Three-time Motorsport Australia Supersprint Champion and 2022 Hill Climb Champion Dean Tighe will get to test his skills against some of Europe’s elite hill climb competitors when the Queenslander takes part in the British Hillclimb Championship for 2026.
Tighe, a second-generation hill climb competitor, announced in earlier this year that he will run at the Wiscombe Park Hillclimb for the 2026 campaign with the opening round scheduled for 25-26 April at Prescott.
Preparations are already underway for Tighe, briefly arriving in England in January to arrange accommodation, car storage, tow vehicle and trailer before returning to Australia.
Dean’s Empire Wraith, the machine he competes with locally in Australia, left his home shores in mid-December and arrived safely in the UK in early February.
Tighe has again returned to the UK as part of his preparations, where he will enter the Practice Day at Shelsley Walsh on 10 April.
At some venues this season, Dean will be competing in his late father’s tyre tracks.
In 1997, Ivan Tighe, a three-time Australian Hill Climb Champion in his own right, hired the ex-Andy Priaulx Pilbeam MP57-2 Hart that finished 4th in the 1994 British Hillclimb Championship.
Ivan competed at Shelsley Walsh (which was the 50th Anniversary of the British Hillclimb Championship), Loton Park and Prescott.
Dean made his UK hill climb debut at the Wiscombe Park event last July, sharing the Empire Wraith with William Loughridge. This was his only 2025 British Hillclimb Championship outing to date.
While accepting the Motorsport Australia Supersprint Championship Award at this year’s National Awards Gala, Tighe credited his wife Cheryl with playing an important part to his successes in hill climb, as well as the decision to compete in the United Kingdom in 2026.
“My wife is instrumental in what we do, she’s generally my pit crew and the crew for the car. We run the car ourselves, so that generally works out well,” Tighe said.
“Hopefully we can take it to England and see what we can do there and we’re fast enough to be very annoying to the other competitors.”
Tighe will also have the luxury of being supported in the pits by close friend, fellow Aussie, and ex-Ferrari and Sauber F1 aerodynamicist Willem Toet, who designed the Wraith.
The 2026 British Hillclimb Championship will involve 26 rounds at 10 separate venues. At each event, there are two ‘Top Twelve’ run-offs with championship points going to the top 10.
The British Hillclimb Championship is organised and run by the British Automobile Racing Club on behalf of Motorsport UK.
Head to britishhillclimb.co.uk for all of Dean’s latest results and schedule.
