Barbon Hillclimb
 A competitor tackling Lafone corner on the climb. | |
| Location |
Barbon Cumbria England |
|---|---|
| Time zone | GMT |
| Major Events | British Hill Climb Championship |
| Hill Length | 0.506 miles (891 yd) |
| Hill Record | 20.50 (Scott Moran, 2008, British Hillclimb Championship) |
Barbon Hillclimb is a hillclimb held near Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, north-west England. The event is held on the Barbon Manor estate with the course ordinarily being used as a driveway.[1] The course is 890 yards (814 metres) in length, making it the shortest of the British Hill Climb Championship tracks outside the Channel Islands. From 2013, the car events are being promoted by Liverpool Motor Club in addition to their popular Sprints at Aintree. The motorcycle events did not run at Barbon in 2012 or 2013.
History
From 1950 to 2012, Westmorland Motor Club ran three events per year at the venue: two for cars and one for motorcycles, though the motorcycle events no longer run. Since 2013 the car events have been run by Barbon Hillclimb Ltd, a joint venture between Kirkby Londsale Motor Club and Liverpool Motor Club, the latter being the official promoter of the events.
The target for 1963 competitors was the existing record by Jack Cordingley's JBW-Maserati in a time of 30.46 secs.[2] A new record was set by Scott Moran on 10 May 2008 of 20.50, beating the previous record held by Adam Fleetwood in 2004.
The British Hillclimb Championship events run in mid-May each year, and the popular Regional Championship events run in mid-June.
The 2010 British Hillclimb Championship round had to be abandoned due to a problem with the track surface.[3] The 2011 and 2012 British Hillclimb Championship rounds ran successfully at Barbon after resurfacing of sections of the track had brought the surface back up to standard.
The National B (regional championship) events held each June have continued to run successfully, attracting a loyal following of competitors and spectators.
Barbon Hillclimb past winners
| Year | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | P.S. Hughes | Tojeiro-J.A.P. | 34.68 sec | [4] May 21. |
| 1956 | C.A.N. May | Cooper-J.A.P. Mark 8 | 32.18 sec | [5] May 26. |
| 1957 | Peter Proctor | Cooper-Norton | 33.37 sec | [6] May 26. |
| 1963 | Tony Marsh | 28.779 sec | [7] May 25. | |
| 1964 | [8] May 23. | |||
| 1965 | Boshier-Jones | Lotus | [9] | |
| 1966 | ||||
| 1967 | David Good | B.R.M. 4-w-d | [10] May 20. | |
| 1969 | Round 4 D. Hepworth | Hepworth FF Traco-Oldsmobile | 26.78 sec R | [11] |
| 2008 | Round 3 : Martin Groves | Gould | 20.71 sec | May 10. |
| Round 4 : Scott Moran | Gould | 20.50 sec R |
Key: R = Course Record.
Footnotes
- ↑ Fifty years of motor-cycling, R. D. Humber, The Guardian, October 24, 1960, Page 2.
- ↑ Motor Sport, July 1963, Page 548.
- ↑ Autosport, May 13, 2010, Page 104.
- ↑ Motor Sport, July 1955, Page 384.
- ↑ C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 84.
- ↑ C. A. N. May, Speed Hill-Climb, G.T. Foulis & Co LTD, 1962, Page 98.
- ↑ Motor Sport, July 1963, Page 548.
- ↑ Motor Sport, July 1964, Page 420.
- ↑ Motor Sport, September 1965, Page 745.
- ↑ Motor Sport, August 1967, Page 702.
- ↑ Motor, June 14, 1969, Page 69.