2009 Toyota Sprint Series champion Jonny Milner will be unleashing the power of his 700 BHP Toyota Celica GT4 as he attacks the historic Hillclimb at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (2-4 July).
Yorkshireman Milner has been invited by Toyota to take part in the Hillclimb at the world’s largest car event and is hoping that he can improve on last year’s sixth position with a podium place.
The Hillclimb is the Festival of Speed’s principal attraction. Taking place throughout the weekend, the challenging invitation only 1.16-mile course starts as a tree-lined run through the southern corner of the Goodwood Estate which then turns to sweep past the front of Goodwood House before climbing a steep and narrow Estate road towards Goodwood’s equine racecourse on top of the South Downs.
Jonny has prepared the car for the technical and challenging course with a newly developed diffuser kit and additional winglets that help to suck the car to the ground like a Formula 1 car. He will also be using the latest Michelin RC001 rallycross tyres on the BFGoodrich supported car for enhanced grip and superior performance.
Milner will be one of 300 cars and motorbikes that will sprint up the iconic hill daily in the hope of getting a fast enough time to earn a place in the Shoot Out finale on Sunday 4th.
In addition to the Hillclimb event, Milner has also been invited to drive the Toyota Corolla WRC with which he is currently leading the MSA National Gravel Championships around the challenging Forest Rally Stage at the Festival. The stage, designed with the help of former World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola, hosts around 50 cars and top drivers from the history of rallying every year. This year, Jonny is delighted that 66 year old Björn Waldegård, winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979 will be driving his WRC. Jonny explains; “It’s a great honour that Bjorn wants to drive my car. His rallying career spanned four decades and during his time as a Toyota Works Driver, he drove every Toyota rally car with the exception of the Corolla. He won his last rally in 1990, aged 46 and is still the oldest driver to win a World Rally Championship. I’m looking forward to seeing him drive the WRC on the tough 1.67 mile course.”
