Dean Tighe’s British Hillclimb Championship campaign has received a major boost, with the former Australian Hill Climb Champion purchasing and now behind the wheel of one of the category’s fastest machines for the remainder of the 2026 season.
The Queenslander has acquired a 2019 Gould GR59 powered by a 4.0-litre Judd DB4 V8, previously driven by Dr Graham Wynn OBE and Scott Moran over five seasons.
Producing around 700 horsepower while weighing just 410kg, the car is identical in specification to the Goulds currently being driven by championship frontrunners Matt Ryder and Will Hall.
Tighe made the switch after a challenging start to his first full British campaign in the Empire Wraith he shipped from Australia earlier this year.
His season was dealt a major setback in May when he suffered a heavy accident during practice at Gurston Down.
Despite the incident, the Wraith was repaired within weeks, allowing Tighe to return to competition at Doune, where he described the Scottish venue as “the fastest, scariest place I have ever been to.”
While pleased to have the Wraith back on track, Tighe felt the car lacked the outright performance needed to consistently qualify for the championship’s all-important Top 12 run-offs.
The Gould arrives with an impressive pedigree.
Shared by six-time British Hillclimb Champion Scott Moran between 2021 and 2023, the car claimed 20 run-off podiums during that period, including eight victories, while helping Moran finish runner-up in the 2023 championship.
Tighe has already scored six championship points this season after reaching the run-offs at Craigantlet and hopes the Gould will allow him to regularly challenge the front-runners as the season enters its closing stages.
A three-time Motorsport Australia Supersprint Champion and the 2022 Australian Hill Climb Champion, Tighe announced earlier this year that he would contest the full British Hillclimb Championship after making his UK debut at Wiscombe Park in 2025.
The Australian has three opportunities remaining to drive the new machine, with an appearance lined up at Shelsley Walsh this coming weekend, before the penultimate round at Loton Park on 29-30 August and then the season finale at Prescott from 19-20 September.
