Remember Me

Following his recent restoration of OMS chassis 003, historic OMS collector Dave Oldridge has started restoration of chassis 040: the ex-Mark Lawrence OMS CF1 car built in 1995. This was the first OMS to win a national hillclimb championship - the 1999 Hoosier sponsored MSA Hillclimb Leaders Championship, in Mark's hands.

Since then the car has passed via Robin Marquand, to the Coopers Liam and Olivia and now to Dave. Along the way it has been re-engineered several times, though Dave plans to return it to its original 1999 specification with a Kawasaki ZZR1100 motor, "the snorkel" and lurid green livery as seen below in this photograph courtesy of Steve Wilkinson.

Taken in September 1999, Mark's championship winning season, the car is seen climbing East Brae at Doune Hill Climb.

That was the season when we saw for the first time the twin run-off system in the British Hillclimb Championship. At this September Doune meeting Mark qualified for both of the run-offs, finishing 9th overall in the first run off and 8th in run off 2. At that time Mark was the first of the modern small capacity motor bike engine cars to qualify and score British points: he scored 13 British Hillclimb Championship points from 6 run offs during 1999, his highest finish being 6th overall at the previous June Doune meeting.

This giant killing performance in the diminutive 1100cc car earned Mark recognition at the BHC dinner when for the first time an award and prize money were given to the highest placed 1100cc racing car in the British Hillclimb Championship: an honour previously reserved for 1600cc cars and over.

Date: 30/11/2014 | Author: L.Owen