Cootha Classic - Saturday 5th September

Postby **orx626** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:53 pm

http://cootha-classic.com.au/what-is-the-cootha-classic/

If a few things fall into place between now and then....the 20B PP MX-5 may make an appearance. :twisted:

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:58 pm

I'll have to slot this into my roster break. Is there an Automotive Plus team

Postby **orx626** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 11:06 pm

Magpie wrote:I'll have to slot this into my roster break. Is there an Automotive Plus team

That would be awesome if we could Mark. I've registered my interest but I believe that the final entry list is at the event owners discretion.

Vat · Postby **Vat** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:01 pm

Thanks for that - I keep meaning to check this event out and invariably find out it was on the week before. Now, where's my diary?

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:38 pm

I have applied to run, but don't know what yet, I was lucky enough to have a crack in the second one in my Zed, so hopefully that helps.

Will be a very hard field to get into as numbers will be limited due to not a lot of room for the pit area.

mattyredlocks · Postby **mattyredlocks** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:41 pm

So keen to check this one out!

Is it strictly well established teams that get to run in this one? I got the impression club-day-level drivers would only get to be spectators.

Definitely going to be there either way.

toppertee · Postby **toppertee** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:06 am

IMO...
They run the event on the wrong side, Noosa hill climb is 10x better. Good to see motor sport back in Brisbane.... Would like to enter, as my car is 5k POS, there no way it's aloud to run......

Good luck to them..... Will be nice to see some classic sports cars running up the hill....

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:12 am

having run both hillclimbs they are as good as each other.

Noosa is a big balls track that can bight and takes commitment, especially in the early runs when the track isn't clean. Plus I am still learning the track, not enough time to go up there and spend a day or two walking it....

Cootha was brilliant, the atmosphere was different to Noosa because it was so close to the city. The run up the hill is pretty open with a couple of chicanes thrown in to try to keep sppeds down, doesn't help on cold slicks better suited to endure events, or a locked diff and a lot of wheel spin up the hill, but I entertained the crowd :lol:

The hairpin at the top is very tight and then it's a deep breath and hold on for the run down the narrow road back to the pit area. One chicane to slow you up, but the finish line is the most exciting bit, where there was a dip and bump in the road that unsettled the car and really got your attention, and then hard on the brakes to pull up in time for the pit entry road.

Cootha caught out a few cars when I ran, including a nice XU1 that tagged a power pole about 3 foot up and did a lot of damage to the car.

I even made it into the Australain Clasic Car report on the event......
http://nathanduffphotography.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/mt-cootha-hill-climb.html

And a photo showing the effect of understeer....

toppertee · Postby **toppertee** » Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:02 pm

MattR wrote:having run both hillclimbs they are as good as each other.

Noosa is a big balls track that can bight and takes commitment, especially in the early runs when the track isn't clean. Plus I am still learning the track, not enough time to go up there and spend a day or two walking it....

Yup....
The pits at the end of the event looked like a wreaking yard.... Best hill climb IMO.....

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 5:39 pm

The Cootha Classic won't be run by, or have any involvement from the HRCC. This will probably mean a much higher entry fee than what they charged as the new group running it will be out to make a profit. The HRCC made a huge loss on the last one.

Will be interesting to see how it is run, what market they are aiming for, competitors or spectators/corporate.

I am still keen to have another crack if whatever car I have at the time to play is accepted.

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:05 pm

Entries open.

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 6:50 pm

Just read the supp regs.

$270 to enter, limited to 100 entries chosen by the organisers and on one day only.

Going by the event I ran in, you will get 4, and depending on the day, maybe 5 runs all up.

Depending on what market the organisers are going for, it could be a great event for competitors, or not if there are any delays and you only get 2 or 3 runs for the day. The course is 1440m long and I assume it will be the same as previous years, but the run down the hill be different with the recent resurfacing works.

Either way for spectators it should be a great day as long as the admission charges are sensible.

The American · Postby **The American** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 11:57 am

I've lodged my application online - has anyone else?

Who knows what criteria they will apply to determine the field. Neither I or the car are celebrity material!

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 12:23 pm

The emphasis is probably on how the organisers interpret "classic". The MX-5 is rarely considered to be one...

MattR · Postby **MattR** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:28 pm

Will be interesting to see the cars chosen and what type of event they are looking to present, ie for the competitor or the spectator.

5 classes and 100 entries should see 20 per class, but I can see some classes getting more entries than others. I hope proper pukkah race cars, ie log booked historic cars and current hillclimb competition cars get precedence over the street type cars.

The organisers have a great opportunity to put on a great event, pity that the NIMBY's have cut it back to one day, which will limit runs severely, from the two event the last iteration of the hillclimb was. I also hope the organisers pay tribute to the over 100 year history of the road to Mount Cootha as a hill climb venue.