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Scottish Hill Climb Championship.

The Scottish Hill Climb Championship (SHCC) is an annual motor racing series held in Scotland, organised under the sanction of Motorsport UK (the national governing body for motorsport). The championship is contested by a range of cars, from standard road-going vehicles to highly specialised single-seater racing cars, competing in timed runs up a private purpose built sealed surface track, defined by the finish line being at a steeper gradient than the start line.(Hillclimb).

Since 2004, the championship has been administered alongside the Scottish Sprint Championship under the banner of the Scottish Sprint and Hill Climb Championship (SSHC) committee.

[1] Overview and Format:

The championship season typically runs from April through September each year. In a Hillclimb event, competitors complete practice runs followed by competitive timed runs. The fastest time of the day (FTD) is awarded to the Competitor that records the fastest time of all and championship points are allocated to the top 20 fastest cars which are allocated at 20 points for FTD down to 1 point to the car that is 20th fastest, cars outside the top 20 still score points in their respective classes based on a driver’s finishing position in their class.

[2] The championship features multiple classes covering a wide spectrum of vehicles, allowing everything from classic cars and modern modified saloons to open-wheel racing cars (known as "Competition Cars") to compete fairly for their respective titles.

The class structure

A class road cars

B class for modified road cars

C class for competition car & racing cars

D class for classic road cars, modified cars & competition/racing cars

Within each respective class the cars are split by their engine capacity for example A1 road cars up to 1400cc B1 Modified cars up to 1400cc C1 sports libre cars up to 1400cc

D Class is not defined by Engine CC as example D1 classic and thoroughbred road cars D2 as above but modified D3 as above but competition/racing cars, all cars in D class have to be period defined

The sport is known for featuring cars built by specialist Hillclimb car constructors such as Pilbeam, Gould, and OMS.

[3] History Competitive Hillclimbing in Scotland has a deep history, with events at iconic venues like Rest and Be Thankful dating back to 1906 and Bo'ness. However, the modern, codified annual championship was established in 1970 following safety concerns and venue changes in the late 1960s.

[4] The inaugural 1970 championship was won by Ted Clark in a 1.6-litre Lotus 51 (a Formula Ford car). Early years saw close competition between modified saloons and single-seater racing cars.

A major development occurred in 2004 when the separate committees for the Scottish Sprint Championship and the Scottish Hill Climb Championship officially merged, creating the SSHC to manage both disciplines under a single body. Championship Venues, Rounds of the championship are held at traditional and well-known speed venues across Scotland. These locations are often technical and challenging, featuring twists, steep gradients, and often elevation changes that test both car handling and driver skill. Current and historic venues include:

Doune Hill Climb (near Stirling): A mainstay of the championship, known for its complex corners and steep approach. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doune_Hillclimb

Fintray Hill Climb (near Aberdeen): Hosted by the Grampian Automobile Club. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fintray_Hillclimb

Forrestburn Hill Climb (near Shotts): Operated by the Monklands Sporting Car Club. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrestburn_Hillclimb

The last Bo'ness Hill climb was held in June 1996, but in 2007 The Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival Club was formed and they successfully organised the first revival meeting in 2008 albeit on a slight shorted course, the Bo'ness revival is still organised and still running successfully to this day! Rest and Be Thankful (Historic): While no longer in use for the modern championship, this location hosted key rounds in the 1970s and remains central to the history of Scottish motorsport. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo%27ness_Hill_Climb

Venues in Scotland no longer used Rumpster Hillclimb in Caithness (Caithness Car Club) Durris Hillclimb in Kincardineshire (Stonheave District Car Club) Strathclyde Country Park North Lanarkshire (Coltness Car Club)

[5] List of Scottish Hillclimb Champions (1970–Present) The following is a list of the overall champions, the cars they drove, and the engine capacity (where available) as engraved on the main championship trophy. The championship was not held in 2001 (due to the UK Foot and Mouth crisis) and 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[A]Year

Champion Car Engine Details

1970 Ted Clark Lotus 51 1.6
1971 Iain McLaren Chevron B15
1972 Iain McLaren Brabham BT35X
1973 Iain McLaren Brabham BT36 1.8
1974 Douglas Thomson GRD 273 1.6
1975 Alan Thomson Chevron B17 1.6
1976 Alan Thomson Chevron B17 1.6
1977 Norrie Galbraith Mallock Mk8/16 1.6
1978 Jim Campbell Brabham BT35 1.6
1979 Jim Campbell Modus M4 1.6
1980 Norrie Galbraith March 782
1981 Jimmy Jack March 782/79B 2.3
1982 Norrie Galbraith March 782 2.3
1983 Kenny Allen Mallock Mk21 1.7
1984 Alex Graham Mallock Mk20 - BDA1.7
1985 Kenny Allen Vision V84A 1.7
1986 Kenny Allen Vision V84H & Vision V86H-BDG 1.7 & 2.0
1987 Kenny Allen Vision V86HS-BDG 2.0
1988 Kenny Allen / Tim Thomson Vision V86HS-BDG / Pilbeam MP50-Hart2.0 / 2.8
1989 George Ritchie Chevron B34-BDA2.0
1990 Kenny Allen Ralt RT30-BDG2.0
1991 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1992 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1993 Kenny Allen Ralt RT30- BDG 2.0
1994 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1995 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1996 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1997 Graeme Wight Jnr Pilbeam MP62-9 - BDA1.6
1998 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
1999 Kevin Tawse Vision V85 - Ford1.7
2000 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart2.8
2001 Not held(Foot and Mouth Disease)
2002 John Whyte Pilbeam MP50 - Hart & MP62 - Hart2.8
2003 Mark Hutcheson Jedi - Suzuki 1.4
2004 Stewart Robb Pilbeam MP58 - DFR3.5
2005 Stewart Robb Pilbeam MP58 - DFR3.5
2006 Jonathan Rarity OMS 1.0
2007 Jonathan Rarity MH Ghost - Suzuki 1.4
2008 Jonathan Rarity MH Ghost - Suzuki 1.4
2009 Jonathan Rarity MH Ghost - Suzuki 1.4
2010 Lee Adams GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2011 Garry Dickson Force - Suzuki 1.0
2012 Finlay Whyte Force PT - Suzuki 1.4
2013 Jonathan Rarity MH Ghost - Suzuki 1.4
2014 Ross Napier Gould GR37S-5-DFR 3.5
2015 Les Mutch GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2016 Les Mutch GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2017 Ross Napier Force PC - Suzuki 1.3turbo
2018 Ross Napier Force PC - Suzuki 1.3turbo
2019 Garry Dickson Force PT 1.3
2020 Not held(COVID-19 Pandemic)
2021 Stuart Sugden GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2022 Stuart Sugden GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2023 Stuart Sugden GWR Raptor - Suzuki 1.6
2024 Gary Warren Empire Evo - Suzuki 1.0
2025 Gary Warren Empire Evo - Suzuki 1.0

Multiple Titles: John Whyte holds the record for the most overall championships, with 8 titles between 1991 and 2002. Finlay Whyte & John Whyte are the only Father & Son pairing to have both wont the Title. Kenny Allen being second most successful driver winning the title 6 times. 1988 was the only year the championship was tied with Kenny Allen & Tim Thomson sharing the number 1 spot, after this the scoring system was updated. A tie will be resolved by considering the higher number of first places within the rounds used to calculate the drivers Championship, Division or Class Qualifying Score. If this fails to resolve the tie, then the number of second places will be considered, and so on until the tie is resolved. In the event this still does not produce a clear winner, dropped scores will then be used in order to resolve the tie.

Mark Hutcheson was the first Bike engine powered car to win the title using his heavily modified Jedi Single seater with a 1400cc Suzuki engine.

Mark Hutcheson went on to Build the Ghost, which Jonathan Rarity successfully campaigned in 07,08, 09 & 13 what was unique about the GHOST it run with no body work and spectators could visibly see Jonathan working the wheel and peddles as he flew past.

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