The first event in the Scholarship was the Harewood hillclimb this weekend.
Given that this was my first ever competitive motorsport event, I was a
little nervous to say the least! I wasn't expecting to be able to sleep
well the preceeding night, but as it turned out, I slept like a baby...

Things started off hectic, because signing on, scrutineering and walking
the course had all been timetabled for 8 o'clock. I find it rather
difficult to be in three places at once! The Scholarship class was the
first to run, so there was quite a bit of running around in order to get
things sorted in time.

For those of you who don't know the course, it goes something like this.
After a short straight, the first corner "Charlies" is a pretty standard
2nd gear 90 degree right. There follows a short straight which goes steeply
downhill (yes, downhill - the "hillclimb" actually starts halfway up the
hill) for which you change into third. Brake hard and change into second
for "Esses", a 90 right immediately followed by a 90 left. It's important
to compromise the line through here in order to get a good run through
"Chippies", a long open 180 degree corner. Exit speed from here is crucial,
as the next straight (change up into third) is steeply uphill. Over a blind
brow and into "Country", a tight left hander. Everyone tells me that you're
supposed to be able to brake for Country just after the brow. Well I can't!
I was braking (gently) just before the brow, and then hard on the brakes
just after. Another straight (second), followed by "Willow". This is a
frightening corner. You're supposed to be able to take it flat (with maybe
a "confidence lift"), but there's a hedge about a foot away from the side
of the circuit waiting to bite the unwary. I needed a confidence brake!
Willow is extremely important, because it leads onto a long uphill straight
(third). At the end of this straight is Orchard, a fast left immediately
followed by a hairpin right (second). Another straight (third) which takes
you through the middle of a farmyard(!) with large masonry buildings either
side. This leads onto "Farmyard", a long constant radius left hander
(second) for which exit speed is crucial as it leads onto the longest
straight of the course. The sting is in the tail, "Quarry" which starts off
as a gentle right hander and tightens into a hairpin. The finishing line is
just after the apex of the hairpin. If you know what you're doing, you
enter Quarry on a balanced throttle, brake and change down just after the
first apex (heading straight for a tree) and then scrabble round the hairpin.

Things started pretty well. My first practice run was a 72 point something,
which wasn't bad. My second practice run was 71.33, which I was pleased
with, although there was obviously a lot of room for improvement. The
fastest Scholarship competitor was just under 71 seconds, and most were
well over 72.

The timed runs started after lunch. My first run was reasonable, 71.65. Not
as fast as in practice, but a good "banker". I got the bottom half of the
course spot-on, but made a mess of Quarry (backed off way too soon and
missed my downchange for the second half). It left me lying in fourth
place, which was OK as a start.

My second run was a mess. I made a hash of Chippies (got on the power too
early) and Country (locked up) and bottled Orchard (braked for the first
half, when a lift is more than enough). I got Quarry just about right
though, and the net result was a time of 71.7?. My father had been timing
me to the exit of Farmhouse, and said that I was about 1.5 seconds down on
my "normal" time at that point, so I'd found well over a second in Quarry.
I was now lying in seventh, but was pretty happy because if I could just
marry a decent bottom half with a good run at Quarry, I should be well
under 71 seconds.

The third run went wrong almost immediately :-( I too hot into Chippies,
resulting in a huge sideways moment and was therefore way too slow up the
straight. I also made a hash of Orchard (again). I very nearly aborted the
lap and trundled slowly up to the finish line, so convinced was I that I'd
blown it by now. Sensibly, however, I decided to keep trying. I got a
lovely four wheel drift through Farmhouse, good speed up the straight and
banzaied Quarry (two wheels on the grass). I was convinced that I wouldn't
have improved my time at all. It turned out to be my fastest time (71.22)
and good enough for sixth place.

If, before yesterday, someone had told me that I would be sixth, I would
have been very happy. As it happens, however, I'm distinctly annoyed with
myself. If I'd just managed to trundle round the bottom half of the course
like I had been doing earlier in the day instead of trying to go too damn
fast through Chippies, I would have been well below 71 seconds and probably
in the top three.

Ho hum.

Not bad for a first effort, I guess, but could do better.

Paul Butcher