Wednesday 13th July sees the British Hillclimb Championship (BHC) presented by Avon Tyres make its annual visit to the scenic and challenging Bouley Bay Hillclimb on the Island of Jersey. The Jersey event is part of the BHC Channel Islands ‘double-header’, with a Championship round also taking place on Saturday 16th July at the technical Le Val des Terres Hillclimb, located in Saint Peter Port Guernsey.
Bouley Bay was one of the original venues chosen as part of the first British Hillclimb Championship back in 1947. The inaugural Championship consisted of just five rounds at Bo’ness near Falkirk in Scotland, Prescott in Gloucestershire, Shelsley Walsh in Worcestershire , Craigantlet on the outskirts of Belfast in Northern Ireland and last but not least Bouley Bay. Of the original five venues, only Bo’ness does not currently host a round of the BHC.
The sport of Hillclimbing is popular on Jersey, with reports from the 1950s remarking of regular crowds at Bouley Bay of in excess of 7,000! The original course was 1065 yards in length but this was reduced to the current 1011 in 1949. Demanding, technical and challenging are just a few of the descriptions used by the UK competitors who visit each year. Unlike many UK events Bouley Bay is open to all types of machinery, from cars to sidecars and motorbikes to karts, all are welcome to entertain the crowds. With a mixture of blind bends, high banked tree lined corners and tight hairpins towards the top of the hill, Bouley Bay has everything to challenge the best in the business. For spectators, the high banks located in the top half of the hill are a natural amphitheatre, looking down the hill as competitors race up towards them.
A high quality entry has been received, with in excess of twenty drivers making the trip from the mainland. This includes the majority of the current BHC top ten. 2022 BHC Championship leader Alex Summers (DJ Firestorm Cosworth XD) heads the entry list alongside defending 2021 Champion Wallace Menzies (Gould GR59 Cosworth XD) and six time BHC Champion Scott Moran (Gould GR59J).
Competitive action is scheduled to start at 10.00am and will continue for the majority of the day.
So, if you are in the Channel Islands make plans to visit Bouley Bay on Wednesday 13th July. On a clear day you will have a view of the French coast from the start line area. There are few better places to watch top quality motorsport in the UK.