Established 1925
Regrettably the Ulster Automobile Club have had to cancel the event scheduled for Saturday 9th September, due to a lack of entries. The Club would like to thank all those who helped to organise the event and apologise to all the homeowners and famers for any inconvenience this cancellation has caused. Thank you for your continued support.
Regulations for Knockagh Hill Climb on Saturday 9th September 2023 can be found under the events tab on this site.
Entries made via Rallyscore close at 5:00 pm on Wednesday 6th September 2023.
Alex Summers arrived into Belfast last Friday with his DJ Firestorm for scrutiny at Campbell College along with 19 other competitors from the Avon Tyres Motorsport UK British Hill Climb Championship (BHC) to entertain us all on Patterson Electronics Hytera Craigantlet Hill Climb, kindly supported by Belfast City Council. (Pic A).
Alex was runner up to Wallace Menzies BHC battle and here at Craigantlet in 2022. He wasted no time in getting to grips with the slippery surface on the hill in his practice runs. Alex set the fastest time of the day, 39.97 seconds on his first timed run, just 0.85 seconds off the current record, (a superb result given the changeable weather conditions) which earned him first overall and the prestigious News Letter Trophy. (Pic B).
Read moreThe Ulster Automobile Club (UAC) are thrilled to announce that we have a new title sponsor for Craigantlet Hill Climb; Hytera Communications, who are a leading global provider of professional radio communications equipment and solutions. They are dedicated to bringing the most value-added and user-centric solutions to organisations across the world, with a portfolio of devices, systems and software applications to offer voice, video and data services, providing fast, safe and reliable connectivity solutions for mission-critical communications.
Ian Culbert, (in the blue shirt above), Sales Director of Patterson Electronics, Hytera Communications partner in Northern Ireland, commented “We are extremely delighted to be the title sponsor of Craigantlet as we recognise the significance of this event in the British and ANICC Hill Climb Championships. It is one of the fastest in the series. A hill of two halves, it presents fast sweeping corners, tight uphill twists and a spectacular finish. We have been working with the UAC on this and other events for many years now and have always been a dedicated supporter of motorsport. Craigantlet is a superb event for beginners and experienced drivers alike, exceedingly well organised by a friendly and supportive team of dedicated volunteers and we are extremely proud to be associated with the event and want to wish everyone involved a safe and enjoyable day on the Hill.”
The Club are also delighted to announce that Belfast City Council has just agreed to support the event as well, so look forward to a great day of motorsport!!
Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Christina Black, commented ‘I am delighted Belfast City Council can continue to show our support to this long-standing, historic sporting event and I welcome all motor sport enthusiasts to our city. The beautiful Craigantlet Hills create a perfect destination for drivers as they will make their way through the fast and technical course. I wish all the participants good luck on the day and fingers crossed for some good weather too so that everyone can really enjoy an exciting day of action! Good luck!
The organisers have attracted the top 20 contenders from the UK who are competing for the Motorsport UK Avon Tyres British Hill Climb Championship. These entries are complemented by 70 competitors from our local ANICC Championship, which will provide anyone attending the ‘Hill’ with an absolutely remarkable festival of driving skills and expertise, timed to the 100th of a second. The event will be held on Saturday 29th April 2023, on the outskirts of Belfast.
Please Note: Spectator access will only be allowed from the bottom of the Hill Climb Course (i.e. Belmont Road (B170) approaching from the Old Holywood Road / Massey Avenue directions).
Craigantlet hosts Rounds 3 & 4 of the 2023 Motorsport UK British Hillclimb Championship (BHC) supported by Avon Tyres. Clerk of the Course, Wilson Carson reflected, “The hard work of my team has resulted in a marvellous combination of cross channel and local entries consisting of the crème de la crème of British Hill Climbers. Wallace Menzies, current British Hill Climb Champion, returns to challenge Scott Moran and Dave Uren, current joint record holders of the coveted News Letter Trophy which is awarded to the driver who sets the Fastest Time of the Day (FTD). Alec Summers the 2022 BHC runner up also joins the fray, along with some very fast local competitors such as Tim Woodside, Graeme Thompson and Alan Cassells, so who will reign supreme? Our event programme, a must read, contains several articles from competitors, journalists and volunteers who share their experiences and love of our ‘Hill’, thanks must go to all who have contributed and made this quality production possible. All proceeds from programme sales go to support Macmillan Cancer Support at Antrim Area Hospital, our Club Charity for 2023.
Ryan McGimpsey (pictured above) started his challenge for the 2023 ANICC Motorsport Supplies Hill Climb Championship by setting a blistering pace at Croft last weekend, recording a superb time of 33.90 seconds, 0.34 seconds faster than his brother Richard and almost 4 seconds faster than Robert, the eldest member of this speeding dynasty!! Graham Thompson filled third place a mere 4 hundredths of a second behind Ryan. We are looking forward to the action at Craigantlet on Saturday week. Please join us for a day of great craic and seriously entertaining speed on closed public roads.
The Ulster Automobile Club are delighted to announce that we have two new title sponsors, Hytera Communications and Patterson’s Electronics.
Hytera Communications, are a leading global provider of professional radio communications equipment and solutions. They are dedicated to bringing the most value-added and user-centric solutions to organisations across the world, with a portfolio of devices, systems and software applications to offer voice, video and data services, providing fast, safe and reliable connectivity solutions for mission-critical communications.
Ian Culbert, Managing Director of Patterson Electronics Ltd stated ‘We have been supplying the Ulster Automobile Club with Hytera two-way radio solutions for several years for their events, including Craigantlet Hill Climb. We are delighted to be given the opportunity this year, in association with Hytera Europe Ltd, to also provide financial support for this event, we are looking forward to a safe and exciting day of motorsport’.
Craigantlet Hill Climb Clerk of the Course Wilson Carson commented, ‘The Club have been working with Ian for many years now and we are thrilled to welcome Hytera a global communications organisation as a title sponsor on the club’s premier event. The event relies on a lot of generous support from other sponsors and volunteers without whom our flagship event would not be the success it is – thanks to everyone involved. We look forward to seeing you at the Hill on 29th April 2023.’
Please click on the link below to download the regulations for the event.
It is with sincere regret that the Ulster Automobile Club have made the decision to cancel the 2022 Knockagh Hill Climb, which was due to be the final round of the ANICC Hill Climb Championship & the UAC Club Championship.
This decision was not taken lightly, but due to lack of entries & rising costs this meant that it was not feasible to run the event.
We hope you understand our decision & look forward to seeing you at our next event, the UAC October Sprint on Saturday 8th October at Kirkistown.
A full refund will be given to each entrant, but please be patient as this does take some time to process.
The Club would like to thank all those competitors who had entered & all those that had signed on to marshal and support the Hill Climb.
Once again our sincere apologies.
Yours in Motorsport
Wilson Carson
Clerk of the Course
Entries for the final round of the ANICC Millers Oils Hill Climb Championship are now open – please visit rallyscore.net.
Wallace Menzies clearly demonstrated why he is the current Avon Tyres British Hill Climb Champion by setting the Fastest Time of the Day on the Simon Brien Residential UAC Craigantlet Hill Climb, netting him the News Letter Trophy. (Pic A) His driving skills also resulted in him collecting the Dunlop Trophy (Pic B) for his Class 15 win and taking a ‘clean sweep’ by winning both rounds 3 and 4 of the Avon Tyres British Hill Climb Championship at the weekend. Nichola, Wallace’s wife received the Noble Trophy for the second year in a row as the fastest lady up the Hill. (Pics C&D) Congratulations to them both!
The battle for the overall win was intense as the rain continued to fall throughout the day making traction of the start line and on some of the corners a challenging prospect, however the big man from Alloa in his Gould GR59-M set the Fastest Time of the Day (Pic E). Given the conditions, only 5 seconds off the current hill record of 39.12s (jointly held by Scott Moran and Dave Uren) this was a magnificent result. Second place driver Alex Summers in his DJ Firestorm (Pic F) followed by 0.17 seconds who in turn was 0.54 seconds faster than Scott Moran in his Gould GR59J (Pic G).
Read moreDue to the increase in the number of entries scrutiny will be held on Friday Evening, 29th April 2022, from 18:00 until 21:00 at the car park in Campbell College, Belmont Road, Belfast, BT4 2ND.
A limited number of places may be offered for Saturday Morning at the ‘Hill’.
A map with directions is displayed below…
