MOTOR SPORT
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Tim Edmondson is the Australian Hillclimb Champion for 2012 after completing one of the most incredible wins in his final run at Mount Panorama on Sunday to deny Mudgee driver Doug Barry.
After setting an unofficial record time of 37.54 seconds in practice on Friday, Edmondson had been plagued by troubles all weekend. After his first five runs, his best time was a second and a half behind that of Barry.
His fifth run saw him stop on the start line and it looked like Barry would take the title as the Lola driver had just posted the quickest lap to that point – a 38.28.
However, Edmondson was able to get his Gould GR55B back to the pits at McPhillamy Park where his crew fixed a fuel problem and set him up for his final run.
He didn’t waste it either. A near flawless run up Mountain Straight, through The Cutting and across the finish line at Sulman Park saw him set a new course record of 36.83. It landed him the national crown as well.
Speaking just after completing his all important run, Edmondson was delighted to have withstood the pressure and claimed his first Australian title.
“Nothing beats that,” he said.
“Right up until the last run we’d been having all sorts of issues – electrical issues, fuel issues – and we’d been chasing them. Sitting on the line for the last one I knew I had one clear run to try and put it in and I was very fortunate to achieve it.
“The plan was basically get through the first half of the track and then hold it flat for the rest.”
It was a tough blow for Barry, who had led for almost the entire weekend, broke the record three times and wrung everything he could out of his car. He was gracious in defeat, but also visibly disappointed.
“It always comes down to a cliffhanger in that last run and he trumped me. What else can I say?,” Barry reflected.
“We gave it our best but came back second.
“The times were fantastic. I wish I could have done more but there was nothing more to give. There comes a point where you reach the limitations of the vehicle and you can’t go any faster.”
Edmondson said in order to overcome the problems that restricted him to just one run on Saturday, they had to turn off most of the electrical systems
“The Friday practice was a good run and we thought that was going to lead us into a good weekend but it was so, so hard,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of the electrics in the car turned off so there’s a lot of systems not running. In theory they are supposed to make you go faster, but I don’t know how much quicker you could go. There’s a lot of bits and pieces not working, but I managed to stick one [run] together.”
Edmonson said he did feel sorry for Barry, who was also hunting for his first Australian title. The challenge now for the title winner will be making sure his Gould is right for his next race.
“To be honest, if I had come second to Doug after that final run I wouldn’t have minded. He’s done so well all weekend, been so quick and it’s a shame that one of us has to lose,” he said.
“The next round of the NSW Hillclimb Championship is coming up, so we will get stuck into some of these issues we have been having. I guess the first thing to do is to give it a bit of a polish and a rub down because it’s done the job today.
“It’s always sensational coming to Bathurst and the BLCC [Bathurst Light Car Club] do such a great job. Bathurst Real Estate are fantastic sponsors and really get behind the club in running the event.”