Simon Price registered a perfect round to take the Harold Powell Plate for overall victory at the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s annual Cotswold Trial, based at the Prescott Speed Hill Climb in Gloucestershire last Saturday. Price and “bouncer” Karen Davies were the standout crew from a capacity entry of more than 100 Pre-war cars, scoring the maximum total of 385 in their 1930 Ford Model A Trials Special across the day’s 14 off-road sections located at Prescott, home of the Bugatti Owners’ Club, and on private estates in the neighboring countryside.
Heavy rainfall during the preceding days ensured certain sections would be a slippery, muddy challenge for Competitors — although Saturday itself proved a cold, crisp, but mainly dry backdrop for the proceedings.
Welshman Price led the way, however, powering to the top of each and every hill, including a number of tricky sections that caught out many challengers in the early going. Long-wheelbase cars found the going difficult with John Higgs delivering a surprise class victory in his Morris Cowley, while Ben Collings piloted his mighty 1903 Mercedes 60hp — the oldest competing car of the event — to an incredible 4th place among the larger cars.
Mike Littlewood topped the Ford Model A-dominated long-wheelbase class in his 1930 example, ahead of perennial leader, Dennis Bingham in a similar model. Matthew Blake was a worthy winner among short-wheelbase entrants in his 1922 GN Vitesse, claiming the Inderwick Cup as top Standard Pre-1931 Vintage performer.
A unique feature of the VSCC Cotswold Trial is the inclusion of a Novice Class, which produced a popular Cotswold Cup victory for 21-year-old Hughie Walker, enjoying a debut Trial for his 1930 Austin VAT 69 — a Vintage Trials Special based on an Austin 7 chassis. For complete information please visit www.vscc.co.uk
