Related Research Articles
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France, took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England, is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905.
The British Hillclimb Championship (BHC) is the most prestigious hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. The British Hill Climb Championship was held every year from 1947 to 2019, and resumed in 2021. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Loton Park Hill Climb is a hillclimb held in part of the Loton Park deer park just outside the village of Alberbury in Shropshire, England. The track was originally constructed by the members of The Severn Valley Motor Club based in Shrewsbury, in the mid-1950s. The first ever winner was Peter Foulkes in a Cooper Climax. The track was threatened with closure in 1969 and since then events have been organised by the Hagley & District Light Car Club, who obtained the lease on the land from owner Sir Michael Leighton in 1970, in which year the first National A hillclimb was staged.
The Gurston Down Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Broad Chalke, Wiltshire, England, organised by the South Western Centre of the British Automobile Racing Club. The first practice meeting was held on 25 June 1967, when Patsy Burt, driving a McLaren-Oldsmobile set a time of 39.90 sec. The first competition event was held on 23 July 1967.
Goodwood Circuit is a historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 2.367-mile (3.809 km) circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport. This is the racing circuit dating from 1948, not to be confused with the separate hillclimb course located at Goodwood House and first used in 1936.
The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) is one of the biggest organising clubs for auto racing in the United Kingdom.
Hillclimbing in Great Britain differs from the style of hillclimb motorsport events staged in many other parts of the world, in that courses are generally short — mostly under one mile (1.6 km) in length — and this means that cars and drivers do not generally cross between British events and the longer hillclimbs found in many other parts of Europe.
Doune Hillclimb, Carse of Cambus, near Doune in the district of Stirling, Scotland, is the home of the only round of the British Hill Climb Championship currently to be held in Scotland. The course has been 1476 yards (1350m) in length since 1977. However, from the first meeting in 1968 until 1973 the start line was around 33 yards (30m) further back, and from 1974 until 1976 it was located beyond what is currently the first corner.
Barbon Hillclimb is a hillclimb held near Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, north-west England. The event is held on the Barbon Manor estate with the course ordinarily being used as a driveway to Barbon Manor, a Victorian shooting lodge.. The course is 738 yards in length, making it the shortest of the British Hill Climb Championship tracks outside the Channel Islands. Since 2013, the car events have been promoted by Liverpool Motor Club in addition to their popular Sprints at Aintree.
Craigantlet Hillclimb, a speed event organised by the Ulster Automobile Club, was first held in 1913. It is the only such venue in Northern Ireland to host a round of the British Hill Climb Championship, which started in 1947.
Fintray House Hillclimb is a speed motorsport event held near Hatton of Fintray, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Each event is a separate round of the Scottish Hillclimb Championship and the Highland Speed Championship, sponsored by Plenderleath Runcie. The venue is a working farm for the majority of the year but Grampian Automobile Club (GAC) stage two, two-day events each year. The venue has been used since the 1960s, and continues to see record entries.
The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace Pier and Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and the event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936 Motor Sport described the event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar."
Mont Ventoux Hill Climb is a car and motorcycle hillclimbing race course near Avignon in France. The course, up Mont Ventoux, starts from the village of Bédoin and rises 5,289 feet (1,612 m) for 13.4 miles (21.6 km), to the observatory at the summit, for an average gradient of 7.4%.
Rest and Be Thankful Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course in Glen Croe, Argyll, Scotland. The first known use of the road for a hillclimb was in 1906. The event used to count towards the British Hill Climb Championship.
Bouley Bay Hill Climb is a hillclimbing event held in Trinity, Jersey, and organised by The Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. The course on Les Charrières du Boulay was "first used for competition in 1921" and since 1947 has hosted a round of the British Hill Climb Championship. Bouley Bay and Val des Terres hill climb in Guernsey are normally held in July and provide a two-stop tour for UK drivers contesting the series.
Bo'ness Hill Climb is a hillclimbing course on the Kinneil Estate (site of the historic Kinneil House near Bo'ness, Scotland. It is sometimes referred to as Kinneil Hill Climb. Opening in 1932, it was Scotland's first purpose-built motorsport venue. In 1932 and 1933 events were organised, for motorbikes only, by the West Lothian Motor Cycle Club. The first meeting open to both cars and bikes was organised jointly by WLMCC, Scottish Sporting Car Club and Bo'ness Town Council. There were plans to build a racing circuit on the same land, effectively turning Kinneil into a motorsport complex, but they never came to anything.
Firle Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course near Lewes, East Sussex, England, sometimes referred to as Bo Peep Hill Climb. The event was celebrated on 20 September 2015 by the Bo Peep Drivers Club.
The event will consist of a timed climb of the metalled road known as Bo-Peep Hill, situated near the village of Selmeston, on a turning off the A27. Map reference No. 183/498053. Each competitor will be permitted two timed runs in addition to practice."
David Good is a former British Hill Climb Champion. In 1961 he won the qualifying rounds at Westbrook Hay and Wiscombe Park, driving a Cooper-JAP Mk 8, and clinched the title with a third place at Prescott in September. He finished third in the Championship in 1957 and 1958, being runner-up in 1959, winning the final round at Stapleford.
In the United States, hill climbs have a long tradition stretching back to the early days of motoring competition. Some are in the European-style and take place on long mountain courses, and in many cases spectators are either banned or heavily restricted for safety or insurance reasons.
The 2021 British Hillclimb Championship presented by Avon Tyres is the 74th running of the series, which began in 1947. In normal circumstances it would have been the 75th, but the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
References
- ↑ BARC Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 30 November 1964.
- ↑ Autosport, 3 May 1963, Page 622.
- ↑ Autosport, 24 July 1964, Page 158.
- ↑ Motor Sport, October, 1964, Page 800; See also: Motor, 16 September 1967, Page 48.
- ↑ BARC Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 30 November 1965.
- ↑ Motor, 17 September 1966.
- ↑ Motor, 16 September 1967, Page 48.
- ↑ Autosport, 3 August 1972, Page 41.
- ↑ Autosport, 5 August, Page 47.
- ↑ Autosport, 6 July 2006, Page 107.
- ↑ Autosport, 13 May 2010, Page 113.
