If you're of the PistonHeads persuasion, 'hillclimbing' is likely to conjure up images of Ari Vatanen charging up
Pikes Peak
in a Peugeot 405 rather than hiking boots and anoraks. Or, perhaps,
more recent efforts
A peer under the bonnet extent of prep
Yet hillclimbing in the UK happily passes under the radar of many motorsport fans. This is strange as hillclimbing is one of the most affordable, fun and as grass roots as it gets forms of motorsport whether you want to spectate or participate.
Having competed in a few one-off events over the years, the opportunity to take part in the whole British Hillclimb Leaders Championship 2013 was too good to pass up. As with all motorsport, there were strings attached, but nothing too arduous: the car provided very generously by Vauxhall was to be kept completely standard, right down to the tyres.
Out of the box
Given the car is a 280hp Vauxhall Astra VXR, that's not such a hardship on the face of it, though some sticky hillclimb tyres would knock a couple of seconds off every time. On the other hand, the offer from Vauxhall means that myself and co-driver David Finlay are to all intents and purposes a works Vauxhall team. All I had to do was rustle up some racewear, this kindly donated by Alpinestars.
Al's Astra isn't the only Vauxhall on the scene
Never has the term 'works' been applied so loosely because not only is the car completely standard, we drive it to every round and then home again. Given we both live in Scotland and most rounds are in the Midlands, the Astra is racking up a lot of road miles between events. Just as well it's a comfy if less than frugal cruiser.
Stickered up, ready to go
The only preparation we can do with a standard car is put some stickers on, fit the timing strut and adjust the tyre pressures. While it means the Astra will never trouble the quicker cars, it makes life very easy.
The season kicked off at Prescott amid Bugattis and very loud motorcycles. We're in Class A2 for production cars over 2,000cc, which includes the Astra because it's turbocharged and means running with Porsche 911s, Subaru Imprezas, Nissan Skylines and even a couple of seriously fast Ford Sierra Cosworths.
Team mates and rivals, all in one car
Prescott was fun, but our limited experience of the car showed only too clearly in the times. The next round at Barbon in Cumbria was little better as the rain came down so hard we'd have been better off with an outboard motor.
After Barbon, our season got into a swing at Harewood in North Yorkshire. This is the longest course in the season and our competition came from Peter Herbert, one of the track's instructors in his Porsche 964, who happened to hold the class record here.
After our practice runs, David and I both managed to better Peter's record time and claim our first one-two of the season. It shows how competitive you can be in a stock standard road car while also having a whale of a time.
Brave pills
Gurston Down in Wiltshire was next up and, as the name suggests, this course is as much a plummet as a hillclimb. The key section is Hollow where you just have to swallow hard and not brake. This is easier said than done, but a dose of bravery saw the Astra finish just over a second behind a local specialist in a Subaru Impreza, so another good showing for the Vauxhall.
280hp and a diff make the Astra a potent hillclimber
Other commitments meant I missed the first Shelsley Walsh meeting of the season, but Loton Park in early June offered the first warm weather of the year. Sadly, my performance was more tepid as I struggled with Loton's diversity of corners. David performed much better and the only way I could have beat him would have been with an iron bar.
The next round was on familiar territory at Doune and we were both immediately on the pace despite some wet conditions. For the timed runs on Sunday, the weather warmed up and we each set personal bests, with David beating me and lifting the class honours and both of us ahead of a TVR Griffith.
New arrival
My summer season was put on hold while my wife and I took delivery of a baby daughter, but I was keen as mustard for my return at Shelsley Walsh. I can give any number of racing excuses why I wasn't as quick as I should have been, but the reality is I didn't push hard enough. It just makes me more determined to get back on terms at the next round at Prescott in a couple of weeks...
There's a video coming later on today that explains what we're trying to achieve this year. And if you happen to be near Prescott, come along and enjoy some of the best motorsport in the UK. Better still, sign up and give us a run for our money.