Hillclimb racing in the Northwestern United States is a form of grass roots" motorsport that the MG owner keen for some competition can afford. Considerable garage time this year has been spent preparing and maintaining our MGB Tourer to compete in the entire 2006 calendar of five Northwest Hillclimb Association sanctioned racing events in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States.

For years, we've attended numerous British car shows. We've met many wonderful people at these events. The events we enjoyed the most always included an autocross or slalom race. Competition has always been part of the MG heritage. We gave some thought to making the leap to road racing, such as at Portland International Raceway, but at this point the financial and space requirements are quite in place. Still, we wanted to take a step beyond autocrosses. The competitive hillclimb came to our attention.

What stated all of this? A couple years ago, Willamette MG Club "Tribal Elder" (*see footnote) Dave Brunkal told us that Willamette Motor Club No relation to Willamette MG Club) puts on an entire season of autocross events. Both of us enjoy racing the MGB and did several of these. Then, the Tribal Elder one day said: "Say, WMC puts on the Bible Creek Hillclimb Race. It's 2005 and about time you two entered. It's in August. You'd have fun!"

As we came to find out, Bible Creek is the most challenging (in our opinion) of the Northwest Hillclimb Association Series. It is a difficult 2.2 mile paved course encompassing 18 turns, none of which are similar. There are also severe "exposures". For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "exposure", it means that there is a significant hazard and if you fall of the road, you better remember to pray! At an autocross/slalom, a mistake incurs tipping over cones and time penalties. Make a significant mistake on a hillclimb, and you could crumple your car into a tin wad, to say nothing of what you could do to yourself. Anyway, we completed Bible Creek in 2005 and we were hooked! We made plans to compete in all Northwest Hillclimb Association events in 2006.

To enter a hillclimb race, one must have strong autocross/slalom experience. It is NOT a race for first time competitors. A current helmet is required and Nomex suite are suggested. The car must pass a rigorous technical inspection and "open" cars require at least a serious roll bar and racing harnesses. Classes are based on SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) rules with some additional classes unique to Northwest Hillclimb Association.

Our 2006 Racing Calendar included all five Northwest Hillclimb Association events in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Each race was held at a different site with it's own unique characteristics. Each was held on a paved road. Our MG was generally the oldest vehicle in each event but there are a great variety of competitive cars. Examples include Formula Vee open wheel racers, Subaru STIs, a Camero powered Datsun 240 Zed, replica Cobras, Corvettes, BMW's a Morris Mini, and tuner Hondas. Our class, FSP, would include cars such as VW Scirocco's and Rabbbits, and Ford Focii. The events can be summarized as follows:

June 24 & 25: "Freezeout" at Emmett, Idaho. I won't go into the source of the name but the 1.65 mile hillclimb weekend is historically the hottest at Emmet, with temperatures about ninety-five degrees. A hot car, a helmet, a Nomex suit: ahhhhhhhhhh the pleasures of racing! Exposures at Freezeout are minimal. There are no real surprises and generally good visibility. "Drive what you see." The host hotel is near the hillclimb site. Event Chairs Wilke and Marcy Myers do a great job of making newcomers feel welcome. Elevation at the starting line is approximately 2,400 feet, and the finish line is about 3,000 feet. This is a perfect hill for your first hillclimb. But, remember to bring your "E Z Up," for without it, you have no shade.

July 1 & 2: "Larison Rock," near Oakridge, Oregon This 1.9 mile course also involves minimal exposures, but is a step up from Freezeout. Freezeout was high desert: Larison Rock is in a forest! It is quite a contrast. There are 14 corners. Beginning elevation is 2200 feet and ending elevation is 2200 feet and ending elevation is 3200 feet. First-time competiiors are offered a tour of the hill via the bed of a pickup truck. An experienced competitor gives you suggestions about how to drive each corner. You might key in on two or three of the significant corners on which to concentrate. Some even have the apex marked by a cone! You can't master all of them all in your first event. Event Organizer Bonnie Mueller does a superb job! At registration she passed out squirt guns to all. You can see where this went at the Saturday night pizza party! Every competitor received a beautiful framed photo showing them at speed, with their class standing and time. The glass was embossed with a diagram of the course. This event was a good follow-up to Freezeout.

August 5 & 6: "Bible Creek," near Willamina, Oregon. After a half-hour drive up into the hills from the sawmill town of Willamina, one finds Bible Creek Road. In our opinion, this is the most challenging and technical course. This year Emilee and Steve Newby took over organization of the event, doing a fine job! The start is at 600 feet elevation and the finish line is at 1,500 feet. There are 18 turns in this 2.2 mile course. None of these are alike. There are hairpins, off camber, sweepers, declining radius etc. The two worst exposures are well marked. but, there are many others that you just don't think too much about. I was working the "Bermuda Triangle" corner last year (imagine how the name was attached) and saw a VW Rabbit go straight off at the apex. Two loud cracks, like rifle shots, indicated he hit two trees. Good thing. Trees are your friends on this course. They save you from taking an airborne adventure that could carry you several hundred feet off the side. (The VW deriver was fine, but obviously a little shaken.) It seems that at Bible Creek, there are more instances of falling off the road than at any other event. The organizers offer a pre-race tour for newcomers to the hill via a pickup truck bed.

August 19 & 20: "Black Otter," in Billings, Montana. Right in Billings! Walk from "Boot Hill Inn" the host hotel, to the starting line. This is a comparatively short course, beginning at about 3,200 feet elevation and 1.1 miles in length, up a road carved into the rim rock that the City of Billings has not seen fit to resurface. The surface varies from patched potholes to bumps to course pavement. It is challenging and it is part of the fun. Stage rallyists will feel very comfortable here! There are severe exposures but no trees to catch you. That said you'd really have to do something odd to fall off the road in a hazardous place. The organizers, Dwight & Kristi Gilliland also offer a truck tour of the hill. (Each holds the men's, and women's records, respectively, for fastest time at Black Otter.) The future of this event is in question since Billings plans some road improvements (not including repaving the race course) that would eradicate the starting area.

September 2 & 3: "Bogus Basin," just north of Boise Idaho. This was our final event for the season. To reach the hillclimb area, you have to travel a very twisty sixteen-mile road to the top of the ski area. (This is a skiing facility in the winter.) This brings you to Pioneer Condominiums, the host lodging facility. Bring all your eats and drinks, because there are none there and you don't want to travel back down the hill for your morning coffee. (I begged some ground coffee from a fellow competitor who pitied me!) The starting line is at approximately 6.000 feet elevation, and the finish line is at about 6,700 feet! There are serious exposures, from steep drop offs to rock walls. However, if you are driving a proper line and use all the skills developed so far in the season, there should be no problem. Wilke and Marcy Myers organized this 1.98 mile event, in which there are 8 marked turns; the first three are tight hairpins. At the end of day one you should have developed a plan for each of the next day's runs. There are not so many corners that you can't sort them out. As the final event of the season, this is a great event for pulling together all you have learned about yourself and your MG in your first season of Hillclimbing.

Earlier in this story, it was noted that Marie and I tend to compete with each other. Truth be told, she is a much smoother driver than I and, as she has become more comfortable with her abilities and the speeds, I have had to work very hard to stay ahead of her times. Sometimes I fail. Here is a chart of our best times at each event. (Some are in total seconds, some are in minutes and seconds).