The Sporting Car Club of SA (SCCSA) has had a busy end to March with a Come and Try Hill Climb on Saturday and the opening round of the Collingrove Challenge Trophy on Sunday.
 
With both events running at the popular hill climb, each served a different purpose as the club continues its mission to grow the sport in the state.
 
Starting with the Come and Try Day on Saturday, an impressive 84 drivers participated in the event where they got six runs up the course.
 
Entered in the event were a range of interesting vehicles too. From a 26-horse powered 2CV to a 1970s Volkswagen to a Daihatsu Charade – the latter of which was piloted by a second generation Simon Richards.
 
The event wasn’t just targeted at young drivers, with Richards one of four father/son combinations looking to try their hand at hill climbing.
 
Although not officially timed, Ford Focus RS driver Jacob Brackenridge was the fastest overall, while Glenn Millis in his new US Legend car finished a close second.
 
Remarkably Sunday’s official hill climb had 78 competitors with a combination of seasoned campaigners and newcomers from the come and try entered in the event.
 
With each driver allowed up to nine attempts of the course, it was Derek Foster who took out the round – his 29.58 second time on his third run enough to seal the deal.
 
As the only driver to go sub 30 seconds, it was a highly consistent effort from Foster as all of his six runs were within seven tenths of each other – his slowest time being his first recorded run of 30.24 seconds.
 
In second place, almost two and half seconds slower, was David Whiteside.
 
Despite finishing second, Whiteside was unable to get close to Foster on any occasion – with his best time of 31.90 coming on his fourth attempt.
 
While it was quite a comfortable outing for both Foster and Whiteside in securing first and second, the same couldn’t be said for the battle for third with three drivers in the hunt.
 
Eventually taking out the final spot on the podium was Roy Michie with his best attempt of 32.61 seconds coming on the seventh run of the day.
 
Less than four tenths separated Michie with the next best driver in David Coombe, who also posted his best time on the seventh run, while Nathan Green rounded out the top five – his fifth time of 33.23 just two tenths slower than Coombe.


Following on from the double hill climb, event organiser Melissa Rees was pleased to see so many people taking part in both events.
 
“It was a really special weekend because we had a lot of enthusiastic people come down and compete in one of the two hill climbs – some even did both,” Rees said.
 
“I think the beautiful sunny weather played a part, but it was just a glorious atmosphere at Collingrove and a lot of happy drivers.
 
“Saturday also went extremely well and we’re hopeful that a few of the Come and Try participants enjoyed their experience and will come back for more – which we look forward to welcoming them back.
 
“As for Sunday’s hill climb, congratulations to all the competitors who put on a good show – especially Derek for his victory.
 
“Finally a big thanks to all the officials who braved the sunshine and played their role for both days – the club is very grateful for their efforts.”
 
The next Sporting Car Club of SA at Collingrove will be the first round of the Ray Pank Winter Cup 1 on 10 April.