Last year’s Kop Hill Revival event was a resounding success and this year it celebrated the Centenary, with another splendid variety of cars entered, many of great historic significance. These included the oldest Aston Martin in the world, a 1921 A3 model, as raced by Lionel Martin at Kop Hill in 1924, and the ex-Raymond Mays 1923 Bugatti Brescia Cordon Bleu which caused an accident at a competitive event at Kop Hill in 1925 injuring a spectator, thus leading to the banning of all speed events on the public roads in the UK by the RAC. There was also a 1910 Rex Deluxe motorcycle that was once raced at Kop Hill by W.O. Bentley, and one of a large number of bikes taking part. Nowadays the Kop Hill Revival is a non competitive event with no timed runs, simply a spirited dash up the hill for fun which was hugely enjoyed by a very large crowd. The event was opened by racing driver Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams.

A highlight for many was Dick Skipworth’s collection of race cars and his Ecurie Ecosse race car transporter that was parked in the paddock. The seven cars included the ex-Jackie Stewart 1961 Tojeiro-Buick. The event attracted a very eclectic mixture of veteran, vintage and classic cars. Tony and Sue Baller had only recently recommissioned their 1938 Hotchkiss Type 680 Sports, powered by a 3.5 litre engine with a Wade supercharger which had been off the road for 40 years. Tony also owns a number of other Hotchkiss cars, while daughter Tanya had entered her 1931 Hotchkiss AM 80S. Neil Tuckett’s 1911 Ford Model T race car ‘Golden Ford’ attracted much interest, its brass body gleaming in the early autumn sunshine, as did David Biggins’ 1913 Daimler Mercedes GP. Oldest car taking to the hill was Keith Mainland and Angelica Fuentes’ 1904 Orient Buckboard. Interesting visiting cars parked in the paddock included a 1972 Maserati Indy one of 1104 produced and a 1959 Buckler DD fitted with a very sleek Convair Developments GRP body. The car was extensively upgraded for competition work by Malcolm Buckler in the early 1980s. The provisional date for the 2011 Kop Hill Revival is 24 – 25th September.