Following the successful reintroduction of the event in 2023 , the Thoroughbred Sports Car Club (NI) in continuing partnership with Porsche Centre Belfast, held the Cultra Motorsport Festival 2025 on Saturday 7th June incorporating the Cultra Hillclimb running on the challenging 640-metre-long course within the grounds of the Ulster Folk Museum.
Blessed with great weather for the previous two years, this ‘Silver Jubilee’ of the reintroduction of the Cultra Hillclimb in 2000, took place in the North Down monsoon season because if it wasn’t actually raining it was likely to ‘come on soon’. Crucially, it didn’t dampen the spirits of sponsors, spectators or competitors, with some of the latter revelling in the slippery conditions.
With a comprehensive selection of all of the current Porsche models, a timeline of Ford tractors courtesy of the Crosslé family, a classic car display provided by local enthusiasts and the Porsche Owner’s Club, children’s entertainment, food, drink, picnic facilities and motorsport, there was plenty to keep spectators entertained throughout the day.
Dodging the showers was just part of the fun. Practice runs for the hillclimb were delayed by a medical emergency that necessitated first practice being changed to a ‘cavalcade’, but following that, second practice ran without any major incidents allowing the first of the competitive timed runs to start earlier than planned.
Class 1 (Pre WW2 cars) got the timed runs underway, George Johnson in his Alfa Romeo 6C recording the fastest time for the Class on 38.21, ahead of David Wylie in his Frazer Nash Super Sports on 39.20, followed by Andy Johnson in the Alfa Romeo Monza on 44.80. You would be forgiven for thinking that the first and second place times are remarkable, considering the age of the cars and the track conditions. A wet weather glitch in the timing system for a brief period is the likely culprit.
Roger Gordon was the Class 2 (Road Going Sports cars) winner in his much-modified Mazda MX5 on 40.91, ahead of Craig Ewing in a similar MX5 on 41.02. The wet conditions reduced the chance of Stephen Ross having a repeat of the engine bay fire that occurred during last year’s event, so he finished third on 41.49 in his Vauxhall VX220.
Class 3 (Road Going Saloon cars) was dominated by the Ford Escort Mexico of Dominic McGowan, taking overall honours on 41.16, over a second ahead of Gareth Whiting in his MG ZR on 42.42. The deceptively quick Nissan Micra of Cailan Lancashire was third on 43.66. The ‘crowd pleasing’ award went to TSCC Committee member Colin McBride driving his Citroen 2CV equipped with a 3500cc V8 donated by an unsuspecting Rover.
Weather conditions and the resulting track surface were always going to favour the four-wheel-drive cars in Class 4 (Specials and 4WD) and so it proved. Oliver Cormican in his Mitsubishi Evo posted a consistent set of runs, finishing first on 38.24, ahead of Ian Lancashire in his Subaru Impreza on 38.77. Third place went to Jack McGarry in the often very sideways Nissan R32 GTR with a time of 39.91.
Class 5 (TSCC Road Going Cars 1945-65) featured a well-used Jaguar ‘C’ type, ably driven to victory by Jack Brien on 42.65, despite having unsuitably ‘tall’ race gearing. Robert McGimpsey in his Mk3 Ford engined Turner held off the rest with a time of 45.47. The Austin Healey Sebring Sprite of Trevor McIlroy was third on 47.79, somewhat slower than his similar placing in 2024 because of the track conditions.
In Class 6 (TSCC Road Going Cars 1966-75) Simon Brien in his Porsche 911, with a best time of 40.59, was comfortably ahead of Austin Baird in a similar 911 on 41.99 and the often sideways TSCC Treasurer, Tony McLaughlin in his Ford Escort RS2000 on 42.79. Other noticeably sideways competitor’s included TSCC Club Secretary Kevin McNamee in his recently acquired TVR 3000M.
Jimmy Dougan was the winner of Class 7 (TSCC Road Going Cars 1976-85) in his Vauxhall Nova on 41.26, ahead of his friend Ian McCann in a Vauxhall Nova GTE on 41.66 and the Ford Escort of Joshua Boyd on 41.81, the front-wheel-drive cars being noticeably more sure-footed in the slippery conditions.
The revised Class structure introduced last year brought proceedings to Class 8 (Formula Ford 1600), perhaps the most level playing field of them all. Alan Davidson’s Mondiale M89S on 38.97 finished comfortably ahead of Ben Woodside’s Crosslé 32F on 40.04. Crosslé proprietor Paul McMorran was third in his Crosslé 25F with a time of 41.37.
The Overall winner was always likely to come from the Class 9 (Racing Cars), but the changeable weather and challenging track surface upset the predictions. Mark Nugent stopped the clocks on 37.23 in his screaming Speedcar Wonder, somewhat shy of the 31.17 hill record but impressive given the conditions. Second in Class and second Overall was the similarly equipped Chris Nelson on 37.41and rounding out the Class and Overall hat-trick was Stephen Newell in the diminutive Mk4 600cc Jedi with a time of 37.69.
And so, the competition ended with positive comments from sponsors, spectators and competitors alike, with those that stayed for the prize giving rewarded with the sun making a belated appearance. We’re already looking forward to 2026.
