 miles, there is the chance that a faster driver may catch a slower driver even though they are spaced with a 20 second or so interval. As cars are not allowed to overtake, baulking can occur, meaning the baulked driver usually gets a re-run. The drivers are told to order themselves into the fastest first order to help ensure that baulking is not a problem.
Practice got underway and in the Sprite class after one run, it
was Brett Dillon leading in 108.41 from Steve Casson in 109.59, then
Paul Baker in 110.96, Garrow Shand in 112.91, Monty Hinton (pictured
above on the start line) getting
used to his new Sprite in 113.74 and Rob Owen in 122.97.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class - all the cars went out in class order. Unfortunately, David Lane's Jensen Healey decided to fail out on track which delayed all the other drivers behind him, given they are not allowed to overtake. This affected Michael Berry and Ian Thomas. As it was a practice run, the Clerk of the Course had already made it clear in the Driver's Briefing that re-runs due to baulking would not be given during the practice run. So the actual times given for this class were: Peter Walton leading with a 105.56, Gerry Wilby (pictured right at the chicane) next in 124.43, Simon Warburton in 139.73, Michael Berry 229.87, Ian Thomas 244.31 and David Lane fail.
As it happens, the problem with David's car was the king lead had come loose from the distributor - so, simple to fix and David was back out in time for his next run.
After the practice run, a number of the drivers commented on how
little grip there was in the track - which a spectator
commented on
by saying that were we aware that the pre-war Bentleys had last used
the track - could there be a link!
On to the two timed runs - our first was before lunch and the second just after lunch. In the Sprite class, It was Steve Casson quickest, proving his new rear suspension is working well, with a new personal best time of 104.34, from Paul Baker in 106.06, then Monty Hinton in 110.69 on his first run then his car refused to start, related to a Lithium battery problem that even a jump pack would not resolve - so Monty played no further part. Garrow Shand posted a best time of 111.63, Rob Owen realised his short 4.5 diff was no match for the long straights at Goodwood so ended with a best run time of 120.69 nearly 9 seconds off his previous best time - a 3.9 needed next time. The big problem in the Sprite class was that Brett Dillon's Sprite stopped out on track with no power. His car was towed back to the paddock and after a check was found to have a blown head gasket. Such as shame, as this was a new engine for the start of the season and had only done the Cadwell Park sprint and one lap at Goodwood. Let's hope he gets it fixed for Prescott.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was a battle between the 100
vs the 3000's - with Michael Berry (pictured below) in his 100M posting a
fabulous
100.81 - just 0.06 of a sec off his own course record for this
class. It seemed as if no matter how hard he tried he could
not break the 100 second barrier - well there is always next year.
Right behind him was the 3000 of Peter Walton in his best time of
101.13 and again he was 0.05 of a sec off his previous best time -
and in third place was the 3000 of Ian Thomas in 102.67 who was just
over a second over his previous best time. David Lane was next
in his now working Jensen Healey with a best time of 112.67,
followed by Gerry Wilby in his lightly modified JH in 122.99 and
Simon Warburton in his 100/6 finished with a best time of 130.05.
As this was a target time event, the spreadsheet was fired up and the results calculated as follows:
Sprite class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Garrow Shand, 4th Monty Hinton, 5th Rob Owen, and 6th Brett Dillon
Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Simon Warburton (pictured below right
receiving his prize from Paul Baker), 2nd Peter Walton, 3rd Michael
Berry, 4th David Lane, 5th Ian Thomas,
and 6th Gerry Wilby
What a day. For once, the weather forecast was correct. It was clear that heavy rain would start before our final run, so all of our drivers decided to call it a day as there was no way we could improve on our times with a wet track. So we completed our prize giving and most of us got our cars on trailers before the heavens opened.
Well done to our prize winners and our thoughts go to Lawrence, who I'm sure was watching us today and seeing his car out on one of his favourite tracks without him in it and would have given a wry smile to see Monty achieve a quicker time than he had managed at Goodwood. Monty is becoming a bit of a Goodwood specialist.
Our next event is a double header hill climb at the prestigious Prescott on Saturday/Sunday 23/24 May - please be there if you can to support the drivers.
Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?
If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.
Rounds 2/3 Shelsley Walsh 11/12 April
2026 - "lucky with the weather"
(Report by LC Branch, photos by Jackie Baker and in-car videos supplied by Brett Dillon)
The Teme Valley in the Malvern hills in Worcestershire has been the idyllic setting and home for the historic Shelsley Walsh hill climb for the last 120 years. This incredibly steep strip of tarmac (which had been renewed over the winter period) is 1000 yards of a twisty and narrow track, walled by banks, railway sleepers or Armco barriers. It requires a car with serious horsepower to be quick and in the rain is not a place for the faint hearted. Naturally, this is a challenge that appeals to the Healey hill climbers and is invariably one of our best attended events of the year.
This year we had 18 drivers due on the Saturday and 17 on the Sunday. Unfortunately, our planned position in the paddock was mainly in the uncovered area, however, with some gentle persuasion with the paddock marshal and we were all housed under the covered shelters. This was important because the weather was forecast to be sunshine, some heavy showers and cold on both days. So cover for the open cars at least was required.
Our drivers over this two day event included: the 3000's of local
specialist Richard Mason, Ian Thomas, Peter Walton (Saturday only), Murray Shand and
new driver Warren Beese (pictured below right), the 100's of Mervyn Coxon, John Ducker and Michael Berry, the 100/6 of Simon
Warburton, the Jensen Healeys of David Lane and Gerry Wilby and the
Sprites of Garrow Shand, Richard Salisbury (back out with us after a
year's break), Rob Owen, Mike Mohr (Saturday only), Steve Casson and Paul
Baker. We also expected the Libre class running Sprite of
father and son duo Tony and Ethan Morgan in their recently acquired
Sprite. Unfortunately, Their car
was not ready to bring on
Saturday but appeared on Sunday morning.
As we always try to do something different at this Shelsley weekend - a trophy event was devised covering the two days, with bottles of bubbly to be presented on Sunday afternoon to the top three drivers who end up with the lowest aggregate target time difference at the end of the event. As the Shelsley Cup was unavailable, it will be presented to the eventual winner at Prescott in May.
For this double header, Saturday was set as a scratch event - where the fastest driver wins and Sunday as a Target Time event - where the driver who get closest or beats their target by the biggest amount, over the two days wins.
So read on to find out what happened.
After heavy overnight rain, Saturday morning was wet and
overcast. As practice got underway in the Sprite class, the
drivers were mindful of the Clerk of the Course's advice - that the
track had been recently relaid and the tarmac was still giving off
an oily residue, so that combined with the rain, the track should be
treated with care, especially as there is no run off
on the track,
just Armco barriers and railway sleepers!!
The leading Sprite driver after the two practice runs was Paul Baker in 39.52 secs from Steve Casson (pictured right) - out for the first time this year in his Lenham bodied Sprite with a revised rear suspension that seemed to have corrected all the handling issues that have plagued the car for the last couple of years. As a result, Steve finished practice with a 40.13 and a big smile on his face - watch out the rest of the Sprite drivers as Steve is Back!! Mike Mohr was next in 40.79, then Rob Owen in 42.42, Garrow Shand in 44.49 and Richard Salisbury in 46.13.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was of course local expert
Richard Mason out front in his best time over the two runs of 37.56,
from Pete Walton in a very good time of 38.65, then Ian Thomas in
39.80, next was David Lane in his Gulf liveried Jensen Healey in
41.19, then Murray Shand in his 3000 that was having a series of
electrical and other problems in 42.03, John Ducker (pictured below right) was next back in
his old black and white Healey 100 while his latest green 100 is
being
repaired following an accident at Cadwell Park two weeks prior
- John did a 44.56 to stay ahead of Mervyn Coxon also in a Healey
100 with a time of 45.98. Gerry Wilby was next in his Jensen
Healey in 46.86, from Simon Warburton in the unpainted and shiny
aluminium 100/6 with the new tri-carb engine in 47.54 and Warren
Beese completing the class in his beautifully presented 3000 with
the new engine and gearbox - however, this was Warren's first trip
to Shelsley and the first time on such a steep hill with no run off
- it takes a bit of getting used to - sensibly he took it easy and
learned the track - his time was 55.27.
Saturday was plagued with Red flags due to accidents and incidents - mainly due to the single seater drivers either unable to stay on the track or one that had an engine fire.
After lunch the timed runs got underway. In the Sprite
class, it was Paul Baker who took first place with his best time of
38.10 - some way off his personal best but the changeable weather
conditions meant that the drivers were never quite sure how wet the
track was plus the cold weather meant that the grip from the soft
compound Kumho's was not always there. Next was Steve Casson
in 38.83 greatly pleased with the way his car was handling, then we
had Mike Mohr in 39.64, from Rob Owen in 41.17, then Garrow
Shand
who said he could not get near the times he did there on the Friday
practice day - in 43.44 and Richard Salisbury (pictured right) finished with a best
time of 46.63 - and just pleased to be back out in his Sprite.
In the Big/Jensen Healeys class, Richard Mason also lowered his time to a 37.00 best time some 2.38 secs off his best time at the track and the course record for a Big Healey - if this was a hot a dry summer's day the times would be very different. Ian Thomas leapt into second place with a 38.91 to just get ahead of Pete Walton in 38.99 - so close. David Lane was next in a 40.55 to stay ahead of Murray Shand in 42.90 which he achieved on his first run before mechanical gremlins stopped him getting a second run. John Ducker finished with a 45.78 probably wishing he had his green car for this power track. Likewise, Mervyn Coxon managed to get his time down to a 46.20 saying that he could not get the car to go any faster with only 100bhp and his foot flat to the floor for most of the run. Gerry Wilby managed a 47.96, Simon Warburton a 48.99 and Warren Beese a best time for the day of 51.05, although he was struggling with an electrical problem resulting in his 3000 running on 5 vs 6 cylinders - not ideal on a track like this.
Once the racing was complete, the drivers and partners got
spruced up and went to the Baiting House restaurant which
now
sports a Michelin logo on its menu, for a super meal and evening as
usual. Many thanks to Mark and his team at the Baiting House plus to Helen for
organising it and to Garrow and Murray (pictured right in his 3000)
for transporting most of us - what would we do without the Shands!!
Again, it rained heavily overnight, so the track was wet for at least the first run. Then rained again just before our second practice run, hence our practice runs were slower than Saturdays.
On Sunday morning Tony Morgan and his son Ethan arrived with
their Sprite having spent a huge number of hours trying to get the
car ready to compete. The car was eventually scrutineered and
they were ready to compete. Although running outside our class,
Tony took the car to the start line and unfortunately the engine
failed just as he got away from the start. It would not
restart so was pushed back to the paddock. After trying to
assess the problem, Tony took the view that they could not fix in
the paddock, so it was put on its trailer and taken home. A
great shame as we would have all liked to have seen them enjoying
their Sprite on track and competing with us. Hopefully all the
problems will be fixed before their next outing with us at Goodwood at the beginning of May.
We also gained Michael Berry in his 100M but lost Mike Mohr from the Sprite class and Pete Walton from the Big Healey class.
In the Sprite class, it was Paul Baker just in the lead with a 40.28 from Steve Casson in 40.70, with Rob Owen next in 42.71, then Garrow Shand in 44.76 and Richard Salisbury in 46.36.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason managed a 40.29 also just ahead of Ian Thomas in 40.38, with David Lane (pictured right) next in 42.87. Michael Berry had to get to grips with the resurfaced track and wet conditions for the first time - he posted a very good 42.99. Next was Murray Shand in 44.40 and Mervyn Coxon jumped up the order with a fine 46.25. John Ducker recorded a 47.20 with Simon Warburton in 48.81 and Warren Beese in 51.99.
After lunch the sun came out and the wind blew track dry, so the conditions were good for some
quick times:
In the Sprite class, Paul Baker posted his best time of the weekend with a 37.41 as did Steve Casson with a 38.13 and Rob Owen (pictured right) in 40.84. Garrow Shand ended with a 43.44 and Richard Salisbury with a 46.63.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason recorded his
fastest time of the weekend with a very quick 36.46 from Ian Thomas
in 38.23 and Michael Berry in 39.35 - just ahead of David Lane in
39.63. John Ducker pulled out all the stops and moved back up
the field with a 43.06 - his fastest of the weekend which put him
just ahead of Murray Shand in 43.13. Gerry Wilby posted an
excellent time of 46.22 - the only one to beat his target time.
Mervyn Coxon finished with his best time of 44.49 as did Warren
Beese who broke through the 50 sec barrier for the first time with a
49.56 to be ahead of Simon Warburton who ended with a 49.75.
As this was a target time event, where each driver is given a target time to match their experience and performance of their car, their actual times are then compared against their targets to identify the order - which was:
Sprite Class: 1st Paul Baker (pictured right), 2nd Rob Owen, 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Garrow Shand and 5th Richard Salisbury.
Big/Jensen Healey Class: 1st Gerry Wilby, 2nd Ian Thomas, 3rd Richard Mason, 4th Michael Berry, 5th David Lane, 6th Murray Shand, 7th John Ducker, 8th Warren Beese, 9th Mervyn Coxon and 10th Simon Warburton
The Shelsley Cup award was won by Gerry Wilby (pictured below
receiving a bottle of champagne from Richard Mason)who managed to get
closest to his target time on both days with a
score of +1.34, just beating Paul Baker into second on +2.03, with
fellow Sprite driver Steve Casson in 3rd place on +3.26. Well done to all
three and many thanks to Richard Mason for devising the competition and
providing the bubbly. 
Well, what a weekend - we have been reasonably lucky this year with the weather as most of our runs have been almost dry. As said before, Shelsley Walsh is a fantastic venue but not in the wet, as there are zero run off areas and any mistake is punished with a trip to a hard object. However, apart from the usual array of mechanical maladies, all the cars were put back on their trailers undamaged to fight another day.
Don't forget to look at the in-car videos and also the pictures that Jackie - our intrepid and part mountain goat photographer takes up the hill.
Our next event is a sprint at Goodwood on Saturday 2 May - please be there if you can to support the drivers.
Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?
If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.
Round 1 Cadwell Park 28 March 2026 - "Fabulous Season's Opener"
(Report by LC Branch, photos by Jackie Baker and in-car videos supplied by Brett Dillon)
For our 2026 season's opener, we travelled to Cadwell Park in the picturesque Lincolnshire Wolds just south of Louth. Originally set up as a motorbike race track, this 3 km circuit is often referred to as the 'Nurburgring of the north' due to its hilly setting. It is beautifully looked after with all the facilities and a perfect track surface.
As this was our first visit to this track, BARC Midlands really looked after us by giving us the prime paddock location next to the track.
We had 10 Healeys entered with the 100's of Michael Berry, John
Ducker and Mervyn Coxon, the 3000's of Ian Thomas, Warren Beese and
Peter Walton, the Jensen Healey of David Lane and the Sprites of
Garrow Shand, Brett Dillon and Paul Baker. Both John Ducker
and Michael Berry took part in the wet track day at Cadwell on the
Friday before the sprint, which unfortunately resulted in John
Ducker's 100 hitting the Armco barriers in Hall Bends, so he could
not take part with us on the Saturday. However, both John and Cate
still came to watch all the guys race on Saturday.
Most of the drivers had not been to Cadwell before so they were learning this complex but highly entertaining track. Brett Dillon had circuit raced there last year, Warren Beese had raced motorbikes there many times before but had not been there in his 3000 (pictured right at Chris Curve) and David Lane had raced his Jensen Healey there about 10 years ago in the 70's Roadsport series.
Saturday dawned sunny with a clear blue sky but with a biting northerly wind, resulting in a dry track but it was very cold.
One of our drivers made the fundamental error of leaving his race suit at home -190 miles away!!!! A trip to the race office and all the other Healey drivers and no race suit to be had, as most drivers only bring the one they plan to use. Fortunately, a single-seater driver in another class had a spare with him which was in date and fitted which he happily lent to our very fortunate Healey driver, who had almost resigned himself to spectating the others enjoying themselves.
Practice got underway and after the two practice laps it was
no surprise that it was Brett Dillon in his Sprite with a new and
upgraded 1380 engine produced the quickest time of 102.28.
Paul Baker was next quickest in the Sprite class
with a 117.78 and
Garrow Shand did a 130.90. In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it
was Michael Berry out front with a 103.19, from Ian Thomas in
107.78, Peter Walton in 110.91, David Lane in 115.95, Mervyn Coxon
in 121.49 with Warren Beese just behind him in 121.81.
On to the two timed runs and in the Sprite class it was Brett Dillon who took the top honours with a superb time of 101.02 from Paul Baker in 113.24 and Garrow Shand in 120.56. Like all the drivers new to the track, Paul and Garrow were learning fast and improving with every run, but would need to have a few more runs to get on terms with Brett.
In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Michael Berry (pictured right going through Hall Bends) in first place with an excellent time of 102.44 from Ian Thomas in 105.62 who takes the title of the "quickest learner of the day" using all his rally driving skills to get to that time in 4 runs - really well done. Next was Peter Walton in 107.89, then David Lane in 118.06, Mervyn Coxon in 120.94 and Warren Beese in 121.31.
As a nominated scratch event, the finishing positions were as
follows:
Sprite class: 1st Brett Dillon (pictured right - running wide exiting Mansfield), 2nd Paul Baker and 3rd Garrow Shand.
Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Michael Berry, 2nd Ian Thomas, 3rd Peter Walton, 4th David Lane, 5th Mervyn Coxon and 6th Warren Beese.
As this was our first time at Cadwell Park new records were set for all classes. However, additional points are only awarded for breaking an existing record and not for setting a new one.
Overall, a great day’s sprinting at this classic old British track, albeit a new venue for Healeysport. BARC Midlands did a great job in running the event efficiently to get through this large field of cars in the time available.
Our next event is a double header hill climb at the prestigious Shelsley Walsh event on 11/12th April, so be there if you can as we will have a good field of Healeys for you to see.
Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?
If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.
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