I went to Doune near Stirling at the weekend to do some Hillclimbing in the Clio. What a hillclimb. Very tight and very scary. The armco is very close, maybe a bit too close... Anyway, here is a run from Saturday and was my quickest at a 54.22. I was pretty happy with that for a standard car on road tyres and not being too far away from the class A2 runners that I will be up against in the Mk1 next year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txlIUfDJVvw Some pics... ^ Believe it or not, the Clio was getting better times than the fireblade engined westfield there right up untill the last run of the day when he beat me by 2 10ths. He asked if I could slow down! Great weekend though, the guy with the ^ above westfield was a good laugh as well as the dude with the mk2 escort. Great banter and far too much beer on Sat night which probably did not help for Sunday! The R5 was the class competition and the 182 came out on top, which I was happy about. Cheers, Ali
Nice one Ali, this what I want to next year, going to sell up the kart equipment over winter and build up my Polo for hillclimbing and sprinting. What saftey gear do you need? My helmet is snell motorsport spec but kart suits aren't fire proof.
i knew clio's were quick through the 'twisties' but quicker than a westy?? you must have been a much better driver surely? looks like a fun hobby though!!! that track looks way to tight!!!
Ali well done, it takes large nuts to throw your road car up the hill at doune. I have witnessed some spectacular off's there over the years. Makes Fintry look like a bit micky mouse. You weren't there the year John Bruce stuck his Westy half way up a tree? There was nothing left but the tub and John sitting in it.....
respect to you fella.. looks well commited and the armco comments are so true.. eak! longer hillclimb than i imagined when i looked at it some years back when it was'nt used. used to be a VW show there when noah was a lad.. (aircooled mainly)
Feck... that's tight! A mate of mine pranged Graham Harper's Lomax (citroen 2cv based kit car, but had a 1300 GS lump on twin 40s) up there about 15 years ago... Col said what he always said when he had a crash.... "I caught the first one, but..."
Al, There is a new class this year, 'road going production cars'. You just need a car on road tyres - no sticky 'trackday tyres' (engine mods free, chassis etc, no cage), Helmet (MSA) approved and a fireproof suit and a Nat B licence - ~ 40 quid from MSA. Things are a bit in the air with Scottish regs at the moment. Our traditional road cars have developed into full racers and run in 'modified road cars' - like my Mk1, stripped, caged, and fruity engines and on 'road legal track tyres', this new class I ran the Clio in is to try and get Joe Bloggs with his road car to compete. and an expensive hobby! I think he had a problem first thing in the morning but he said he sorted it out and it was running good after then. Did not see his runs but the clock said the Clio was faster for most of the day. He beat me by two tenths at the last run. Yes, a Westfield/Catherham should be quicker. For ref, my mate and his Dad were doing 46's-47 secs runs. That is a very quick nudging 300bhp XE engined Catherham with VERY quick drivers. Cheers Dave, yes, most of the paddock thought I was nuts taking it up too! What a buzz though! Fintray is nothing in comparison by the way, this hillclimb properly took my breath away! Cheers, Yes, very tight up there. Cheers Bill. That was pretty much fully commited. I MIGHT have been able to do a 53 sec run if I had not hit the limiter and had taken the Kink flat, but that is for another day! Always an opportunity for a bump at Doune, as I realised after the weekend. It was Doune's 40th anniversary by the way, an old Hillclimb. True what your mate said!
Quality mate, good to see some proper driving. I love the first 5 secs, Up to the line spins looks down and ' Right' Big sigh, compose yourself then off. Sign of a professional.
Sounds good I'll need to either get my finger out and get an engine in the Polo or buy something to use. Can't see the van being to competitive up the hill
Cracking run that, load of commitment. Looks like you know wich way it goes which obviously helps! Hope to get up there next year. despite all of the horror tales i've heard!
That was my first time up the hill Dogwood, only been there spectating before. I had walked it so knew where it went, the hardest part was working out what speed/gears to use etc. I was assured from a friend that it was flat from the start to the kink, so I kind of put my trust in him
Oh, and the horror stories are true! I didnt mention this before as was not sure what was happening with damage repair but I had a little contact at the esses at the top on Sunday Nothing too major, it was wet and I thought the car would understeer slightly and factored that into my turn in point. As it turned out, the eagle F1's were better than I thought and so I ended up turning in a touch too early and clipped the barriers on the inside. Could be worse though, after I left a Ferrari hit at the same place, only he bounced off and did the other side as well Even though I felt pretty down at the time, cannot wait to get back there with the Mk1. A rush like no other event I have ever done.
sweet run, a little more practice and you might get somewere near gwr's imp times http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn8Vmgs35Mg
