Sunday 28 February dawned a little cloudy but soon turned into one of those hot and dry days that have typified our summer this year.

When I arrived about 8:30am at the scrutineering point just passed the start of Maioro Road, activity was well underway and being handled very efficiently by Don Jamieson.

Classic car events at Pukekohe and Hampton Downs on the same day meant that numbers were down at our event to only twelve entrants. But nobody was complaining, because it meant more runs for all!

For those who do not know it, the Otaua hill climb is in a very picturesque location, although when you are doing it there is not much time to see these lovely aspects! To the south, the view is down into the basin of the Waikato River.

The route follows Maioro Road, and, from the start line, initially descends before climbing consistently up to the finish. There is a good variety of bends, including a tight left hander that is close to being a hairpin. Interesting features of the route include several power poles and banks, strategically placed, that leer at you as you enter the bends and a rather short runoff after the finish line, which requires some fierce braking before a right hand turn.

The organisation went very smoothly, assisted by a wonderful team of helpers (who are all named in the results page) and by the continuous improvements being made to the timing gear by Mike DeWitt.

We had the convoy run up the hill and then we were underway. By lunchtime we had each had four runs and by the end of the day some had achieved nine runs – so well done, the organisers!

Nine MG’s took part: an MGA, an MGB, a Midget, 4 MGBGTs and 2 MGBGT V8s. The others were three well-modified vehicles: a modern Mini, a Starlet and an RX323.

Unfortunately, there were two minor “offs”, with some damage to one of the BGT’s and minor scuffs to another, but nothing to upset the excellent mood and enjoyment of the day.

Finally, our thanks go to all who made the day possible and such a success.”