Last week I mentioned that one of the affordable options for getting into motorsport is Hillclimbing. Yorkshire is particularly fortunate to have Harewood Hillclimb, the longest hill in the UK.
For those who don’t know, you start at the bottom of the hill and you break a timing beam as you set off. There follows a series of twists and turns, short straights, flat areas and steep inclines until you reach the top. Fastest to the top in your class wins.
I visited Harewood last week for the British Hillclimb Championship. Spectator admission is £15 with practice taking place in the morning and timed runs in the afternoon. The venue has reasonable catering and good toilets (always important).
What I like about hillclimbing is the variety of cars taking part. Some are purpose built for the hill, others are exiles from other types of racing, former Formula Fords, rally cars and circuit racers. You can get up close to the cars in the pits and the drivers and their support teams usually have time for a chat.
Each class is called down to the start line and individual cars are called forward to the start. There marshals line the car up to the timing beam. The light changes from red to green and off you go. This is not for the fainthearted as some cars can reach over 125mph on the short straights. Inevitably there are some off’s which are dealt with professionally by the men and women in orange.
There are many classes and they can be a bit confusing. But many novices simply run their road cars without the expense of fitting a roll cage and special seats. You will need an approved helmet, fireproof overalls and boots.
I took part in hillclimbing on and off for about 5 years. I started in the ex Martin Brundle Toyota Celica from Touring cars and later an ex rally Mini Clubman. Eventually my son joined in, sharing the Mini as number 2 driver.
If this article has encouraged you to find out more about hillclimbing then why not start by popping along to their next event. You will find all the details here https://www.harewoodhill.com/
Tomorrow we will provide more information getting started in hillclimbing.
