MORE than 14,000 people flocked to Droitwich over the weekend for the Chateau Impney Hill Climb – almost a 50 per cent increase on last year’s attendance.
A total of 200 drivers took to the challenging course in pre-1967 cars and there was a titanic battle at the top of the leaderboard with four different drivers breaking the record set by Bromsgrove’s Jack Woodhouse in 2015. His 42.42secs time was beaten by his dad Mark Woodhouse and then it was smashed by Brabham BT21-B driver Martin Jones who notched up an amazing time of 40.50secs.
Event director Rod Spollon said: “It’s fantastic to see that the record book has been well and truly rewritten in just our second year.
“While we knew that Jack’s record would be challenged throughout the day, we weren’t expecting five different drivers to beat it.”
David West, featured on last week’s Droitwich Standard front page, finally got his name in the record books in his Mini Cooper after winning his category.
Visitors were able to go around the open paddocks to see the motors competing in the 18 different classes and there was the Concours d’elegance which showcased some fine models, including Morgans and many others. For those wanting to add to their car collection there was also a prestigious auction.
As well as the racing and cars, all the food and drink was provided by local vendors, there were plenty of trade stalls, a vintage funfair, free children’s face painting and entertainers.
And there was some breath-taking lunchtime entertainment on the two days which included a parachute jump by the Red Devils and the Battle of Britain Memorial Fly Past graced the two-day event with its presence.
A spokesperson for the event said they had received a lot of feedback from the local traders who did really well throughout the weekend.
He added many of the hotels in Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Worcester were full as drivers and their teams flocked from all over the UK to compete.
Mr Spollon added: “We are delighted so many people could join us across the weekend.
“The fact 14,000 people attended shows just how much the awareness of the event has grown in the last 12 months.
“When we decided to the bring the event back, we always said that we wanted the local community to benefit. And that is very much the case.
“We continue to use local companies to help stage the event and we attract people to the town who spend money with other local businesses.
“We also feel that we have created an event that residents of Droitwich can be proud of, one that is putting the town in the limelight across Europe.
“I would like to thank all the local residents and businesses that have supported the event this year,” he concluded.
