Oastler beat fellow Formula Libre over 2000cc class competitor Tim Edmondson by narrow margins in both rounds of the annual Mount Panorama event.

Oastler took out the Australian Hillclimb Championship last year in his OMS 28 1300t.

The weekend contained rounds two and three in the championship, with competitors getting a maximum of four attempts at each climb.

The Esses hillclimb on the Saturday began proceedings and it was Oastler’s time of 22.36 on his second run that couldn’t be topped.

Edmondson produced a 23.20 on the third run to go next closest in his Gould GR55B. 

It wasn’t until the following day’s action that things got very close.

The pair went faster and faster over each of their four runs on the Mountain Straight hillclimb, with less than a tenth of a second separating them by round’s end.

Oastler once again came out ahead with a 38.82 second time, just enough to get by Edmondson’s 38.90.

Back in 2006, Oastler built a replica grand prix car which he found was ineligible for many classes and disciplines of racing, but perfect for one in particular: hill climbing.

Several cars later and his love of hillclimb racing hasn’t diminished.

Oastler will take any chance he can to get himself to Mount Panorama.

“I’m 55 years old but I’ve still got that bit of competitive instinct in me. I love it. It’s the best racing track in Australia,” he said. 

“It’s about having the mental resolve to go around hard. It’s almost like you’ve got to mentally bully yourself to do it.

“I’m doing 220km/h into the final corner [of the Mountain Straight round]. You only get four runs. You want to push harder, but one crash can wreck these cars, so there’s always the chance to go around faster.

“You screw one corner up and it’s all over. With Tim and I racing so close with just a tenth between us, if you go deep you lose half a second and that’s your run over. It’s about being competitive but disciplined.

“I bought this shell from OMS Racing from the UK and then everything else, like the suspension and engine, I built myself. It’s almost like a canoe when it gets here and you just attach everything else to it.”

Ron Hay finished third overall in both rounds racing in the same class as Oastler and Edmondson, racing in a Synergy Dallara.

Racing in other classes was hotly contested, with 11 record times set.

Zac LeLievre was dominant in the Group 2A Open/Closed Sports 0-1600cc Class as he took his Westfield Megabusa up the Esses climb in 27.62 seconds. That smashed the previous record of 28.41.

LeLievre repeated the record effort the following day on Mountain Straight. He beat the record of 51.12 on his opening run, then lowered the mark twice to end up with a time of 48.96.

Peter Brown was another dual record-setter over the weekend in his RAP Clubman. 

Thanks to his respective times of 28.26 and 51.19 on the two days, Brown easily lowered the previous best Group 2C Supersports 0-1600 marks by more than three seconds.