THE two-day Gurston Hill Climb event near Salisbury provided racing action at the weekend.

The Saturday competition was a round of the Paul Matty Sports Cars Championship for Lotus cars.

Sunday's event was the first round of the Gates of Brockenhurst Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship and the BARC (SW) Top Ten Challenge.

Saturday's appetiser saw last year's Top Ten Challenge title protagonists Peter Smith (Yeovil, 3.5 Gould GR37 V8) and Basil Pitt (Ferndown, 2.6 Gould GR55C V8) face off once again.

Having been pipped to the 2005 Top Ten Challenge title by Pitt on a tiebreak, Smith was in determined mood and exacted some revenge as Pitt settled himself into his new car on the first day.

But Pitt hit back to edge out Smith by a quarter of a second the following day to take an early lead in this year's challenge.

Ilminster's Bob Mortimer pedalled the family 3.5 litre Porsche to the over 2000cc modified production marque sports car class wins on both days.

He defeated his sons, Mark and Richard, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

There were more family frolics in the up to 1,400cc modprod saloon car class, too, as Graham Masters edged out son Neil by just three hundredths of a second on Saturday in the Southsea pair's 1.4 Austin Mini.

On Sunday an inspired Jim White (Southampton) was the only driver in the class under 40 seconds on the slippery track and took the win by nearly a second in his 1.4 Mini.

That gave him an early lead in the bogey time-based Gates of Brockenhurst Gurston Down Hill Climb Championship.

Other double winners over the weekend included Wareham's Anthony Orchard in his well-driven 1.4 Westfield Megabusa in the up to 1,400cc modprod sports car class.

Verwood's Andy Bascombe notched up a pair of wins in his 2.0 Ford Escort in the up to 2,000cc modprod saloon class.

Gurston's main sponsor, Jonathan Gates from Lymington, did likewise in his 2.0 Westfield in the up to 2,000cc modprod sports car class.

Former Bournemouth resident Colin Smith flew in from New York to rack up a double in his turbocharged 2.0 Ford Escort Cosworth in the over 2,000cc modprod saloon class.

Andover's Geoff Hunt took his almost customary wins in the historically interesting class in his lovely Lotus 22.

Aldershot's Keith Diggle did the double in the up to 2,000cc sports libre class in his WEV - a feat matched by Salisbury's Chris Cannell in his twin-engined 2.6 Force SR8 in the over 2,000cc sports libre class.

With their supercharged DJ Firehawk undergoing repairs, father and son Mike and Nik Gregory (Stockbridge and Houghton respectively) brought out their 1.1 Jedi in the 1,100cc racing car class.

Nik won on both days with his dad second in class on Sunday.

Lymington's Peter Sexton took the expected pair of 1,600cc racing car class wins fairly comfortably in his 1.6 OMS.