Speed, skill and plenty of competition were on show at Gunnedah’s lookout road, with 52 competitors taking on the 2026 Railway Hotel Apex Drive Hill Climb as part of round 8 of the NSW State Hill Climb Championship.
The 850m, all-bitumen course provided a demanding test for competitors, featuring a right-hand bend from the start line, a short straight to the Little Porcupine car park, a technical left-hand bend over a crest, a sweeping right-hander into a chicane, a fast straight and a super-elevated right-hand hairpin before the final run to the finish.
The event attracted competitors from across NSW, as well as a strong contingent of local drivers including two female competitors and several first-time entrants.
Gunnedah Shire mayor Colleen Fuller officially sent competitors on their way with the green flag and later welcomed visiting competitors and officials at an evening function, Racecars in Gunnedah, hosted with event sponsors.
Gunnedah Motoring Enthusiasts (GME), in partnership with Jadamo Motorsport, also put a variety of vehicles on display at the Railway Hotel during the function.
Peter Brown driving a Prosport Mulsane.
Competitors were full of praise for the testing Apex Drive course as well as the work undertaken by GME to deliver the event, including significant safety infrastructure, traffic control, coordination with authorities and event administration.
The club was required to find an additional $2,700 for traffic control and planning, costs which GME said had almost made the event unviable.
Visitors nevertheless praised Gunnedah as a well-resourced and friendly town and described the Lookout as a beautiful asset for motorsport.
Phil Heafey, with his Mitsubishi Lancer, awaits a run at the bottom of the course and gives the event a thumbs up.
The Saturday of the event was devoted to untimed practice, allowing competitors to get a feel for the course before Sunday’s main competition, when the fastest time of the day changed several times and a number of close class battles had important implications for the state championship.
Sports Sedan competitor Tim Blake, from Kurri Kurri, arrived as a potential contender for outright honours in his Subaru WRX, but suffered a major setback on his first Sunday run when the car broke its rear differential and front axle.
Vehicles awaiting a run.
His main Sports Sedan rival, Phil Heafey, took full advantage in his Mitsubishi Evo, producing a blistering 27.912-second run to win the class and record the fastest sedan, or “Tin Top”, time of the day.
Heafey’s run also established a new class record, while his time was good enough to make him the second-fastest outright competitor for the day, mixing it with the open-wheel cars in the top five.
A competitor gets racing at the Railway Hotel Apex Drive Hill Climb.
Aleksis Jeske finished second in Sports Sedans in his Subaru WRX with a time of 30.240 seconds. GME said Jeske could almost be claimed as a local, as he regularly works in Gunnedah and had been keen to have a crack at the Apex Drive Hill Climb.
The outright fastest time of Sunday went to Miles Hoare in his bright yellow imported OMS open-wheeler.
In action at the Railway Hotel Apex Drive Hill Climb.
Hoare recorded 27.686 seconds in the Formula Libre over-2-litre class to claim outright honours for the day, with his run equating to an average speed of around 113km/h over the 850m course.
In Improved Production 3J, father and son Mark and Lachlan Barnett went head-to-head in their red Holden Commodore SS V8. Mark, the reigning driver, held off his junior-licence son by just 0.37 seconds, recording a winning time of 38.58 seconds.
In Closed Sports Under 1600cc, Peter Brown took the win in his Prosport Mulsane with a 28.49-second run, placing him third outright for the event.
In action at the Railway Hotel Apex Drive Hill Climb.
Jason Moore won the Road Registered Under 2,500cc class in his Honda Accord with a 35.228-second run, ahead of Thomas Hackett on 38.582 seconds. Moore also sits second in the state series.
The Club section attracted a strong entry, divided into Over and Under 2,500cc classes, with a number of Gunnedah competitors getting their first taste of the demanding hill climb.
In Club Over 2,500cc, Matthew Agostino powered his ute to victory in 35.876 seconds, ahead of GME Club president David Garth in his Ford Falcon on 36.764 seconds.
Kieran Wellar recorded 47.134 seconds, while Jaiden Trembath posted 48.971 seconds in the shared red Ford ute, complete with a bull bar.
The Club Under 2,500cc class saw an impressive performance from junior driver Maverick Kemenyvary, who produced a 30.202-second run in his race car to win the class and finish fifth outright for the day.
Gunnedah’s Toby Newton finished in 39.01 seconds in his Suzuki, while Garth Luke recorded 49.425 seconds in his Hyundai Excel rally car and Rob Cocks completed his run in a Mitsubishi Lancer in 49.701 seconds.
For the local competitors, the times were only part of the attraction, with plenty of smiles among those who took the opportunity to experience the exhilarating Apex Drive course.
The event finished without crashes and brought a significant number of competitors, officials and spectators into Gunnedah for the weekend’s activities.
GME also stages other motorsport events throughout the year, including the Showground Motorkhana and the Aerodrome Tarmac Roll Racing and half-mile sprint in March.
With the cost of staging motorsport events continuing to rise, GME thanked its sponsors for helping make the events possible and said new overall event sponsors were welcome.
The club’s next meeting will be its AGM and general meeting on 21 October, with the meeting open to all interested members of the community. Details will be advertised in the Gunnedah Times.
GME can also be contacted at [email protected]
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