(Report by LC Branch, photos by Jackie Baker and in-car videos supplied by Brett Dillon)

Our final round of the 2025 season was held at the Curborough sprint track at Fradley, just north of Lichfield in Staffordshire.  It was agreed that this would be a scratch event where the fastest driver wins.

After thirteen rounds, the points position in the Sprite class looked as if Brett Dillon was likely to win it but all could change on the last round depending on how the drivers performed on the day.  In the Big/Jensen Healey class, the top two positions were fairly clear with the two 100 drivers - Michael Berry (pictured right) and John Ducker in 1st and 2nd places respectively, but third place depended on todays result.

It rained heavily overnight but the sun came out early and dried the track quite quickly.  As the day went on the sun got hotter and the afternoon was really quite warm for an end of September day.  Could the records be troubled today - read on to find out.

We had 11 drivers competing, with the 5 Sprites of Garrow and Max Shand, Rob Owen, Brett Dillon (pictured below) and Paul Baker - the 3 100's of John Ducker, Michael Berry and Mervyn Coxon and the 3 3000's of Murray Shand, Pete Walton and Richard Mason.  For the first time this season we had no Jensen Healeys.  We also had Dave and Marius Abram to see how we all got on, with Dave hoping that his Sprite record wasn't beaten and will last another year.  Pat Cooper (holder of the current 3000 course record) and Richard Salisbury also came to see everyone as did Mike Mohr who was supporting a friend with his car, but wished he was out in his Sprite given the excellent conditions.

Curborough is a purpose built sprint track that may not have the prestige of a Shelsley Walsh or Prescott, but its tight and twisty track in the figure of 8 format gives the driver a thorough test and also a reasonable time on track.

So the scene was set for our 2025 season to conclude and the winners decided.

On that topic - our last event of the 2025 season is another MAC run event at the Curborough Sprint track near Lichfield, just off the A38 in Staffordshire on Sunday 28 September (just Google it to find the location).  This event will decide who wins each class and overall driver awards - so be there if you can to support the drivers.  There is no cost to enter the venue and catering etc.. is provided.

Don't forget to look at the in-car videos, as Brett has done a great job in getting no fewer than 9 and also the pictures that Jackie - our intrepid and part mountain goat photographer takes up the hill.

Our next event is a double header at the fabulous Shelsley Walsh hill climb near Worcester, on Saturday/Sunday 13/14 September.  Be there if you can to support the drivers.

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker and Jacob Crees)

It's the beginning of August, so we must be heading for the Brighton & Hove Motor Club's sprint at the world famous Goodwood circuit near Chichester in West Sussex.  The weather was forecast to be cloudy but dry all day and they were spot on this time.

Thirteen drivers were entered in the Healeysport class with the usual mix of Healeys - big and small.  We had the 7 sprites of Max and Garrow Shand, Lawrence Maudsley, Brett Dillon, Steve Casson, Rob Owen and Paul Baker.  We had the sole Healey 100 of Michael Berry (that makes a change this season - as we usually have 2 or 3),   the two Jensen Healeys of David Lane and Gerry Wilby and it was expected we should have the 3 x 3000's of Monty Hinton (pictured below right entering the chicane), Ian Thomas and Peter Walton.  Unfortunately, not far from home Peter's 3000 tried to part company with its exhaust system on the drive down to Goodwood and although some barbed wire was found in a hedgerow to create a temporary fix, it was clearly not suitable for the drive to Goodwood and then race it around the track.  So the 3000 was returned to home and Peter and David switched to a road car to come and watch the Healey drivers tackle the course.

With all the sign-on work now done on-line, all that was left was to get through noise control (very important at Goodwood), 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 - which is the process we applied to this event.

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 time are issued to all Healeysport drivers before the event, but they are reviewed after the two practice runs.

Because 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.

On to practice - after two practice runs in the Sprite class, it was our current course record holder Max Shand out front with a best time of 102.83 from Paul Baker in 106.56, then Brett Dillon (pictured above right) in 107.47 and Steve Casson in 110.76 (pictured below right).  The bonnet side fixings decided to fail on Steve's Lenham bodied Sprite causing the rear opening bonnet to start lifting which resulted in Steve slowing to get the bonnet to drop out of his eye line!!  Large amounts of colour matched duck tape was used to ensure that the problem did not reappear until a more permanent solution is found.  After Steve came Rob Owen in 114.90 then Garrow Shand in 117.41 and then Lawrence Maudsley a whisker behind in 117.44.

Practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class had Ian Thomas out front with a superb time of 101.09 (the course record for the 3000 class is 101.08 - so the smallest margin possible behind and with two timed runs to improve - plus he had the current course record holder - Peter Walton - watching from the sidelines).  Michael Berry was next in a somewhat relaxed time by his standards of 103.62 but he had two timed runs to try and beat his own Healey 100 class record of 101.94.  Monty Hinton was next is a very quick time of 106.93 in his superbly prepared 3000, from David Lane surprisingly tardy in his re-engined Jensen Healey - David explained that he had a huge vibration that meant he had to drive at reduced speed on the straights - which at Goodwood is most of the track!! (David later explained that he had not noticed that his two front tyres both had flat spots - so hence the big vibration). Gerry Wilby in the more road going Jensen Healey, finished practice with a best time of 120.78.

Lunch followed practice and it gave us all the opportunity to watch and listen to the two Spitfires that were taking fortunate passengers for a ride around the Isle of Wight and back, from the airfield in the centre of the track.

After lunch, the timed runs got underway.  In the Sprite class, it was Max Shand (pictured right) who succeeded on his second timed run to break his own course record by 0.18 secs to finish with a fabulous 100.28 - well done Max.  Brett Dillon shows he is a person to watch on circuits as he lowered his personal best by nearly 3 secs to finish with a superb 102.87.  The next two drivers were trading places all through the day and finished 0.02 secs apart - I am of course referring to Paul Baker and Steve Casson.  With Steve's car issues behind him he finished with a new pb time of 104.88 only to lose out to Paul who managed a 104.86 - also a pb.  Garrow Shand also lowered his personal best by nearly 2 secs to finish with a very good 109.50.  Rob Owen had a previous best time of 120.29 but then blitzed it with his best time of 111.81 - well done Rob.  Lawrence had been through a lot to get to this event and must have savoured the chance of a re-run after being baulked on his last run - it enabled him to finish with 113.71.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Michael Berry (pictured right) who broke his own course record for a Healey 100 with a superb 100.75 final run.  In fact, Michael's new record is faster than the 3000 record - is that a record!!  Ian Thomas promised so much with his 101.09 practice run but found it harder in the afternoon to beat, ending with a new pb time of 101.42 - still, a excellent time in a car that had been converted from sprint spec to rally spec i.e. the car should be slower.  Monty Hinton was next in an excellent time of 105.36 - so much faster than the times he used to achieve in his Sprite.  David Lane took the "Mr Consistent" award with three out of his four runs in the 117 secs - finishing with a best time of 117.26 - way off his pb with a trip to Mr Tyre required next week.  Like Ian, Gerry Wilby also did his fastest time in practice and finished with a 120.97.

As this was a target time event, the spreadsheet was fired up and the results calculated as follows:

Sprite class:  1st Garrow Shand (pictured below right), 2nd Brett Dillon, 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Rob Owen, 5th Paul Baker, 6th Max Shand and 7th Lawrence Maudsley.

Our next event is a double header at the fabulous Loton Park hill climb near Shrewsbury, on Saturday/Sunday 23/24 August.  Be there if you can to support the drivers.

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)

Our last foray to Castle Combe was in 2019 with a meagre entry of 3 cars ( 2 x 3000's and a Sprite).  This year we returned to this fabulous Wiltshire circuit with an eclectic mix of 11 cars - including the 3 Sprites of Brett Dillon (pictured right), Garrow Shand and Paul Baker, the 2 x 3000's of Huw Edwards and Peter Walton, the 3 x 100's of Mervyn Coxon, John Ducker and Michael Berry, the 2 Jensen Healeys of Gerry Wilby and David Lane, and the 'Tango' Sprite of Nav Bhamra in the Libre class.

For no fewer than seven of the drivers, it was their first time at this challenging circuit, although some had done a track day at the venue to prepare themselves.

The weather was largely overcast with the occasional threat of a shower which did not amount to much and did not dampen the track.

After getting through scrutineering and an overly aggressively managed driver's briefing, practice got underway.  Although Castle Combe officially classified the first run as practice and the next three as timed runs, we counted the first two runs as practice and the final two as timed runs.  This event was also being run as a scratch event, where the fastest driver wins.

After practice in the Sprite class, it was Brett Dillon who was quickest with a very quick time of 74.59 - an excellent result given he had not seen the track before.  Paul Baker was next in 76.61 as he had last been round this track 9 years before.  Garrow Shand - also new to Combe - was going quicker on every run and finished practice with an 86.48.

Practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class, saw Michael Berry quickest with an excellent time of 73.21 which actually broke the current Healey 100 record set by James Pugh-Lewis in 2013 of 74.67.  However, for the record to stand, Michael would have to break the record in the timed runs - read on to find out if he did.  Next was Peter Walton in his 3000 with his sights set on the 3000 record of 72.31 set by Jack Chatham in 2013.  Peter posted a reasonable time of 75.51 or was he just holding back? Next was David Lane in his Jensen Healey in a best time of 81.01 already quicker than his JH class record he set in 2017.  Next was John Ducker (pictured above right) in his new for this year, Healey 100 in Aston Martin green - a car that get many admiring looks from many drivers and spectators - unfortunately on John's first run, being new to Combe, he missed the entry to the second chicane and took to the slip road, but instead of continuing via staggered bollards, he stopped, turned around and went back to take the chicane properly.  Of course, by now he had Pete Walton (pictured right) coming up behind him.  The marshals had seen the situation and red flagged Pete so he slowed and waited for John to get back on track. Not surprisingly, Pete was grateful for the extra run he got for being red flagged!!  After all this John completed his second run without incident in 85.91 which was exactly the same time that Mervyn Coxon achieved in his Healey 100.  Gerry Wilby in his Jensen Healey was also new to Combe and he finished with a best time of 89.21.  Huw Edwards has been to Combe many times and posted a gentle 96.91.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra was learning the track and recorded a best practice time of 84.67.

After lunch the timed runs got underway and in the Sprite class the results were as follows:

Brett Dillon shows that he has a natural ability on the circuits to quickly learn a track and get the best out of his Sebring Sprite.  He lowered his time further to finish with a very quick time of 73.40 - so what will he achieve the next time we go there?  Next was Paul Baker who took nearly 3 secs of his previous best time in his Sprite (set in 2014) with a very good new pb time of 74.54.  Garrow Shand was also new to the track and took big chunks of time off to finish with his best time of 80.90.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Peter Walton who pulled out all the stops to record a stunning 71.71 run to beat his own pb by over 3 secs and also beat the Jack Chatham record of 72.31 - well done Peter and maybe Jack would like to come back next year and see if he could reset his old record at his local track? Michael Berry did a stunning last run to break the Healey 100 class record by over 1.5 secs by recording a 72.99 - a superb effort. Not to be outdone, David Lane (pictured right) broke his own Jensen Healey record with a 79.97 - well done David - despite having huge vibration through suspected unbalanced rear wheels. In the battle between the 100's of Mervyn Coxon and John Ducker it was John Ducker who prevailed this time with his best time of the day in 81.32 with Mervyn just behind in 83.02.  Gerry Wilby lowered his best time to an 86.07 and Huw Edwards completed all his runs with a best time of 93.03.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra finished with his best time of the day in 80.86 and created a new Libre record for this track.

So, the finishing order of this Saturday scratch event was as follows:

Sprite class:  1st Brett Dillon, 2nd Paul Baker and 3rd Garrow Shand.

Big/Jensen Healey class:  1st Peter Walton, 2nd Michael Berry, 3rd David Lane, 4th John Ducker, 5th Mervyn Coxon, 6th Gerry Wilby and 7th Huw Edwards.

Libre Class:  1st Nav Bhamra (pictured right)

Overall, we had a fabulous day's sprinting at this picturesque track in Wiltshire.  With three broken class records and a new Libre class record it shows that after a 6 year break from coming to Castle Combe the cars and drivers have improved no end.  This has been great practice for Goodwood next Saturday, which is a similar airfield perimeter track.

As said before, our next event is a one day sprint at Goodwood, on Saturday 2 August.  Be there if you can to support the drivers.

(Report by LC Branch and photos by Jackie Baker)

The weather was forecast to be wet at Gurston on the Saturday and dry-ish on the Sunday - but fortunately, the forecasters were wrong and we had a short shower on Saturday and nothing on the Sunday.  We were lucky, because big black clouds missed us all day on Sunday. 

We had 11 drivers taking part on the Saturday and 10 on the Sunday for this double header event at the fabulous BARC Gurston Down hill climb venue just south west of Salisbury in Wiltshire.

There were the five Sprites of Steve Casson, Brett Dillon, Rob Owen, Phil Gardner and Paul Baker.  The 3000 of Peter Walton on the Saturday only, the 100/6 of Simon Warburton, the 100's of John Ducker and Michael Berry and the 2 Jensen Healeys of Gerry Wilby and David Lane.

It all started with Simon Warburton arriving on Friday with his 100/6 on his trailer, only to find that the SU fuel pump was leaking fuel badly, so a call was made to Phil Gardner to see if he could bring a spare BN4 SU gasket or pump.  Phil brought both which in the end were not needed as a liberal amount of PTFE tape solved the problem as a temporary fix until Simon could get the car home and change the gasket.  Just a great example of how the Healey drivers help each other to keep these old cars running.

This year the Healey drivers were given paddock spaces in the farmyard, backing onto old barns with Swallows (pictured right) nesting in them. So we spent the weekend, between runs, watching the aerial antics of these fantastic flyers as they brought food in for their young.

Saturday was a scratch event, where the fastest driver wins and Sunday a Target Time event where the drivers who beats their target by the largest margin win.

Saturday dawned overcast with a damp track.  Gurston had a full entry of 150 cars competing, with the Healey class near the front end of each run.  So how did our intrepid hill climbers get on - well read on.

In the Sprite class it was a re-invigorated Steve Casson who tied with Paul Baker on 40.37 to lead the class, from Brett Dillon in 42.46 (already faster than his previous best time from his first outing here last year), and Phil Gardner and Rob Owen within a whisker of each other in 43.18 and 43.39 respectively.

Practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class had Michael Berry (pictured right scanning the results of his run) a tad ahead of Pete Walton in 40.46 and 40.58 respectively, from David Lane in 41.95, John Ducker in 43.65, Gerry Wilby in 48.47 and Simon Warburton in 50.04.

Then the rain started over the lunch break but soon ended - then the sun came out and dried the track.

The timed runs in the Sprite class saw Paul Baker (pictured right) edge ahead with a best time of 39.84, from Brett Dillon reduced his practice time by 2 secs to set a new pb time of 40.91 to take second place from Steve Casson who had a few gear change issues to finish with a best of 41.89.  Rob Owen was next with a new pb time of 42.38 (also 2 secs off his previous best) then Phil Gardner in 43.18.

The timed runs in the Big/Jensen Healey class had the top three cars within 0.40 second and a change of lead with Pete Walton winning with a best time of 40.18 from David Lane in 40.49 and Michael Berry (hampered by his gear lever jumping out of 1st - so using 2nd off the line) finished with a best time of 40.61.  Then came John Ducker in 43.06 in his 100 (freshly produced for this season) - some 2 secs quicker than his old 100.  Gerry Wilby (back from his travels around Europe with his Daughter) finished with a best time of 48.95, from Simon Warburton still trying to sort the issues on his freshly prepared 100/6  for this season in 50.52 - some 2.5 secs faster that his best time last year in his 100.

So, the finishing order of this Saturday scratch event was as follows:

Sprite class:  1st Paul Baker, 2nd Brett Dillon, 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Rob Owen and 5th Phil Gardner.

Big/Jensen Healey class:  1st Pete Walton (pictured right), 2nd David Lane, 3rd Michael Berry, 4th John Ducker, 5th Gerry Wilby and 6th Simon Warburton.

Once the racing was complete, the drivers and partners enjoyed a refreshing glass of champagne and a slice of excellent Victoria sponge cake to celebrate Rob Owen's birthday (pictured right).  After a freshen up, most of the drivers were booked into the restaurant at the Queens Head in Broad Chalke for a meal and a few drinks - also organised by Rob Owen as he was staying at the pub.  The food was very good, as usual.

Overnight there was heavy rain, so the track was damp for the opening runs up the hill.

Practice in the Sprite class ended with Steve Casson out front with his quickest run of the weekend of 39.86 which put a big smile on his face after the problems he has had with his car.  Paul Baker was now starting to make errors and finished with a slower time of 40.07 to stay 1 second ahead of Brett Dillon in 41.07.  Rob Owen lowered his pb again with a 42.08 and Phil Gardner ended practice with a 43.83.

The Big/Jensen Healey class, lost the 3000 of Pete Walton as he had to head home, so Michael Berry led the class with his best time of the weekend in 40.28 from David Lane in 40.80 and John Ducker in 43.18.  Gerry Wilby lowered his best time to a 48.35 and Simon Warburton ended with a best time of 50.26.

At the end of practice, our target time setter remotely reviewed all the target times and adjusted those that need a fine tune - some up and some down.

On to the timed runs after lunch and in the Sprite class it was Paul Baker leading with a best time of 39.33 - a fraction over his personal best time, from Steve Casson who ended with a 39.71 - a new personal best in this car.  Next was Brett Dillon who also set a new pb of 40.47 from Rob Owen who almost equaled the pb he set on Saturday with a 42.39.  Phil Gardner finished with his best time of the weekend in 44.08.

Now on to the Big/Jensen Healey class where all the drivers either set a new class record or a new personal best time.  It was David Lane (pictured right) who was quickest with an excellent 39.95 to break the Jensen Healey class record by 0.02 secs - the first time he had broken the 40 second barrier at Gurston - well done David. Michael Berry was next with a superb time of 40.54 to break the Healey 100 record for this course by 0.05 secs - an excellent feat given his difficulty with first gear. John Ducker broke his pb by over a second to finish with a 42.05.  Gerry Wilby also broke his pb with an excellent 46.97 as did Simon Warburton as he broke the 50 second barrier with a 49.27 and a new pb.  Well done all.

As this was a target time event, the spreadsheet was fired up and the results calculated as follows:

Sprite class:  1st Brett Dillon (pictured right), 2nd Paul Baker, 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Rob Owen and 5th Phil Gardner.

Big/Jensen Healey class:  1st John Ducker (pictured below right), 2nd Gerry Wilby, 3rd David Lane, 4th Simon Warburton and 5th Michael Berry.

What an excellent weekend's hill climbing at this extremely well organised venue.  The competition could not have been closer, with fine margins between the top three in each class.  We also had two new class records (Jensen Healey and Healey 100) to show how hard the drivers are trying to beat each other.  Many thanks to Rob Owen for supplying the cake and bubbly and also arranging the dinner on Saturday. 

Huge congratulations to Brett and John for winning their classes and a big thank you to Brett for taking over responsibility for the in-car videos from Steve.  You will see that there are no fewer than 7 in-car videos for you to see how to tackle this hill in a 3000, 100M, Sprite or Jensen Healey - you're spoilt for choice!!  Click on the Gallery link below so see them and all the photographs.

Our next event, is a one day sprint at Castle Combe, also in Wiltshire, on Saturday 26th July.  Be there if you can to support the drivers.

(Report by LC Branch with photos by Jackie Baker)

The Healey hill climbers travelled to Harewood in Yorkshire for this fabulous hill climb.  Set in stunning countryside, the longest hill climb in the UK is a real treat, especially when the weather is good - unfortunately, it was wet on Saturday morning but dried up for a sunny afternoon.  Sunday was cold and windy, with a few showers just before lunch and largely dry in the afternoon - so overall, not too bad.

As last year, the entry for this ever popular event sold out in a matter of hours, yet most of the Healeysport drivers were on the ball and so we had a reasonable entry of 11 drivers taking part in this two day weekend event.  Unfortunately, this event clashed with the Healey race at Silverstone on the Saturday which drew away a number of our drivers who were either driving or watching this one off race on the Saturday.  So we had the Sprites of Steve Casson, Paul Baker, Rob Owen and Garrow Shand, the 100's of John Ducker, Mervyn Coxon and Michael Berry (Sunday only for Michael), the 3000's of Richard Mason and Murray Shand and the Jensen Healey of David Lane.

Saturday was run on scratch i.e. the quickest driver wins their class with Sunday our Target Time event, where each driver is given a target that matches their experience and the ability of their car.  The driver beating their target by the biggest margin, wins.

We were also joined by Martin Berry - pictured right (no relation to Michael) who used to compete in the Healeysport hill climb championship between 2002 and 2008.  Who had driven across the Pennines from Accrington to see us at Harewood.  Many will remember Martin.  He still has his 3000 and is in the process of getting it road going again - so you never know, we may see Martin and his partner Janet again!!

Saturday morning practice got underway in the wet and in the Sprite class after two runs it was Paul Baker out front with a best time of 76.96, from Steve Casson in 80.34, Garrow Shand in 80.77 and Rob Owen in 81.32.  In the Big/Jensen Healey class it was Richard Mason quickest with a best time of 76.91, from Murray Shand in 77.46, Mervyn Coxon in 83.65, David Lane in 86.09, John Ducker in 88.75 and Simon Warburton in 89.08.

As the drivers had all behaved themselves and stayed on the track, the organisers were ahead of schedule and started the timed runs before lunch.  This coincided with the rain stopping and the sun coming out so the track started to dry.  In the Sprite class, it was Paul Baker who took the class win with a best time from the first two runs of 69.56, from Steve Casson in 70.18, then Garrow Shand in 71.97 and Rob Owen in 72.30.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Richard Mason who took the top slot with a best time of 70.37 from Murray Shand in his 3000 with a best time of 72.45 which was also a new pb.  David Lane knocked nearly 12 secs off his practice time to finish with a 74.89 - a whisker off his personal best.  John Ducker ended with a 77.04 to stay just ahead of fellow 100 driver Mervyn Coxon in a new pb time of 79.90.  Simon Warburton was less happy with the performance of his 100/6 as his best time of 88.11 was slower than his time in his Healey 100.

So the finishing order for this scratch event was:

Sprite class: 1st Paul Baker, 2nd Steve Casson, 3rd Garrow Shand and 4th Rob Owen.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Richard Mason (pictured right), 2nd Murray Shand, 3rd David Lane, 4th John Ducker, 5th Mervyn Coxon and 6th Simon Warburton.

As the organisers had stayed ahead of schedule they offered an extra timed run, which would not count for the Healeysport championship but would be useful practice given the track was now fully dry.  It was also made clear to the Healey drivers that their third run times would be taken into account when setting their targets for the following day.  All the drivers took part and the times for most tumbled further.  In the Sprite class Paul Baker got close to his pb with a much improved 68.33, Steve Casson likewise, with a 69.62, Garrow Shand posted an improved 71.34 and Rob Owen went slower.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, Richard Mason broke into the 69's with a 69.21, Murray Shand went marginally slower, David Lane took another 4 seconds off his best time earlier to record a fantastic 70.93 and a pb.  John Ducker did a very good 75.15, Mervyn Coxon tried too hard and went off the track and Simon Warburton lowered his time to an 86.66.

After the racing had finished, all thoughts of hill climbing were moved to one side, as all the Healey drivers and partners were invited to the annual Duckers Cocktail bar - set up in the paddock car park.  John and Cate (pictured right) surpassed themselves with food and drinks, plus this year's specialties of Harvey Wallbangers (vodka, Galliano and orange juice) and games usually seen at village fetes - namely "Splat the Rat", Throw the horse shoes and a variety of other games.  All those present took part until we all had to leave to get ready for dinner that was arranged at the Harewood Arms hotel.  A great job was done by Helen Shand who organised the dinner and made sure that everyone remembered what they had previously ordered.

Sunday morning broke with a cold brisk wind.  The clouds looked ominous with rain expected later. 

Throughout the weekend we all amazed at the aerial antics of the resident Red Kites (pictured right), who kept us all in awe of their size and agility.

We were joined by Michael Berry in his Healey 100M with glowing tales of the Healey race with 42 race Healeys on the full grand prix circuit at Silverstone the previous day.  Michael had managed to get an entry for the Sunday at Harewood and had driven up from Silverstone on Saturday evening.  He had not had time to change his diff from the 3.9 he had used for the wide open spaces of Silverstone, which would not be ideal for the tight, twisty and steep hill that is Harewood.  It was also a shame that Brett Dillon could not get an entry for the Sunday event as he also had competed at Silverstone and wanted to be at Harewood in his Sprite as well, but unfortunately no space could be found.

As Sunday practice got underway in the Sprite class, it was Paul Baker quickest with a best from his two runs of 68.64, from Steve Casson next with a 70.09, then Rob Owen in 72.47 and Garrow Shand in 73.73.

Practice in the Big/Jensen Healey class, had Richard Mason out front with a 70.20, from Michael Berry in 74.00 with a fail on his second run, then Murray Shand in 74.14, John Ducker in 74.72, David Lane in 75.15 also with a fail on his second run, from Mervyn Coxon in 78.25 and Simon Warburton 84.20.

You have to remember, that Sunday is a target time event where the winner is not necessarily the fastest driver but the driver who gets closest to their target time.

Due to the number of cars off the track the organisers decided to have lunch then start the timed runs.

So after lunch the Healeys were in the first batch out with the track dry and two runs to decide who wins.

In the Sprite class, it was Paul Baker out front with a slightly slower time of 68.75. Next was Steve Casson in 70.20 with Garrow Shand just behind in 70.76 and Rob Owen in 71.75.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Richard Mason topping the charts with a very good 69.61, from the next 3 cars in the 72 second mark.  Michael Berry finished with a 72.18, from Murray Shand in 72.34, with David Lane a whisker behind in 72.36.  John Ducker finished with a pb of 73.44 knocking over a second off his pb.  Mervyn Coxon knocked over 3 seconds off his pb to end with a superb 78.02 and a pb, with Simon Warburton finishing with his best time of the weekend in a new pb time of 83.50.

Given it was a target time event, the spreadsheet came out to calculate the final positions - and they were:

Sprite class: 1st Garrow Shand (pictured above right), 2nd Rob Owen, 3rd Paul Baker, 4th Steve Casson.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Mervyn Coxon (pictured below right), 2nd John Ducker, 3rd Murray Shand, 4th Simon Warburton, 5th Richard Mason, 6th Michael Berry and 7th David Lane.

All the prizes were presented by Richard Mason and Helen Shand.

Overall, a great weekend's hill climbing at this long and challenging venue.  Huge congratulations to Garrow Shand and Mervyn Coxon for winning their classes.

Our next event is another double header at the Gurston Down hill climb near Salisbury in Wiltshire on 5/6 July, so be there if you can make it.

(Report by Lance Nutstrap with photos by Colin Gale & Brett Dillon)

For our second and third rounds of 2025, Healeysport headed to the famous Prescott Hill in the glorious countryside of the Cotswold's to take part in the Prescott Historique.  The Bugatti owners club must appreciate our collection of Healey’s and how graceful we might look flying up the hill, that they invited us for the fourth year in a row.  There was a promise of aerial fly pasts and guest cars and sheds racing up the hill to add a sense of occasion.  As in previous years there was a sizable crowd to watch us all make our way up the famous hill.

We had slightly more attending than our first round, with 20 Healey drivers in total covering all models.  We had the 7 Sprites of Rob Owen, Max and Garrow Shand, Brett Dillon, Steve Casson, Mike Mohr and Phil Gardner.  We had the 3 Healey 100's of Michael Berry, Mervyn Coxon and John Ducker, with a special mention to the ‘new’ car John brought along for its first outing.  The car looked glorious in Aston Martin racing green and certainly drew admiring looks from the passing crowds (See John's new 100 pictured right).  Simon Warburton joined us in his recently finished 100/6 in polished aluminium (pictured below right).  We also had the 6 3000's of Peter Walton, Will Richards, Richard Mason, Monty Hinton, Ian Thomas and Murray Shand.  David Lane was joined by Gerry Wilby in the Jensen Healeys.  Unfortunately, Huw Edwards had to withdraw due to technical issues.

The forecast for the weekend had been changing all week and we all expected some showers on Saturday but then a clearer sunny day for Sunday.  We got something like that with scattered light-ish showers both days.  The track was essentially a bit damp for the morning runs where everyone was understandably cautious but dried up for the timed runs in the afternoons.

So, after two Saturday morning practice runs, we had a clear front runner in the Sprite class with Max Shand in a best time of 54.20 nearly 2.5 seconds ahead of Rob Owen in 56.67 (new engine going well though), Mike Mohr in 57.09, Steve Casson in 57.75, Garrow Shand in 57.82, Brett Dillon in 57.88 and Phil Gardner in 57.90.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, things were a bit closer, with the fastest three in the 53’s straight away and headed by Michael Berry with a best time of 53.19, followed closely behind by Ian Thomas in 53.30, Peter Walton in 53.86.  Then we had Will Richards in 54.17, Richard Mason in 54.23, David Lane in 56.71, Murray Shand in 58.00, John Ducker in 60.35, Mervyn Coxon in 61.76, Gerry Wilby in 64.23, Monty Hinton in 66.93 and Simon Warburton with a 73.48 who appeared to have some teething issues in his new car.

We were treated to a fly past over the track by the Avro Lancaster, circling three times and getting closer to the ground with each pass.  The last one was something to behold, low enough to not just hear but feel the engines.  Great!!

After the lunch break and demonstration runs, included a shed going up the hill, it was time for our first timed runs of the day.  Continuing his practice run form earlier Max (pictured right) topped the timings with a 52.70 which was a new PB, followed by Bretto with another PB of 54.04 who couldn’t improve on his first run. Third was Steve who was just three hundredths behind Bretto with a time of 54.07 (he certainly took it well though).  Rob finished with a 54.45, Mike in 54.84, Garrow in 55.70 and Phil in 58.57.

Then it was time for the Big/Jensen Healey class.  It was all very close, yet we saw a change in order from the morning practice, with Peter finding more time than the others and finished with a time of 52.24 - just outside his personal best.  Michael had his fastest time on his first run with a 52.41, maybe pushing too hard on his second run and was slower.  Richard improved his position from the morning and finished with a 52.52.  Ian recorded a new PB of 52.94 and the top four cars were all within 0.75 of a second.  Will also finished with a PB of 53.91. David had a better first run with 54.18 also a PB, Murray had a PB with 57.05, John in 58.04, Mervyn a PB in 60.81, Gerry with a PB in 62.28 nearly 3 secs better than ever before, Monty a PB in  63.03 and Simon 70.40 who was over three secs quicker than the morning practice.

The finishing order of this scratch event was:

Sprite class: 1st Max Shand, 2nd Brett Dillon, 3rd Steve Casson, 4th Rob Owen, 5th Mike Mohr, 6th Garrow Shand and 7th Phil Gardner.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1st Peter Walton, 2nd Michael Berry, 3rd Richard Mason, 4th Ian Thomas (pictured right), 5th Will Richards, 6th David Lane, 7^th Murray Shand, 8^th John Ducker, 9th Mervyn Coxon. 10th Gerry Wilby and 11th Monty Hinton and 12^th Simon Warburton.

As soon as the first day’s play was over, cake and drinks were provided to celebrate the birthdays of Trish, Keith and Garrow.  Much merriment was had before a dinner at a local hotel recommended by Steve and expertly organised by Rich Salisbury. 

Overnight there was rain and at the start of the day a fair amount of wind had dried the ground but until we went up the hill and took on the Esses under tree cover, we wouldn’t know what we were facing.  As it happened the day seemed to be littered with red flags as drivers had issues negotiating several other corners.

We were down by two drivers for the second day, with Mike Mohr and Peter Walton leaving us for more important things to do.

Sunday was a target time event, where times are set for each driver. Driver's times were reviewed after the mornings practice sessions to hopefully give everyone an even chance come the timed runs in the afternoon.

Practice sessions got under way and in the Sprite class it was Bretto (pictured right) who was fastest outright with a new PB time of 52.73 which meant his target time was cut.  Close behind in second was Max with 52.76, third was Steve in an improved 53.49, then Garrow, who couldn’t improve on his first run finished with a 56.62.  Next was Rob in 56.15, and Phil with a 56.74.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was a similar story with most drivers going faster on their second practice run.  Ian topped the timings with a 51.71, Michael came next with a run that would have beaten the class record, with a 51.80, to count it he would have go as fast in the timed runs.  Third fastest was Richard with 52.17, then Will in 53.29, David in 54.26, Murray in 55.06, John in 58.66, Gerry in 60.61, Mervyn in 61.09 and Simon with a 68.53.

During the lunch break there was a poignant moment as everyone observed a minutes silence in memory of the two motorsport drivers who lost their lives the day before doing what they love. 

After lunch the timed runs commenced and as this was a target time event the winners would be based on the biggest difference from their best run against their given target time.

In the Sprite class, it was Max who went fastest with a best time of 52.12, second was Bretto in another PB of 52.66, third Steve with a 53.33, then Garrow with a PB of 53.70, Rob in 54.32 and Phil 56.78.

In the Big/Jensen class, the imperious top two swapped from the morning practice and it was Michael (pictured right) who went fastest with a new Healey 100 class record of 51.24, really well done, as that record has stood for 12 years!  Second fastest was Ian in a superb 51.51, followed by Richard in 52.24, Will in 53.37, Murray in a PB of 53.73 and David in 55.47 on his first run, then failed with an off on his second run - obviously trying hard.  John Ducker finished with a PB of 56.45, Mervyn in a PB of 59.95, Gerry in a PB of 60.22 and Simon in 68.66 - his quickest time of the weekend.

As this was a Target Time event, the abacuses were brought out and heads banged until a winner was found.  In the Sprite class, it was Garrow Shand who managed to beat his target time by nearly 2 seconds on his last run, nobody saw that one coming.  In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was John Ducker in his new Healey 100 that managed to beat his target by a second and half, who knows what can be achieved next time out?

The full results for this target time event were:

Sprites: 1^st Garrow Shand, 2^nd Rob Owen, 3^rd Max Shand, 4^th Bretto Dillon, 5^th Phil Gardner, 6^th Steve Casson.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1^st John Ducker, 2^nd Murray Shand, 3^rd Michael Berry, 4^th Mervyn Coxon, 5^th Ian Thomas, 6^th Will Richards. 7^th Gerald Wilby, 8^th Richard Mason, 9^th David Lane, 10^th Simon Warburton.

The prizes were presented by Suzy Borenius and all the pictures (taken by Bretto) of those receiving the awards can be seen in the gallery.

Our next event is a double header hill climb at Harewood on 6/7 June, so be there if you can as we will have a good field of Healey’s for you to see.

(Report by LC Branch with photos by Jackie Baker)

Our first round of 2025 and the first time that we have run the championship at Mallory Park.  As a result, most of the drivers had not been to the venue before, although some had recently entered a track day to understand how it flowed.  This gave them a fractional advantage although three chicanes had subsequently been added which changed the track significantly.

This was also the return of the Bentley Drivers Club to arranging sprints after their last sprint at MIRA in 2019.  They had clearly been successful selling this event as they had 163 cars competing - exceeding their expectation.

We had a good attendance of 14 Healey drivers, with the 5 Sprites of Rob Owen, Max and Garrow Shand, Brett Dillon and Paul Baker.  We had the 3 Healey 100's of Michael Berry, Mervyn Coxon and John Ducker. The 4 3000's of Peter Walton (pictured above right hopping over the rumble strip), Will Richards, Huw Edwards and one of our new drivers Warren Beese in his beautifully presented, ex-Australian race BJ8 (pictured below right).  David Lane was the sole Jensen Healey and Nav Bhamra was in the Libre Class with the famous 'Tango'.

The format of the event was similar to Goodwood, with the cars starting from the exit of the paddock, negotiating 3 added chicanes and finishing shortly after the hairpin, returning back into the paddock at the end of the start/finish straight.

The weather forecast had not been good all week but come Saturday morning it was cloudy, dry and warm with occasional sunshine.  The track was dry all day and as a result provided good grip - so perfect conditions for sprinting. 

Practice got underway and in the Sprite class and it was Max Shand out front with a best time from his two runs of 64.71 from Brett Dillon in 66.07, then Paul Baker in 69.22, Garrow Shand in 72.12 and Rob Owen in 72.23.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Michael Berry leading in a best time of  66.19 from Will Richards in his 3000 in 66.78 (the planned outing of his 100 had to be delayed due to outstanding issues).  Peter Walton was next with a best time of 67.16 to stay ahead of David Lane in 71.28, John Ducker in 77.77, Mervyn Coxon in 78.57, Huw Edwards in 81.00 and Warren Beese managed a best time of 86.19.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra's Sprite was not going well.  It was having serious ignitions problems and finished with a best time of 81.80 (Pictured right in the process of spinning at the Gerards chicane - see the whole set on the Gallery page).

After lunch the timed runs got underway.