Guyson sponsor Hepworth ‘Guyson Sandblaster Special’
A true ‘blast from the past’ turned up at Industrial finishing equipment manufacturer Guyson International’s Skipton headquarters last Thursday 15th June, when the Hepworth 'Guyson Sandblaster Special' made a special appearance in their showroom to show off its full restoration glory and say a massive "Thank you" to Guyson’s current owner James Thomson for sponsoring a set of custom made new tyres – as the car was previously shod in the original tyres from back in the 1970s when it was last run.
The four wheel drive ‘Guyson Sandblaster Special’ was brought to the showroom by Andrew Hepworth the son of the original cars builder and driver David Hepworth and the sponsorship nicely comes full circle as it re-engages with Guyson International, a long time Hill-climb supporter, to bring backing to the project as it did in the early 70’s under James’ father.
The car unfortunately could only make a fleeting visit as it is very soon destined for the ‘Goodwood Festival of Speed’ where it has been invited to take part in the event. Especially fitting, in this the 70th anniversary year of the British hill climb championship, in which it excelled, winning the Championship in both 1969 and 1971 and being created and driven by Yorkshireman David Hepworth.
After its success in the 1969 British hill climb championship the car was fitted with Chevrolet power and grew aerodynamic wings, keeping the car competitive over the next three seasons as well as winning the 1971 series the combination of this development and David’s “uncompromising driving” narrowly missed out on the 1970 and 72 titles and both car and driver became one of the must see combinations for fans of the Championship.
For motoring enthusiasts, the car was seen fully fired up and running, driven by Andrew, Stephen and Ryan Hepworth at different stages of the Goodwood ‘Festival of Speed’ - 29th Jun - 2nd Jul 2017.
It can be seen here performing in all its glory:
Postscript: The Hepworth 'Guyson Sandblaster Special' won its class at the festival and the team were presented with this Winners Medal.
For motor sports aficionados there is an extensive seven page article about the Hepworth 'Guyson Sandblaster Special' in the September 2017 issue of MotorSport.