Hillclimb nationals at Bryant Park

The Australian Hillclimb Championship is heading for Gippsland.

The Australian Hillclimb Championship was first held in 1938 and has since been won in the past by such stars as Jack Brabham, Lex Davidson and Greg Cusack.

The Gippsland Car Club is hosting the event over the weekend of October 26-28.

A hillclimb is defined as a single car speed event along a track or a course of more than 200 metres in length.

A track normally has a variety of gradients and corners. Drivers compete against the clock, with the competitor recording the lowest time for the course being the winner of the event.

This year’s championship will be conducted on a track format that covers about 1300 metres.

The competition promises to be the most exciting in years with more than 100 cars in multiple classes competing for the pinnacle of Australian hillclimb motorsport.

It will be tight at the top with local Brett Hayward going head to head with Malcolm Oastler who, between the two of them, have won the title six times out of the past nine years.

Hayward is a local engineer with a business in Leongatha, and Oastler is an ex-Formula 1 car designer and technical director. Both are talented racers who build their own cars and name them after themselves in the same way that Jack Brabham attained his fame.

Another exciting rising star is Greg Ackland, also from Leongatha, who will be keeping the big kids honest.

The event lead up starts on Saturday with a car display at Bunning’s Morwell.

Come and see the cars and meet the drivers who will be competing in this great event.

There will be further displays at Supercheap Auto in Warragul on October 13 and at Traralgon on October 20.

Gippsland Car Club is located on Bill Schulz Road Yallourn.

The event is expected to attract about 140 competitors and grid spots are filling quickly.

This will be the fourth time that the Australian Hillclimb Championship have been held at Bryant Park.