Seven of our club members recently competed in the first round of this year?s Victorian Hillclimb Championship which was held at Bryant Park in the Haunted Hills. Nine rounds will be contested this year with other rounds at Camperdown, Ararat, Broadford, Shepparton and the Christmas Hills. At this round there were 90 competitors spread across a wide range of classes for different types of cars and engine sizes. Most classes were closely fought with battles throughout the day as drivers improved upon their previous times.
The fastest of our cohort was Peter McNiven who drove his father?s Toyota Corolla Sprinter in the Sports Sedan up to 1600cc class. Peter?s time of 55.59 seconds was enough to win the class and break the previous class record. Jim McNiven placed second in the class with a time of 57.30, but had no answer to his son?s pace.
Ian Holdsworth drove his turbo-charged RX7 to another class victory in the? Over 3000cc Sports Car class with a best time of 56.61 despite missing one of his 5 runs with a flat battery.
Jane Vollebregt?s MGBGT was still in the shop undergoing a colour change, so she shared Dave Anderson?s purple MGB roadster in the Sports Cars 1600 ? 2000cc class. Dave had to make some modifications to the gear lever to suit Jane, but it failed to slow him down. Dave won the class with a 58.38 with Jane not too far behind with a best lap of 63.81.
Without a specific class for historic sports cars, Glen Campbell ran his Group Sb MGBGT in the ?Historic Other? category. Unfortunately there were a couple of historic open wheeler racing cars contesting this class as well, so Glenn did well to place second with a time of 62.42. In the Historic Touring Cars up to 2000cc class Steve Schmidt, driving his group Nb Cooper S, was the only entrant so collected his trophy with a best time of 62.33.
This round was hosted by the Gippsland Car Club who always run a very well organised event. Our thanks go to all the officials who stood out in the sun or helped in other ways to make the day such a success. It was great to see Lloyd Shaw back at work in the Scrutineering Bay following heart surgery late last year. The broken ribs were still a bit tender, but Lloyd was looking good.
Action Pictures by Gary Hill – ELGEE WORDS & PICTURES? www.elgeewordsandpictures.com.au
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