Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the first known hillclimb at La Turbie near Nice, France, took place as long ago as 31 January 1897. The hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England, is the world's oldest continuously staged motorsport event still staged on its original course, having been first run in 1905. Europe Hillclimbs in continental Europe are usually held on courses which are several kilometres long, taking advantage of the available hills and mountains including the Alps. The most prestigious competition is the FIA European Hill Climb Championship. Austria An Austrian venue: Gaisberg. An historic course is at Semmering. Great Britain In Great Britain, the format is different from that in other parts of Europe, with courses being much shorter. Cairncastle is Great Britain's longest hillclimb at 1.65 miles (2904 yards). These short courses are more akin to uphill sprints – and almost always take under one minute for the fastest drivers to complete. For this reason, cars and drivers do not generally cross between the British and continental European championships. Hillclimbing is also relevant to motorcycle sport; the governing body is the National Hill Climb Association. France The French hill climb championship, or Championnat de France de la Montagne, has been one of the most competitive of the European national series, attracting many new F2 and 2-litre sports cars during the 1970s and early 1980s. Notable champions from this period include Pierre Maublanc (1967 and 1968), Daniel Rouveyran (1969), Hervé Bayard (1970) and Jimmy Mieusset (1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974). The best-known Course de Côte are Mont Ventoux and Mont-Dore. Germany Three German venues: Freiburg-Schauinsland, Rossfeld (near Berchtesgaden), Osnabrück. The fourth International Schauinsland hillclimb at Freiburg was held on August 5, 1928: "A car made the fastest time of the day, Heusser's Bugatti putting up 74.009 km/h, the fastest motorcycle being Stegmann's DKW at 69.6 km/h." Caracciola (Mercedes) won the over two-litre racing car class. Italy In the Italian championship, also known as the Campionato Italiano Velocità Montagna, there are the longest and most challenging hillclimbs like Trento-Bondone, Coppa Bruno Carotti (the Italian races in FIA European Hill Climb Championship), Pedavena-Croce d'Aune, Monte Erice and Verzegnis-Sella Chianzutan, which are also the most known. Hillclimbing in Italy became famous in the 1970s, early 1980s, between 1994 and 2000 and at the end of the 2000s, especially in the last two periods thanks to TV services, magazines and live Internet commentaries. The most famous Italian drivers, who won a lot even in Europe, are Ludovico Scarfiotti (famous Ferrari driver who won the F1 race in Monza 1966), "Noris" (he won almost every race in Italy until 1972, when he died), Domenico Scola (who runs a Sport Prototype even now at the age of 80), Mauro Nesti (over 20 championships between Italy and Europe, from the