Yesterday saw the hills of Belfast reverberate to the sound of hillclimbing – hillclimb is a motorsport initiative which is popular throughout Eruope and the rest of the world alike but in the UK some of the most exciting events are here in Northern Ireland.
As a host to a round of the Avon Tyres | TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship, Craigantlet is one of very few rounds of the series that is set on closed public roads, I stand corrected on this but I think the only other two rounds on public roads are those held in the Channel Islands.
For this reason, the Belfast based event is one which is often looked forward to as it is the first time in the season that cars and drivers get to stretch their legs in somewhat unfamiliar territory meandering up the Belmont Road whilst utilising parts of the Ballymiscaw Road on its course.
Weather on the hills around Belfast is usually unpredictable at best and practice-one saw most drivers complete the hill in damp conditions, grip levels were questionable at best, especially for anything with more torque than a pushbike.
As the day progressed, road conditions improved and although there was sporadic drizzle at the start of timed-one as well as between runs, something that most would call a ‘stiff breeze’ was present (it would have blown the head clean aff ye if the truth be told!) and as such any moisture on the course didn’t get to sit too long.
As with all things in the non-race world, there really is something for everyone at these events with vintage – classic – road going – saloon – rally – modified – home built and single seater but to name a few, with pretty much anything you could imagine in between.
With such a variety comes vast differences in speeds and technology as well as budgets which is fascinating to experience all in the one day in the same venue with a relaxed atmosphere and an open paddock where you can get up close to the cars and drivers.
Craigantlet Hillclimb 2017 was sponsored by Ballyrobert [ Vauxhall | Mazda | Lotus ]
Results from Round 3 of the Avon Tyres | TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship at Craigantlet:
WINNER Trevor Willis
2nd Wallace Menzies
3rd Dave Uren
4th Will Hall
5th Alex Summers
6th Richard Spedding
7th Ed Hollier
8th Jason Mourant
9th Graham Wynn
10th Lee Griffiths
11th Nicola Menzies
12th Allan McDonald
Results from Round 4 of the Avon Tyres | TTC Group MSA British Hillclimb Championship at Craigantlet:
WINNER Trevor Willis
2nd Wallace Menzies
3rd Dave Uren
4th Will Hall
5th Jason Mourant
6th Richard Spedding
7th Graham Wynn
8th Lee Griffiths
9th Nicola Menzies
10th David Finlay
Throughout the vast classes on the day saw some fantastic battles – usually between friends who maybe are not in contention for the class win, but tend to have more craic amongst themselves swapping tenths of seconds whilst trying to set a personal best on this meandering sprint up the Belmont Road.
Class accolades as follows:
Class 1 – Dennis Watson – Mazda MX-5 – 64.52
Class 2 – Adrian Mulholland – Ford Escort RS2000 – 56.17
Class 3 – Paul Montgomery – Subaru Impreza Type R – 53.32
Class 4 – Gardiner McIlwaine – Westfield SE I – 54.66
Class 5 – James Perry – Caterham R400 – 59.14
Class 6A – Gordon Fogarty – Fiat X1/9 – 56.70
Class 6B – Steven Gault – Citroen Saxo – 51.59
Class 7 – Paul Hamill – Tiger Suzuki – 52.70
Class 8 – Rudi Gage – Maguire Mini – 49.73
Class 9 – David Francis – Ford Escort Cosworth RWD – 51.15
Class 10 – Stephen Harvey – Ford Escort Mk2 – 58.93
Class 11 – Seamus Morris – Darrian GTR – 50.91
Class 12 – Michael White – Subaru Legacy – 50.48
Class 14 – Darren Gumbley – Force 1100 – 48.51
Class 15 – Dave Uren – Gould GR 55 B – 40.92
Class 16A – Jack Brien – MG Midget Atlantis – 57.60
Class 16B – David Wylie – BMW 2002 Ti – 56.88
Class 17 – Michael Taylor – MG TA – 68.79
Words and Photos: Graham Curry – [CLICK HERE FOR A FULL GALLERY OF IMAGES]
