GONE were the shaded slopes of King Edward Park, but the same feeling of machine hugging turn made the journey to Raymond Terrace for the first Mattara Hill Climb in the race’s new home.
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The lightning pace and high-velocity screams of the 51-year-old motoring classic lured 800 spectators to Ringwood Park Motorsport Complex on Saturday and Sunday.
The quickest of the cars were in the open-wheel Formula Libre class, where few restrictions are placed on engines and gearboxes.
Mudgee driver Doug Barry shaved an astonishing six seconds off the track record.
Organisers had to move the Hill Climb from its spiritual home of King Edward Park this year because work on the Newcastle council’s ambitious Bathers Way coastal walk had reconfigured the roads, widened footpaths and made the old course undrivable.
But event coordinator Michael Snow said drivers and spectators had been pleasantly surprised by the new course with its superior sightlines of competing cars.