HILLCLIMB ace Stephen Irvine set out on this year’s Luffield Speed Championship with the aim of winning his class.

Instead, the Worsthorne driver (pictured right) swept the board, claiming three titles in a nail-biting finale at the historic Prescott course in Gloucestershire.

Irvine clinched the Northern Championship title after topping the northern class and the national classes in his self-prepared MGB GT.

“It’s been a terrific season. I’ve broken the class record in all six rounds I’ve contested and won three trophies, it doesn’t get much better than this,” said Stephen, who works for Aircelle in Burnley.

But he didn’t have it all his own way, and the battle for the championship went right down to the wire with a thrilling last-round shoot-out with arch-rival David Coulthard - not the former Grand Prix driver - from Halifax in West Yorkshire.

With points awarded for the times set, Irvine needed to complete the 1127-yard course in 52.98 seconds or less in order to take the title.

And despite it being his first time at Prescott, he clocked 52.91 seconds with an inch-perfect first run.

“It didn’t register at first because the digital read-out clock is away from the finish line on the run back to the paddock,” said Stephen.

“But when I realised I’d done it, I just started screaming in the car. When I got back to the paddock it was fantastic, my wife Gaynor gave me a big hug and everyone was shaking my hand.

“One of the first things I did was ring my mum and dad, Willie and Rita, to tell them, and they were ecstatic for me.

“It’s been a long, hard season and there's been a lot of pressure, but it was worth it all for that minute.”

Stephen puts his success down to careful preparation of both the car and the driver.

“I’ve always made sure the car is prepared properly and the work is completed well ahead of race weekend, and all I have to think about is how to drive the course,” he explained.

“In sprinting and hillclimbing, you only get a maximum of three practice runs, so you don’t get long behind the wheel.

“At Prescott I spent a lot of time on mental preparation. I walked the track, and watched other cars at every corner, looking at the lines they took and seeing where they went flat-out and where they took it easy.

“After the practice runs, there was a three-hour lunch break, so I had a long nap and really chilled out.

“I had the course mapped out in my head and once I set off from the startline it all went perfectly.”

“There's only one disappointment. I'm on holiday when the awards ceremony takes place in November - but my dad's volunteered for that one. He likes a good party!”

l Stephen Irvine, who is supporting the Motor Neurone Disease Association, would like to thank his mum and dad, Willie and Rita, and wife Gaynor for their support, and also Daniel Harper and Rob Waddington at Minisport of Padiham. Thanks also to sponsor Brian Henderson of GBBUK Ltd, Forensic Collision Investigation & Research, based at Burnley Wharf.