Speed race reports 2025

2025 Speed Race Reports

Championship sponsored by Bill Rawles Classic Cars and Peter May Engineering

The 2025 championship comprises 14 rounds with 10 hill climbs and 4 sprints. Scroll on down to see the race reports shown in latest first order:

Round 4/5 Harewood 7/8 June 2025

(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.

Click on the links to see the full results from this and all events this season. To see all the pictures, in-car and outside videos go to our Gallery page. If you want to see the sprint and hill climb records for each class and venue, then go to the Big Healey and Jensen Healey records and the Sprite records pages.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

If you own a Healey or Jensen Healey and you like what you see on this website and want to find out more then click here to take a look at our Beginners Guide. If you want to get involved, then send an email to Paul Baker our Championship Organiser at competitionsec@austinhealeyclub.com New drivers are always made very welcome.

Round 2/3 Prescott 24/25 May 2025

(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.

Want to start Sprinting and Hill Climbing?

Round 1 Mallory Park 26 April 2025

(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.

In the Sprite class, it was Max Shand who took the top spot with his second timed run with a fantastic 64.17 - the quickest time for a Healey - after going off the track on his first run. Brett Dillon posted a really good time of 65.40 on his first run - Click here to see that run - then spun off on his second run - Click here to see his spin. Paul Baker lowered his best time to 66.43 - click here to see his run, followed by Garrow Shand in 68.43 and Rob Owen in 69.94 - click here to see his run.

In the Big/Jensen Healey class, it was Michael Berry who won the class with his best time of the day of 65,36 on his final run - click here to see his run. Pete Walton jumped up to second place with a much improved 66.17 from Will Richards, who's 3000 failed on its first timed run due to a faulty coil lead and then managed a 67.30 on his second run which was fractionally slower than his best practice time. David Lane broke through the 70 sec barrier to finish with a best time of 69.69 and stayed ahead of John Ducker in 73.42 and Mervyn Coxon in 75.63. Huw Edwards finished with his best time of 76.18 and Warren Beese finished his very first competitive event in 85.54 with a smile, a head full of names from the people he had met and probably a sizeable list of things he needs to do to his car to improve his times.

In the Libre class, Nav Bhamra's Sprite had a new set of plug leads, a new distributor cap and new hotter plugs and finally 'Tango' ran properly. Nav instantly went nearly 10 seconds quicker, finishing with a best time of 71.95. The moral of this story is to sort the car before the event to avoid wasting practice runs.

As this was a scratch event, the fastest driver wins:

Sprite class: 1^st Max Shand (pictured right), 2^nd Brett Dillon, 3^rd Paul Baker, 4^th Garrow Shand and 5^th Rob Owen.

Big/Jensen Healey class: 1^st Michael Berry, 2^nd Peter Walton, 3^rd Will Richards, 4^th David Lane, 5^th John Ducker, 6^th Mervyn Coxon, 7th Huw Edwards and 8th Warren Beese.

Libre class: 1st Nav Bhamra

As this was our first time at Mallory Park new records were set for all classes. However, additional points are only awarded for breaking an existing record and not for setting a new one.

Overall, a great day’s sprinting at this classic old British track, albeit a new venue for Healeysport. Bentley Drivers club did a great job in running the event efficiently to get through this large field of cars in the time available - although we heard later, that about 15 cars did not get their final run before the event had to stop at 6pm. The only downside of Mallory is the fact that the paddock is inside the track with no tunnel or bridge. So after we finished competing, we had to wait nearly an hour and a half for the rest of the cars to complete their runs before we could exit the paddock.

Our next event is a double header hill climb at the prestigious Prescott Historique event on 24/25 May, so be there if you can as we will have a good field of Healeys for you to see.