Best in class for a Torbay motorsports legend in Hillclimb Cup

Torbay Motor Club member, Jon Langmead, has had another very successful season in his Lotus Elise 135R. Jon has won Class A(i) of the British Hillclimb Cup, a companion race series to the British Hillclimb Championship.

This is the third consecutive year that Jon has won his Class, finishing a magnificent 11th overall out of 106 competitors – bettering his 2024 finish of 13th.

He dominated the Class with 10 wins and 3 national records - two at Gurston Down and Wiscombe Park – a 42.22s.

Jon also set a new Class A2 Association of South Western Motor Club regional record at the Wiscombe Torbay MC event in May – a 43.01s for the tortuous 1000-yard course – breaking his own record of 43.23s set in 2024.

The 24-round BHC Cup took Jon to all the major hillclimb venues around the UK – from Wiscombe Park in Devon to Doune in Scotland. This year marked his fourth season of BHC Cup competition.

Jon from Kenton, started competing in South West hillclimb events in 2010 with a classic 1967 Lotus Elan S3. After four seasons with the nimble and powerful Elan learning all the courses in the SW, he purchased a Lotus Elise.

With these two cars, Jon established Class records at most of the SW hillclimb venues. In 2019 he switched to an OMS SF2 PR single seater race car, however, returned to the Lotus fold in 2020 with an Elise 135R. It was a good decision - Jon finished third in the Wiscombe Park Tillicoultry Quarries Championship - his first taste of motorsport silverware.

Jon also holds records at a number of the UK’s British Championship hillclimb courses, including the legendary Shelsley Walsh in the Cotswolds – the oldest motor sport venue in continuous use in the world.

During his 2024 campaign, at the Bugatti Owners Club owned Prescott venue, Jon broke the previous record twice in one day! He bettered the long-standing record by 1.3s - in a sport where usually just tenths and hundredths of a second separate drivers, that was an incredible margin.

When not racing his Lotus, Jon is involved in the more relaxing sport of golf. He has been the Head PGA Professional and Manager of the Dawlish Warren Golf Course since 2018. He is a former English Amateur Champion and has had numerous successes as a PGA Professional.

And it was not only Jon achieving success in the BHC Cup. Flying the flag for SW motorsport, two other fast drivers were making a big impression in the same championship. Tiverton-based Rod Eyles won Class A (iii) In his Porsche 911 Turbo, finishing 7th overall with 11 Class wins.

Jonathan Williamson from Taunton finished 2nd in Class C(iii) and 14th overall in a Porsche 911 Carrera. Achieving four Class wins, his season also included two records at Doune – considered one of the UK’s most challenging courses.

He has won many titles since the 1980’s and this season has fully utilised the additional power available from his recently re-built engine. Jonathan has been competing in the Carrera for 40 years - one of the longest driver/car pairings in British hillclimbing. He often shares the Porsche with Laura Wardle.

Jon, Rod and Jonathan will be competing again at their local venue, Wiscombe Park, near Honiton, in 2026. Wiscombe has enjoyed a great 2025 season with many new records set on the hill and record-breaking crowds too.

Racing resumes in 2026 with the Woolbridge Spring meeting on April 25 & 26 – please visit the website www.wiscombepark.co.uk and Facebook page for all the latest news.

During the winter, Torbay MC hold a monthly Sunday Breakfast Club event at Dawlish Warren Golf Club from 9am until noon. If you are interested in taking up motorsport either as a competitor or a volunteer, this is an ideal opportunity to chat to existing members and find out how you can get involved.

For details of Torbay MC’s activities, please visit their website www.torbaymotorclub.co.uk