The Wiscombe Park season has drawn to a close for 2024 with a hectic two weekends of action which also included a finale involving motorbikes and sidecars.

The two-day Five Clubs event brought together the fastest South West drivers competing for Rounds 7 and 8 of the Wiscombe Park Championship and two rounds of the Fusion Fostering ASWMC Hillclimb Championship.

Unfortunately, the weather played a role, making the already challenging course very difficult once the rain descended.

Despite the conditions, the drivers put in some great performances with Ottery St Mary-based Ed Hollier setting the fastest time on both days in his Force HC single-seater racing car.

The following weekend it was the turn of the MG Car Club SW Centre to hold their one-day event.

This event has a long tradition at Wiscombe Park – it was first staged in 1972. There were MG cars competing that represented 70 years of this famous marque, from James Burmester’s 1934 MG PA through to the MG TF160 of Martin Chivers and MG ZR160 of Max Tyler – both produced in 2003.

It was Ben Rolls who took the MG Car Club Speed Championship honours winning the class with a time of 43.48s in his Austin Healey Sebring S – a new personal best time for Ben.

There were also a number of other Championships being contested including the Classic Marques Sports Car Club Speed Championship; National Historic Speed Championship; Triumph TR Register Hillclimb Championship and the CSA Service Group Ferrari Hillclimb Championship. The exotic Ferrari’s were a real crowd pleaser – the first time the marque has competed at Wiscombe for many years.

The MG CC event also hosted the final round of the Wiscombe Tillicoultry Quarries Championship.

It was very close at the top, with the championship leader going into the weekend, Julian Rinaldi, winning his class, but losing out on the title.

Plymouth motor engineer Ian Ingleheart clinched the title – his sixth – by also winning his Class and setting a new Record – 39.64s - breaking the record he set earlier in the season.

In a perfect end to his season, it was Ed Hollier who again set the fastest time of the day – 35.29s - also a new class record. This brings Ed’s tally of Wiscombe FTD’s for 2024 to seven.

The following day, the hill was taken over by two and three wheel machines when the members of the National Hill Climb Association held their Arnold Gimblett event.

The crowd were treated to a great display of speed and balance as competitors tackled the tortuous course on a wide variety of machines.

The honour of FTD went to the current NHCA National Champion, Tom Short, riding a KTM SMR who set a new Outright Hill Record of 39.93s. He then completed his weekend by also winning the Top Ten Run Off from Jimmy Hodges and Tommy Hodges.

Wiscombe Park has already announced its 2025 calendar of events which starts on April 26/27 with the Woolbridge MC Spring meeting.

Season tickets will be on sale in November. For all the latest Wiscombe news please visit the website www.wiscombepark.co.uk and Facebook page.