Back in the vroom – Phil races for Ron Short Centre after a 30-year absence
CONTINUING his return to hill climb racing after an absence of some 30 years, Phil Le Ber took his car up Le Val Des Terres in aid of the Ron Short Centre yesterday.
The 1993 Toyota MR2 2.0 GTi16, was one of the vehicles in the class for standard production cars, and was normally used to drive him to work each day.
After deciding to get back into motor sport, Mr Le Ber said he wanted to use his car to promote smaller local charities with a lower profile than some of the large ones.
On this occasion, he had chosen The Ron Short Centre, and the car bore stickers bearing the centre’s logo and name.
‘I’ve been known to the centre for many years,’ he said.
‘My father was on the committee.
‘I raced about 25-30 years ago, but I did a couple of hills last year, and did a sprint on my bike on Saturday.’
He said he intended to support a different charity at different events.
‘I’d like to use some of the smaller charities and just give them a bit of a mention,’ he said.
He was not ready in time for the practise run, but on his first attempt in the event proper he managed a fastest time of 46.13 seconds.
The class record stands at 36.93.
Now he is back in motor racing again, he hoped to continue for some time to come.
‘While I am able to do it, I want to get a few years of this under my belt,’ he said.
Once he had done a few more events he hoped to upgrade his racing licence to tackle something more ‘racey’.
n The Ron Short Centre’s sponsoring of Mr Le Ber’s car was part of its efforts to raise awareness of its own work and attract more business or charitable partnership.
It is seeking to get help reducing a £20,000-a-year deficit.
