Roy Lane (c. 1935 – 14 October 2009) was a British

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

driver. He is best known for his great success in

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

, having won the

British Hillclimb 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 th ...

on four occasions (1975, 1976, 1992, and 1996) in a career spanning more than three decades. Lane won 90 individual rounds of the championship, a record equaled by

Martin Groves Martin Groves is a British hillclimb driver, who won the British Hill Climb Championship in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. With older cars he had won five rounds of the BHCC between 2001 and 2004, but in 2005 he was exceptionally quick in his new Gou ...

in July 2009. Lane still holds the course record at Curborough sprint track; 26.84 sec

in his Pilbeam MP58-09 4 litre DFL since 21 April 1996, where he was almost invincible. In the 1990s, his partnership with the Pilbeam Racing Designs, Pilbeam constructor was one of the most successful in the sport. The back problems which troubled Lane for many years kept his appearances to a minimum in recent seasons, although he still competed on occasion, and continued to be competitive in sprinting. He made a full return to hillclimbing in 2006, at the wheel of a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...

. Lane was formerly chief instructor at the Prescott Hillclimb Drivers School. Roy Lane died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

on 14 October 2009.

References

British hillclimb drivers 2009 deaths 1935 births Deaths from peritonitis Brighton Speed Trials people {{England-autoracing-bio-stub