TSCC Cultra Hill Climb - (Sat) 11 Jun 16

Posted: August 1, 2016 10:10 AM - 3209 Hits

In Car

Posted: August 1, 2016 9:59 AM

Lewis Dunlop (Mini Cooper)

Gerard O'Connell (RADICAL SR8)

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Posted: August 1, 2016 9:53 AM

Two thousand visitors from 10 countries to the the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum on Saturday 11th June saw the annual Cultra Speed Hillclimb crown its fourth different champion in the past four years as Coleraine man Jaye Nevin pipped the current NI Hillclimb Championship leader, Bangor's Chris Houston, to claim his maiden hillclimb victory with a last run time of 32.58secs in his Reynard Formula Lotus. However, drive of the day came from Ballymoney 'Young Gun' Roger Gage who hustled his venerable Maguire Mini on to the podium on his first visit to the twisty track in North Down's award winning visitor attraction. The Ards and North Down Borough Council supported competition had attracted a capacity entry of 100 drivers from six countries, all bar one completing the day but thus allowing the only remaining Reserve to take part also.

The sports cars of Dungiven's Gerard O'Connell and another 'Young Gun', Mark Francis from Newtownards, took the next two places with multiple Saloon Champion, Roger's father Rudi, completing the top six as he continues to develop his newly built Maguire version of the Mini. The usual local Ulster Vintage Car Club hillclimb flotilla was more than doubled by the addition of eight participants from the MG Car Club MMM Ulster Tour including John Gillett, who has brought his famous ex-Prince Bira K3 Magnette to Europe for the summer from Victoria, Australia. Holywood's Sheelagh Glover won the UVCC Handicap, whilst fastest Pre-WW2 car was the unique Alec Issigonis Special of Andy Storer, who had brought the car from Warwickshire at the invitation of the event's Museum hosts.

The sports cars competition in the Historic Category was dominated by MG Midgets and A-H Sprites, the little cars filling the top five places with Holywood's Jack Brien running out winner in his rare Altantis Midget chased home by David Wylie in the famous 505 BZ Speedwell Sprite who nicked the runner-up spot from James Thacker in the equally famous 'Cyclops' Sprite. Mk1 Escorts headed home the Historics Saloons field as Downpatrick's Stephen Strain led all day as Dumurry's Tony McLaughlin mugged Whitehead's Arthur Peoples on the last Run to grab the runner-up position.

Anthony Upton made the long journey from Coleraine to defeat battling brothers Joe and George Clarke, in their shared Honda Civic, with his Fiesta in the small Production Class. The large capacity Production Sports Cars Class fell easily to Mervyn Johnstone's Porsche 911 ahead of the usual close tustle between Bangor's Nad Haghighi's VX220 and Simon McDougall's Porsche 944. The former took the Runner-Up spot by two tenths on this occasion. Armagh's David Gibson ran away and hid from the rest of the larger capacity Production Saloons in his immaculate Mk2 Escort leaving Stephen Milne (Peugeot GTi) to pip Adam McKee (Opel Manta) less than a second apart in the minor placings here.

The Under 1600cc Modified Production Sports Cars Class was an all MG Midget affair with Newtownards duo David Cochrane and John Kelly finishing in that order, split by just a tenth of a second apart ahead of former Miss Northern Ireland Tiffany Brien a couple of seconds back in third. Young Stephen Morrisey ended up on his own in the small MP Saloon Class but posted a 40.43sec best that put him on the Category podium amongst the Midgets.

The Over 1600cc Modified Production Sports Cars fell to Robbie Davidson's unusual MEV Rocket ahead of Godfrey McCartney's Lotus Elise and the MG Midget of Simon Brien, meaning that the Holywood father, daughter and son all stepped on the Cultra winners rostrum this year. Bangor hotshoe Chris Rogan in his Mk2 Escort held off the thundering and popping Ford Granada Turbo of Stephen Ross to score another Saloon Class win, this pair chased home by Michael Boyle to make an Escort/Granada sandwich.

The Non Road-Going Category accounted for almost a third of the entry list with the NI Sevens race cars of Mark Francis and Alan Davidson eclipsing former Cultra Sports Car Champion Graham Boyce's mighty DAX Rush in the Sports Car Class. Ian Lancashire chased home the Gage family to take the last podium place in the NRG Saloons Class.

With Nevin taking the Overall Win, two Bangor men stepped up on to the Race Car Class podium. Houston and O'Connell took the top two steps and were joined by John Stewart (Mygale M12).

Closest finish of the day fittingly came in the Event Closing 'Post WW2 Midget/Sprite Shoot-Out'.
Aaron Bunning and Jack Brien both took around a second off their Shoot-Out Qualifying times, except Bunning turned the tables when it mattered and lifted the Mike Wylie Trophy by just 1/100secs with Simon Brien 3/4sec adrift in third.

The non-competitive entertainment was provided by a Parade Run of the fifty MMM Tour cars that weren't competing and a Re-union celebration run for Dr Phil Stevenson in the 'Stephenson's Rocket' sports car he had designed and built in the 1980's while working at Crosslé Racing Cars in Holywood. He was slightly non-plused by being joined on his run by the Museum's latest acquisition, the first 'Pantridge' Cardiac Ambulance to go in to service, which completed a tour of the hillclimb venue at a pace befitting its age and status, driven by UFTM Road & Rail Transport Curator Mark Kennedy.

After the Event, Thoroughbred Sports Car Club President William Heaney said:-
“This was by far our most ambitious Cultra so far, but once again the small TSCC Team, supported by our colleagues in the British Motorsports Marshals Club and other local motor clubs, delivered an event of which they can all be immensely proud. Today we had the largest number of competitors and participants from outside the Province and I'm proud to say they were all full of praise for what this partnership with the Museum is giving to our hobby and sport.”