Rounds 7 & 8: Gurston Down, 30 May Chris Merrick scored his maiden Nicholson McLaren MSA British Hill Climb Championship victory in round eight at Gurston Down, more than 11 years after his MSA run-off debut. However, Merrick shares the win with defending champion Scott Moran, both men having posted identical times on the hill. The pair had been first and second in round seven with Moran the sole victor.Merrick’s co-driver Tom New secured third place in both run-offs with Roger Moran, Deryk Young and Trevor Willis filling out the top six on both occasions.Three-time Champion Martin Groves crashed out in his last practice run early on Sunday, with the damage leaving his participation in next week’s meeting at Shelsley Walsh in doubt.Results - round seven1 Scott Moran (3.5 Gould-NME GR61X) 26.52s Fastest Time of the Day 2 Chris Merrick (3.5 Gould-Judd GR55) 26.99s3 Tom New (3.5 Gould-Judd GR55) 27.31s4 Trevor Willis (2.8 OMS-Powertec) 27.02s5 Roger Moran (3.5 Gould-NME GR61X) 27.16s6 Deryk Young (4.0 Gould-Judd GR51) 27.45s7 Rob Turnbull (Gould-Cosworth HB GR55) 27.64s8 Oliver Tomlin (4.0 Pilbeam-Judd EV MP97) 27.93s9 Ash Mason (4.0 Pilbeam-Judd KV MP97) 28.20s10 Andrew Forsyth (3.5 Pilbeam-Cosworth MP58) 28.33s11 Will Hall (1.6 Force Suzuki PC) 28.50s12 Steve  Owen  (1.6 OMS Suzuki CF08) 29.17sResults - round eight1= Merrick & Scott Moran 26.70s3 New 26.82s4 Young 26.99s5 Willis 27.04s6 Roger Moran 27.12s7 Tomlin 27.43s8 Mason 27.44s9 Turnbull 27.5810 Forsyth 28.10s11 Hall 28.54s12 Eynon Price (1.6 Force Suzuki PC) DNS.

Rounds 9 & 10: Shelsley Walsh, 5 June

Championship positions (provisional) after Rounds 7 & 8  1 Scott Moran – 59 points 2 Trevor Willis – 433 Roger Moran – 414 Chris Merrick – 365 Martin Groves – 356 Tom New – 31