The Wiscombe Park speed hillclimb course is the scene for the second round of the John Cooper Challenge on Sunday 25 April. The only hillclimb in the championship calendar will take nearly 30 MINIs to the challenging Devon venue for an assault on the 1000-yard course.
Fresh from their respective victories in the opening sprint at Lydden on 10 April, Martin Wallbank and Stephen Campbell head the two classes going into the Wiscombe event, but both know that fractions of a second will decide the results once again. After Wiscombe, the John Cooper Challenge moves to racing, with 10 races completing the season, starting at Donington Park on 15 May.
However, for now, the drivers are staying focussed on competition against the clock within the tight confines of the narrow tarmac hillclimb course. It is hard to get it bang on in one of these events and you don’t get any second chances," says Wallbank, who had never competed in a speed event before this season. "Wiscombe Park will be interesting – another new experience!"
At Lydden, Wallbank made a perfect start in his bid to win the S Class and out-gunned Tony Skelton by a fraction of a second for victory. Skelton has the advantage of having competed at Wiscombe before, so the pressure will be on Wallbank to master the venue quickly. However, a gaggle of other quick S drivers will also be in the hunt, notably defending champion Mark Speller who didn’t have the best of days at Lydden when he finished only fifth. Speller prefers the race events, but knows he cannot afford to let Wallbank get too much of an early points advantage.
Other strong contenders in the S Class include Arthur Forster, Darren Needham and Andy Sayle and Forster will be aiming to reward his long trek down the country from Northumberland with another strong finish.
The competition in the Club class will be every bit as tough as a clutch of drivers seek to prevent London teenager Stephen Campbell adding another victory. He was the star of the class at Lydden with an assured performance, but Barney Craggs and Jonathan Shepherd ran him very close.
Making great starts to their competition careers, novices Ed Stark and Mick Beauchamp claimed fourth and fifth at Lydden and it was Beauchamp who earned the Mintex 'Spirit' Drivers' Award at Lydden for his spirit and enthusiasm during the event.
