I have just discovered the sad news of the loss of Roy Lane, hillclimber extraordinaire and 911 racer par excellence.
For over forty years, Roy was one of the big names in UK hillclimbing, eventually becoming the most successful competitor this country has ever seen. After winning his first national event in 1969, he went on to win the British championship four times. In addition to his four titles, Roy finished in the final top three a staggering seventeen times, amassing a total of 90 victories over the course of his long and inspirational career. You don’t need to have been to a hill climb to realise just how impressive that is.
In addition, Roy won the British Sprint Championship in 1984, notching up 30 sprint championship round wins along the way. He held the Curborough course record for thirteen years, and the Fintray record for twenty!
Reaction to the news on the various motorsport forums gives some indication of the love and respect so many people had for Roy:
“A remarkable man in every way, if there is a heaven you can be sure Roy got there quickest.”
“Charming, witty, self effacing, I hope he has taken his tool box as I’m sure he will find something that he requires fixing in his new garage.”
I was a latecomer to the wonder that was Roy Lane, and even then it was only via his superb silver 911 hillclimb car and hand-built Tech Craft exhaust systems. I remember seeing Roy’s 911 for the first time at Bob Watson’s place and being rendered speechless by the staggering level of detail that had gone into the preparation. To achieve Formula 1 build quality in a home-built, hill climb special was quite an eye-opener. I would love to have seen him run his 6-wheel March up the hill at Prescott, must have been something else.
RIP Roy: thanks for sharing your talents and your 911 with so many entranced enthusiasts. Here’s hoping they have sunny days and sticky tyres wherever you are now.
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Nice piece John.
Amen.