The very beginnings..

[BMW_320_IRL]

One of the oldest categories of motorsport is hillclimb.
The first hillclimb race took place in France in 1897.

As you know, in USA it was the second motorsportevent. That was on the legendary Pikes Peak 1914 I think.

Hillclimb races are a part of my own history too. You can see on my avatar and my signature our actual hillclimb car.
It's a BMW 320 with IRL engine and F1 gearbox.
For further information visit the homepage:
team-edlinger-home (http://www.team-edlinger.com/Home/Home.php)

Another opportunity is to ask me hear in this thread ;)

so long,

[Don Capps]

The Pikes Peak series under AAA sanction began in 1916.

It was scarcely the "second motorsport event," unless you ignore the many hundreds of races in the United States between 1895 and 1896 and 1916.

There was a very active hill-climb scene in the United States in the early 1900s, ranging from Carmel Hill outside San Francisco, to Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, to Sport Hill in Bridgeport, to Paddock Road in Cincinnati, to Stucky Hill in Cleveland, Crawford Notch (White Mountain) and Mount Washington in New Hampshire, to Eagle Rock Avenue in West Orange, to Albany Avenue in Hartford, to Glen Valley Hill in Indianapolis, to Box Springs Canyon outside Los Angeles, to Riverside Hill in Minneapolis, to Stump Hill in Pawtucket, to Dugdale Hill in Rochester, to Giant's Despair in Wilkesbarre, to Dead Horse Hill in Worchester, as well the Algonquin hill climbs, all of these -- and many more -- up to 1910. Today, most of these events are forgotten or simply ignored, few giving them very much attention.

[philipbain]

Hillclimbing is one of the oldest disciplines in motor racing and dates back to a time when cars were considered to be new and novel, hillclimbs initially were not about pure speed, they were about proving the worth and practicality of automotive transport. For example, at Shelsley Walsh (the oldest continuously used and unaltered motor racing venue in the world) the early hillclimbs (in the 1900s) were judged on the level of challenge as well as speed, for example, competitors would carry as many passengers as possible on thier runs, rather than going solo to go as quickly as possible!

As for the BMW, I like it, it embodies the spirit of innovation that hillclimbing, mating a BMW saloon shell to an Indycar engine and F1 gearbox, it's the sort of frankenstien's monster that is really appreciated in hillclimbing circles. In the scene here in Britain attention is mainly focused on the "unlimited" single seater class, which thanks to a liberal set of rules allows cars usually based around an F3 or similar bespoke chassis fitted with a large pure-bred racing V8, in the UK these are largely based on Cosworth Champ Car engines and derivatives of, typically enlarged to 3.5 litres, though F1 derived engines are also common such as the 3.5 litre Cosworth HB V8 (raced in F1 from 1989 - 1994), the 4 litre Judd V8 (an enlarged sports racing version of the 3.5 litre V8 raced in the late 80s) and even an appearance from an Arrows (Hart engineered) 3 litre V10 of the late 90s. These cars have wide super sticky slick tyres and massive wings that give massive amounts of grip, a blessing on tracks that give very little margin for error! The tracks used in the UK are also shorter than those typically used on the continent and in North America, the longest used in the British Championship being Criagantlet in Northern Ireland which is just over 1 mile long.

[D-Type]

To clear up a point: the Pikes Peak claim is that is the second oldest speed event in the USA still being run (behind the Indianapolis 500). The Milwaukie Mile claims to be older but that is as a venue rather than as an event.

A few other things I found while looking this up:

The first ever speed hillclimb was at La Turbie in 1897 where the 10.3 mile climb was a stage in the Marseilles to La Turbie race.
The first hillclimb run as a separate contest was at Chanteloupe near Paris in 1898 over a 1 mile long course.
The first La Turbie Hillclimb as such was apparently in 1899
Italy's first hillclimb was the Consuma Cup over a 9.4 mile course near Florence in 1902.
The first "Climb to the Clouds" at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA was in 1904.
The first running of Giant's Despair, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA was in 1905.
Shelsley Walsh which dates to 1905 is the oldest hillclimb in Britain and claims to be the oldest in the world run over the same course.
The record for the longest hillclimb series in Continental Europe is held by Mont Ventoux, France which ran from 1902 to 1976. The original course which was used until 1973 was 13.48 miles long, which is is claimed to be the longest hillclimb course in the world.

[swamhost]

One of the oldest categories of motorsport is hillclimb.
The first hillclimb race took place in France in 1897.

As you know, in USA it was the second motorsportevent. That was on the legendary Pikes Peak 1914 I think.

[D-Type]

One of the oldest categories of motorsport is hillclimb.
The first hillclimb race took place in France in 1897.

As you know, in USA it was the second motorsportevent. That was on the legendary Pikes Peak 1914 I think.
Welcome to the forum, Swamhost.

Can I ask you in future to please read a thread before posting.

In Post 2 it clearly explains why this was not the second motor sport event in the USA and it also states that the first Pikes Peak hillclimb was in 1916 not in 1914.
And in post 4 I explained that the first hillclimb run as a separate event rather than part of a race was in 1898 not 1897.

[BMW_320_IRL]

Thanks for the history lesson, I did not know these things.
But i will remember: Pikes Peak 1916, second oldest which is still driven !

so long

[D-Type]

Good luck on the hills next season.

Some of the hills you compete on may have formed part of the route of the pre-WW1 Alpenfahrt which evolved into the various Alpine Trials and Rallies.

[BMW_320_IRL]

Thank you !

Yes I think so. By the way, the Alpenfahrt is one of the oldest rallies in history. Good old times ;)

Good luck!http://www.castoffdebt.com/sft

[garylester]

The picture of the Hillclimb car looks like it is a great car to drive!

I hope i get to test drive one sometime!