David Hepworth was a British racing driver, who won the

British Hill Climb Championship The British Hill Climb Championship (BHCC) is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history, for example, the hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is t ...

twice, in 1969 and 1971. In the early-mid 1960s Hepworth drove an

Austin-Healey 3000 The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports car built from 1959 until 1967. It is the best known of the "big Healey" models. The car's bodywork was made by Jensen Motors and the vehicles were assembled at BMC's MG Works in Abingdon, alongsid ...

fitted with a Chevrolet engine in both rallies and circuit racing, but by 1968 he was driving a Hepworth-

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

; in this he won a

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppor ...

race at

Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...

late in that season. In hillclimbing, Hepworth competed in a Repco-Brabham before turning to a self-constructed Hepworth-FF

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

special. With this car he won the

in 1969 and 1971, in the latter year also becoming the first driver to break the 30-second barrier at

Shelsley Walsh Shelsley Walsh is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the western side of the River Teme. For administrative purposes it is presently located in the Teme Valley ward of the county’s Malvern Hills district. In the 2011 ...

. He drove a BRM- Chevrolet P154 (and later a P167) in

Interserie Interserie is the name of a European-based motorsport series started in 1970 that allows for a wide variety of racing cars from various eras and series to compete with less limited rules than in other series. Created in 1970 by German Gerhard Härl ...

racing (a European version of CanAm) between 1972 and 1974. Years later, a team run by Hepworth obtained the last BRM, the 1979 P230, and had it modified to CanAm spec, but the car was crashed and damaged by their test driver before it could be raced.

References

British hillclimb drivers Year of death missing Year of birth missing {{UK-autoracingbio-stub