On July 17th, Cadillac Plastic invited guests to attend our first corporate event for about 18 Months. If you know Cadillac Plastic well, you may know that Alistair Kennedy, Managing Director, has an interest in classic cars.
What you may not know is that Simon Jones, our (relatively) new General Manager, is also a ‘petrolhead’. He competes at hill climb and sprint events, including Shelsley Walsh.
It may not come as much of a surprise then that as more events are going ahead, this first event was a car related one.
The Oldest Racing Venue in the World!
Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb is credited as THE oldest motor racing venue in the UK and even the world. It is still staged on the original course were it was first held in 1905.
The event we visited was a Classic Nostalgia Day, with all kinds of cars from the 40’s to the 90’s in attendance. Many of the owners and visitors had dressed in period appropriate clothing, giving the day a festival atmosphere.
Being an outside event, there were not too many restrictions on the day. Racing fans and car enthusiasts could look around the cars and speak with teams in the paddock. Masks had to be worn in this area however.
Cadillac Plastic and 3M had invited several customers. All guests were able to access the paddock area to view the cars. Guests also had access to Members-only viewing and refreshment areas, placed at strategic points around the site.
A Simple 1000 Yard Course
The venue itself is deep in the Worcestershire countryside, with the track a little under a kilometre in length (or 1000 yards in old money). Competitors must simply drive up the track (12 feet wide) from the start to the finish, in the shortest possible time. With a vertical rise of 100 meters (328 feet), and an average gradient of 1:9.14 (max gradient 1:6.24) that’s no mean feat in a ‘classic’. However many of the drivers will do this at speeds approaching 100mph.
The on-track action started around 9am and 3 wheelers and classic minis tackled the hill one after the other. Other classes included old Formula 5000 cars and even classic WRC rally cars from the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s.
The weather was on our side, and ensured plenty of visitors were happy to be at an outside event. Most were happy to sit and watch the action from the viewing areas around the top and bottom “S” bends. These viewing areas benefited from shade provided by the tall trees as temperatures hit the low thirties in the open.
Invited Guests of Cadillac and 3M
We were able to meet up with all of the Cadillac Plastic and 3M guests for a chat throughout the day and would like to thank HOLBOURNE INDUSTRIAL PLASTICS, TT ELECTRONICS, and PTM DESIGN for attending with us.
Valerie and Vince Light from TT Electronics meet Simon from Cadillac Plastic at Shelsley Walsh 
Pat and Dick from PTM, enjoy a nice cup of tea with Simon From Cadillac Plastic 
Tony, Craig and guests from Holbourne Industrial Plastics meet with Simon from Cadillac Plastic on the hill at Shelsley Walsh
We hope to make a return trip to Shelsley Walsh later this year and still have a few spaces available for the two events planned for September (Autumn finale and Members day).
If you would like to attend one of these event with us, please drop us a line.