Clive was born in Worcester Park, Surrey in 1952.    
He first attended a motor race at the age of 6 when he was taken to see the first British Grand Prix to be held after the second world war.    
His first appearance on track was circuit racing on a motorcycle at Silverstone at the age of 18    
May 1967 SPR. BHRA Big Go. Clive Skilton was driving a 997cc Ford powered version of an HRF Opus which he drove to the track from Hemel Hempstead. He also won the Top Street Eliminator driving an E Type Jag.  
August 27th/28th 1967 SPR. British Drag Race Championship Meeting.  After action on the track had finished the 200 campers, and the assembled competitors, made the most of the warm evening and various parties sprang up, one of which was being organised by the start line crew. They had laid claim to Jack Stillwells 'Stripside Stores' and were supplying free drinks with music and dancing. For reasons which are not apparent Clive Skilton decided to see how many women he could cram into the cockpit of his 'Henry T' Hot Rod. The answer being a staggering 15!  
September 24th 1967 SPR. Records Meeting. Clive made a little piece of history at this meeting when he became the first person to win both the Super Eliminator (in the Stingray) and the Competition Eliminator (in the 'Henry T' Altered) on the same day. He also won the Sports & GT B  and the G Street Altered Class Eliminations. For all class results click here.  
October 29th 1967 SPR. Last chance Car Meeting. With time to spare at the end of proceedings some match racing was in order with a best of three between Clive Skiltons Stingray and John Woolfes Shelby Cobra. Skilton had a two second start in his Stingray and was caught and beaten in the first race by Woolfe. In the second Woolfe left too early and pulled a red, handing the win to Skilton. In the final and deciding race John was careful not to repeat this and waited too long to catch Clive at the top end.  
1968 The Allard dragster was re-named the 'Allard-Skilton' dragster after Clive Skilton acquired a share in the car. Business commitments meant that Allard had been unable to run the car as much as he would have liked so Clive took over the driving duties.  
April 15th 1968 SPR. Easter Monday. Season Opener for cars.  10,552 spectators turned up for the first meeting of the season. Tony Densham and Clive Skilton held a match race which saw the Commuter lose fire twice before Skilton was given the green and ran 9.13/163.4 for the fastest time of the meet and a new speed record. To see all class winners from this meet click here  
May 5th 1968 SPR. Car meeting. Clive Skilton ran low E.T. and top speed of the meeting with a 9.268/160.77 run.  
June 2nd/3rd 1968 SPR. BHRA Big Go. Cars only. Clive Skilton, was running in competition in the Allard/Skilton rail. Clive and crew were determined to be the first into the eights and ran consistently under 9.2 seconds at over 160mph. His best of the weekend was 9.005. The finals took place on a rain-soaked track and Clive Skilton took the honours in Top Eliminator with an 11.40/129.03 to Brian Ringsells 14.02 in 'Taxi'. Clives dad took the final win in the Viva Drivers Eliminator.  
June 15th/16th 1968 SPR.  Combined car and motorcycle meeting including night racing. Clive Skilton was entered in the Allard/Skilton rail, he ran low E.T. and best time for competing cars with a storming 9.043/167.50. On his second qualifying run he lunched the clutch but still stopped the clocks at 9.5/144.  
July 21st 1968 SPR. Combined car and motorcycle meeting including night racing. Clive Skilton, in the Skilton/Allard rail clocked a 9.236/156.49. Skilton entered the eliminations having been advised not to run with a damaged head gasket. He ignored the advice and shut down the Ringsell-Reynolds 'Taxi' and Alan Blounts Chevy powered 'Weekend Warrior II', before meeting Mark Stratton in the 'Hustler' altered for the final. Stratton made a good start and left the line ahead of Skilton but Clive smoked the tyres the whole way through, passing Mark at about 100 yards, and winning with a 9.543/148.15 to a losing 10.95/124.22.  
August 16th-18th 1968 Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp, Sweden. S.H.R.A. 'First Go'. The S.H.R.A. sponsored the trip over to Sweden for the Sluggett/Priddle 'Tudor Rose' and the Allard/Skilton rail. Both teams arrived on the Friday and opted to make a practice run. Skilton flew in on the Saturday afternoon to find his car waiting at the start line! Legend has it that the Swedes couldn't understand why he would not climb straight in the car and drive it in his suit and tie! Skilton put in his first run and had trouble on the launch, almost killing the motor, but recovering to a 10.60. Plugs and oil were checked and the timing re-set. They even oiled the slicks in an effort to break loose. Approaching the start line Clive pushed the brake on and the car slid forwards, he pulled it back into stage and ran over Rex Sluggetts foot. Rex spent the rest of the weekend on a crutch. The first run off saw both machines pulling wheelies with Priddle winning at 8.80 seconds. Priddle took the second round also, both cars launching more smoothly, but Skiltons chute failed at the top end, someone forgot to remove the safety cord. The final round saw Skilton take an early lead but in his bid for revenge the blower let go and Priddle powered through for the win. Christine Skilton was loaned a 1968 Mustang to run on the Sunday. She managed a best of 14.90.  
July26th/27th 1969   Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp, Sweden. The Second Annual Anderstorp Trip saw six UK cars make the trip along with four bikes. They were John Siggery in Geronimo, Allan Herridge in Motovation, Harold Bull in Stripduster, Dennis Priddle in the Whistler and the fuelers of Tony Densham and Clive Skilton (debuting the new look Allard/Skilton rail with a top mounted blower and new white paintjob). Siggery ran his best time of the meeting, a 9.6 in losing to Clive Skilton. the final saw Skilton take the win to a Geronimo time of 10.19/113.02. Skilton won 3/3, Densham 2/3 and Siggery 1/3.
August 16th/17th 1969

Woodvale. BDR&HRA "On Tour" Meeting. In the Dragster ranks Clive Skilton led the way in qualifying with a 9.4 from the Allard Chrysler Revolution. Skilton put in a solo run in Walt Ithel's twin-engined Aggrevation in the first round, resulting in a 10.03 with a dragging clutch. The final looked to be a certainty for Skilton, but he bogged off the line and John Siggery took full advantage, taking the win with a 9.789 to a 10.105.

August  30th/ September 1st 1969 SPR. British Drag Racing Championships. Clive Skilton wins the Top Dragster class with a 9.66/156.99 over John Siggerys 9.87/129.70.  
September 28th 1969 Hullavington. The BDR&HRA organised another On Tour meeting, their first at this Wiltshire venue. There were 56 car entries and 14 bike entries and all were affected by the strong, gusting winds. Clive Skilton in the Allard/Skilton rail couldn’t qualify due to oil problems.
July 11th/12th 1970

SPR held its first RAC sanctioned International meeting. On Saturday Clive Skilton clocked an 8.55/154.8 in his newly unveiled Revolution 11.Top Dragster eliminations saw an out of shape run from Priddle beat Siggery with an 8.9/135 to a 9.51/133. Skilton then defeated Bjorn Anderson with an 8.75/152 to a 9.7/141. Herridge had a bye and clocked a 9.7/147. In the first semi Priddle and Skilton put on a great show, with Dennis taking the win, 8.28/183 to 8.32/173. On Sunday in the Top Dragster eliminations Mike Hutcherson took an easy first round win at 16.14 after Skilton's butterflies stuck open.

August 9th 1970 Elvington. NDRC Meeting. In front of 1186 adult & 200 child spectators Clive Skilton becomes the first European racer to run into the sevens with a 7.84.   
August 30th/31st 1970 SPR. August Bank Holiday Meeting.Clive Skilton dips into the sevens again after his historic run two weeks earlier at Elvington with a new low E.T. record of 7.56/179mph run in his 'Revolution' dragster. For meeting results click here  
October 3rd/4th 1970 Records Weekend. Elvington. During Clive's first attempt at the standing start quarter mile the engine of his Revolution 2 expired in spectacular fashion. The failure of a piston was thought to be the problem.
November 27th 1970 Walthamstow Stadium. Amongst a wide variety of motor racing exhibits were a large number of Drag Racing vehicles. Many cars made demonstration runs on the short oval circuit before Clive Skilton blasted down the straight in Second Revolution with tyres smoking, only just managing to negotiate the turns at the end.
April 11th/12th 1971 At the Easter meet at SPR Clive Skilton  debuts his new dragster 'Second Revolution' and becomes the first to run 200mph in the U.K. and set a new UK low E.T. with a 7.39/203 straight off the trailer! Clive lost to Dennis Priddle in the final when he pulled a red light.On the Monday both rails returned to duel a best of three match race with Clive taking the win in the first round. At the end of round two it was evens with both cars actually stopping the clocks with identical 7.67 s. Dennis then put together a best ever 197 mph pass for the decider but Clive got to the lights first.  
April 25th 1971 Gosport HMS Daedalus Navy Base. The BDR&HRA's first "on tour" meeting of the season. Organised by the Mayor of Gosports Charity Appeals Committee in aid of cancer research more than 10,000 people attended and were treated to three shattering match races between Clive Skiltons " Second Revolution" and Dennis Priddles Hot Wheels . Neither car was able to show it's full potential due to the strips uneveness but Clive won the final with an impressive 8.6 to Dennis's quicker 8.4.  
May 30th-31st 1971 SPR. Big Go. Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton were both making check out passes on the Sunday. Clive ran a couple of mid sevens and Dennis ran an eight with handling problems. In their first race on Monday, Clive won with a 7.63/203 to Dennis’ 7.74/174 early shut-off with handling problems. The second race was similar with Dennis getting out of shape and heading towards Clive who was forced to click it off early. Clive won in 7.92/136 to Dennis’ 7.86/172. Dennis then discovered one of his rear wheels had a half inch buckle in it which was causing the handling problems.
July 10th/11th 1971 SPR. BDR&HRA International Drags. In the final Clive Skilton faced up to Dennis Priddle in the JWR/Hot Wheels fueler who had been running the quicker E.T.s of the meeting (regular 7.3s). Dennis lost traction on the money run and Clive took the win with a 7.35 to Priddles 7.55/190.  
July 1971 Reported in July Custom Car magazine. Clive Skilton the British low-ET record holder is making plans to enter his Second Revolution Chrysler digger at this years NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis at the end of September. Clive reckons his Keith Black 392 motor will be able to withstand the high (95%) nitro loads required to qualify. So far he has managed to raise $2,400 of the $10,000 needed to ship the team out. Major sponsors are Castrol, Champion and GUD filters.  
August 29th/30th 1971 SPR. BDRHRA meeting. Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton were jointly presented with a special trophy by Kelly-Springfield for the persons doing the most for the "furtherance of the sport" during the 1971 season.  
April 2nd/3rd 1972 Santa Pod reported that 23,000 people attended their Easter meet.On the Monday Dennis Priddle runs unopposed in the final to record the quickest E.T. outside the US with a 7.06 at 181mph. His opponent was to have been Clive Skilton but a sheared fuel pump drive in the fire up lane ended Clives race. Dennis had earlier set a new top speed record at 204mph. Clive was debuting the UKs first  rear engined fueler, 'Revolution 3'. Teething troubles saw a few non-starts for the car but by the end of the meeting Clive had recorded a best of 7.70.  
April 16th 1972 SPR. There were only 1500 spectators at the meeting. Clive Skilton in the new Revolution III ran its best time so far 7.5/195.
May 20th/21st 1972 North Luffenham. NDRC Meeting. Rain on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon held up proceedings but all the classes were completed. Clive Skilton put in a single run in his 'Revolution III' fueler. He lost traction as soon as he launched and smoked the tyres before shutting off and seizing the fuel pump.  
May 28th/29th 1972 SPR. Big Go. Clive Skilton had a bad back and did not run until the second day, by which time Priddle had run 6.95/208. In the final race Priddle beat Skiltons red-lighting 7.27 with a 6.93.  
July 8th/9th 1972 SPR. "3rd Internationals". The entry list contained racers from Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, the U.S.A., South Africa and the UK. The first day of the weekend was lost to rain. Sunday was better and Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton ran a side-by-side 7.1 to 7.2 second race in qualifying. In the first race the Priddle followed up his first six second run a month earlier with a 6.88/185.19 holeshot win to Skiltons 7.07/203.25, new personal best E.T.s for both drivers. Later on they matched up again and Dennis made it three in a row with a 7.08 while Skilton lost four pistons and the blower on a 9.04.  
August 20th 1972   Blackbushe. Hot Car/Radio Luxembourg Grandnationals. NDRC Meeting. A crowd of nearly 20,000 saw Dennis Priddle smoke the full quarter mile to record a 6.91/211, the fastest speed so far in the UK. He was taking part in a match race with Clive Skilton who struggled to a 7.62/189 using the 392ci Hemi from the recently deceased 'Transcontinental' Funny Car. Earlier in the day the pair had run two other races. The first saw Priddle take the win with a 6.92/194 (the first six at Blackbushe) to Skiltons 7.87/180. In the second race Priddle had fuel problems after a strong burnout and shut off to leave Clive to clock a 7.89/189 solo.
August 27th/28th 1972 At SPRs Nationals Skilton lost to Priddle in the first side by side six second race. Skilton ran 6.89/215 (his first six), Priddles slingshot ran 6.67secs. The first side by side 200mph run happened at the same meet when Herridges 'Firefly' ran a 7.34/201 against Skiltons 7.41/200.  
September 9th 1972 Brighton Speed Trials. Clive Skilton took his 392ci Chrysler powered 'Revolution III' to smoky runs of 8.1 and 8.7 seconds.  
September 30th/October 1st 1972 Elvington. International Sprint Organisation World Records Weekend. Clive Skilton took 'Revolution III' to a new world 500 metres standing start record of 8.4 seconds with a terminal speed of 240mph.  
October 21st/22nd 1972 SPR. BDR&HRA G Max Grand Trophy Meeting. Allan Herridge performed Britains first ever flame burnout at this meeting in the Firefly slingshot. He then followed it with the fastest Top Fuel speed outside the US, a 7.51/218. His opponent for the race, Clive Skilton, had shut off with a faulty oil pressure gauge. Allan red lit however so a re-run was called. This time Clive pulled a red on a 7.04/204 pass as Herridge coasted through in 11.53/88.44 for the win.  
February 3rd-17th 1973 At the Winternationals meeting at Pomona California Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle become the first UK car drivers to race on an American drag strip. They had both gone out to purchase cars to bring back to the UK. Priddle qualified 25th in a 32 car field while Skilton made the bump spot. The event turned into a shambles and was possibly the longest drag race meeting of all time. For an  excellent full account of the event from Simon Groves click here.  
April 8th 1973 Castrol /RAC NDRC National Championship Round One. Wroughton, Wiltshire. 9000 spectators turned out to witness the start of the 1973 NDRC National Championship. 75 entries was a lower than expected turnout and the infamous NDRC timing equipment was playing up and refused to give out any terminal speeds. Star of the day was Clive Skilton who was debuting his newly imported, ex-Kuhl & Olsen fueler with its 446ci Beadle-built Dodge Hemi. Clive clocked a 7.18 off the trailer on only 60% nitro before lining up for a match race with Roland Pratt. Pratt was driving Clives car from the previous year, with a new paintjob and sponsorship from Accles & Pollock. He put in a smoky familiarisation pass, shutting off at half track before the match. The first leg saw Skilton win with a 7.10 to Pratts early shut off 8.44. The second round saw Pratt into the sevens for the first time with a 7.83 loser to Skiltons 7.11. The final round saw Pratt get his revenge with a 7.71 while Skilton bogged off the line and went every which way but straight in an effort to catch up, eventually losing with an 8.37.
May 6th 1973 Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round Two Fulbeck, Nottinghamshire. Despite the intermittent rain 6000 spectators turned up for the days action. Qualifying eventually got underway at 11am and went on until 1pm. Clive Skilton (Revolution IV) and Roland Pratt (Revolution III) were the only two fuelers present. Their first match race saw both cars loose fire on the line before re-starting. Clive ran 7.25/204 but Roland was left on the line with a broken throttle linkage. The second race saw Skilton win with a 7.40/194 to Pratts 8.85/109. Flames were spotted on Skiltons motor after the finish so the safety crew had to use an extinguisher to avoid any more problems. This meant that Clive would be unable to make the last race. Pratt soloed to an easy 11.09. Meanwhile Christine Skilton pulled off a surprise victory in Senior Street, driving a Mercedes Benz 350 SLC Automatic. This won her the Sperex/RSD award for 'Best Lady Driver'.  
May 26th/27th 1973 The Hot Car Big Go. SPR. 200 cars and bikes made up the entry list for this meeting with a record of seven British-owned fuel dragsters. Qualifying saw the debut of Clive Skiltons back-motored 'Fourth Revolution' with an off the trailer 6.74/204.9. Clives old car was driven by Roland Pratt who clocked a 7.68/189. In eliminations Skilton ran a half pass 7.79/124.35 on his bye run. The second round only saw one race before the rain brought the meeting to an abrupt end. Clive Skilton ran a 6.85/205.76 to defeat Allan Herridge who clocked top speed of the weekend with a 7.45/210.08.
July 7th/8th 1973 BDR&HRA Peterson Publishing Internationals. Round 1. SPR. Top Fuel saw Clive Skilton as number one qualifier with a 6.80. Round One saw a 6.88/191.57 solo from Skilton but the semis saw Priddle defeat Skilton 6.63/191 to 6.80/207.90, the second side-by-side six seen in the UK.  
July 22nd 1973 BDR&HRA Internationals. Finals. SPR. Pro Fuel saw Clive Skilton return with a freshly installed 417 Donovan motor in his rail which he got down to 7.30/194.17 on the Sunday morning. The final pairing in Round One saw 'Firefly' die on the line while Clive Skilton  soloed to a 7.35/200.80. Skilton then soloed his way to the final with a 7.81/198 in the semis. The final had the makings of a tense affair. If Nancy won he would walk away with the series trophy. If Skilton won the title would go to Priddle. Nancy was favourite but after the burnouts his clutch locked up and Skilton soloed for the win with a 6.93/203.67.  
August 19th 1973 Blackbushe, Surrey. NDRC Grandnationals. Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round Four. The NDRC came in for some criticism after this meeting for the state of its timing equipment and the lack of traction on the strip (the start line had been moved back from previous events). Three fuelers made an appearance and Clive Skilton managed a 7.52/202 in qualifying. Skilton took the first win with a 7.59/202 while Priddle smoked and shut off with a shelled rear end and an 8.28 timeslip. Roland Pratt then wrecked his motor while defeating Skilton, the clocks failing to provide a winng time and speed to Clives losing 7.74/192. With Pratt and Priddle now out of action Skilton was adjudged to be the class winner after a final, unremarkable, solo run.  
August August 26th/27th 1973 SPR. BDR&HRA Nationals. Once again Priddle and Skilton made it to the final of Pro Fuel, Clive by virtue of a 6.99/223.21 (top speed of the meeting) win over a wheelstanding Mike Hutcherson in Houndog, while Priddle defeated Allan Herridges 'Firefly' with a holeshot 6.78/181.82 to a 7.13/206.19. Priddle had qualified at #1 with a 6.70/200 on the Sunday. In a close final Skilton got there first with a 6.72/221 to Priddles 6.68/210.  
September 9th 1973 Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round Five, Long Marston. Racing starts on a temporary basis at Long Marston airfield near Stratford-Upon-Avon under the NDRC. Clive Skilton put in a 7.8/160 after a smoky start. Roland Pratt then ran an 8.27/179 followed by Priddle with another smoky pass and early shut off that resulted in an 8.27/130. A round robin format was adopted for the three cars. The first round saw Skilton take the win with a 7.2/208 to yet another smoky pass from Priddle at 8.2. The next round saw an improvement for Priddle, still smoking the tyres, but this time with a holeshot and a 7.9/164 win over a 7.8/187 from Pratt. Round three saw Pratt get the holeshot over Skilton and take a 7.69/190 win over Skilton's 7.35/206. With each competitior having won a round the win was awarded to Skilton by virtue of his low ET.  
September 30th 1973

Blackbushe, Surrey. NDRC Championship Finals. Castrol/RAC NDRC National Championship Round Six. Brian Bucknall became the 1973 NDRC Champion with another win in Middle Street in his 'Mellow Yellow' Lotus 7. Part of his prize included a brand new VW Beetle donated by the Skilton Motor Group. Clive Skilton himself had hopes of becoming the first RAC/Castrol series champion but a defeat by Dennis Priddle in the Top Fuel Final meant that Junior Street driver Robin Tallis took the title with a win over Lin Brown. In Top Fuel top qualifier was Clive Skilton with a 7.5, followed by Dennis Priddle with a smoky 7.95 with an early shut off.  Round One saw Skilton solo to a 7.58 after earlier returning to the pits with a brake failure.  In the flag started final Skilton had backed off slightly in an effort to improve traction and, despite a good launch, Priddle got there first with a 7.47 to a losing 7.74, both cars disappearing in clouds of tyre smoke in the fading light.

October 6th/7th 1973 SPR. Castrol Championship Finals. Heavy rain on the first day put the qualifying session back by three hours, causing it to run over to the second day. More rain overnight and into the morning meant that the strip was not ready for action until noon on Sunday although the surface was still damp. The meeting was later called to an end before all the finals were run. Those that were unresolved were held over until the October 21st meet. Pro Fuel saw a three car field after Dennis Priddle failed to make the show. Clive Skilton was on form qualifying with a 7.01 before running a 6.86/224.22 in a solo first round blast followed by  a holeshot 6.75/224.72 against Allan Herridge in Firefly in the final. The speed on that final run secured a new European record for Clive, beating the mark set by Tony Nancy two and a half months earlier. To see the completed final results click here.
November 23rd-25th. 1973 Ontario Motor Speedway. NHRA Supernationals.Clive Skilton driving John Durkee's 426 Waterman Chrysler rail ran 6.24 @ 229 the quickest ever run by a European driver. He failed to qualify for the eliminations however. This was without the aid of traction compound with only water burnouts being permitted, a move by the NHRA to prevent the strip being torn up. A later run saw the car catch fire on the start line. .On Sunday Skilton put in a practice run of 6.47/219mph after rebuilding the engine in case any cars dropped out of competition, but none did.  
January 9th 1974 Clive Skilton and mechanic Don Beadle took their Castrol sponsored Top Fuel car to Belfast for an appearance on the oil company's stand at the Balmoral Motor Show. A planned demonstration run at Kirkistown ended in disappointment when the oil pump drive sheared. Plans were made to fly out a replacement part, but high winds and rain the next day prevented any further attempts.
January 25th-27th 1974 Beeline Dragway, Phoenix, Arizona. AHRA Winter Nationals. The UK's Clive Skilton drove John Durkee's Pegasus fueller and qualified 12th with a 6.3. The first round saw him up against Jerry Ruth. A long burn-down developed before Skilton moved into stage first, followed by a red light from Clive as Ruth took the win with his first ever five second run, a 5.95.
February 1st-3rd 1974

Auto Club Raceway, Pomona, California. NHRA Winternationals. One of the chutes from Clive Skilton's car had been lent to Mike Waggoner the previous week and Skilton had to borrow a funny car chute. Due to a size difference the chute failed to open on the first qualifying run and Clive hit the catch fence at 70mph before the car spun and flipped over. Clive was shaken but unhurt.
March 24th 1974 SPR Season Opener. Three Pro Fuel cars were present. Allan Herridge took Firefly to the top spot with a 7.4, Mike Hutcherson made number two, and Clive Skilton blew a head gasket on his way to an 8.2. After a bye run for Herridge, which he made in 7.90/200.80, Skilton then defeated Hutcherson 7.09/211.86 to a losing 8.33/160.51. In a repeat of his Pomona experience six weeks earlier Skilton found himself whitout a chute at the top end. Fortunately this time he managed to get the car stopped before heading into the fields. In the final, Firefly shut off just into the run leaving Clive an easy win in 7.17/214.13.
April 7th 1974 Blackbushe. NDRC Spring Smokers Meet. Three Pro Fuel cars were entered. Clive Skilton qualified with 8.28/181 on the tractionless surface. Then Dennis Priddle threw a blower belt just off the line and coasted through. Roland Pratt driving the old Skilton car Revolution 3 broke on the burnout and was out of competition. It was decided to run a best of three between Priddle and Skilton. In the first race, Priddle just crossed the stripe first in 7.79/178 to Skilton’s 7.82/208. On that pass, Priddle had burnt a couple of pistons so was unable to run again. Skilton then faced off against Pratt in the newly repaired Revolution car and ran 7.48/NS as Pratt just idled through in 11.92/68.4.
April 28th 1974 Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round three. Wroughton, Wiltshire. The meeting was turned into a practice session as it rained until 1 pm which gave no chance for any qualifying. In Pro Fuel, Clive Skilton match raced Dennis Priddle. Skilton won the first race in 7.41/206 as Priddle clicked it off early to an 8.69/127. In the second race, Priddle pulled a huge holeshot and stayed out front to take it in 7.82/204 to Skilton’s much quicker but losing 7.06/217.
 
May 11th/12th 1974 Blackbushe.NDRC Meeting. In Pro Fuel, Clive Skilton qualified with runs of 7.98/161, 7.86/179 and 7.02/222. In the eliminations, Skilton soloed to a 7.17/222. Priddle and Pratt then faced off. Pratt lost fire and Priddle’s engine blew back doing a lot of damage. In the final, Pratt came back in to race Skilton. As they staged, the Christmas tree threw a wobbly and gave Skilton a red light even though he hadn’t moved. Pratt launched on the green and then Skilton powered after him. Pratt automatically took the win but Skilton had run the first six second pass of the year at 6.91/213.
May 1974 Silverstone. In the week leading up to the Santa Pod Bank Holiday meeting Clive Skilton made some test runs in the Ed Shaver rear-engined Castrol Funny Car. Clive was trying to diagnose the handling problems Shaver was experiencing. This culminated with him losing control and rolling the car, which was running without the body. The car was badly damaged but Clive was unhurt.
May 26th/27th 1974

SPR. Whitsun Holiday Weekend Big Go.In Pro fuel Clive Skilton ran a 7.3 with a badly slipping clutch and, after some adjustment, beat Mike Hutcherson in Houndog, 6.91/216.92 to a losing 11.49/81 on just six cylinders. In Monday’s eliminations, Clive Skilton and Allan Herridge were first out. Skilton ran 6.86 with handling problems at the top end while Herridge had problems of his own with Firefly suddenly changing lanes and tailing Skilton through the lights. Unbalanced slicks were diagnosed as being the cause. Skilton then soloed to another 6.86/214.13, before Houndog beat Firefly 9.32/102 to a losing 11.22/64. However, Skilton had a broken torsion bar which put him out thus letting Firefly back in. Bootsie red lit, fearful of the engine overheating, and Houndog got out of shape and pulled the chute early.

June 2nd 1974 Long Marston. Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round 5. Clive Skilton and Roland Pratt in Revolution 3 were booked in to run a best of three match race. In the first race, Skilton rolled out of stage and pulled a red handing the win to Pratt who went through in 9.63/81 whilst Skilton idled through in 11.82/65. In the second race, Pratt pulled a huge holeshot and took the win in 8.47/123 as Skilton lost out with 8.28/129. Skilton’s master cylinder failed on the run which sidelined him.
June 15th/16th 1974

Silverstone. NDRC Second International meeting. In Pro Fuel qualifying Clive Skilton broke a shifter cable and coasted to the line. Taking a turn in the Revolution III car was Roz Prior, putting in some observed runs, under the supervision of Clive Skilton, in preparation for her move up to Pro Fuel with the ex-Priddle Mr Six car which she and husband Dave had purchased earlier in the year. The result of this was that Roz became the first licensed female Pro Fuel driver outside the USA. In the first round Skilton ran 7.04/202 as John Anderson shut off early to a 12.3. In the final Skilton took a convincing win with a 6.7/220 to Dennis Priddle's 7.5/171.
June 30th 1974 Castrol/RAC NDRC National championship Round three. Wroughton, Wiltshire. This meeting was a re-run of the rain abandoned meeting in April. Clive Skilton took his GTX rail to a best yet of 6.72/200 in a match race with Roland Pratt for low ET of the day. Pratt ran 7.6/190.
July 13th/14th 1974 The Pennine Drag Racing Team opened their own strip,Crossland Moor near Huddersfield. 3000 spectators saw Clive Skilton run 4.92/161 over the eighth mile course as Roz Prior in her new fueler, smoked the whole distance.
August 3rd/4th 1974 Mantorp Park. Sweden. A team of UK racers made their way over to compete at the Swedish Championships. Clive Skilton and Roz Prior took their Top fuel cars. Skilton was running his old car as his new one was on display for Castrol. Roz Prior qualified with a personal best of 7.5s before facing the Valkyrian rail of John Anderson. This pairing was re-run after an initial staging mix up and Prior looked like taking the win before slowing wigth engine trouble, allowing Anderson through to take the win. Anderson it turned out also had engine troubles which allowed Skilton to take the final win with a 7.02/201, the fastest time of the day. On returning to the UK Skilton put both his rails and the Castrol FC up for sale along with a selection of engines. He announced that the intended to run a new car in America over the winter.
August 18th 1974

Blackbushe. NDRC Hot Car/Radio Luxembourg Grandnationals. Expectations were high for this meeting which marked the tenth anniversary of the 1964 Dragfest, but the weather continued to make things difficult for the NDRC as it had at earlier meeting this year. Most of the morning saw rain falling and, once it had stopped, drizzle continued on and off before the rain set in again and called an early halt before the event was completed. Four Top fuel cars were entered and, despite the damp condidtions did their best to put on a show. Solo runs in the drier lane were decided upon. Clive Skilton amazed evryone by putting down a 7.1/206 that set a seemingly impossible mark for the other drivers to aim for. Despite a good effort from Dennis Priddle Clive's time remained the quickest of the day.
August 25th/26th 1974 Supernationals SPR. In Pro Fuel qualifying on the Sunday Clive Skilton ran a 6.75/209 and a 6.55/216, which equalled the strip record set by Norm Wilcox the previous year. On the Monday Skilton crossed the finish line at 210 mph as a front tyre blew, sending him into the guardrail in the shutdown area. Clive was OK but the car had its front and rear wheels torn off on one side. It emerged that another racer, Ollie Burn, had paid Skilton £3000 for the car just hours before. It was repaired and re-appeared in 1975 as the Liz & Ollie car.
September 14th/15th 1974 Silverstone. In TF qualifying Clive Skilton, driving his old Revolution 3 car, qualified second with a 7.46/187. On the second day Top Fuel was to have been a round robin as there were only three qualifiers. In the first pairing, Skilton defeated Roz Prior 7.27/167 to a losing 7.79/190 before the meeting was abandoned due to the heavy rain that was now falling making the surface dangerous.
September 29th 1974 NDRCs first meeting at Snetterton circuit, Norfolk. The final round of the Castrol/RAC National championship, and a round of the STP/Custom Car Championship for Pro Stock and Super Street. Four Top Fuel cars were entered but this was reduced to three when Dennis Priddle broke the rear axle on a qualifier. So, it was decided to run a round robin. Clive Skilton, in the newly repaired Castrol GTX car, beat Malcolm Quick in the Revolution 3 car, 7.20/192 to 17.38/141. The final race caused confusion as Skilton’s engine died before he had staged, and then Roz Prior red lit on her way to 7.28/208.
March 2nd 1975 SPR. Pre-Season Shakedown/Run What Ya Brung. Trevor Young was making some shakedown runs in his new dragster, the ex-Skilton Revolution 3, under the guidance of Clive himself.
April 13th 1975 Blackbushe. RAC National Drag Racing Championship Round Three. Making its debut at this meeting was the new Funny Car from Clive Skilton. The car put in a gentle 9.00/130 pass using high gear only.
May 3rd/4th 1975

Snetterton.RAC National Drag Racing Championship Round Four, round one of the Wolfrace Street Championship and a round of the 208 Pro Comp Championship. Funny Car saw Clive Skilton's new Vauxhall suffering with distortion of the body on a 7.8s pass on Sunday. For the sake of safety he decided not to push the car to its full potential. With three cars in the class a round robin was arranged. In the first round the 392 Capri of Liam Churchill beat Roland Pratt's 392 Scimitar GTE 9.2s to 11.2s. Pratt came back to the line in the second round and improved to an 8.2/149 which was no match for a 7.5/171 from Skilton's Vauxhall which suffered a couple of burnt valves.

June 14th/15th 1975 Wroughton. NDRC International meeting including 2nd round of the TOR LINE European funny Car Championship. Seven Funny Cars turned up for this event making it the largest FC race so far in Europe. Skilton was the number one qualifier but Priddle and Pratt made it through to the final. Pratts car blew a blower gasket on firing up, a direct result of upping the nitro percentage, allowing Skilton to come back in and run the final. Priddle won however with a 6.95/204 to Skiltons 8.03. To see the elimination ladder for the Funny Cars click here.
July 12th 1975 Aintree. The first Drag Race event to be held at this venue (once a major motor racing circuit and the scene of the first win by a British Grand Prix car, the Vanwall driven by Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss in 1957) was promoted by European Dragways, organised by the Pennine Drag Racing Club and run on a narrow eighth mile strip. 55 entries turned up including two fuelers and two Funny Cars. Qualifying produced some good runs. Noteably for Clive Skiltons Vauxhall FC (5.57/134). The top cars were run singularly because of the narrow strip so the finals were run one car after the other. In Funny Car Clive Skilton was the first to run and he put in a 5.83/130 on six cylinders. Dennis Priddle then produced another storming burnout but got crossed up while reversing. He then cut the motor as part of the reverser linkage came loose. The decision was taken to make the run without the reverser and the car was re-started. Dennis then over-staged, the crew could not push the car back and the motor was cut again. With the car re-positioned the motor was fired again and Dennis proceeded to smoke the tyres for the whole eighth, obliterate everybodies view of anything and beat Skiltons time with a 5.53/161. Not to be outdone Skilton came back out later with the Vauxhall running on all eight cylinders and put down the fastest eighth-mile Funny Car run ever seen in the UK, a 5.16/165. For all class results click here.  
July 13th 1975 Long Marston. Castrol Dragster Challenge. With backing from long time drag racing sponsors Castrol, the Dragster Challenge ran over an unused piece of 1/8th mile runway which in today's world was used previously as the shutdown since 1980 but in the opposite direction. The basic idea of the programme was to show viewers to the sport a series of match races between Top Fuel and Pro Comp, a round robin between four Funny Cars, a full eliminator of 8 for the country's fastest drag bikes, and further match races between Senior/Middle & Junior Dragsters and Altereds, Pro Stock/Top Street and Street Bike. NDRC held the permit.  From the results we have in Funny Car Clive Skilton's Vauxhall/Castrol VX4/90 entry beat Liam Churchill's Capri 'The Sting', despite a spectacular oil fire at the end of, what was, a very bumpy run. By the second race Dennis Priddle got the better of his rival Skilton with a top time of 5.29/139 mph.
August 1st-3rd 1975 Mantorp Park, Sweden. In the Tor Line Funny Car Cup Series Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton met in the final. Priddle shut off with clutch problems before getting to the line while Skilton suffered a blown head gasket and ran a 41 second ET.  
August 17th 1975

Blackbushe. NDRC Hot Car Grandnationals. Funny Car was a "round robin" between Clive Skilton in the Castrol Vauxhall and Roland Pratt in the Avenger. Skilton took it 2-0 with a best of 7.83/183 to the losing 8.85/141 of Pratt.

August 31st 1975 Long Marston. NDRC (Midlands) Meeting.  There were two Funny Cars on hand making demo runs in the form of Clive Skilton's Castrol Vauxhall VX4/90 and the Capri bodied Sting of Liam Churchill but no records exist of their performance.
September 6th/7th 1975 Snetterton International including 4th and Final round of the TOR LINE Funny Car Championship, (3rd round held in Sweden). With this the final round of the Series Dennis Priddle and Clive Skilton were level on points at the top of the table. Skilton ran an off the trailer 7.23/200 in qualifying while Priddle never made it out of the pits with transmission problems. Later Skilton came out again and ran his first Funny Car six, a 6.91/211. The first round saw Skilton defeat Churchill with a 7.74/142 although Liam was happy with his first seven second run, a 7.92/180. Priddle defeated Ryman with a 7.23/208 to an 8.19/185. The winner of the final would also take the Championship. The lights failed so a flag start was called for. Priddle acknowledged his readiness and staged but Skilton was not ready. Having been staged for some time Priddle left as the flag went up followed by Skilton who crossed lanes in an effort to catch up. Priddle took the win with a 6.94/208 while Skilton shut off to a 10.58/65.
October 5th 1975 NDRC Championship Finals, Blackbushe, including finals of Wolfrace Street Championship and 208 Pro Comp Championship. Dennis Priddle won the 1000 pound prize put up by Custom Car magazine for winning a best of three Funny Car match race against Clive Skilton. With a win each after two rounds Clive had problems with his injector linkage for the final leaving Dennis to solo for the win.
November 1st/2nd 1975 SPR Fireworks Spectacular. The weather on Saturday was so bad that very little took place on the track, except some shakedown runs for the new track drier. With no qualifying completed eliminations were arranged using previous performances. The track was still quite slick and times were down on the usual. Funny Car produced a field of seven floppers. The final was between Dennis Priddle in his Avenger and Clive Skilton in his Vauxhall. Skilton defeated Dave Stone in Round One with an easy 12.74 after Stone cut the motor and Owen Hayward in the semis. Hayward had stormed ahead and looked to have the win secured when he slowed at the top end. Skilton kept the power on and caught him before they crossed the line, 7.96/198.07 to a losing 8.20/115. The final saw Skilton lose traction and veer off line. Meanwhile Priddle had hooked up and gone with a win in 7.31/20202. For all class results click here.
1975 Footage shot from inside Clives Donovan-powered VX4/90 Funny Car at Wroughton formed part of a new motor sport film produced by Dealer Team Vauxhall and Castrol. The film, titled 'Winning Ain't Easy' was available for clubs to hire free of charge.  
April 16th 1976 Snetterton. Good Friday Superdrag Funny Car Championship and Gualoises/NDRC Pro Comp Championship. Second round of RAC National Drag Racing Championship, first rounds of NDRC points Championship and Manufacturers Championship. All in one day! Admission price £1.60. Clive Skilton put down a 7.04/204 solo pass in the Revolution 3 TF car now fitted with Donovan power.
April 17th-19th 1976 Over 50,000 people attend SPRs 10th anniversary Easter meet starring the legendary Don Garlits in his  1975 car, the Swamp Rat#21 fueler. Clive Skilton beat Peter Crane in the semi final who still managed a 6.03 to back up his earlier record of 5.97. Clive went on to win the final against Owen Hayward with a 6.37/208.  To see results, Pro Fuel qualifing results and elimination ladder click here  
May 14th-16th 1976 Mantorp Park, Sweden. Eight British cars and two bikes made the long haul to Sweden including Clive Skilton with Revolution 3. Top Fuel Dragster was a four car field which saw Skilton run a 6.77 to beat Norwegian Fred Larsen in Sundance Kid. In the final, it was a win for Persson in 7.3 seconds as Skilton’s chute deployed just off the line.
May 29th-31st 1976 Holiday Weekend 'Big Go'. SPR. Funny Car qualifying was led by Liam Churchill with 6.91/188, the first time a 392 Chrysler car had dipped into the sixes. Clive Skilton was in second place with 7.30/191 in his new Cavalier bodied car. In the first round, both Churchill and Skilton had byes, Churchill running 8.29/95 and Skilton 6.96/204. In the semis Skilton took out Dave Stone with 7.02/181 to a losing 7.92/161. For the final, Stone came back in on the break rule but was trounced by Skilton who ran 7.09/191 to a losing 7.92/174.
June 13th 1976 Blackbushe. NDRC. Ist round of 1976 Tor Line Funny Car Championship.Clive Skilton beat Dennis Priddle in the Final.  
July 3rd/4th 1976 SPR. Euro Grand Prix. An eight car field in Funny Car saw Clive Skiltons Vauxhall qualify at number one with a 6.90. Clive lost fire in round one, handing the win to Dave Stone in Stardust.  
October 16th/17th 1976 SPR. Winternationals. The final round of the Tor Line Funny Car Championship was contested at this meeting with only Clive Skilton and Dennis Priddle in with a chance of winning the title. Priddle qualified with 7.19/209. Skilton had borrowed Pete Barnett’s car but could only manage a lowly 18 second pass. Number one qualifier was John Andersson at 6.63/187 although the run did cause some controversy as a skirt had been fitted to the front end. By the time the eliminations had started, some of the English drivers had skirts fitted! In the last pairing of the first round Dave Stone defeated Skilton 7.40/192 to a losing 9.84/91. Even though Skilton had lost in the first round, he had amassed enough points to win the FC Championship.
Clive also had success with go-carts and sports cars in Europe and  toured on the NASCAR and NHRA circuits in the States. By the end of 1976 Clive had settled permanently in America.    
June 18th/19th 1977   NHRA Springnationals. National Trail Raceway. The UKs Clive Skilton, now living in California, qualified at #10 in Top Fuel with a 6.095/231.36. He won the first round against Tony Ceraolo with a 6.27/209.79. In round two he came up against Sid Seeley who had problems with his starter and failed to make the call. Clive advanced with a 6.57/193.13 solo. The semi finals saw a great battle with Johnny Abbott culminating in Clives best time of the meet, a winning 6.08/230.76 to Abbotts 6.11/227.27. In the final he came up against Shirley Muldowney and surprised everyone when he got a slight lead over Shirley from the start, he held onto the lead until his motor began to let go at the top end and Shirley just beat him to the line with a winning 6.11/236.22 to Clives 6.15/228.42.
In 1987 Clive purchased a small Jeep dealership in California and developed it into a very successful buisness moving to larger premises in 1989. In 1994 he purchased a second Jeep dealership, was awarded a Chrysler Plymouth franchise and opened the largest Chrysler dealership in Southern California. He also formed an off-road motorsports division of his buisness in 1995 which has had many championship successes including some for Clives sons Darren and Gavin. Clive races a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the desert.    

www.trakbytes.co.uk