I love the variety of weirdness that turn up to see how fast they can get to the top of the hill. It’s one of those wonderful scenarios that often balances the light weight of the little nimble machines with barely a liter under the hood against the roaring horses under the heavier and more powerful machines.
Let’s dig back in to the scores of photos that Gary Mason sent in from his teenage years spent in Italy in the 1950s. Among them are these magnificent snapshots from a decidedly less documented location than Monza or along the Brescia-Rome route. The Asiago Hillclimb in the mountains of Northern Italy is exactly the kind of event I love seeing imagery from. This looks very much like a locally organized race for local racers—no glitz required.
Over on Motorsport in the 60’s, Kent has dug up a marvelous series of photos of the 1964 running of the Rest & Be Thankful hillclimb.
I’m happy for Kent for this post that he had one of a blogger’s favorite experiences: Peter Garnet commented on his post identifying himself in one of the photos as a young driver on his way to beating the track record. That’s him in the red and yellow crash helmet. I’ve had a few of those moments of connection here on The Chicane and it’s absolutely invaluable.
Head on over to Motorsport in the 60’s for the rest of the photos.
Here’s a video you can show your muscle car friends when they claim anything packing less than a 427 is just a dainty little commuter. This Abarth 2000 Sport Prototipo piloted by Max Comelli is a rabid wolverine. 2 Liters… a mere 122 cubic inches. This is why I so love these little lightweight racing machines.
1st in class for this run up a Brescian mountainside from Marone on the shore of Lake Iseo to Zone.
Man, I’ve really shortchanged hill climbs. I’ve always treated them as second class to wheel-to-wheel racing. I was wrong. This is thrilling.
Damn that wall looks close.
Andrew Frankel drives, let’s all ride shotgun!
Here’s a short but important film from the John McClure Archives. This was the 2nd annual Agoura Hill Climb presented by the Singer Owners’ Club on February 6, 1955, and I think it can be safely described as a smashing success. West Coast Sports Car Journal reported in their March ’55 issue that the event drew 160 competitors and over 2,000 spectators. Even if those numbers are an exaggeration, that is still incredibly impressive. Can you imagine 2,000 spectators coming out to the secluded mountains for a hillclimb? Unless it’s the Goodwood Festival of Speed, or maybe Pikes Peak, the public simply doesn’t care about hillclimbing—not in those kinds of numbers anyway.
I also think this film is incredibly important because it captures something we’re unlikely to ever see again; high performance sportscars driving as fast as they can up a dirt road. Have you ever driven behind a sportscar on a dirt road? Chances are they are driving VERY slowly, just crawling in 1st gear, repeating a silent prayer that no stone is kicked up to mar their paintwork. Even Pikes Peak is almost completely tarmac today. Boo!
Not so in ’55. These drivers are putting everything they have into taking their factory fresh XK120s from the bottom of the hill to the top; bodywork be damned. I think this is what I most enjoy about these vintage club racing films, sportscars just weren’t the luxury status symbol that they are today. They weren’t precious jewels to be polished and parked in front of the dance club. They were simply tools—tools that were built for a purpose—and in 1955 that purpose was to get the Hell to the top of Agoura.
A young Richie Ginther took the Austin-Healey class victory at 29.66 seconds.
Update: Chris sheds some light on the Eliminator Model-T in the comments, which quickly lead to this article from Street Rodder. Another example of the greatness of the era; when a T-Bucket shares the track with Siatas and Ferraris. Thanks, Chris!
Thankfully, more and more old home racing movies are being pushed onto YouTube. This time, it’s a double whammy of some early Road America laps and a hillclimb in Rockford, IL. We also get a little time under the hood with a favorite of mine, the Austin-Healey 100.