We're running up that hill...
By John Dickinson on 22nd Jul 10
The Barbon Speed Hill Climb celebrated its 50th birthday so editor JD sped along to see if there was any spare cake going
CHECKED-out my local Westmorland Motor Club's Barbon Speed Hill Climb last Saturday. OK, strictly speaking, it being a tarmac climb, it doesn't technically qualify as off-road but as at least 50% of the machinery used to tackle the event – and all the winners – are off-roaders then that is good enough for me.
Incessant rain in the morning kept the expected crowds away before it faired-up in the afternoon and the track dried rapidly to allow some really quick times.
Sadly for the club the damage was done which was a shame as the event deserved good support.
I've actually been visiting Barbon, on and off, for over 30-years and it has been interesting to note how it has changed over the years. Not the event itself, that hardly seems to have changed at all. Basically, the Lord of the Manor allows the Westmorland club to use his steep twisting driveway twice a year, once for a car hill climb (boring!) and once for bikes, which makes for a very entertaining afternoon's spectating.
When I first discovered the event in the 1970s it was mainly associated with British bikes and also had a very strong vintage contingent which, while interesting, wasn't really my bag. But the specialist hillclimb fraternity, for some reason mainly come from Cornwall and the West Country, and turned-up with a variety of home-brewed weaponry with which to tackle the hill.
There were even a few off-road bikes – some still with knobbly tyres fitted – back then but the event was dominated by road and road-race bikes.
As the years rolled on it became apparent that a suitably tweaked motocross bike, preferably with lowered suspension and road tyres fitted, was just about the perfect tool for the job and so, hill-climbing being very much an ‘amateur' make do and mend sport, more than a few second-hand MXers found themselves with a whole new career – being caned uphill the length and bredth of the country.
The next major move ‘forward' came around ten-years ago with the advent of Supermoto. Firstly, these followed the hillclimb lead and were converted MX bikes but later, more switched-on European factories like KTM, Husky and Aprilia began marketing factory-built SM models.
So these days, Barbon resembled an outdoor KTM/ Husky showroom with awesome machinery courtesy of local dealers D3 Racing (KTM) of Kendal and Motosupplies of Carnforth (Husky).
The event progressed through the timed runs to be a Supermoto benefit with International stars Craig Venske (KTM) and Matt Winstanley (Husky) eventually finishing in that order following increasingly quick knockout runs at the end of the day.
Craig and Matt were racing pretty trick and expensive tackle so it was good to see Kiaran Hankin taking his flat-track special into an eventual third place!
Hanks is a trials rider turned road-racer (four TT replicas this year alone – five last year!) and he turned-up at Barbon with a 650 Husaberg-based flat-tracker that he had put together with Husaberg enthusiast Dave Clark.
I only built it to play on, for a bit of a laugh, I've never tried hill climbing before,” said Hanks, "It should be a bit of fun!” The eventual third place was much more than even Kiaran expected – but it was really good to see that the original spirit of the event was being kept alive and well.
Also interesting to note that, despite the awesome machinery and talented riders in the mix this year, the 26.19 seconds time, set back in 1998 by former Northern Centre MX champ and well-known team-owner Paul Bird, wasn't topped! Birdy flew up the hill back then on a 500cc two-stroke Honda, built and tuned by Stuart Bland. The pair are still together, running Paul Bird Motorsports, with Blandy managing the official Kawasaki World Superbike team for Paul these days.
Last year, Birdy dropped into Barbon (literally, by helicopter) and said he was planning on getting Stu to build him a Kawasaki on the same lines as the old CR500. Don't think a comeback is on the cards though...
Sticking with the Westmorland club, it was founded way back in 1910 which of course means that this year it celebrates 100-years of organising motorcycle events, with Barbon having been part of the annual sporting calendar for 50 of those years.
It's actual title is the Percy Duff Barbon Speed Hill Climb and Percy, at a sprightly 88, was the original instigator of the event and was of course present on Saturday. Percy and his late wife Margaret organised the event for many, many years.
The Westmorland club, despite (or maybe because of) its long history has actually been one of the more progressive ACU clubs and has bought its own plots of land to secure its future in these days of ever increasing restrictive legislation.
One moorland tract is a welcome home for some Hare and Hound type events while another is a cracking piece of trials ground used in several major trials as well as club events. Other clubs would do well to take note.
Here's to the next 100 years...