This is my third year of competing in the sprint and hillclimb championship. I have previously finished third and forth in class. This year, following a change in class regulations to encourage more standard or mildly tuned cars to compete I am in a new class for roadsports cars. Partially as a result of these changes and the fact that the whole competition is run on a handicap basis I won the first round at Gurston Down. You don't need a special car, mine does 5000-10000 miles a year, in all weather, and is used year-round. I went to work in it the day after Shelsey.

Like many cars, mine was exported to the USA (San Fransisco) in 1964 and imported and restored between 1990-93. The then owner had competition in mind and therefore removed the bumpers and fitted the racing seats, harnesses, and laminated windscreen etc. In the five years I have owned it I have rebuilt the engine, fitted 87mm pistons, diaphragm clutch (all balanced), fast road cam, oil cooler, electric fan, narrow belt conversion (incidentally I have removed the original fan blade and extension and not fitted a harmonic damper - that's tempting fate!) and fast road exhaust system. I have done nothing to the head yet, but plan to improve it and replace the original Stombergs with SUs next year. As I like the look of them I have fitted five and a half inch wires (I think that with the green paintwork the car looks like a 1960s British sports car should) and 185 x 65 Unoroyal tyres. Over the last winter I replaced all the suspension with a fast road Revington kit and that in my mind has made the largest single improvement to the car. The sprint and hillclimb competitors are a great bunch. There is strong competition but plenty of leg pulling and when anyone has a problem we all pitch in to help. The buzz you get from competing is tremendous. I hope anyone reading this who is considering competition is encouraged to give it a go.

Simon Coldbreath - 2003