Thursday 22nd August 2013

PH in the British Hillclimb champs

First sprinting, next hillclimbing - next week F1? Every motorsport career has to start somewhere...

---

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 by Loeb.

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.

[Rob175kks]

I'm dying to get into doing this, it looks like great, fairly cheap fun. Do you need a race licence to participate?

[Skylinecrazy]

You need a national B licence which is about 45 quid iirc.
Brilliant sport - followed it around the country for a few years now, the variety of the cars makes it.

Will say hello at gurston or Prescott.

[Mr2Mike]

Hill climbing is a poor value motorsport IMO, the actual time you get to spend driving you car is pitiful.

For pretty much the same entry fee you could enter a tarmac rally event, or for a small fraction of the cost you could do an autotest.

[IroningMan]

Must pull my chuffing finger out and get out again next year.

[struttob]

Here he is

[alisdairsuttie]

Mr2Mike said:

Hill climbing is a poor value motorsport IMO, the actual time you get to spend driving you car is pitiful.

For pretty much the same entry fee you could enter a tarmac rally event, or for a small fraction of the cost you could do an autotest.

I agree you don't get anything like as much track time as in a rally or even a track day, but it's the challenge and intensity of hillclimbing that makes it special. You have to be on your mettle from the first practice run as there is so little time to learn the course and conditions can change drastically from one run to the next. I think you have to guage value for money on how you feel at the end of an event - for me, the excitement is in going faster on every run and learning where to improve.

At Shelsley Walsh, total time on the track was less than three minutes over the weekend, but it was still hugely enjoyable. You also get time to chat with other competitors and watch some racing.

Each to their own, but give a hillclimb school a try before dismissing it.

[Jimbo89]

Got a lot of family history in hill climbing (my dad was British Hillclimb champion) but only ever been to four rounds, all of which were at Doune 200 miles from home! Saw you guys up there last time round, great weekend, awesome sport. Shame it doesn't get more publicity.

[sad61t]

"Better still, sign up and give us a run for our money."

Where do we go to find out more?

[storminnorman]

Another one here with family history in hillclimbing, my Grandfather competed around Yorkshire and the North in the 60's - we have a few trophies about to show for it.
Harewood was his closest haunt and it's a fantastic place to spectate, I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. £10 gives you a great day out and some spectacular viewing.
Not driven it yet but it's on the list!

[yojay]

Anybody know what the black angled attachment on the number plate is all about please?

[storminnorman]

yojay said:

Anybody know what the black angled attachment on the number plate is all about please?

It's the circuit timing doodad

[BigDaveTheMighty]

yojay said:

Anybody know what the black angled attachment on the number plate is all about please?

I assume it's to break the timing beam.

[VetteG]

yojay said:

Anybody know what the black angled attachment on the number plate is all about please?

A bit more specific, it allows you to be lined up to the timing beam prior to start so all entrants break the beam at the same point, with this you are timed to 100th of a second, without it you are only timed to a 10th.
All it is is a matt black painted strip of material, usually aluminium.

G

[DeltaAlphaEcho]

I marshal at hill climbs. I love the verity of the cars you see on the hills.
When i saw you at the opening round at Prescott, a fellow marshal joked that you worked for a local vauxhall dealer and where driving the demo car and would be in deep st if you pranged it.

See you at Prescott. If i have time i'll drop down to the paddock and say hi

[Shaun_E]

sad61t said:

"Better still, sign up and give us a run for our money."

Where do we go to find out more?

MSA website for basic info and the licence/protective equipment required.

Depending on where you are in the country and your willingness to travel will determine the best route for you. There are national championships but many local venues/car clubs have their own championships:
Gurston Down, Hagley and District LCC (Loton Park), MAC (Shelsley Walsh), Harewood Hillclimb, Longton and District, BARC (various regions). There are also marque specific championships. I compete in the Lotus 7 Club championship but there are series for Westfields (WSCC), Toyota, MG car club, Ferrari, etc.

Lots of people trot out the "you don't get much time in the car" comment but, as above, the intensity of the competition and the buzz you get at the end of a good run is what makes it for me. It's not for everyone but very few people try it and hate it. You can compete in anything from a bog standard car (I saw a 1.0L Nissan Micra at Harewood a couple of years ago) to a full on 700bhp single seater and anything in between. If you are looking to buy a car then check the regs of the series you want to compete in to get something that will work but if you just want to compete in the car you have then there will be a class for you.
Costs are usually less than £100 per event and there is normally a small series registration fee which varies from club to club. The biggest outlay will be a helmet, fire resistant overalls and gloves but these can be bought "relatively" cheaply and sometimes come up for sale 2nd hand.
We're at Curborough (near Lichfield) this weekend for the BMMC Marshal's sprint on Saturday and the Lotus 7 Club sprint on the Sunday. Entry for spectators is free and you can chat with competitors in the paddock.
I used to do lots of track days but since I started competing I find them a little tame now. I would have a go at circuit racing but even in my Caterham it's a fair bit more expensive and the chance of damage is much higher - maybe one day :-)

[Zumbruk]

Mr2Mike said:

For pretty much the same entry fee you could enter a tarmac rally event

And overall, spend about 10 times as much as a hillclimb. My *entire* season of sprinting/hillclimbing probably costs about as much as one rally. Yes, per second or per mile hillclimbing is terrible VfM (not as bad as drag racing, and I've never heard anyone complain about that), but overall it's very reasonable value. It's a nice day out in the country with your mates, have a bit of a chat, tell each other some lies, with some motorsport chucked in.

Edited by Zumbruk on Thursday 22 August 14:52

[IroningMan]

Exactly that. Time is divided roughly into 45% talking bks, 45% helping to fix other people's cars, 9% eating egg and chips and the rest competing.

I now have a trailer so I don't even have to put up with the discomfort of driving the thing to and from Gurston.

[hms]

I did sprinting a couple of years ago, you could say the same about that for value for money.
I did it because I wanted the competition element, without the costs and risks of racing.
I had a brilliant time.
If you are looking for something different to track days, with a competative element, then try sprinting or hill climbs.
h

[cianha]

Spotted you at Shelsley on Saturday, on our annual hop across the pond. I was surprised at how well the Astra got up the hill. It's fairly competitive.

Being able to wander around the paddocks and get up close is great, and seeing the little 500cc drivers get their lean on into Bottom S always raises a grin!

[alisdairsuttie]

sad61t said:

"Better still, sign up and give us a run for our money."

Where do we go to find out more?

Have a look at: http://www.britishhillclimb.co.uk/

All the essential information is there, plus when you get a competition licence you'll be sent the MSA Blue Book of rules and regulations. It looks a bit daunting at first, but hillclimbing is a simple sport - only one flag to deal with, for example - and you don't need to do an ARDS course.

Also, for plenty of advice, head along to your nearest event and chat to competitors. I've yet to meet anyone in the paddock who isn't happy to chat and give advice. There are also plenty of different classes so any type of car can take part.