Bluff Hillclimb On Again
The third annual Bay View Hotel Pub Charity Bluff "where the journey begins" Sealed Hillclimb will take place in Bluff
on Saturday 26 January.
The event will be the second round of the Southern Twin Peaks Challenge, a new concept developed in conjunction with the
other major hillclimb in the area, the Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb which was held in Kaitangata last October.
The competitor who has the quickest elapsed time after both the Kaitangata and Bluff events will claim a $500 cash
prize. After a particularly hard fought opening round there will be several drivers in contention for that prize on 26
January including defending champion Glenn Frew of Outram, first round winner Andrew Graves of Gore and Duncan McCrostie
of Kaitangata who was the runner-up at his home event. All three drive Mitsubishi EVO's.
One of the first confirmed entrants for the Bluff Hillclimb is defending champion, Glenn Frew. Frew became the first man
to break the magical 1 minute barrier on the 1.6 kilometre climb at the 2007 event when he recorded a time of 59.895
seconds on his final run. He will return in the same 450 horsepower Mitsubishi EVO that he used on that occasion. Frew
finished third in the opening round of the challenge.
Meanwhile Graves' entry is in doubt after his car was damaged in the recent Catlins Coast Rally.
The hillclimb utilises the road to the summit of Bluff Hill (Motu Pohue), a road that climbs to a height of 264 metres
above sea level. The cars climb through a steep twisty section
before a long uphill straight interrupted by two tight chicanes. That section is followed by another steep, twisty
section of road that takes the cars to the finish line.
The event is a joint project between Bluff Promotions assisted by the Eastern Southland Car Club and the Southland
Sports Car Club. The event forms a part of both the Southland Sport Car Club's Speed Championship and the Eastern
Southland Car Club's Club Championship.
There are several classes in the event - Class A is for 2 wheel drive vehicles from 0 - 1300cc, Class B is for 2 wheel
drive cars from 1301cc - 1600cc and Class C is a 2 wheel drive class for 1601cc cars and over. Class D is for 4 wheel
drive cars while Class E is for Sports and Racing Cars.
Each competitor will make four runs during the day with their fastest time establishing their overall result.
The inaugural event in 2006 was won by Ross MacKay of Ashburton in a 400hp Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 3RS in a time of 1
minute 03.407 seconds.
ENDS