TAUNTON resident Ben Bonfield has won this year’s TyreMarks Association of South Western Motor Clubs (ASWMC) Hillclimb Championship.

This continues a great run for Ben – following on from him winning the ASWMC Sprint Championship in 2020.

It has been a perfect year for him; he had seven record breaking runs out of a possible ten in the competition.

His car – the Jedi Mk4 built in 1995 – is an ex circuit, works race car that was used by Jedi founder John Corbyn.

Somerset County Gazette: Ben being presented the ChampionshipBen being presented the Championship

The car was designed as an entry level, affordable, single seater racing car using a motorbike engine – most commonly the Suzuki Hayabusa.

Ben located the car in Guernsey in late 2016, and has been continually developing it into the highly successful, record beating car that it now is.

Ben is a qualified engineer and carries out all the work on the car himself with assistance from his father, Tony.

He started competing in 2004 aged 16, sharing his father’s highly modified Mk1 Mini.

When not indulging in his passion for speed, Ben works in the Taunton based, family business.Somerset County Gazette: Driving in the wetDriving in the wet

Up next for Ben is to make some modifications to the bodywork on the car to improve the aerodynamic’s, in preparation for his 2022 title defence.

For anyone wanting to find out more about the sport of speed hillclimbing, the Wiscombe Park website, www.wiscombepark.co.uk and Facebook page contains a lot of useful information and event news.