The New Zealand Hillclimbing Championship qualifying rounds head to the challenging road courses set out by Motorsport Manawatu over February 26/27 2011.

Buoyed by the request from Motorsport New Zealand to support the now standalone hillclimb championship Motorsport Manawatu Manager Julian Hardy can’t wait for the last weekend of February 2011.

“Parorangi and Lower Pakihikura Roads are some of the best roads for this type of event in New Zealand” states Mr. Hardy. “These are roads that deserve respect and for the driver that can show maximum control and aggression the rewards will be there; if not a very untidy end to the day will occur.”

Parorangi Road is a historical event road of the club. A gravel road on a gradual climb from bottom to top and while not a highly technical road has elements of danger identified by the organizers who will be highlighting these to drivers. The remaining road offers tight hairpins and open flowing corners that will require precise placing of cars to ensure fast times. At 4.8km drivers will have to be on the button from start to finish as errors will be costly over this distance. The road is hard packed and has a good covering of gravel. Dust could pose a problem and will be assessed over the day to ensure a fair competition.

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Lower Pakihikura Road is a hidden gem only discovered 3 years ago by the club. The road starts with 3 steep hairpins requiring power and a good technique enabling speed to be carried further up the hill. It then opens out into a flowing county road, although a few identified corners will be marked to warn of hazards. Extended from last year’s King of the Mountains rounds, the road now stretches out to 4.1km with the last 1.3km being downhill.
The road is in good condition with a good chip seal surface. The downhill section has a few bumps and smooth bitumen and the finish control has a large turnaround point.

The roads have been closed under the Tenth Schedule allowing unregistered and unwarranted competition cars the ability to enter, something that the organizers are hoping will attract a variety of cars to each event. Competitors also have the option of entering only one day, but forfeit their chance to qualify for the New Zealand title.

To give all potential competitors a chance to check the road out, 2 videos have been made of the roads on a GoPRO wide angled sports camera supplied by Racetech in Wellington. Motorsport Manawatu is extremely grateful for the support of Racetech allowing the club to promote the hillclimbs in this medium. To see the results of this great camera go to www.motorsportmanawatu.org.nz and click the YouTube link on the home page. Also check out the King of the Mountains page to get the entry regulations and forms.

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Local communities are also set to benefit from the event with the offer being made to local schools to provide food in the pitting areas. There will also be a spectator charge to enter the roads and some of this will be used to help the local communities with project work.

Motorsport Manawatu has a busy month ahead of the Hillclimbing round with Round 4 of the IRC Summer of Thunder Tour and the New Zealand Grand Prix scheduled to go on the first and second weekends of February also.

ENDS

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