Firle Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course near Lewes, East Sussex, England, sometimes referred to as Bo Peep Hill Climb.Motor Sport, September 1957, Page 448. The event was celebrated on 20 September 2015 by the Bo Peep Drivers Club.

In 1966, The Autocar reported: " The hill covers 600 yards, and if the weather is fine the setting is really superb."The Autocar, 27 May 1966, Page 1109.

History The situation faced by the racing motorist in England after World War Two was bleak. Brooklands was permanently closed and Donington Park was out of action. Two other obstacles were petrol rationing, which was not abolished until 26 May 1950,The Manchester Guardian, 27 May 1950, Page 7. and an acute shortage of tyres, the R.A.C. having banned retreaded or remoulded tyres from competition.Autosport, 3 October 1952, Pages 425. The search was on for a place to race. The Bentley Drivers' Club found Firle. W.O. Bentley attended the race here in 1951.Autosport, 5 October 1951, Pages 436-437.

The BARC event held on Sunday 2 June 1957, was run in conjunction with the BARC 11th Annual Rally at Eastbourne, a 50-mile road event held the day before, starting at the Grasshopper Inn near Westerham, with intermittent driving tests, including one at Butts Hill, Willingdon, and then on to Eastbourne, via Beachy Head. A steward of the rally was Captain A. Frazer-Nash, M.I.Mech.E.Joint Eastbourne Rally/Firle Hill Climb Programme, 1–2 June 1957.

On 14 September 1958, Tony Marsh set an unofficial record of 25.31 sec during a demonstration run: "He chose to run in the big twin Cooper rather than the Formula 2 car, the former being less of a handful on Firle's somewhat bumpy surface."Autosport, 19 September 1958, Pages 365, 372, 384.

A report from 1965 states: "Once again, many of the hill records were lowered, including the absolute record for the hill, which came down from 24.45 seconds, set up by Miss Patsy Burt in 1963, to 23.87 seconds standing to Gordon Parker in a Cooper Climax. Patsy Burt did her utmost to retain her title but was unable to better 23.97."BARC Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 30 November 1965.

On 12 September 1965, Jack Sears driving a Bentley 8-litre set fastest time of the day by a Bentley.Gentleman Jack – The Official Biography of Jack Sears, Graham Gauld, Foreword by Sir John Whitmore, Page 155,

David Good, BRM, set the track record of 22.78 sec on 28 May 1967,Autosport, 9 June 1967, Page 940. a record he holds in perpetuity, as the course closed at the end of the season.

Firle Hill Climb events and past winners

YearDriverVehicleTimeClubNotes 1949 F.H. Howorth Lagonda 4-litre #57 31.40 sec R Bentley D.C. Motor Sport, November 1949, Page 451; Hugh Howorth obituary 25 September. 1950 G.D. Parker Jaguette 2-litre S/CFor a description of the Jaguette Special see: Motor Sport, October 1948, Page 341. 31.40 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 29 September 1950, Page 191; Motor Sport, November 1950, Page 565; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 27. 24 September; equalled course record. 1951 Gerry Crozier Barnato-Hassan 8-litre 30.2 sec R Bentley D.C. Autosport, 5 October 1951, Pages 436-437. 30 September.1952 Gerry Crozier Bentley 8-litre30.8 secBentley D.C. Autosport, 3 October 1952, Page 425. 28 September. Joint fastest. D. Hely Frazer-Nash LMR 1953 Ben Wyatt Frazer-Nash 2-litre 30.91 sec Bentley D.C. Motor Sport, November 1953, Page 620; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Pages 50-51. 27 September. Mist affected second runs. 1954 G. Parker Jaguara S/C 28.46 sec Bentley D.C. Motor Sport, October 1954, Page 552; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 26, gives f.t.d. to Parker at 28.19 sec; for a description of the Jaguara Special see: Autosport, 25 April 1952. The car featured a Buckler chassis and was registered GDP 1. 5 September. 1955 G. Parker Jaguara 3-litre S/C 26.98 sec R Bentley D.C. Motor Sport, October 1955, Page 595; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 78. 4 September.1956 J. Rudd Frazer-Nash LMR 29.63 sec BARC Firle Hill Climb Programme, 2 June 1957, Page 16. 25 May. Max Trimble Jaguar C-Type 28.67 sec Bentley D.C. The Autocar, 14 September 1956, Page 371 ; Motor Sport, October 1956, Page 601, (reports 28.57 f.t.d.); C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Pages 91-92. 2 September.1957 G. Parker Jaguara 26.73 sec R BARC East Sussex/Bentley D.C. Motor, 5 June 1957, Page 613; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 99. 2 June. M. Salmon Jaguar C-Type 28.38 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 13 September 1957, Pages 342, 344; The Autocar, 13 September 1957, Page 377. 8 September.1958 W.D.J. Roscoe Cooper-JAP S/C 26.71 sec R BARC Motor Racing, July 1958, Page 232. C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 113. 1 June. P.M. Salmon Jaguar C-Type 27.48 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 19 September 1958, Pages 365, 372, 384; Motor Racing, November 1958, Page 386; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 120. 7 September. BARC S.E. 5 Oct.1959 Patsy Burt Cooper 26.57 sec R BARC Autosport, 5 June 1959, Pages 730, 738, Vol.18 No.23; Firle Hill Climb programme, 4 October 1959, Page 3; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 139. 31 May. M.H. Barker Alton-Jaguar 28.39 sec Bentley D.C. B.D.C. Review, January 1960 (quarterly), Pages 41-42; 45-50; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 140. For an article by Bill Boddy on the Alton-Jaguar see Motor Sport, July 1959, Page 511. For a picture of the Alton-Jaguar at Firle see: The Brighton National Speed Trials in the 1960s, 1970s & 1980s (2004) Tony Gardiner, Veloce Publishing , Page 37. The car was fitted with a Microplas Mistral fibreglass body and registered 5 GPK. 6 September. Patsy Burt Cooper-Climax 25.40 sec R BARC South Eastern Motor, 21 October 1959, Page 375; See also: The Autocar, 22 July 1960, Page 137; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 139. 4 October.1960 BARC South Eastern 29 May. M.G. Car Club (S.E.) For photograph see: Safety Fast, September 1960, Page 17. 10 July. A.G. Mann H.W.M.-Jaguar 27.36 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 16 September 1960, Page 394; B.D.C. Review, January 1961 (quarterly), Pages 31-33. Reports include photograph of winning car registered HWM 1. C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 155. 4 September. M. Anthony Lister-Corvette 5,555 c.c. 26.08 sec BARC Firle Hill Climb official results; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Pages 160-161. 2 October.1961 Arthur Owen Cooper 25.94 sec BARC South Eastern Autosport, 9 June 1961, Pages 774-775, Vol.22 No.23; Motor, 14 June 1961, Page 748; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 169. 28 May. W.G. Heathcote Lotus 18-Ford 1.0-litre 26.55 sec M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Safety Fast, September 1961, Page 27. 9 July. M.H. Barker Alton-Jaguar 27.28 sec Bentley D.C. Annotated Firle Hill Climb programme, 3 September 1961 3 September. A. Owen Cooper 25.21 sec R BARC S.E./M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Autosport, 20 October 1961, Pages 562, 565; C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 187. 1 October.1962 A. Owen Cooper 24.83 sec R BARC Motor, 6 June 1962, Page 721; Autosport, 8 June 1962, Page 836. 27 May. Wet morning, dry afternoon. W.G. Heathcote Lotus 18-Ford 1.0-litre 25.40 sec M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Autosport, 13 July 1962, Page 64, Vol.25 No.2; Motor, 18 July 1962, Page 929; Safety Fast, September 1962, Page 7. 8 July. C.R.C. Aston Aston Martin DB3S 2,992 c.c. 26.09 sec Bentley D.C./M.G. Car Club Autosport, 21 September 1962, Page 399; Motor Sport, October 1962, Page 799. G.H.G. Burton, Bentley 4½-litre, was fastest Bentley in 28.96 sec. 16 September. D. Good Cooper-Climax 27.68 sec BARC S.E./M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Autosport, 5 October 1962, Page 469. 30 September. Wet and slippery.1963 Patsy Burt Cooper T59-Climax 2.0 24.45 sec R BARC South Eastern Autosport, 31 May, Page 767, Vol.26 No.22. 26 May. Gordon Parker Cooper-Climax 25.06 sec BARC S.E./M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Safety Fast, September 1963, Pages 14-15. 14 July. D.R. Good Cooper-Daimler 24.53 sec BARC S.E./M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Firle Hill Climb official results. 1 September. Peter Farquharson Allard J2-Chrysler 5.4-litre 26.23 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 4 October 1963, Page 472. 15 September.1964 Gordon Parker Cooper T43-Climax 1.5 S/C 23.87 sec R BARC South Eastern 31 May. David Beckett Lister-Jaguar 3.8-litre 27.89 sec M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Autosport, 17 July, Page 116, Vol.29 No.3. 12 July. David Beckett Lister-Jaguar 25.45 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 18 September 1964, Page 462. 13 September. J.F. Barnes Elva Mk 7-Ford 1,500 c.c. S/C 24.41 sec BARC South Eastern Autosport, 16 October 1964, Page 618. 4 October.1965 Patsy Burt Cooper T59-Climax 2.0 24.22 sec BARC South Eastern Autosport, 11 June 1965, Page 922, Vol.30 No.24. 30 May.BARC South Eastern, 20 June, practice day. Gordon Parker Cooper-Climax 26.87 sec M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Safety Fast, September 1965, Page 16. 11 July, wet. Gordon Parker Cooper Climax 23.09 sec BARC S.E./M.G. Car Club (S.E.) Autosport, 9 September 1965, Page 387. 29 August. R. Tindell Lister-Jaguar 25.88 sec Bentley D.C. Autosport, 17 September 1965, Page 464. 12 September.1966 John Barnes Elva Mk 7-Ford 1,650 c.c. S/C 24.09 sec BARC South Eastern Autosport, 10 June 1966, Page 982, Vol.32 No.23. 29 May. D. Harris D.M.F. 3-Ford 1.6-litre 24.02 sec M.G. Car Club (S.E.)/BARC Autosport, 1 July 1966, Page 28, Vol.33 No.1; Safety Fast, August 1966, Pages 16-17. 19 June.1967 David Good BRM P67 4wd 2.0-litre #170 22.78 sec R BARC South Eastern Autosport, 9 June 1967, Page 940. 28 May.M.G. Car Club (S.E.),Safety Fast, September 1967, Page 17. 25 June, rained off. John Fenwick Brabham BT18 Ford 1.6-litre 24.52 sec BARC South Eastern Autosport, 8 September 1967, Page 420. 27 August. Mike Barker Alton-Jaguar 25.71 sec Bentley D.C. 17 September. Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.

See also Brighton Speed Trials Goodwood Circuit Gurston Down Motorsport Hillclimb Lewes Speed Trials

Footnotes