Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France, took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England, is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905.
Europe
Hillclimbs in continental Europe are usually held on courses which are several kilometres long, taking advantage of the available hills and mountains including the Alps. The most prestigious competition is the FIA European Hill Climb Championship.Austria
An Austrian venue: Gaisberg. A historic course is at Semmering.France
The French hill climb championship, or Championnat de France de la Montagne, has been one of the most competitive of the European national series, attracting many new F2 and 2-litre sports cars during the 1970s and early 1980s. Notable champions from this period include Pierre Maublanc, Daniel Rouveyran, Hervé Bayard and Jimmy Mieusset. The best-known Course de Côte are Mont Ventoux and Mont-Dore.Germany
Germany has a long hillclimbing tradition, with some manufacturers of cars or motorcycles entering factory teams until ″Bergrennen″ became amateur events in the 1970s. Two states, Nordrhein-Westfalen und Baden-Württemberg, do not allow hillclimbing racing events anymore, mostly due to environmental reasons. Thus, the probably most famous event, the Freiburg-Schauinsland race in the Black Forest, is not a competition anymore like almost 100 years ago, when the fourth International Schauinsland hillclimb at Freiburg was held on August 5, 1928: "A car made the fastest time of the day, Heusser's Bugatti putting up 74.009 km/h, the fastest motorcycle being Stegmann's DKW at 69.6 km/h." Caracciola won the over two-litre racing car class.In the 1930s, during the era of the famous "Silver Arrows" from Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz, Hans Stuck dominated European hillclimbing, which earned him the nickname "Bergkönig" or "King of the Mountains". The high-powered supercharged Grand Prix cars were often modified to use twin rear tyres, like trucks, to provide better traction.
Germany has only a small share of the Alps and few climbs there, like ″Jochrennen″ from Hindelang to Oberjoch, with the Rossfeld race in the Berchtesgaden Alps being a part of the 1965 World Sportscar Championship. At that time, Porsche entered lightweight open-top ″Bergspyder″ variants as their racing models were made for endurance racing up to 24 hours, with the Porsche 909 Bergspyder being the most extreme, weighing in at only 384kg.
Thus, most German hillclimbs are in the Mittelgebirge regions, but even the rather flat northern part of Germany has hillclimbs, like the one in Hilter near Osnabrück, which is part of the German ″Berg Cup″ series. In the 2023 calendar, Schottenring, Wolsfeld, Iberg near Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Homburg, Saarland, Hauenstein near Hausen, Rhön-Grabfeld, Eichenbühl, Mickhausen are the events in Germany. Additional rounds are held in Luxembourg, Austria or Switzerland.
Great Britain
In Great Britain, the format is different from that in other parts of Europe, with courses being much shorter. Cairncastle is Great Britain's longest hillclimb at. These short courses are more akin to uphill sprints – and almost always take under one minute for the fastest drivers to complete. For this reason, cars and drivers do not generally cross between the British and continental European championships.Hillclimbing is also relevant to motorcycle sport; the governing body is the National Hill Climb Association.
Italy
In the Italian championship, also known as the Campionato Italiano Velocità Montagna, there are the longest and most challenging hillclimbs like Trento-Bondone, Coppa Bruno Carotti, Pedavena-Croce d'Aune, Cronoscalata Monte Erice and Verzegnis-Sella Chianzutan, which are also the most known.Hillclimbing in Italy became famous in the 1970s, early 1980s, between 1994 and 2000 and at the end of the 2000s, especially in the last two periods thanks to TV services, magazines and live Internet commentaries.
The most famous Italian drivers, who won a lot even in Europe, are Ludovico Scarfiotti, "Noris", Domenico Scola, Mauro Nesti, Ezio Baribbi, Fabio Danti, Pasquale Irlando, Franz Tschager, Simone Faggioli and Denny Zardo
Malta
Hillclimbing is a very popular sport on the island of Malta. Numerous events are organised annually by the . Participants are divided according to their type of vehicle into various categories ranging from single seaters to saloon cars.Portugal
There are several traditional hillclimbing race events in Portugal, and its national championship growing in popularity since 2010. Falperra International Hill Climb is the most popular and famous hillclimb, being held since 1927, most of the editions as part of the European Championship.Romania
In Romania, the first major event was the Feleac course, in Cluj. From 1930, it was a round in the European Hill Climb Championship. A record of the Feleac was set by famous German racer Hans Stuck in 1938, driving a Auto Union Grand Prix car. Stuck stormed through the gravel course in 2 min 56 sec. In recent decades, the course was widened in order to be suitable for intense traffic and therefore is considered inappropriate for auto racing.The modern Romanian hillclimbing event is the Viteză în Coastă or Campionatul Național de Viteză pe Traseu Montan.
Slovakia
There are several traditional hillclimbing race events in Slovakia. Some of the best known and most popular include the Pezinská Baba hillclimb race and the Dobšinský Kopec hillclimb race.One of the most well known Slovak drivers competing in local and international hillclimb events is Jozef Béreš. Béreš is also very popular on social media networks thanks to the videos of him driving his legendary Audi Quattro S1 racecar.
Switzerland
Motor racing was banned in Switzerland in the aftermath of the fatal collision between cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1955. However, this prohibition does not extend to events where drivers compete only indirectly via the clock. Events such as rallies, hillclimbs and slaloms are very popular, including the FIA European Hill Climb Championship.The most known hillclimb races are the Gurnigelrennen, the course en côte Ayent – Anzère, the course en côte St. Ursanne – Les Rangiers, and the historic Klausen Hill Climb known as the Klausenpassrennen. Ludovico Scarfiotti clinched the European hillclimb championship at Ollon-Villars on August 30, 1965, driving a Dino Ferrari 2-litre.
North America
Canada
Canada's best known hillclimb event is the Knox Mountain Hillclimb, held in Kelowna, British Columbia. It is a paved road, climbing. It has run annually since the 1950s, attracting drivers from the Pacific Northwest.United States
- The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is one of the most internationally recognised hillclimbs. Winners include Indy 500 driver Bobby Unser and world rally champions Walter Röhrl, Stig Blomqvist, Ari Vatanen and Sébastien Loeb.
- The Sports Car Club of Americas, is a nationally recognized hillclimb organization. Mainly competing on hills in the south eastern part of the country, drivers from the west and further north in Canada have participated in one or more events hosted by AHS. Hundreds of drivers have looked to compete, but with limited driver openings and quick sellouts, the Series has seen an uptick in spectating interest and event volunteerism.
Mexico
On July 27, 1969, a very talented Mexican driver, Moisés Solana, died in the "Hill Climb Valle de Bravo-Bosencheve".
Since September 30 2017, Pedro Vargas founded the San Pedro Martir Hill Climb; the event is held in the Mexican state of Baja California. The temporary course was set on the road to the National Astronomical Observatory situated on the San Pedro Mártir mountain range, on a stretch from km marker 50 to km marker 80. As of 2024, it is regarded as the longest hill climb in the world.
The overall ascent record was set by the late Carlin Dunne at 14' 58" piloting a Honda CRF 450 c.c. supermoto.
Oceania
Australia
An Australian Hillclimb Championship was first staged in 1938 and has been contested annually since 1947.Hillclimbing in Australia dates back to the early 1900s, and was most prevalent in the city of Melbourne, at locations such as Templestowe, Heidelberg and Rob Roy.
The course at Templestowe still exists today in the Domain Wetlands. The course was never trafficable due to the massive incline known as "the wall", with an incline ratio of 1:2.5 is thought to be the steepest bitumen surface in Australia, and so was only used during race events.
Burgundy Street in Heidelberg was used for early Hillclimbs.
The course at Rob Roy hosts race meets regularly, including rounds of the Victorian Hillclimb Championships. It is located just off Clintons Road, Christmas Hills in an area of Smiths Gully known as Rob Roy.
Mount Tarrengower, near Maldon in Central Victoria, has an annual Hillclimb hosted by the Victorian Vintage Sports Car Club, Bendigo Light Car Club and the Historic Motorcycle Racing Association of Victoria. The event is held on the 3rd weekend of October. It is now a "classics" only event, after a serious accident in the 1970s. Vintage motorcycles are now a feature of this event. Current champion is 2 time winner and only female competitor to take the title in the history of the climb, Stacey Heaney on a 1971 Yamaha XS650.
The MG Car Club of Queensland Inc. built the Mount Cotton Hillclimb circuit and continues with its current management and operation. The first event held at this facility was on Sunday 18 February 1968. The dedicated 946 metres of tarmac circuit hosts the annual Queensland Hillclimb Championships, the Club's annual six round Hillclimb series and inter-club competitions. The Australian Hillclimb Championships have been held there on at least 9 occasions.
Australia's longest hillclimb course is the Poatina Hillclimb, a temporary closed road course that features an elevation gain of in, climbing Mount Blackwood from the Norfolk Plains to the Central Plateau of Northern Tasmania. The inaugural event, conducted in February 2014, covered ; the second running, in 2015, saw the course extended.
South Australia features the historic permanent venue Collingrove, as well as annual temporary venues including Mount Alma Mile, Willunga, Legend Of The Lakes and the state's longest course is the Eden Valley Hillclimb at.