Back

    Anatomy of a Hillclimb

    RULES & REGULATIONS
    The New England Sports Car Club Council (NESCCC) is made up of three clubs; they are the Killington Sports Car Club (KSCC), the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire (SCCNH) and the Sports Car Club of Vermont (SCCV). Under the NECSCCC umbrella, the member clubs hold events such as autocrosses, ice time trials, TSD rallies, track time trials, and hillclimbs. For hillclimbs, the three clubs developed the New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA) rules and regulations, which are reviewed and revised every year to address classification and safety rules. The rules are available at www.HILLCLIMB.org.

    REGISTRATION
    When the driver registers for the event they must show a valid driver’s license, complete/update their medical card (retained by Speedway during the event), sign an insurance waiver along with any local, county, state waivers that are required by the event.

    TECHNICAL INSPECTION
    The Technical Inspection of each vehicle is mandatory to compete in the event. A vehicle that does not pass Tech. will not be allowed to compete. Tires, ball joints, suspension movement and harness & helmet are some of the items that are inspected.

    LANDLINE AND RADIOS
    To communicate on the hill we will unroll two miles of two-strange twisted pair wire along the side of the road from top to bottom. Every checkpoint will have a headset connected to the landline so that they can communicate with Control. Handheld radios will also be at the checkpoints so that a worker can communicate with the rest of the hill while responding to an incident, may it be with a driver who is having car problems, debris was spotted in the road or there is a spectator issue.

    SPEEDWAY SAFETY SERVICES, INC.
    The thee clubs have enjoyed the professionalism and experience of Speedway at all our hill climbs. Speedway covers such tracks as New Hampshire International Speedway and Claremont International Speedway among many others. They have dedicated experience with the dynamics of the racecar (roll cages, electric cut off switches, fire systems) and the driver (harness & helmet) that make them a great asset at our event should their services be required.

    The People in Control

    EVENT CHAIRPERSON
    The Event Chairperson is in control of all aspects of the event. They have the final ruling on all issues at the event. The Chair will be able to address public and driver concerns and has the responsibility to close down the event due to inclement weather (for driver safety and worker comfort).

    HOLDING/START
    Responsibility is to prepare the next driver for their run up the hill. They will check to make sure that the driver is ready (harness & helmet) and will pass them along to Control when they are requested to do so.

    “CONTROL”
    As the title suggests, this is the person who is in control of the event when the racing starts. In a nutshell, they tell everyone what to do. This person tracks the driver’s progress up the hill and will let the next driver start once the first driver has reached a predetermined point along the course. Control will coordinate all traffic on the hill including residents, Speedway, and racers. All checkpoint workers report to control.

    CHECKPOINT WORKERS
    The checkpoint workers are the eyes and ears for “Control”. They are responsible for the driver from the checkpoint below to the checkpoint above where they are working. When a car goes by their checkpoint they will call this over the landline to Control who will respond back for confirmation. If car number 25 passes checkpoint 3 then the worker will call in “two – five by three” with a response from Control of “Check three”. This redundancy helps to ensure clear communication to safely track the driver’s progress. The checkpoint worker is also responsible for the course, flagging a car (red flag), and responding to incidents to inform Control what is happening on the hill.

    TIMING
    Timing has two responsibilities; one as the person who times the cars and the other as the final checkpoint on the hill.

    The Event

    WORKER/DRIVER MEETING
    Every morning there is a Worker and a Driver Meeting to make sure that everyone is on the same page. The Worker Meeting details Control’s expectations, communication, flag usage and safety. The Driver Meeting covers safety, road condition and weather updates, flag usage (red flag) and general rules of the event.

    FAMILIARIZATION RUN (FAM)
    Each morning starts out with the FAM run. This is where all the cars drive up the hill at 50% to learn and memorize the course. This is the driver’s first practice run wherein they are allowed to take passengers. All runs up or down the hill are under full race safety requirements; harness and helmet.

    SATURDAY VS. SUNDAY
    All runs on Saturday, even though they are timed, do not count for the event results. Times are tracked for informational purposes for the driver to see how he/she is doing within his/her class. Saturday is for practice only. Sunday runs are the official times for the event. By the time that the driver is ready to tackle the hill for an official time, they have already had one full day of practice on the hill.

    HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU
    Unsafe practices are not tolerated at the event. The sponsoring club reserves the right to remove anyone (driver/worker/other) from the event if that person has done something that is unbecoming of sponsoring club and/or is unsafe.

    MOST IMPORTANTLY
    The most important thing for KSCC, SCCNH, and SCCV is to put on a safe and fun event for the drivers, workers and spectators. All the drivers and workers appreciate the venues that are available to us and we respect the environment, residents and laws in the area. The clubs ensure that the surrounding areas (camping, pits, and checkpoints) are clean and void of trash.

    CONTACT INFORMATION
    Check out www.hillclimb.org for links to the KSCC, SCCNH, and SCCV.