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On the 24th September the 3rd and final event of our planned customer events took place at the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb. This was the long awaited Members Day event.

What is a Members Day

The Members’ Day is a great opportunity to experience the hill in a relaxed, controlled and fun atmosphere. Guests are invited to drive their own cars, up the famous Shelsley Walsh track, during a day of non-competitive runs. Any road-legal cars are able to participate, including kit cars and classic sports cars as well as everyday standard saloons.

Who attended with Cadillac

Cadillac General Manager, Simon Jones, took to the hill in his track ready MX5 Turbo. Tony and Liz Burd (RH Technical) brought along a very nice example of a 1975 Dolomite Sprint. Tony has lovingly restored this car over many years and relished the opportunity to blast it up the hill. 

John and Louise Wills (Will Prints) treated us to a 1933 Morgan 3 wheeler. John was able to get the Morgan to lift a wheel on the corners during his runs. However, he usually rides motorbikes and feels more comfortable on 2 wheels than 3.

Other attendees on the day included Alistair Kennedy (Cadillac Director) in his Maserati, and Sam Gothorp (Preservation Equipment) who had intended to bring along his Mercedes AMG. Unfortunately last minute issues prevented it from being available, and so he attended as a passenger.

Also attending as a passenger for the day was motor sport fan James Wright representing 3M, a supplier of adhesive products to Cadillac Plastic.

Some Images from the Event

Each driver had 6 runs on the hill throughout the day and while none of the runs was timed, video suggested the Morgan managed a run of around 58 seconds. John was thrilled to break the 60 second barrier in the oldest car at the event.

You can see the video here - John Wills at Shelsley Walsh, and many thanks to John for uploading it.

There is also a video of Simon in the MX5 completing a run in around 38 seconds.

One again it was great to see customers and friends out at an event with us, and we look forward to future events.

Find Out About the Other Events

Read about our other Shelsley Walsh events on these links:

Shelsley Walsh - The 1st Event - Classic Nostalgia

Shelsley Walsh - The 2nd Event - Autumn Speed Finale

On the 18th September the second of our 3 planned corporate events took place at the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb.
Read about our first event here >>>

The Autumn Speed Finale is the final event in the Hill Climb calendar at Shelsley. Organised by The Midland Automobile Club, this event is open to novice and experienced drivers.

With UK time trials in the mix, it promised to be a great day of competitive racing and we were not disappointed.

Guests of Cadillac Plastic

Cadillac guests on the day included representatives from Augustus Martin, Graham Smith, Bob Heath Visors and Rudd Macnamara Ltd.

The weather on the day was again kind and we enjoyed a fine day of racing. Cars included classic Mini Coopers and Morgans to modern Mitsubishi EVO’s and F1 style hill racers.

Spectators were also able to try their luck with an F1 simulator. This allowed them to set track times around a virtual Silverstone. Mike Page of Rudd Macnamara managed to set a decent lap time and remained in the top ten throughout the day, earning him the title of "Driving Legend".

Gallery of Cars and Guests at Shelsley Walsh Autumn Speed Finale

The best time on the hill was by Allan Warburton in his Gould GR59 racing car (1600cc). He managed a stunning 25.62 seconds on his first run and 25.97 seconds on his second run. There is a full list of runners and riders on the Shelsley Walsh website, along with the times and winners. Click Here >>> (scroll to the bottom of the page for the Speed Finale on the 18th Sept)

Many thanks to all our guests. Its was great to see you all out and about and we look forward to more events in the future.

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.

Simon Jones taking his Westfield through the "S's" at 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.

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.