Geoff’s motorsport dream

Geoff with his single seater

I’ve always loved motorsport but until I retired and the children were settled I never had the time or resources, writes Geoff Lancaster. In 2016 I bought a well prepared road going 1.4 Renault Clio and took it to Shelsley Walsh for the hillclimb. In that first year I won my class in the Midland Hillclimb series and came second in the HSA Speed Championship.

At age 66 by then it seemed to me that if I was going to achieve my dream of single seaters there was no time to lose. So I sold the Clio and repatriated a Swift SC92F Formula Ford from Ireland. The car was stripped and completely restored over the winter and I ran it in the 2017 HSA Championship, taking second in class. In 2018 I am competing again in HSA but also in the Midland Speed Championship and the five-round Pre ’94 Formula Ford Challenge. I shall also have my first continental foray at the French Hillclimb Masters round at St Gouen, Brittany.

Although I left the motor industry many years ago, being a Coachmaker allows me to stay in touch with many old and some new friends. I’m also kept busy as a volunteer director of The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs.