The British Hillclimb Championship presented by Nova Motorsport delivered one of the most talked-about contests in hillclimbing history at Craigantlet earlier this month, and the drama continued back across the water at Harewood Hill in Yorkshire last weekend (10th May).

After lowering the Craigantlet record in Northern Ireland, Matt Ryder headed to Harewood with a spring in his step as the championship leader looked to continue that form at the longest hill on the British calendar.

In the opening run-off, round five of the series, it was Wallace Menzies who scooped the 10 points. The Flying Scotsman threaded his Gould up the 1,584-yard course quickest with a 47.11-second run to take his first run-off victory of the year – a confidence booster to get his title tilt back on course.

The reigning number two was pushed hard by the in-form and ultra-consistent Will Hall, who produced another electric performance to bag second place, just seven hundredths of a second behind. Matt Ryder – normally a regular in the podium tussle – suffered a disastrous run, with launch control gremlins affecting the #1 Gould and leaving him 12th in the top-12 shootout and, crucially, without points.

Ryder’s disappointment opened the door for another driver to take the final rostrum spot. Up stepped the evergreen Trevor Willis, who powered the OMS to third – his best result of the season. Alex Coles was another driver in top form as he secured another top-five run-off finish in his nimble Force in fourth.

Paul Haimes, fifth had endured a troubled start to his campaign but was pleased to bank crucial points ahead of Dave Uren in sixth, who confessed Harewood was a challenging hill. Will Hamer, Jonathan Varley and Harry Pick all gathered points in run-off one, while David Tatham collected his first point of the year in tenth. Stephen Owen and Matt Ryder were the unfortunate pair to miss out on points in the opening bout.

The second run-off brought the final action on Harewood Hill on Sunday afternoon.

Having resolved his earlier launch control woes, Matt Ryder went from zero points to hero in the second run-off. The Englishman channelled his earlier frustration to dip below the 47-second barrier – the only driver to do so across the run-offs – and claim the second set of 10 points.

The ever-consistent Will Hall was there in second once more. His brace of runner-up finishes puts him into the overall championship lead after Harewood. Wallace Menzies couldn’t quite repeat his earlier victory and settled for third, while a resurgent Paul Haimes finished equal fourth with Trevor Willis, ahead of Alex Coles in sixth.

Dave Uren, Jonathan Varley, David Tatham and Stephen Owen rounded out the points-paying positions – with Ben Hamer and Will Hamer – missing out this time.

The championship now enjoys a fortnight’s break before Gurston Down looms as the next challenge. The BARC South West event will take place across the weekend of 23–24 May. Who will emerge with the points haul on one of the most extreme hills in the country?

Next stop… Wiltshire.