Bill was interviewed for his local paper, the Basingstoke Gazette in the August 27 issue:

Young-at-heart Bill Gouldthrope is a speed demon at the tender at of seventy-something. The retired lorry driver can be found most weekends driving his Duratec Van Dieman at up to 160mph in his chosen sport - sprint racing. The Basingstoke resident used to do vintage ploughing at the sedate pace of 5mph, but now, thanks of his supercar, which can create out 275bhp, he is more used to travelling a speeds into three figures.

His route to one of the least-knowns form of motorsport hegan when he helping out as a mechanic in the 1960s for local racer Roy Adlam. a garage owner in the town. He then moved behind the wheel, first in karting and then in a Sierra Cosworth.

His first sprint event, some 20 years ago, was at Goodwood, and since then he has gone from strength to strength. The Sussex track still remains his favourite and he now laps the 2.4-mile circuit in a time of 81 seconds, which gave him the Fastest on the Day Trophey at the Goodwood Sprint earlier this year. The driver competes right across the country in the British Sprint Championships, and he also takes part in the Southern Championships and deives at places such as Castle Combe, Stowe and Pembrey.

As you speak to the very likeable man, you can sense his euthusiasm for the sport. He said, "It is a great feeling travelling at these speeds and my car is just brilliant. It goes even better in the wet. I think doing this keeps me feeling young, and I remember a youngster who was driving a GT Porsche. He was expecting to beat me, but on that occasion I was quicker than him. I could see he was not happy about it."

Like a lot of sportsmen, he is very superstitious and always get into the race cockpit from the sames side. He joked: "I don't know when it started, but I always climb in from the right and also always wear the same underpants - washed of course."

If you wish to see Gouldthorpe & his superb car in action, you can do so at the National Speed Trials being held in Maderia Drive, in Brighton on Saturday, September 13. This is Britian's oldest motor racing event and was first staged in 1905. Talking about the event, the Basingstole driver said: "It is a great atmosphere and the chance to see a lot of cars close-up and in action. I look forward to the event every year."