As the big day approaches, a few words about actually climbing the hill might be useful.
At Pre-War Prescott, we use the long course that sweeps around Ettore’s Bend, a distance of 1,128 yards, with an overall rise in elevation of 150 feet from start line to finish line. If you have not climbed Prescott before, compare the track map above with this video of an Austin 7 climbing the hill at Pre-War Prescott 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4wST6aVGn4
After the finish, there is a sharp left turn that takes you down the return road to the Paddock. Be careful and drive slowly down the return road (the speed limit is 10 mph) – it doubles as a bridle path.
Before you head for the start line, all drivers and passengers climbing the hill today MUST attend a briefing before entering the hill. The first briefing will take place at 9-30 a.m. and further briefings will be held throughout the day as required.
As of this morning, we have 397 climbs pre-booked, out of a likely maximum on the day of around 475. The exact number of climbs that we can fit in to the day depends on a number of factors including the weather, whether we have any ‘red flags’, but mainly depends on maintaining the flow of cars to the start line from the moment the hill opens at 10 a.m. There is a lunch break from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and the hill closes at 4 p.m. sharp. So if you have booked multiple climbs, do make sure to start using them in the morning so that everyone will have a good chance of making their climbs. If you still have a climb to make at 3-30 p.m., you should head for the start line gate at that time, because the hill WILL close at 4 on the dot, regardless of how many cars are still in the queue! The start line and everything trackside are managed by the Prescott Marshals, and we must abide by their rules if we are to be welcomed back next year!
We do not time the climbs but there is noting to stop you timing your own climbs. The hill record is held by Jos Goodyear, who set a time of 35.51 seconds on 7 September 2014 in his GWR Raptor Extreme. Jos will have nothing to worry about – even if we were timing our climbs! However, if you are a true speed junkie, we will have four fabulous modern supercars at the hill, including an iconic Ferrari 458, and we will be raffling a run in each of them in aid of the RAF Charitable Trust. Buy your tickets in the morning because the draw will take place immediately following the auction in the lunch break and the climbs will take place in the afternoon.
Right now we have 148 cars entered for the day and entries are still open. So if you would like to enter and drive this historic hill, we suggest you enter as soon as possible while there are still climbs left to allocate.