'Rallye Harewood' New Winter Hillclimb Spectacle.

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My pal Tony who Hillclimbs at Harewood mentioned this was in the planning stages a couple of months ago and the details have just gone live on the Harewood website. It looks like a fun event with a bit of a Rally theme with cars tackling the hill in both daylight and darkness. To those who saw the RAC Rally come to the hill back in the '80's it'll no doubt offer a bit of nostalgia too!

Home | Harewood Speed Hillclimb

www.harewoodhill.com

I'm really looking forward to getting wrapped up in plenty of layers and donning my big wellingtons...

 

[NickReilly063]

I remember attending Harewood and having mud kicked up into my face Ed -

 

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Sadly now sold out for spectators..

 

[AndyChad]

I will be going this afternoon. Hopefully we can catch up? Is the clip trophy that normally races there ?

 

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I will be going this afternoon. Hopefully we can catch up? Is the clip trophy that normally races there ?

The only Clio 182 running is my mate Tony in his black Cup. Good mix of machinery here though!

 

[NickReilly063]

Are you staying till they run in the dark Ed -

 

[AndyChad]

Had to be towed, by tractor, in to the carpark

 

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Are you staying till they run in the dark Ed -

Yes Nick. Just going dusk now, pretty evocative!

 

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Dusk is turning rapidly to darkness, a spectacular light show illuminates the landscape accompanied by an absolute cacophony of sound shattering the senses. It’s the rumbling and grumbling of a Fiesta WRC car on and off the throttle, the anti-lag is a deep, churning, guttural noise, so visceral at such close quarters 10ft from the track it hits you like a punch in the gut. The darkness makes it even more intense, the lights flash by, the car negotiates the 90 degree left hander at ‘Country Corner’ in a precisely controlled four wheel drift, before howling and rumbling off into the distance, spitting flames and glowing discs. Welcome to the night runs of ‘Rallye Harewood’.

A couple of months ago, I’d heard some whispers about some plans for this inaugural event at my favourite hillclimb course, a Rally-style winter event with timed runs up the hill during the day then continuing into the evening and the darkness. Inclement weather and cold, slippery track conditions were a given when the date for mid December was released, it was all combining together to promise a really exciting spectacle. Then when I heard my pal and Harewood regular Tony Pickering had managed to get himself an entry with his rapid 182 Cup, I knew I’d definitely have to attend. As the date approached, there was a mild panic as I left buying tickets online a little too late - Harewood had decided, sensibly, to limit spectator numbers due to the recent wet weather making the field parking a potential nightmare. Luckily Tony was able to come to my aid and very kindly find me a last minute ticket.



I spent the week closely watching the forecast and was pleasantly surprised as I arose early on the Saturday to find it sunny and clear with only the merest hint of a breath of wind. I clambered into the van an headed Northwards, arriving just as the field parking was starting to fill and turn into a slight quagmire, as I trundled in down the access road I saw to my slight disbelief that there were already two large tractors very active on the field, gamely pulling folk across the mud to their parking spot for the day. I was glad to be in a workhorse vehicle and managed to judiciously tweak it into a nice dryish spot under some trees by one of the access gates, hopefully mitigating any shenanigans later on.



Wellies donned, I headed to the paddock to find Tony, the mix of machinery was already catching my eye, with a definite Rally theme to the entry criteria, there seemed to be gaggles of old Escorts and slightly newer Impreza’s and Evo’s pitched up everywhere. I had a good catch up with Tony before he toddled off to the drivers briefing and I made my first call of the day at the Coffee van. Harewood is always a very friendly experience, and I was soon chatting to other folk in the queue, reminiscing about various old Rally experiences, there was already a real sense of excitement around the day. I took the opportunity for a good tour round the paddock, tripping over some GR Yaris’s before finding a line of modern WRC Fiesta’s and VW’s, these machines bear absolutely no real resemblance to their production cousins and it was incredible to see some of the engineering at such close quarters. I sauntered on and found a load of more historic stuff, a beautiful Alfa Giulietta Sprint from the early 60’s alongside some old Mini’s, Nova’s, 205’s, a Citroen Visa GTi, a VW Scirocco with two engines, an off-road buggy with a 6.2litre Chevy V8 stuck in the back! Talk about an eclectic and evocative mix!



I watched the first practice from Hilltop, the whole course in view below with the splendour of the Wharfe Valley extending beyond, bathed in the low early morning golden light which midwinter serves up on the best days. It was evident from the slip angles the Escorts were generating round ‘Farmhouse’ bend, that the track conditions were slippy and treacherous. For the daylight timed runs I tootled down the hill to take in a variety of vantage points to view the action at close quarters, it did not disappoint, the ‘Esses’ and ‘Country’ down at the bottom of the course are becoming firm favourite spots for me lately. There were some lurid moments for a few of the competitors, but generally folk were keeping it on the tarmac incredibly well, with some real skill on display, the first two timed runs were soon done and it was time for lunch. I retired to the van for 40 minutes of Tractor pulling entertainment in the parking field…



By 3 o’clock it was back to it, with the daylight failing and the spotlights and light-bars illuminated, the dusk practice runs were a real highlight for me. The last glowing embers of the day in the sky, the cars still recognisable in the gloom, it stirred many happy memories of attending rally action as a lad. Then it started to get dark, very dark.. it was at this point where the noises and lights of the cars became the focus, light beams scything through the inky night, the times generally slowed and there were a few more stoppages to clear up the ‘offs’. Around 6:30 I decided to depart, I was mindful I didn’t want to get too embroiled in the final scramble of spectators, media and competitors leaving the muddy field and the mud slicked access road. My earlier attention to parking location paid off and the Kangoo and I breezed out without me even having to look for the towing eye.



I couldn’t help but smile all the way home, the day had served up a myriad of treats, a real spectrum of automotive enjoyment and when I checked the results yesterday, I was delighted to see that Tony had piloted his Clio to 13th overall and 3rd in the FWD class. A stunning result given the provenance and power of some of the rally spec machinery in attendance. All in all, a great first stab at this format from the organisers at Harewood, everyone I spoke with was having a really very memorable day. I’m sure I’m not alone in crossing fingers that this event happens again next year!