Harewood Hillclimb Practice Day

The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) Yorkshire Centre hosted a non-championship Practice Day on Sunday 22nd March at the iconic Harewood Hillclimb. Open to Yorkshire members and invited motor clubs, the event offered competitors and officials an ideal opportunity to prepare for the 2026 season.

Set high above the stunning Wharfedale valley, Harewood remains the longest speed hillclimb course in the UK, combining high speed with technical complexity in a spectacular setting.

Pre-Season Running

The Practice Day provided valuable early track time, allowing drivers to test machinery and shake off winter downtime. It also marked a return visit for several volunteer marshals who had attended a Motorsport UK training day earlier in March at Harewood.

Among the competitors was Peter House, making his third event of the year in an Aston Martin. His 2026 season had already included appearances at the East Riding Stages Rally and the Dukeries Rally in his Aston Martin Vantage GT4 Rallye 2. He was joined by Tom Whittaker, also competing in an Aston Martin Vantage F1.

Practice Day – Notable Entries

While 2025 champion Adam Riley and runner-up Henry Moorhouse were absent, third-place finisher Mark Teale competed in his modified Suzuki Swift. David Leach also took part in his Lotus Elise.

From the 2025 Fastest Time of the Day contenders, only John Prickett was entered, but unfortunately did not run due to technical issues with his Radial PR6.

Strong representation came from the British Hillclimb Championship (BHC), including Will Hall, Wallace Menzies and Harry Pick.

Another standout entrant was Damien Bradley, driving his Subaru Legacy—previously campaigned at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

A number of Ferrari and Porsche owners were also in attendance, gaining valuable track time ahead of their club events later in the year.

Harewood Hillclimb – The Course

Harewood’s 1,448-metre course is known for its fast, flowing layout and unique operational setup. The Competitors paddock is at the top of the hill from which most of the track can be seen. Instead of a return road, there is a feed road know as “The Shute”. This piece of road enables BARC Yorkshire Centre to feed cars down to the start line, no matter what is happening on the track itself.

Harewood Hillclimb the Track – Key Sections:

Start → Clarks. This layout means that cars are able to run continually on the course without the delays of cars having completed the course waiting to return to the paddock, like at some of the other hillclimb venues. This usually means that competitors can get up to four timed runs during a normal Championship event.

The Start is controlled by a red and a green light. After the Start marshals line the car up, the driver can go once the light changes to green but the clock does not start until the car breaks the beam with the fitted timing splitter. The cars leave the Start line and head across to Clarks.

Should a competitor be red-flagged for catching a slower car, or if the car ahead has gone off or had a technical issue? If the incident is on the lower half of the track, the red-flagged competitor may use the shortcut between the Farmhouse and Clubhouse to rejoin the cars waiting to start their run.

Esses → Country → Willow → Orchard. Down hill to the Esses before, climbing up to Country, then across to Willow before heading up to Orchard.

Orchard → Farmhouse. From Orchard it is across through the Farmhouse buildings.

Farmhouse → Quarry → Finish. Quarry remains one of the most challenging parts of the course, requiring precision to avoid running wide into the gravel trap.

Harewood Hillclimb Practice Day 2026 – Fastest Time of the Day

The day began with heavy fog covering the valley, delaying the start from 9:00am. After multiple inspections, running began at approximately 9:45am as conditions improved. However, cloud cover persisted, keeping track temperatures low throughout the day.

Top honours went to Wallace Menzies, who recorded a 49.87-second run in his Gould GR59 on his final attempt of the day.

Practice Day Run Times Results

2026 Harewood Hillclimb Events Calendar

Key: Blue = Non-Harewood Championship events

• 12 April – Spring Championship
• 9 May – Harewood Open
• 10 May – May British Hillclimb Championship
• 6 June – Summer Championship
• 7 June – Jim Thomson
• 4–5 July – July British Hillclimb Championship
• 1 August – Yorkshire Speed
• 2 August – Montague Burton
• 23 August – Classic & Vintage (VSCC)
• 26 September – Greenwood Cup
• 27 September – Mike Wilson

Harewood Speed Hillclimb – Location

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