CONQUERING THE MOUNTAIN

BRETT HAYWARD HAS BEATEN ALMOST EVERY HILLCLIMB TRACK IN AUSTRALIA - THE WORLD IS NEXT

WRITES GARY HILL

BORN ON Christmas day in 1969,Brett Hayward jokes that he is the best present his mother ever had. We're not sure if his mother would actually agree, but she certainly gave a great gift to Australian motorsport.

This year, Hayward won the Queensland, South Australian and Victorian Hillclimb Championships. He also claimed the Australian title for the second time, with lap records at most of the tracks - all in a car he designed and built himself.

Hayward grew up on a farm, where a lot of his spare time was spent playing with mini bikes, but it wasn't until he was working as an apprentice fitter and turner that he became interested in racing. Hayward bought a race bike to do off-road enduro racing, which he says was fun - despite earning himself a few broken bones along the way.

"I did build a kart when I was about 15 years old using car rear wheels and the wheels off a couple of my father's wheelbarrows for the front, but my real interest was bikes," he says.

After finishing his apprenticeship and gaining some experience both behind the wheel and under the bonnet, Hayward set up an engineering business in Leongatha to put his skills to use repairing farm machinery. The off-road motorbike racing continued, but this time a broken collarbone prompted a rethink of his hobby.

"I realised that I could not afford to be out of action with a business to run, so I looked for something a bit safer," he comments.

The answer came in the form of the Maffra and District Car Club and its dirt hillclimb at Boisdale north of Sale, Victoria, where he raced an off-road buggy he had built himself.

"I also joined the Trike and Oddyssey Club, which has now grown somewhat to become the TORC Off Road Racing Club, and raced buggies at their Kyneton track," he says

After seeing his first tarmac hillclimb at Gippsland Park in Morwell, Hayward decided to try the sport properly, and after fitting different wheels and tyres to his Yamaha R1-powered buggy, he was very quick and competitive at his first event in 1999.

"I had a ball, and went home with a clean buggy and no broken parts - as is common in off-road racing" he says.

At that time, he was looking at building an open-wheeler and went about looking at how others were built before constructing his own.

The Ninja BH1 Kawasaki ZX12- powered car was an immediate success, and pushed Hayward to second in the Victorian Hillclimb Championship in 2001.

Hayward went on to win the State Championship in 2002, setting a number of track records on the way, before selling it to Keith Wilson to finance a new car project for The Race To The Sky hillclimb.

Hayward says he had read about the New Zealand hillclimb in Auto Action, and when his friend, Steve Riley -who is well known for his exploits on both two wheels and four in the Australian Safari Rally -obtained a copy of the video, the pair watched it over a couple of beers and joked that they should enter.

The laughs subsided quickly into seriousness, and it wasn't long before the pair were building similar Hayabusapowered buggies, converting them to four-wheel-drive by running a chain through a tube to the front axle.

The innovative trick worked well, as Hayward took a class win and fourth outright behind the big-budget teams of 'Monster' Tajima, Rod Millen and Marty Rostenberg.

"The car was not quite right for the 17km track with its big rocks and 136 bends; for a start, the wheels were too small and we needed more power so we built new buggies and did it again," Hayward reveals.

Hayward competed at five of the 10 Race To The Sky events, and chalked up three outright fourth places, as well as three class wins. A broken chain spoiled his last run, although Hayward remains content about his performance.

"That last event is still very special, because I set a class record," he says.

BRETT HAYWARD

By 2007, it was back to tarmac hillclimbs with a new Suzuki Hayabusapowered car. But with the 2009 Australian Championship scheduled for the new Bryant Park hillclimb, there was an improved car on its way - this time with a supercharged Hayabusa engine.

His 'Hayward 09' was completed just in time for the national titles, which Hayward won on the very last run ahead of Andrew Howell in his English Gould hillclimb special.

"Greg Ackland and I had been pushing each other, but the Gould took things to a new level, and even made Hillclimb legend Peter Gumley go faster," says Hayward.

"I had followed Peter Gumley and his hillclimb career, and wondered how you would ever build something as good as that SCV."

It looks like the latest incarnation of the Hayward car, which is now powered by a much modified 1600cc Hayabusa engine, may well be such a car - although Hayward says he has no ambition to chase the record of the 10-times Australian Champion.

Hayward during a practice run for the Race To The Sky in New Zealand

"What I really enjoy is building something different and competing against the huge variety of cars involved in hillclimbing," he says.

The Champion says he will build his seventh hillclimb car next year, which will be lighter and incorporate carbonfibre and possibly have a supercharger bolted onto it.

Setting up the Hayward 07 for its new owner

"I enjoy hearing old engineers commenting that it is nice to see people still building specials, so I will keep on building cars," says Hayward.

Although he has no desire to keep chasing and winning titles, the 42-year-old says he would like to add the NSW Championship to his achievements, and also has an ambition to one day compete at Pikes Peak in his own car.

"That is what I find to be the ultimate achievement, to win in a car I have designed and built myself," he grins.

HINCHCLIFFE GETS GOING

INDYCAR OWNER Michael Andretti and driver James Hinchcliffe were on the verge of signing a contract as AA went to press this week. Barring a wrong turn in talks, last year's Rookie of the Year will be the driver of the high-profile GoDaddy-sponsored car this season. The seat was vacated by Danica Patrick as she turned full-time to NASCAR. Two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon had signed to be her replacement on the morning of his fatal crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

LADA TO RETURN TO WTCC

THE LADA Sport Team has confirmed plans to return to the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2012, in partnership with Russian car manufacturer AVTOVAZ. The last time LADA competed in the WTCC was in 2009, where it strove to a bestrace finish of sixth with Brit James Thompson at the wheel. The team currently plans to compete in two rounds of the 2012 series in the LADA Granta Sportcar, before contesting the series in full from 2013.

INTERNATIONAL INVASION

NEW ZEALAND'S Toyota Racing Series has a record number of 15 overseas drivers signed up (or 2012. including West Australian Jordan Oon. The series kicks off at Teretonga Park on January 14-15. with drivers from 13 different countries on the grid.

PADDON'S SUPER SKODA

HAYDEN PADDON is moving up to the competitive S2000 rally class in 2012 after winning the 2011 Production World Rally championship. The 24-year-old Kiwi will drive a Skoda Fabia run by Spanish team ASM Motorsport. "I am ecstatic about the move to Super 2000; it's a fantastic opportunity," Paddon said. "I was lucky enough to test the Skoda Fabia S2000 in Europe a couple of months ago, and it was an incredible car to drive."

TEMPLEMAN THIRD DRIFT WINNER

HIGH-PROFILE off-road and circuit racer Daynom Templeman has underlined the competitive nature of this season's Cody's D1NZ National Drifting Championship by beating three-time defending Champion Gaz Whiter (Nissan S14) at the third round in Taupo on December 16-17.

HINCHCLIFFE GETS GOING

LADA TO RETURN TO WTCC

INTERNATIONAL INVASION

PADDON'S SUPER SKODA

TEMPLEMAN THIRD DRIFT WINNER

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