Mamhead Hillclimb
Discussion
Having done the Gate and the Marshalls' post at Martini - and, come to think of it, I've run wide at Wis and kissed the sleepers at Bunny's, too, over the years - I'd say it's Sawbench you need to be keeping an eye on. 
Nearly a DNS, though - had to find and fit a replacement waterpump today after spotting a leak this morning.
Nearly a DNS, though - had to find and fit a replacement waterpump today after spotting a leak this morning.
Great to hear of new faces at the Mamhead hillclimb this year. My father is the landowner so I will attempt to answer any questions people have.
Regarding spectators the other posters have got things pretty much right. As the main access to the site is via the top paddock the logistics of spectators is a little harder than at other sites. We also have only applied for a non-spectator licence as this is only our third year of running the event so we are still keeping things simple. And the final reason is that the 2 events we run per year are not for profit. We do it purely because we enjoy motorsport and occasionally like to open the hill to others to enjoy it aswell.
I have not attended any other hillclimbs so can only "compare" our hill to others based on what frequent hillclimbers say about it. It is a relatively short hill but much wider than most hills (2 car widths wide here). It is apparently quite a technical hill (ie picking just the right line gets you the FTD rather than the kamikaze style). It has a tendency to stay slightly slippery longer than you might expect as most of the hill is covered by trees and only gets "proper" use 2 weekends a year. Because of this I would highly recommend walking the hill before practice.
This is a good video showing the hill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBwmuwjUMlA
HTH and feel free to ask any other questions.
chris
Regarding spectators the other posters have got things pretty much right. As the main access to the site is via the top paddock the logistics of spectators is a little harder than at other sites. We also have only applied for a non-spectator licence as this is only our third year of running the event so we are still keeping things simple. And the final reason is that the 2 events we run per year are not for profit. We do it purely because we enjoy motorsport and occasionally like to open the hill to others to enjoy it aswell.
I have not attended any other hillclimbs so can only "compare" our hill to others based on what frequent hillclimbers say about it. It is a relatively short hill but much wider than most hills (2 car widths wide here). It is apparently quite a technical hill (ie picking just the right line gets you the FTD rather than the kamikaze style). It has a tendency to stay slightly slippery longer than you might expect as most of the hill is covered by trees and only gets "proper" use 2 weekends a year. Because of this I would highly recommend walking the hill before practice.
This is a good video showing the hill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBwmuwjUMlA
HTH and feel free to ask any other questions.
chris
We have been trying to work out for ages if extending it would work or not. It would be possible to start from near the church rather than the house but in reality all it would do is add a couple of hundred metres of very narrow fairly straight road and then make the first corner a hazard. And we quite like having the start by the house as it means everyone is very close together and get to watch people off the line as half of the bottom paddock is also outside the house.
And it would cost an aweful lot more to make the extended route "safe" by MSA standards, which is difficult to justify when it is already run as non-profit making.
And it would cost an aweful lot more to make the extended route "safe" by MSA standards, which is difficult to justify when it is already run as non-profit making.
speedychrissie said:
We have been trying to work out for ages if extending it would work or not. It would be possible to start from near the church rather than the house but in reality all it would do is add a couple of hundred metres of very narrow fairly straight road and then make the first corner a hazard. And we quite like having the start by the house as it means everyone is very close together and get to watch people off the line as half of the bottom paddock is also outside the house.
And it would cost an aweful lot more to make the extended route "safe" by MSA standards, which is difficult to justify when it is already run as non-profit making.
from what people I have spoken to who have competed there say the venue is great as it is, it will be my 1st time on saturday & I'm really looking forward to it only ever having competed at Wiscombe before.And it would cost an aweful lot more to make the extended route "safe" by MSA standards, which is difficult to justify when it is already run as non-profit making.
speedychrissie said:
Yeah you are right that everyone agrees the hill works nicely as it is. Another upside is that with relatively small entry lists and a relatively short hill we tend to fit in more runs. At the may event we had 15 runs over the 2 days (including practice).
great, I may learn the hill by the end of the day then!Who went then?
Great event loads of runs, well run as usual. But then I would be slightly biased. weather was good on Saturday and we were lucky on Sunday. As always the food was excellent.
So that's Mamhead done and dusted for the year, off to Castle next weekend and Portreath for a sprint the week after.
Great event loads of runs, well run as usual. But then I would be slightly biased. weather was good on Saturday and we were lucky on Sunday. As always the food was excellent.
So that's Mamhead done and dusted for the year, off to Castle next weekend and Portreath for a sprint the week after.
St Eval said:
Who went then?
Great event loads of runs, well run as usual. But then I would be slightly biased. weather was good on Saturday and we were lucky on Sunday. As always the food was excellent.
So that's Mamhead done and dusted for the year, off to Castle next weekend and Portreath for a sprint the week after.
Was there on saturday & as you say it was well run (though the times were wrong in the finals!)& weather was good. My 1st time & will definitely be going back!Great event loads of runs, well run as usual. But then I would be slightly biased. weather was good on Saturday and we were lucky on Sunday. As always the food was excellent.
So that's Mamhead done and dusted for the year, off to Castle next weekend and Portreath for a sprint the week after.
St Eval said:
Yeh, my times in the finals are always wrong they are never as quick as I want them to be. Saturday was the best day weatherwise. What were you driving I will check what I have from timekeepers printout. Are you ASWMC championship registered?
sorry, what I meant was the start times etc were wrong leaving a few of us to arrive at the last minute & rush around like headless chickens! In one place it gave a start time of 10 but at the back apparently (I didn't see it) it gave a start time of 9.00 - I didn't so much walk the hill as run it!!!Still a top day & a top venue though.Having attended the May Mamhead meeting for just one day, and liked what we saw, I competed there on both days this time.
For everyone to get seven runs on Saturday was a credit to Torbay Motor Club's organisation, and were it not for the unfortunate Saxo we might have got more than five yesterday....
The Saturday evening social event was also well run and very enjoyable....and very reasonably priced.
The Wholesome Hog provided what I consider to be the best on-circuit catering at any sprint/hillclimb in the Country.
Finally, many thanks to Alan Harper and his family for hosting and being so welcoming to all the strangers in their garden.
If you've not competed there before then I really would commend it to you for next season.
For everyone to get seven runs on Saturday was a credit to Torbay Motor Club's organisation, and were it not for the unfortunate Saxo we might have got more than five yesterday....
The Saturday evening social event was also well run and very enjoyable....and very reasonably priced.
The Wholesome Hog provided what I consider to be the best on-circuit catering at any sprint/hillclimb in the Country.
Finally, many thanks to Alan Harper and his family for hosting and being so welcoming to all the strangers in their garden.
If you've not competed there before then I really would commend it to you for next season.
Edited by Zulu 10 on Monday 2nd August 14:28
St Eval said:
Always an early start with us. Gets you value for money. Glad to here you enjoyed it. The bikes add a bit of entertainment as well don't they.
Saturday 510 runs up the hill no red flags, Sunday don'y know the number of runs but I think there were only 2 red flags one bike one car.
Ah I see you havn't mentioned the altercation regarding the Tyres and the shoving issue !!!!!!!Saturday 510 runs up the hill no red flags, Sunday don'y know the number of runs but I think there were only 2 red flags one bike one car.
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