CAMS NSW Hillclimb Championship » ARCHIVED REPORT: Canberra Hillclimb R3 2011

Date: 10/4/11 | Host Club: Southern District Motorsports Association

Canberra’s weather in April can be a little changeable. It was perfect on Saturday but early Sunday morning rain was sweeping through making the Fairbairn Park track even more challenging.Doug Barry (Lola F3000) brought the damp with him from Mudgee (just to help out the local farmers) and immediately looked like a man on a mission, setting the early pace while those around him looked nervously skyward. All except for Phil Pratt -he casually pulled out the tyre groover and set to work!

Doug maintained the advantage on runs one to four, his best a 48.59s with Peter Gumley (SCV 48.85s). Scott Tutton showed the benefits of all wheel drive in the Evo2 (48.94s) then Searle Courtright (Axtell Suzuki 49.72s), Michele Guyer (March 87B 49.84s) and Tim Edmondson (Gould GR55B) on 49.97s.

The combination of surprisingly few “offs” and a slightly smaller field meant that a fifth run was now possible. Doug Barry looked uneasy, commenting “it could always fine up and Peter is a master at pulling out a blinder on the last run” and about that time blue sky peeped through!

On a drying track Peter Gumley dropped his earlier best time by over six seconds to take FTD on 42.02s. He was closely followed by Edmondson about three tenths adrift. Steve Moxon slipped past his co-driver in the Axtell Suzuki to slip into third outright followed by a philosophical Doug Barry on 43..35s. Michele Guyer was next best.While Peter has indicated that he won’t be attending all championship rounds this year, he coyly added “I‘ll have to turn up occasionally just to keep the fellas honest”.

Ron Hay (historic RH Honda) took a creditable sixth outright ahead of Steve Hooker (Jedi). Eighth outright and Fastest Tin Top was Scott Tutton in the Evo2 from Searle Courtright in the Axtell Mark Guyer rounded out the top ten in the Nissan GTR from Daniel Burton in the Honda Civic.

Alan Barlow – NSW Hillclimb Website Editor

EDITORS NOTES:

Given the wet conditions there were surprisingly few visits to the greenery. I’d agree with SDMA’s Anthony Hyde in congratulating all involved.
Only a few short delays caused by unscheduled “kangaroo visits”. Mind you as I was driving home there must have been forty in a paddock just up the road, so it could have been worse.
Thanks to SDMA it was another great weekend. The ongoing improvements to the pit area, timing displays and spectator facilities all noted.
The result keeps the overall pointscore wide open with only five points separating Tim and Doug.