Why I love...HILLCLIMBS

I guess it helps that the very first motorsport event I attended in this country upon emigrating was a hillclimb - a short-course speed event for more than 100 disparate cars, all of which were given several chances to set their fastest time of the day. It struck me immediately as the perfect form of amateur motorsport, since it took entries from new cars and old, road cars and racers, brilliantly skilled drivers and beginners. Everyone had the same chance.

- BY STEVE CROPLEY

At the time, over 40 years ago, I couldn't afford a suitable car, but I still quickly discovered an advantage of this sport that endures: as a spectator, you can get close enough to the cars to peer into their engines and cockpits and chat with their drivers - usually their owners.

I acquired my first hillclimbable car, a yellow Caterham Seven Supersprint, in the late 1990s, when my rising competitive urge aligned neatly with another desire: to keep a 17-year-old son, just learning to drive, out of the ditch.