Harewood Open and British Championship Hillclimb.

After a very, very long wet winter and spring JCB Photography was at Harewood Hill for a very late start to the 2024 Motor-sport season on the famous Yorkshire hill.

Practice Day event was original scheduled for 24th March, the organisers had to make a difficult decision to postpone the event, due to excessive rainfall over the weeks leading up to the event, which had left the ground waterlogged meaning large areas of the parking field and paddock unusable. This event was rescheduled for Saturday 13th April but again due to the waterlogged ground that event was cancelled altogether and the Spring National Hillclimb event which was due to take place on Sunday 14th April was rescheduled for the 24th August.

All this meant that the first Hillclimb event taking place at Harewood Hill was over the weekend of 11th and 12th May for the Harewood Open Hillclimb, on the Saturday, as part of the Harewood Speed Hillclimb Championship. While the first of what will be two visits by the British Hillclimb Championship competitors on the Sunday, which would not be part of the Harewood Championship.

Even so a number of competitors from the British Hillclimb Championship and Ferrari Owners Club would join the competitors from the Harewood Hillclimb Championship on the Saturday.

2023 Harewood Hillclimb Champion, Adam Riley, now sharing a front wheel drive VW UP, car #22, with Doug Mitchell. Adam having switched from sharing the rear wheel drive, turbo engined Honda S2000 of Carl Jackson. Adam came away from the meeting leading the 2024 Championship and came very close, just 0.24 seconds from setting a new 1A class record for Road Cars Series Production, up to and including 1400cc set by Mark Teale driving a Suzuki Swift on 06th June 2021. So I will be very, very surprised if this class record does not go before the end of this season, based on Adams previous record setting. With the best 6 scores to count, from the 8 Rounds of the Harewood Speed Hillclimb Championship.

In the Ferrari Hillclimb Championship run by the Ferrari Owners Club. David Snelson driving a Ferrari 488 Spider car# 220 set a new class record on Saturday. The record was set back in May 2019. Then he beat his own class record again on the Sunday.

Full timings and Results for Harewood Open Hillclimb can be found here:

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_a2641b751e2b42ba80ccd7128c6af210.pdf

Harewood Speed Hillclimb Championship Results:

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_388d09ee51bf44e4a52083f9df8e0dca.pdf

In the Fastest Time of the Day Championship (FTD) 2023 Champion David Tatham driving his DJ Firehawk, car #152, is the highest place Harewood regular. All the other drivers above him are from the British Hillclimb Championship. David did both days and is eighth in the FTD Championship.

FTD Championship Results:

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_11e0ea70c90b4e55b8482f1890a95c60.pdf

Sunday. British Hillclimb Championship.

Just like the Harewood Championship the British Hillclimb Championship has had events postponed at Prescott which has been rescheduled for 17th & 18th August. Craigantlet in Northern Ireland was abandoned on 4th May due to heavy rain causing the track to flood in places and neither of the run-offs having taken place.

However this was not before British Championship Hillclimb 2023 Champion Wallace Menzies driving a Gould GR59, car #1 went off and damaged his car, meaning that Wallace was not at Harewood this weekend.

All this meant that Harewood Hill would also be the first Round of the 2024 British Hillclimb Championship.

The two Practices runs were completed before the lunch break, under variable cloud. The first timed run for the British Hillclimb Championship got underway with some nice warm sunshine.

The fastest twelve would have a run-off for Championship points, though only the top ten would be awarded points from ten down to one point for tenth place. This would then be repeated for the next round of the Championship.

Scott Moran who has won the British Hillclimb Championship six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016) is taking time out of the Championship this year but was at Harewood sharing with his father, 1997 British Hillclimb Champion Roger Moran Skoda Fabia R5. So Scott had car#2 on the door as he was runner up last year to Wallace Menzies. Roger was car# 702.

Top 3 in the First Run-Off.

1st Car #3, Matthew Ryder driving a Gould GR59J

2nd Car #6, Trevor Willis driving a OMS28

3rd Car #7 Sean Gould driving a Gould GR59BJ

Full Results of the Top Twelve. First Run-Off.

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_ae98606d928c477faa23db3bada6433b.pdf

Top 3 in the Second Run-Off.

1st Car #3, Matthew Ryder driving a Gould GR59J

2nd Car #6, Trevor Willis driving a OMS28

3rd Car #4 Alex Summers driving a DJ Firestorm

Matthew Ryder takes the lead in the British Hillclimb Championship after winning both rounds with 20 points. With Trevor Willis in second on 18 points. Though Trevor got closer in the time difference, during the second run-off from 0.39 to 0.17. Sean Gould and Alex Summers are joint third with 15 points. The next round of the 2024 British Hillclimb Championship is due to take place at Gurston Down over the weekend of 25th and 26th May but will be back at Harewood Hill over the weekend of 6th and 7th July, after also competing at Shelsey Walsh and Doune.

For all events see link: https://www.britishhillclimb.co.uk/calendar-2024

Full Results of the Top Twelve. Second Run-Off.

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_d40904b3f2734a96b2cb44b1f9b47c00.pdf

Full timings and Results for all cars. British Championship Hillclimb can be found here:

https://www.harewoodhill.com/_files/ugd/882d72_0afc3eacf5ff4099aef7f7ec430f9565.pdf

The next action at Harewood Hill will be on Saturday 8th June when the Classic and Vintage Hillclimb takes place for Round three of the VSCC Speed Championship, with competitors from the Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC). While Round two of the Harewood Speed Hillclimb Championship takes place on Sunday 9th June with the Jim Thomson Hillclimb.

Many thanks to BARC Yorkshire centre for the opportunity to be track side. Also not forgetting all the Marshals, Medical and the Darlington and District Rescue team, along with all the back office staff without which the events at Harewood Hill could not take place.

Useful websites for the event:

Harewood Hill: https://www.harewoodhill.com/

Live Timing: www.hwtiming.co.uk

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After an inspection of the venue on Saturday 6th April, BARC Yorkshire Centre has had to cancel its Practice Day (which was rescheduled from 24th March) and postpone the Spring National Championship Hillclimb due to all the extreme wet weather over recent weeks, which has left large areas of both the parking and paddock areas waterlogged.

The Spring National Championship Hillclimb has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday 24th August. This will make that weekend a double header with the Summer Championship meeting, taking place on the Sunday.

This means that the first hillclimb event to take place at Harewood Hill in 2024 will be the Harewood Open and British Hillclimb Championship over the weekend of 11th and 12th May.

JCB Photography was at Cadwell Park Circuit on Sunday 31st March 2024 for the Alan Healy Memorial Rally. With 9 Special Stages using not only the Circuit but access roads, the pit lane and even the circuit in reverse. Organized by the Border Motor Club (Lincolnshire).

This is round eight of the 2023/24 MGJ Engineering Circuit Rally Championship. The final round nine of the 2023/2024 championship is at Anglesey, for the Altratech SMC Stages on Sunday 14th April. The event is also rounds of the Alpha Concrete ANEMMC and Clubman Motorsport EMAMC Stage Rally Championships. The event organisers had retained the holding area hairpin, which proved popular last year, in addition to the give competitors over 45 challenging miles on some of the best circuit tarmac in the country.

The rally is once again being run in memory of Alan Healy, the late President of Border Motor Club (Lincolnshire) and one of the Club's founder members.

The competing field was made-up of cars included the Subaru Impreza along with more modern WRC cars such as a Skoda Fabia and Ford Fiesta’s and off course Ford Escorts MKII including an Escort Cosworth and a Talbot Avenger. The Rally Service Area was open all day to allow a close-up of the competitors as they service and prepare for each special stage.

After some overnight fog, which cleared during the first couple of stages. The sun was out but that didn’t last too long before the wind picked up and it clouded over. Thankfully the rain did stay away until the last stage.

Winners of the Alan Healy Memorial Rally was Michael Igoe and co-driver Will Atkins in the Citroen C3 Rally2, second was Tony Robinson and co-driver Paul Spooner in the Skoda Fabia R5 and third was James Garner and co-driver Jordan Jones in the Darrian GTR.

For all the Results from the Alan Healy Memorial Rally 2024 can be found here:

https://www.ewrc-results.com/final/85617-alan-healy-memorial-rally-2024/

JCB Photography would like to thank the Border Motor Club, MotorSport Vision, all the Event Sponsors, Motorsport UK, Rescue and Recovery Units, Medical personnel, Officials, and Marshals, without which the event could not have taken place.

Cadwell Sprint 2024

JCB Photography was at Cadwell Park Circuit for the Cadwell Park Sprint on Sunday 23rd March 2024. The event was organised by BARC Midlands Centre.

The Sprint was attended by several clubs including Hillclimb and Sprint Association (HSA), BARC, Lotus Cup, MG Car Club, TR Register, Nottingham Sports Car Club and Morgan Sports Car Club, all competitors competing in different Speed Championships.

The event got under way around nine o’clock with the Practice run, followed by up to four timed runs. With the sun out for most of the morning the rest of the day was mainly dry but with a very icy strong wind and a mid morning light shower with hailstones luckily this didn’t last very long.

The Sprint start was just outside the Hospitality building and not at the racetrack start-line and the finish was near the pedestrian bridge, so the competitors did not get to go up the famous The Mountain climb, part of the racetrack. The Sprint Course is 3.15km in length.

In the National event Peter Goulding driving a Mygale FF200 set the Best Time of Day. While in the Inter-club event Mick Dent driving a Westfield Megabusa set the Best Time of Day.

National Results:

https://www.barc-midlands.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BARC_Midlands_Cadwell_Park_Sprint_23-03-2024_National_Results.pdf

Inter-club Results:

https://www.barc-midlands.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BARC_Midlands_Cadwell_Park_Sprint_23-03-2024_Interclub_Results.pdf

JCB Photography was at the East Riding Stages Rally on Sunday 25th February 2024. For Special Stages 5 & 6 at Westwood Super-special in the market town of Beverley in East Yorkshire. The event was organized by the Beverley & District Motor Club.

With five stages, each run twice and a ceremonial start and finish in Beverley’s Saturday Marketplace. The first of the 150 competitors were flagged away at 09:00, with such a large entry is a testament to the rally’s growing popularity in only its third year of running.

The event is only one of five closed road rallies in the country. Which means that the club use closed public roads which are then used as special stages for the event. Competitors use other public roads to get to each stage, so the cars have to be road legal and obey the highway code.

The rally featured some challenging stages across East Yorkshire’s roads, attracting some of the best competitors from across the UK. A large number of competitors were driving Ford Fiesta’s of different specs, from WRC to R5 and R2’s, along with Ford Escort’s, Subaru Impreza’s, Mitsubishi Evo’s and a number of other manufacturers including an Aston Martin Vantage build by Prodrive (the same team that build the Subaru’s Impreza for 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae) for the Race of Champions. With many thousands of rally fans, lining the stage at Westwood.

After a cold and overnight frost, a number of competitors hit trouble in the first couple of stages, including the past winner of this event David Henderson who had turbo issues and would eventually retire from the event.

The sun did come out, mid-morning but started to cloud over just before the action got underway for the start of SS5. Competitors were set off at one-minute intervals but once the first car was due to start SS6 (this followed only 15 minutes later after the start of SS5 and was the same stage layout), this was reduced to 30 seconds as later cars starting SS5 would also be setting off.

Winner of the 2024 East Riding Stages Rally was Mark Kelly driving the Skoda Fabia R5, car#5, with co-driver Will Atkins.

Top 3.

Car 5. Skoda Fabia R5 driven by Mark Kelly and co-driver Will Atkins

Car 3. Hyundai I20 R5 driven by James Williams and co-driver Ross Wittock

Car 2. Ford Fiesta Rally2 driven by Callum Black and co-driver Jack Morton

Full Results from the event can be found here:

https://www.ewrc-results.com/final/86145-east-riding-stages-rally-2024/

Welcome to JCB Photography’s new design and look website, all ready for the 2024 Motor-sport season. We will be at Harewood Hill for all eight of the Harewood Speed Championship meetings as well as the two visits from the British Hillclimb Championship in May and July. Not forgetting the Classic and Vintage Hillclimb at the beginning of June. For all the dates take a look our Events page tab at the top of the screen. I will keep the events list as up to-date as much as possible but always check on the event organisers website for full details.

I will still have other work published on both the Piston Click and Harewood Hill website.

I have plans to cover some new events for us at Cadwell Park Circuit and Donington Park Circuit, later in the season bringing back Rallying and a couple of Sprints.

I hope to attend, an event that I have not done for a few years, later in the year.