Happy 50th Birthday Hillspeed!
Today, Thursday, 15th October, marks a hugely important celebration for top British motor racing team Hillspeed – 50 glorious years to the day since the Derbyshire squad was established all the way back in 1970 by Morgan Ollerenshaw.
Over the past five decades Hillspeed, currently a front running entrant in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, has enjoyed tremendous success in a variety of categories with superb title victories in Formula Renault, Ginetta Junior and the forerunner to the MSV F3 Cup.
Headed since the mid-1990s by Morgan’s son Richard, who actually celebrates his own 50th birthday today too, Hillspeed has carved out an enviable reputation as one of the UK’s very best teams with a keen focus on driver development.
Indeed, the alumni of drivers who have developed their careers under the Hillspeed umbrella is proof of that – the likes of Bentley factory driver Seb Morris, British Touring Car Championship title challenger Tom Ingram, double Blancpain Endurance Cup Pro-Am Champion Ahmad Al Harthy and Alice Powell, the first ever female Formula Renault champion, all having risen through the ranks.
“It’s certainly a very special day for Hillspeed”, says team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “To reach our 50th anniversary is such a huge landmark, and to still be here five decades on from when Morgan started the team, in the then British Saloon Car Championship [now the BTCC], is testament to all of the hard work and commitment everyone has put in over the years.
“We’ve always been focused on, and committed to, providing the very best driver development and that’s still an absolute cornerstone of what we do now in British F3. Having moved into our new state-of-the-art premises at Markham Vale, just off the M1 motorway, at the beginning of the year we’re very much looking forward to the next chapter.”
Ollerenshaw added: “While racing will always be the core of Hillspeed’s operations, we’re also branching out into new areas with a desire to utilise the wealth of experience gained over the past 50 years through Morgan and myself. Although 2020 has been an unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re looking forward to the future with a great deal of optimism and excitement.”
Hillspeed and its current drivers Sasakorn ‘Cutter’ Chaimongkol and Oliver Clarke will next be in action during the penultimate race meeting of the BRDC British F3 season, taking place next weekend, 24th/25th October, at Donington Park – the team’s home track.
