THE hero of British Grand Prix racing through the 1950's and early 1960's Sir Stirling Moss will return to the Footman James Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb on June 2, some 54 years after he first drove the hill in a 500cc Cooper.

The basis for Moss' quite stunning catalogue of wins in Formula One and Sportscar races had it's foundation up the Worcestershire hill that quiet weekend in 1948, but little were we to know that Shelsley Walsh was to help him hit the heights of international racing.

Moss will be at Shelsley to meet fans and drive a Cooper similar to the 500cc and 1000cc versions he drove in the late 40s in a special class devoted to the John Cooper marquee.

The whole weekend looks once more to break records both on and off the track after the enormous meeting at Shelsley in August last year when a record crowd attended the MAC 100 anniversary hill climb extravaganza, while on the track, the outright hill record could be beaten once more by the Flying Scotsman Graeme Wight Junior who beat the 1992 record of 25.34 last June when he stormed up in 25.28 seconds. A £1000 prize for the first person to break 25 seconds is still up for grabs and with a rebuild of the car over the winter, the traction off the line looks to be even better for the reigning British Hill Climb Champion.

"The traction is good in some places but we may be struggling in others so. It will be very interesting to see how I get on at Shelsley," he said.

"There is a little more power from the engine now but the money will come in very useful!"

Although Wight Junior has been dominant in this year's British Hill Climb Championship, he has been beaten by Worcestershire's Tim Mason in the Gould V8, and lost at Shelsley in June last year to Falmouth's Tim Coventry. A real showdown is expected for the ultra fast Top 12 Run Offs during the day.

The whole quota of fast cars are entered for the meeting with their V8 3.5 and 4 litre engines, but a new challenge is appearing to Wight Junior in the shape of Herefordshire's Roger Moran who has a brand new Pilbeam V6 with the same engine as the record holding car.

He is currently second in the title hunt and with the pedigree of Pilbeam marque behind him who have won at Shelsley since 1976, the Bourne (Lincolnshire) factory is on a real charge to win back the balance of power from the Gould factory.

The two litre record should be under attack from Paul Haimes who, in a Dallara ex-Formula Three, has already taken records at other venues so far this season, but Trevor Willis and Ben Butterfield will also be attacking the timing sheets.

Mark Budgett will struggle to match his stunning 1100cc record of last July as he blew his best engine in late April but he should have the engine rebuilt for the meeting.

The Midland Hill Climb Championship will be into its second round where all cars compete to win their class, and so levelling out the competition. Mark Butler's Dax V8 four-wheel drive won the title last year, but Clive Kenrick has moved away from his Caterham into a Mallock and is sure to be a contender for the title once more.

Rally cars are represented with EVO IV, Subaru Impreza, Nissan Pulsar GTIR and Audi Sport Quattros.