Dean Tighe has been crowned the Queensland hill climb champion for the first time, after winning the 2020 Eureka Landscapes Motorsport Australia Queensland Hill Climb Championship at Mount Cotton.
Sixty drivers from around the state battled it out on the popular hill climb, but it was Tighe who eventually came away with victory after producing an unbeatable 36.99 second run on his fourth attempt.
In the lead up to his sub 37 second time, the event favourite had been locked in a tight battle against another title contender in Michael Von Rappard, with the latter posting the faster time twice.
However with Von Rappard unable to better his third run time of 37.11 seconds in the remaining three runs, Tighe was handed his first ever home hill climb championship and became the first Queenslander to win the title in more than a decade.
“It was a good feeling to win. Especially since being the first Queenslander driver in 12 years is fantastic,” Tighe said.
“I have won the New South Wales and South Australian Championships before but had never won one in my own state so it was great to win.
“The competition was tough and there wasn’t much in it. A good competitive day is what you want.
“I was pretty quick and consistent all weekend, which was good as it was the first event we had done at Mt Cotton all year.
“What made the win even more special was the fact that I am in the process of getting a new set of wheels, so this was my the last one in my Dallara.
“I am hoping the borders can reopen soon because I am currently leading the New South Wales Championship and I would like to be able to continue with that, but we will see what happens.”
Finishing on the bottom step of the podium was Warwick Hutchinson after new improvements on his car had made him a dark horse for the title. Not far behind Hutchinson were two other Formula Libre drivers with Brett Bull and Jay Matsen.
The highest ranked non-Formula Libre driver was Group R class winner Greg Tebble, with the Van Diemen FF2000 pilot finishing just sixth tenths of a second behind Matsen in sixth place.
Meanwhile, Ross Mackay was the best of the tin top entrants in eighth place having steered his Ford Escort Mk1 to within three tenths of another Formula Libre driver in David Quetch.
Rounding out the top 10 were Glyn Scott Perpetual Trophy Winner Michael Larymore in the Toyota MR2 and Brian Pettit in the Westfield SE.
The next major event currently scheduled to take place at Mount Cotton is the 2020 Motorsport Australia National Hill Climb Championship in November.