X Shift Gearboxes Powers Clive Stangle to Historic Gurston Down Championship Victory

The 2025 Gurston Down Speed Hillclimb Championship has just witnessed one of its most memorable moments — and X Shift Gearboxes is proud to have been at the heart of it.

Behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, fitted with an X Shift H-pattern dog box, Clive Stangle of Team Rapid Evo delivered a performance that motorsport fans won’t forget anytime soon. His mission for the season was as ambitious as they come: not only to take the overall championship title, but to break a nine-year-old record for the fastest 4WD road-going car on the hill.

That’s no small challenge. The outright title meant going head-to-head with the fastest single-seaters in the championship, while the record had resisted countless attempts from some of the UK’s best drivers for almost a decade. But when the pressure was at its peak, Clive and his Evo rose to the occasion.

At the double-header finale, Clive knew there was no room for error. To take the championship outright, he would need to produce personal bests on both of his final runs. And he did exactly that. Not only did he clinch the outright championship title, but he also stopped the clock at a lightning-fast 32.78 seconds — resetting the long-standing class record in spectacular fashion.

Check out his legendary ride here.

This wasn’t just a victory for Clive; it was a showcase of what determination, engineering excellence, and the right gearbox can achieve together. The accuracy and reliability of the X Shift dog box gave Clive the confidence to push to the absolute limit, lap after lap.

For us at X Shift Gearboxes, this achievement is about more than just trophies. It’s about proving, once again, that our gearboxes are built to perform at the very top level of motorsport — under pressure, against the best, and when history is on the line.

Massive congratulations to Clive Stangle and Team Rapid Evo for an extraordinary season and a well-deserved place in Gurston Down history.