David Mahon has continued his incredible run in 2021 after claiming victory in yet another hill climb, his latest triumph coming in the Sporting Car Club of South Australia’s Collingrove Challenge.
With 84 other competitors attending the popular hill climb in the picturesque Barossa Valley, Mahon was in a league of his own as he comfortably posted the fastest time in all five of his runs.
All competitors allowed to have seven runs each, Mahon had already won the event by his first attempt, posting a time of 29.47 seconds and going sub 30 seconds in all five runs – the only driver to do so.
The Dallara Hayabusa pilot’s fastest time came his on third go with a lightning quick run of 28.62 seconds as he finished almost five faster than the second placed David Walsh in the Nija GA7.
While Mahon was adding another piece of silverware to his ever growing trophy cabinet, which has included three consecutive victories in the 2021 Trydel Motorsport Australia Victoria Hill Climb Championship, the most entertaining battle took place behind him in the battle for minor positions.
At the end of the event, Walsh was the driver who had finished in second place, however that came after an incredible final run where he leapfrogged Gavin Farley by just seven hundredths of a second.
Both drivers were the only two to go under 34 seconds, apart from Mahon, and Farley had done it on his first attempt – going almost 10 seconds faster than Walsh, who had a slow start himself.
For the remaining six runs, the Mitsubishi Evolution 7 driver looked to have secured second place as he recorded runs under 34 seconds on three more occasions – including his best time of 33.51 seconds.
As the day wore on, Walsh improved significantly after making a change to his vehicle and re-joining on the third run, but he was still not able to close down Farley – his best time still four tenths slower.
It looked as if Farley was going to take out second place until Walsh produced that blistering run on his final go and picked up second place.
Paul Keen finished the event in fourth place, his best time being half a second slower than the drivers in front of him, while the battle for a top five finish also went right down the wire, although unlike Walsh, Roy Michie’s last ditch effort fell agonisingly close as he finished just one hundredth of a second behind Alexander Wilson in an Audi A4.
The Sporting Car Club of SA’s next major race meeting is the Motorsport Australia SA Motor Racing Championship’s second round for 2021.
