Downton Motor Club - DMC

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Downton motor club welcomes all new members, you do not need to have been a Downton employee or own a Downton car, just being enthusiastic is quite enough qualification for you to fill in the form and become a member.

02/11/2026

🏆 2026 Downton Motor Club Speed Championship: The Results

Saturday's Castle Combe Pegasus Halloween Sprint, held around the 1.85-mile Wiltshire circuit, brought the championship to a close, with Mathew Eardley taking the win.

Matt had to beat the class bogey time by more than a second to take the title. With the weather on his side, he did so on his first timed run. A rather efficient way to wrap up the season, and a fantastic achievement in his debut year with Downton MC.

Matt had this to say:
"I'm over the moon. It's been an amazing year and to top it off with an overall win wasn't something I wasn’t entertaining! The racing has been fantastic but it's the off-track which has made it for me. Thanks to each and every one of you and a special thanks to the ones doing the hard work in the background. Bring on next year!"

Completing the championship podium are Harry Whitehead in second place and John Wells in third, pictured here alongside Matt.
Also pictured is Adam Holland, Chairman of Downton MC, congratulating Matt on his championship win.

The final championship standings are as follows:

🥇 Matt Eardley – Renault Clio – 145.185
🥈 Harry Whitehead – Eunos Roadster – 144.045
🥉 John Wells – Mini Cooper S – 141.840

Congratulations to Matt, Harry and John on their championship results, and well done to everyone who has competed throughout the season.

A special thanks to John for keeping the championship scores in order, and to all those who give their time behind the scenes. It's the people who make Downton MC what it is, both on and off the track.

That's another season done. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2027! 🏁

24/10/2026

A week before the final championship standings are decided, with some of the team aiming to secure valuable points at Castle Combe, we caught up with former Downton champion Steve Jarrett 🏆 to discuss his experience of hillclimbing and what continues to motivate him.

Since beginning his hillclimbing career with Downton in 2022, Steve enjoyed a memorable third season as champion.

For Steve, much of the appeal lies in the challenge of continually improving his performance and working towards the perfect run.

As he explains:
‘The buzz of running up the hill is fantastic and all you want is more. It’s very addictive. I’m sure winning an event would be up there too, but that particular box is still waiting to be ticked.’

Wiscombe is Steve’s favourite hill, with Gurston a close second. Both venues offer different challenges that expose mistakes and require precision from the driver.

So, how much comes down to the driver, and how much to the car?

Steve believes the driver plays a significant role, particularly in how effectively they can make use of the car’s capabilities. While building a quicker car can provide further opportunities for improvement, additional power alone is not enough. As Steve puts it, “If you can’t drive it, it will still be a slow car!”

For anyone considering getting involved in hillclimbing, his advice is straightforward:

“Just choose a car and go out there and enjoy it.”

‘There is no need to focus on beating other competitors from the outset. The challenge is to improve your own times and find those extra tenths. As experience grows, attention may turn to improving the car, with plenty of opportunities to make adjustments and develop its performance, budget permitting.’

Ultimately, hillclimbing offers an ongoing challenge, with each run providing another opportunity to improve. “It’s addictive.”

Our thanks to Steve for taking the time to share his thoughts and experience.

📸 Nigel M Photography
📸 Ryno Drone Photography

18/10/2026

A worthy finalist, with a subject we’re always pleased to see.

John Colman’s photograph of Derek Kessell’s Maguire Mini Cooper at Wiscombe, featured in the 2026 Wiscombe Park Photography Competition.

17/10/2026

What can you expect when you take on hillclimbing for the first time? 🏁

For Matt Eardley, 2026 has been a memorable introduction to the sport.

Joining Downton for his first season in a Renault Clio, Matt has made good progress throughout the year and found himself in contention for the championship.

His first hillclimb was at Wiscombe Park in April. Ideal conditions and the challenge of a new venue made it a particularly memorable start to his season, and Wiscombe soon became a favourite.

Returning in September, Matt made significant improvements to his personal best, recording a 50.6-second run and getting close to his target of breaking the 50-second barrier in the Clio - he didn’t think was possible!

Of course, there is more to a season than times and results.

Matt’s 2026 season in pictures captures the social side of the sport, from time spent with friends old and new to the Whiteheads “visualising their lines”. There is also plenty of evidence of Matt pushing hard, alongside a particularly good shot by Vince Feeney of the Clio leaving Martini on three wheels looking rather quick.

Looking ahead to 2027, Matt’s aim is simple:

“Faster times and more laughs doing it.”

Reflecting on his first season with Downton, he had this to say:

“I’ve found it such a great club with an amazing bunch of people who’ve welcomed me and given me some great times… for newcomers, just join up and go for it. One of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Thank you to Matt for sharing his first season with us, and good luck with the championship! 🏁

14/10/2026

2026 DMC Speed Championship: Final round in sight

The latest championship scores are in following the Curborough and Clay Pigeon sprints at the end of September, and there’s a change at the top with just one event left to run.

Current standings:

1. Matt Eardley – 143.250 points
2. John Wells – 141.850 points
3. Toby Bishop – 141.485 points
4. Harry Whitehead – 140.640 points
5. Kieran Stevens – 130.960 points
6. Steve Whitehead – 130.115 points
7. Mark Everett – 123.730 points
8. Graham Gonzalez – 113.600 points
9. Zak Cobb – 107.180 points
10. Derek Kessell – 105.510 points

With less than 1.8 points separating the top three, the championship remains closely contested heading into the final event.

The season concludes at Castle Combe on 31st October, where the final championship positions will be decided. Full results to follow.

Here’s our 2025 Speed Champion, Steve Jarrett, in action at Gurston Down in his R53 MINI.

13/10/2026

🏆 2026 Gurston Down Challenge winner: Zak Cobb!

A huge well done to Zak, who takes home this year’s Gurston Down Challenge Trophy for Downton Motor Club.

A longstanding member of the Downton family, Zak is a familiar face around the paddock and certainly no stranger to taking home a trophy or two at events.

Zak’s hillclimbing journey began in 2018, behind the wheel of his grandfather’s Austin 7 Special. Now in his sixth year with Downton, Zak has enjoyed a strong season in his well-polished Mini Cooper S R53, continuing to improve his times along the way.

From his early days in hillclimbing to his latest success, Zak had this to say about his winning season and his experience competing at Gurston this year.

“I always enjoy competing at Gurston. It’s a very well-run venue with decent facilities, a picturesque setting, and the high-speed aspect of the hill definitely gets the adrenaline going!

I enjoyed this year especially, as we definitely got lucky with the weather. After a few performance upgrades to the car over last winter, I managed to take around a second off my PB and consistently repeat that pace.

As with all the venues that the Downton Speed Championship competes at, the enjoyment is largely thanks to the friendly atmosphere and camaraderie in the paddock, combined with the great competition.

I look forward to doing it all again in 2027!”

The final standings for the Gurston Down Challenge Trophy are as follows:

1. Zak Cobb | Mini Cooper S R53 | 77.06 pts
2. Steve Jarrett | BMW Mini R53 | 72.77 pts
3. Steve Whitehead | Nissan Micra | 64.88 pts
4. Harry Whitehead | Eunos Roadster | 62.945 pts

With thanks to Zak, and to everyone at Gurston Down who helps make our visits possible, we look forward to returning in 2027!

🏆

10/10/2026

Now that Harry Whitehead has now confirmed as the 2026 Wiscombe Park Challenge winner 🏆, we took a look back his seasons best bits - the speed, the hairy moments and the runs that made it all worthwhile:

📷 The Car
For the past six years, Harry has poured blood, sweat and tears into . Having done pretty much every bit of the work himself, he’s incredibly proud of his first car. It’s become a familiar sight on the hills, often with a touch of sideways added for good measure.

📷 The Favourite
Harry had a blast at this year’s national round at Wiscombe Park. A new personal best was followed almost immediately by a broken car, but it didn’t put a dampener on the day. Matt stepped in and shared the keys to his Clio, giving Harry the chance to keep racing - a great example of what being part of Downton Motor Club is all about.

📷 The Hairy One
Well, that escalated quickly.. pictured here at Gurston Down this year, Harry gave the Eunos a little more encouragement than the final corner could accommodate, and ended up backwards in the field. Not quite how he’d planned to finish the run - ‘It looked easier from the bottom.’

📷 The ‘Moment’
The biggest yes! moment of the year came at the penultimate Wiscombe meeting, with Harry setting a 44.79 PB - knocking a huge 1.2 seconds off his previous best. You can just about see the inside rear lifting as he attacks the final corner.

📷 The Summary
A photo that sums up the year perfectly - whatever the weather or conditions, driving the car as hard as he can and having a great time doing it.

Thanks for sharing your
season highlights, Harry!

08/10/2026

From all at Downton MC, we would like to congratulate Harry Whitehead for winning this years Wiscombe Park Challenge 🏆.

Well done to our runners up, all of whom have personal best record times this season.

Final standings are as follows;

Harry Whitehead - Eunos Roadster - 82.50 pts

Matthew Eardley - Renault Clio - 77.70 pts.

Toby Bishop - Mini Cooper S - 76.38 pts

Zak Cobb - Mini Cooper S R53 - 75.89 pts

Derek Kessell - Maguire Mini Cooper S - 74.94 pts

John Wells - Mini Cooper S - 72.41 pts

We’d like to thank all our drivers who entered this season and of course, thank you to Wiscombe Park and the marshals for having us!

We’re already looking forward to next season to see some old faces and hopefully some new.

📸 Nigel M Cole Photography & Wiscombe Park

06/10/2026

Motorsport looks expensive, but it doesn’t have to be.

Downton membership and Speed Championship entry costs around £30. With events entered separately, you can pick and choose when you fancy having a go.

Here’s newcomer Robbie King taking his road-going Audi TT up the hill at Gurston Down and proving rather handy when the weather turns.

New to Downton in 2026, Robbie gave it a go and got rather hooked. His family have been along for the ride too, camping at events and cheering him on from the sidelines.

A very warm welcome to Robbie. We’ll be delighted to see them back next season.

Fancy having a go yourself? Come and join us.

📸 Vince Feeney

03/10/2026

gets lively.

Harry Whitehead keeping us all entertained (whether that was the plan or not) as he pushes hard in the championship fight.

Address

Salisbury

Website

http://www.Downtonmotor.club/

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