Hill climbing 2019
Discussion
Inspired a bit by the FIA hillclimb thread on here the other day and by a dim and distant memory of going to a hillclimb years ago I was thinking of trying to catch a round of the UK championship next year.
Living in the fens of Cambridgeshire hillclimbs locally aren't exactly 10 a penny!
To enable a pass out to another car event would require finding somewhere that the Mrs and I could make a weekend of it (i,e, not a sprint on North Weald) so does anyone have any suggestions for location (i'm thinking either Harewood or Prescott) but open to other ideas and also of anywhere decent to make it a nice weekend away?
TIA
Living in the fens of Cambridgeshire hillclimbs locally aren't exactly 10 a penny!
To enable a pass out to another car event would require finding somewhere that the Mrs and I could make a weekend of it (i,e, not a sprint on North Weald) so does anyone have any suggestions for location (i'm thinking either Harewood or Prescott) but open to other ideas and also of anywhere decent to make it a nice weekend away?
TIA
2019 events:
Shelsley Walsh
https://www.shelsleywalsh.com/events-calendar
Loton Park
https://www.hdlcc.com/events
Prescott
To be confirmed
Hill Climb & Sprint Association
To be confirmed (but events held around the country)
https://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/calendar-all.... (2018 diary)
Shelsley Walsh
https://www.shelsleywalsh.com/events-calendar
Loton Park
https://www.hdlcc.com/events
Prescott
To be confirmed
Hill Climb & Sprint Association
To be confirmed (but events held around the country)
https://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/calendar-all.... (2018 diary)
For the place itself - Shelsley. Not brilliant spectating view but you can forgive it everything for its paddock and its ambience
For the views , and the drive there - Barbon. But very short and the only place worth watching is the start and the final hairpin
For a lovely view up Wharfedale in the distance and the whole course below you - Harewood ,where I've been going since Christ 1968 . Our longest hill and, if you do go , don't do what ,most do and stay at the top but walk down to the start and then watch the cars at very close range through Chippies and Farmhouse ,The adhesion of a big single seater through the latter, and the ballistic acceleration out of it is astonishing
For the views , and the drive there - Barbon. But very short and the only place worth watching is the start and the final hairpin
For a lovely view up Wharfedale in the distance and the whole course below you - Harewood ,where I've been going since Christ 1968 . Our longest hill and, if you do go , don't do what ,most do and stay at the top but walk down to the start and then watch the cars at very close range through Chippies and Farmhouse ,The adhesion of a big single seater through the latter, and the ballistic acceleration out of it is astonishing
Get there early , I will arrive at 9-30ish or before . RAC rounds have smallish entries compared to a typical BARC round, so can finish mid afternoon , By all means spend some time at the top of the hill, where the paddock is , and enjoy the challenge of Quarry , the last corner , but YOU SIMPLY MUST walk down to the bottom of the hill . Watching a 600 bhp single seater set off from the start , when you're 15ft away, is amazing , especially if this is your first time . And then walk down to Chippy's and Country- few do, and they are missing out . You are very, very close to the track and the grip and acceleration are staggering . Watch final run offs from the exit of Farmhouse as you can see that huge grip and go being exploited , and you can also see the display of time and top speed . ,
And be prepared to be disappointed with nearly all of the juicy road cars . A F430 or whatever might get you salivating anywhere else , but they invariably look pedestrian and sound weedy after a full fat Gould or Force .
Enjoy - it is my 50th year of going to Harewood and I still love it .
And be prepared to be disappointed with nearly all of the juicy road cars . A F430 or whatever might get you salivating anywhere else , but they invariably look pedestrian and sound weedy after a full fat Gould or Force .
Enjoy - it is my 50th year of going to Harewood and I still love it .
Must say I was disappointed today with the Ferrari's, none of them seemed to be doing anything other than a stroll up the hill. Hopefully if the weather holds tomorrow should be good.
Harewood is one of the best hills to spectate at as you can see most of the circuit from the top of the hill, but can also get to most of the other parts for a closer look.
Harewood is one of the best hills to spectate at as you can see most of the circuit from the top of the hill, but can also get to most of the other parts for a closer look.
meehaja said:
I enjoyed being faster than the ferrari's today, but they were a bit pedestrian weren't they!
Definitely a case of driving Miss Daisy. Mind you one of them did look like Miss Daisy, and she certainly wasn't the slowest.Didn't really get any quicker today, mind you there was some good times set in some of the classes today.
There may have been a few pootling but no doubt some were pressing on. The thing is a Ferrari will never live with a race spec saloon or sports car around a hillclimb because it's too heavy, let alone a single seater. Add to that the power and noise and lack of weight of a racer and everything else looks slow...The big single seaters are circa 1200 bhp per ton + and doing 0 - 115 mph in 4 seconds...😬
Well we went on Sunday and had a great day, the weather obviously helping massively.
Watching from just below the paddock in the morning was good, however it made all the cars look slow even the very fast ones, it was hard to correlate the speed figures with what we were watching! In the afternoon we moved down to Farmhouse and that really highlighted the quick guys, seeing the cars come through between the farm buildings and braking to go round the corner and then trying to get the traction was great.
We had to leave early as we had a 3 hour drive back, it's just a shame that we don't live a bit nearer as the Mrs seemed to enjoy it too (although the night away may have helped).
I did find myself in bed looking at single seat race cars though...
Watching from just below the paddock in the morning was good, however it made all the cars look slow even the very fast ones, it was hard to correlate the speed figures with what we were watching! In the afternoon we moved down to Farmhouse and that really highlighted the quick guys, seeing the cars come through between the farm buildings and braking to go round the corner and then trying to get the traction was great.
We had to leave early as we had a 3 hour drive back, it's just a shame that we don't live a bit nearer as the Mrs seemed to enjoy it too (although the night away may have helped).
I did find myself in bed looking at single seat race cars though...
Glad you enjoyed it. The quick cars have crazy grip through Farmhouse but next time you go do go even further down the hill, where you are only feet away from the cars.
You are in Cambridgeshire I see , and there's a reason why you won't see many hillclimbs down March or Chatteris way ... But if you like what you saw, bribe your OH with a romantic/foodie/etc (your call ) weekend away and come back to Harewood , of course, but also try the lovely courses at Shelsley Walsh and Prescott .
Hill climbing is not the sort of motorsport you see on telly , and it's all the better for it - there is access all areas , no corporate bulls
t and no D list slebs . Just F1 quick cars in gorgeous locations.
You are in Cambridgeshire I see , and there's a reason why you won't see many hillclimbs down March or Chatteris way ... But if you like what you saw, bribe your OH with a romantic/foodie/etc (your call ) weekend away and come back to Harewood , of course, but also try the lovely courses at Shelsley Walsh and Prescott .
Hill climbing is not the sort of motorsport you see on telly , and it's all the better for it - there is access all areas , no corporate bulls
t and no D list slebs . Just F1 quick cars in gorgeous locations. Gassing Station | UK Club Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff