I first discovered the “thrill of the hill” back in 2024 while idly googling for some motorsport to visit in Yorkshire. Harewood Hill is less than an hour away and after discovering they ran these academy days I gave it a go.
And I loved it. Mildly terrifying, but in the best possible way. I was buzzing. Hill Climb legend Richard Spedding was my instructor/coach and he said I’d be competing. I laughed it off, in my 40s and being a race a driver, never going to happen. A good fun day out though.
In 2025 I went again, brought a friend along too. We both had a lot of fun. This was very much becoming my annual day out – proper me time. My version of a spa day – throwing a car around a track and learning how to do it quicker.
Come February this year I went to check the schedule and disaster – I’d missed the announcement and all academy days were fully booked with waiting lists. I promptly joined the waiting list. Much to my surprise and by pure fluke an extra date was added in March and I had a place. Phew, my annual tradition continues.
But you know what they say – do something once, great. Do it twice because it was fun last time. Do it three times and it becomes a habit, right? So yeah, maybe. I came away from my third academy day at Harewood, buzzing once again. I found some limits with wheels off of the track felt like I found some speed too.
And who was my instructor? Richard Spedding, after laughing at his suggestion of competing a few years back, I’m here now researching how to make this happen.
While, also in his mid-40s, Jenson Button hangs up his race helmet and retires from motorsport, I’m browsing and figuring out what sort of race helmet I may need.
